Gaslight (Crossbreed #4)(6)
She set her glass on the bar while her date scooted onto the barstool. Then she did a slow and deliberate turn, obviously aware of our uninvited presence. Her teardrop earrings shimmered beneath the lights, as did the glitter makeup around her eyes.
“You should see Gem,” I remarked to Niko. “I couldn’t pull off a dress like that if I tried.”
“What is your impression of the man she’s with?”
I tipped my head to the side and gave Hooper a thorough appraisal. “Well, he’s not exactly dressed up unless you count the fact he wore a tie with his T-shirt. Why do men think they look good in those skinny jeans? I’m not a fan, especially when they have giant holes in the knee. It makes them look like an adolescent kid who outgrew their clothes over summer vacation.” I snorted and looked at my shot glass. “I’m one to talk, though.”
“I don’t mean his style. What’s your impression of him as a man?”
I stared at Niko, wondering if he wanted to know how cute Hooper was or about his personality, neither of which I could provide any solid feedback on.
“Perhaps we should invite him over,” Christian suggested, appearing behind Niko’s chair.
I looked around. “Where did Wyatt disappear to?”
Christian chuckled and sat across from me. “If you have to ask, then you don’t know him very well. He prefers to dazzle the ladies with his tall tales over in the main room.”
“I’ll bet they’re just lining up to hear all about his new venture in the vending machine business.”
Shepherd flipped a chair backward and sat down to my left, his arms draped over the back, eyes locked on Niko. “Double or nothing you miss.”
Niko gave him a tight-lipped smile. “I haven’t finished my beer.”
When Shepherd slid the bottle across the table, Niko caught it in his hand.
I liked hanging out with just the team. Viktor was a cool cat, but sometimes going out with the boss kept me from truly cutting loose. Lately he’d been preoccupied researching a number of items he’d confiscated from a pawnshop, though I wasn’t sure what those objects were or where he’d put them. I’d caught him scouring the books in our main library and gathering room, searching for clues to whether or not they were important pieces of Breed history that required preservation.
Christian wolf-whistled at Gem when she leaned over the bar for her juice.
I tossed the swan napkin at his head. “Don’t be such a fanghole. I thought you wanted her to have a good time.”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “That was until I got a gander at her date. I’d forgotten what a prick he is.”
“You’re only saying that because he thinks you’re a peckerhead.”
Christian flashed his eyes up at me. “You have an intriguing vocabulary.”
“I remember the look of death he gave you when we were at Club Nine.”
“All men give me that look. It’s jealousy. I’m a sexual god who can bed any woman in this room.”
Shepherd scratched his bristly jaw. “Bet you can’t get Raven.”
I snorted at the idea of Christian taking that bet. “I’ll double that.”
Christian turned in his seat to face the bar, left arm on the table. “What do you think she sees in a man like that?”
Chairs creaked as we indiscreetly turned to stare at Gem and Hooper.
Shepherd lifted my glass of tequila and gulped it down. “Women can see what we can’t.”
Christian tilted his gaze toward Shepherd. “And what’s that?”
No reply came. Shepherd had gone off to la-la land.
Shepherd was an aloof guy, but his melancholy mood swings now came and went with more frequency. It was eerie how quickly he could switch his emotions on and off. Maybe it was a quality unique to Sensors, but it creeped me the hell out. He hadn’t been the same since killing Cristo, the man who’d murdered his woman years ago. It made me wonder if getting his revenge had been worth it.
“Feck me. Here they come.” Christian scooted his chair closer to Niko and pulled a spare from a nearby table.
Gem glided up next to him. “Everyone, this is Hooper. Hooper, everyone.”
He gave an obligatory nod while Gem took a seat. Christian draped his arm behind her while Hooper dragged a chair from another table to squeeze between Shepherd and Gem.
“Did you guys already eat?” I asked. “We can order burgers.”
Hooper took a seat at the corner of the table, hands in his lap. “I only eat sushi.”
Niko’s jaw set. “To honor your culture?”
Hooper was unfazed by the sarcasm. As a bartender, I’m sure he’d heard it all. “It’s my thing. What’s your thing?”
“Swords.”
Hooper gestured toward Shepherd. “And he likes cigarettes. See? Everyone has their thing.”
Christian leaned forward, fangs extended, to get a better look at Hooper. “Aren’t you going to ask what my thing is?”
Hooper leaned forward and tossed a wadded-up napkin onto the floor beside Christian. “I already know.”
Either Hooper had a sharp memory of a trip Christian and I had taken to his club, or Gem had told him about Christian’s habits.
“Hooper’s a wine aficionado,” Gem gushed. “He wants to have his own vineyard someday.”