Point of No Return by Tara Fox Hall

How’s business? It
looks light tonight, for a Saturday.”
    “It’s early yet,” Gary replied with a smile.
“The rough crowd won’t come in until midnight, which makes me
surprised you’re here so early.” He looked me over with kind eyes,
his mean features softening. “Nice babe.”
    Gary was a huge man, with burly arms, a bald
head and a big bristling salt and pepper beard, but that didn’t
mean I was going to take his shit tonight on top of everything
else. “I’m not a babe, Gary. My name is Sarelle.”
    “Whoa,” Gary said, putting his hands up. “I
didn’t mean anything.”
    Devlin put down the bottle of wine very
deliberately. “She isn’t one of my babes, Gary. This is Sar, my
lady. I expect you to give her the same respect that you give me,
and address her as such.” His tone was exacting. “You will see her
with me from now on.”
    Gary nodded, his eyes on my choker. “My
mistake. I apologize, Lady.”
    “Good to meet you,” I said, mollified.
    “What would you like, Lady?” he said.
    I handed him the menu. “A grilled cheese
sandwich, some fries, and your Death by Chocolate after,
please.”
    “About fifteen minutes,” he said. “I hope the
both of you enjoy your evening. Let me know if you need anything.”
He went into the kitchen.
    “Why isn’t his name Davy, if he owns the
place?” I asked Devlin as he poured the wine.
    “His father was Davy,” Devlin said, handing
me my full glass. “He was a good friend for many years, till his
death about seven years ago. His son Gary is a good man, too. I
frequently used to come here with Lash and some of my men, when I
lived at Hayden. I hadn’t had a chance to come by since my return,
until now.” He paused. “Do you like this atmosphere?”
    “I’m comfortable,” I said hesitantly. “But
I’m surprised you do. This seems more like Lash’s idea of a good
spot than yours. Danial wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like
this.”
    “I’m among friends here,” Devlin said,
sipping his wine. “That tends to matter more than pretentious
surroundings, the older I get. And my men tell me the food is very
good. But I asked what you thought.”
    I gave him a real smile. “I like it,” I said,
putting my hand on his. “And I thank you for saying what you
said.”
    “It’s only proper, Sar. We’re Oathed. I
expect you to be given respect, and not treated as a plaything of
mine.”
    “You always put things so nicely,” I said,
rolling my eyes.
    Devlin raised his glass. “To us. To our first
night together with everyone knowing what we feel for each other.
And to you, Sar, who have taken my heart, long after I thought I
could ever give it to anyone again.”
    “To us,” I said softly.
    We clinked glasses and drank. “This is
great,” I said appreciatively afterwards, eyeing my glass. “What is
it?”
    “Castillero del Diablo,” Devlin said, turning
the bottle label so I could read it. “A favorite of mine.”
    “Cellar of the Devil,” I said, grinning. “How
appropriate.”
    About the time my food arrived, Lash
returned, his attitude almost friendly. As I ate, he talked to
Devlin about Ebediah’s affairs.
    “You know we’ve got some of his guards still
alive and under contract. We don’t need them in Canada, not with
Ebediah’s home almost completely destroyed. Those polars and wolves
pledged their allegiance to you, Devlin, but that means
nothing.”
    “And if I cut them loose, they’ll band
together and attack me, just like Garret’s vulturemen did to Danial
after Danial killed him. That always happens if you negate the
guard contracts after taking power. You know how these things go,
Lash,” Devlin said, his tone dark, sipping his wine. “We’ve got to
find a way to put them to work, but not where they’ll cause
trouble.”
    “Just bring over the polar bears,” Lash said,
hissing a little. “Leave the wolves. They will just be trouble
anyway. Wolves always are, they are as bad as