Cold Brew and Bullets (Part 1 of the Syndicate Series)

Chapter 10- Atole and Cara

Eliana-

Everything was a mess, but everything was getting better at the same time. The weather was getting even colder, and while most people would have hated it, it made me feel better. On the other hand, it was making Ezrah cough more. The last week had been filled with finals and papers so I was absolutely exhausted now, but at least my school for the semester was done. The larger problems was that stress usually gave me nightmares- unfortunately for me, they were never as simple as dreaming that I had forgotten a test for class, or had arrived in my underwear.

I would wake up, thinking that I was back in that abandoned warehouse standing in a pool of blood, or remembering how I ran from that hospital, desperately trying to get across state lines before someone caught up to me. If I was lucky and I managed to get back to sleep, I would still inevitably spend the day trying not to think of the scars on the back of my hands or the thin ones trailing along my arms that were left over from days I'd rather forget.

On the bright side, Alessio had been visiting me pretty much every day at work and it helped me keep my mind off of things. Leonardo had stopped through a couple of times as well, often with a curious glint in his eyes and seeming more friendly than he originally did, but I had a feeling that much like Alessio, he just needed a chance to warm up to people. There was a man that accompanied him one day, without Alessio, and had absolutely terrified me. He looked like someone I used to know, but with so much muscle that it made me nervous to be in his proximity.

I had been working a lot more since Ezrah was taking a little more time off, but most of the other employees had stepped up once they heard what was going on. Kelly and Monica had been there almost every day, making it possible for me to actually take a lunch break, which Alessio had joined me for twice.

After he had given me his number on the post-it note at the hospital in case of emergencies, I had decided to take the plunge and text him. I didn't want to bother him too much, I knew his job had to be demanding, but what started as a simple thank you for making me dinner had been a long running conversation over the course of the past week. Even if he and I weren't about to have an incredibly deep conversations about the origin of the universe, I had someone to talk to, other than work acquaintances.

He had texted me halfway through the morning shift, telling me that he had managed to take lunch away from the office and was going to swing by if I was free. Monica had told me that I wasn't supposed to text back immediately because it wasn't normal texting etiquette, and I had to take her word for it since I didn't have a lot of experience on that front. It wasn't long before I texted back though, a smile working its way onto my face as I told him that I would be working, but I could ask the girls to cover for me without a problem.

The lunch rush had died down slightly when I noticed a book sitting abandoned on a chair. I snorted at the book as I got close enough to see the cover- it was one of those romance novels that you buy at a drugstore for two dollars, one with what seemed to be a pirate and a blonde victorian woman on the front page. I flipped it open to see that someone had placed a sticker on the dust jacket with their name and telephone number, so I strode back to the front counter and dialed the phone.

"Hello, my name is Eliana and I'm calling for Ariadne to let her know that she left her book at our coffee shop this morning. If you'd like to call us back or even pick it up at any time, I'll leave it behind the front counter for you. Thank you, have a nice day."

I hung up and glanced at the book in my hand one more time, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. I had no problem with romance, I didn't have an inherent hatred for love, even if I did tend to be cynical. The picture on the front cover was just too annoying for me. Every one of these novels described their ideal leading women as blonde with 'delicate features' and a thin waist. What was that even supposed to mean, what even constituted delicate features?