Kidnapped By An Alpha Jerk

Chapter 69

Plus, I'd gone into a coma for 6 months, which really didn't help business on my behalf.

A couple had just walked into the cafe. The boy, with chocolate hair and bronzed skin, the girl, fair-haired and porcelain skinned. It took me a few moments to realize who they were – Noah and Kayla. Glancing down at my coffee, I felt a jolt of disappointment run through me. It was too large a cup for me to down in one go, meaning leaving wasn't an option. 

Footsteps approached my table.

"Ap? Hey, what are you doing here?" Kayla's voice floated into my spectrum of hearing. I glanced up, waving my coffee around half-heartedly.

"Getting high on caffeine." She shot me a strange look. A familiar looking man stepped in behind them – he had several piercing and periwinkle coloured eyes – but they were cold, mean eyes.

The man's lips curled up from the corners. "April." 

I lowered the coffee cup from my lips slowly. "Rick?"*

Noah interjected. "Rick, maybe we should go and order and leave Kayla here to talk with April."

"Or," Rick pulled away from Noah's firm grasp, "we can join her."

I narrowed my eyes, pushing myself out of the booth so I was opposite him. "Or you can ask for my permission before making decisions involving me."

He grinned, his lip ring glinting. "Ooh, sass. Where'd you learn that from? Was it Beau? Or Daniel? The two stooges."

"It's actually the three stooges."

He scowled at me.

I gritted my teeth. "I don't want to argue with you – I don't even want to talk to you. I just want to drink my coffee in peace."

Kayla gripped my wrist softly, squeezing. She shot me an apologetic look. "Is it okay if I sit with you?"

"Of course. Noah too." I added, nodding at him.

He nodded back curtly. "I'm going to get us something to drink. Do you want the usual, Kay?" She nodded and slipped into the booth, giving me a smile. "And you," Noah gave Rick a hard look, "are coming with me to order."

Rick looked annoyed, but didn't protest.

After they'd left, Kayla made small talk, half-glancing in the direction of the two boys still waiting in line irately. "Isn't Nina with you?"

I shook my head.

"Aiden?"

"No."

She looked at me worriedly. "Are you okay?"

I nodded.

"Then why the lonely coffee fest?"

"Kayla, let's not talk about me. Let's talk about you – and the devil you decided to take along as well –" I glanced sharply at Rick, arms crossed and muscles flexed as he and Noah edged forward in the queue.

She sighed. "He's – he's a complicated guy. A total jerk and sociopath, but he's part of my pack and underneath all of that, he's a little bit nicer, I guess. Well, at least I've seen him be nice to his little sister."

I looked at her pointedly. "You bought a psychopath to a lunch."

She laughed, "I'm not going to try and redeem him. I don't condemn him his behaviour towards you and never will, so go ahead and bitch all you like about him, sister. I'm with you on that. He is pretty shitty."