Going Backwards

A couple of weeks ago, the morning after he’d been dragged into the alley out back of the club by the reaper, he’d stood outside a jewellery store on the square, squinting at the necklaces and bracelets. What kind of gift – stupidly expensive gift when he’d looked at the price tags and had realised that the cash Kit had tossed his way would practically be wiped out if he stumped up – said ‘thanks for bringing me back to life, and, you know, I’m so sorry for tossing the scary your way’? Kace doubted he’d find it on a card, or would even get some recommendation from the woman inside if he really explained why he was shopping for stuff like this. It wasn’t like he’d ever bought Ronni anything like this, that wasn’t the way they’d worked. When had he started to stick to the past tense for that? Fuck.

Kit had never seemed to have any trouble bringing chicks – women (he wasn’t that much of a fucking neanderthal, even if Kit was) – home from the bar. Kace resisted scanning the club, letting his eyes linger on a woman, or some guy, picking someone out to slip out with after his shift finished. He might’ve been back, but he wasn’t … all the way back.

He guessed that was part of the reason he hadn’t made that call yet. Kamilla, his dad, Kandace, they were a can of worms he knew he didn’t have the strength, or the words to deal with yet, but Gage and Ronni weren’t almost as bad. How did you blow the top off of someone’s world? It had been bad enough finding out himself, lurking there in the corner of Kit’s cell while his brother had transformed for the first time in front of him. Fucking werewolves. And banshees (that’d been a minor mindfuck after, especially since everything he’d ever heard about them they were meant to be women and he was pretty sure being gay didn’t count towards that). Dragons – a bigger mind fuck. Witches had kinda paled in comparison to that, at least until he’d seen what Cassie could do up close and personal.

Yeah, he had to thank her, even if it cost him like a kidney or every dime he had in his pocket until Hannya started paying him.

Kace guessed that thank you – simple as that and delivered with a smile – woulda been the way to start at the very fucking least, but then Cassie was strutting up to the bar and it still didn’t feel like enough. He figured he was within swinging range if she felt like it, one blue eye squinting shut as he offered her a cheek to toss the drink at. ”Pay back,” he said on a snort, the corners of his mouth lifting in a less sheepish grin. ”For … passing on your details for someone lookin’ for a … recommendation.” The place might’ve been filled with supernaturals of all kids – the town really was a freaking mecca for them – but he still didn’t wanna fly that ‘hey! I know all about the weird shit’ flag.

It dawned within a second, the confusion breaking with Cassie’s low ohhh. Ohhh was kinda right, although it didn’t break off with colour rising in Cassie’s cheek and the beer sitting on the bar to her right – one he’d put down just a couple minutes before – foaming up in his face. ”You tell her that too?” Kace asked, not taking any offence at it. It wasn’t like he’d been planning to say a word about it to anybody, but Leah had seized on his return like that creepy little dude from that Rings thing with the special ring. ”Bitchy?” he echoed back before he laughed. Kace hung his head for a moment, waiting until he got a little control over himself again. ”I guess that’s the easiest way of puttin’ it.” She had begged in the end though, something softening enough in Leah’s expression to have him caving.

Straightening up, Kace patted both hands on the bar, a confirmation of skin on faintly sticky mahogany – yeah that was gonna need another wip down in a minute. ”It’s not as hot as it sounds, trust me,” he said, winking at her before he started to mix something he didn’t need to go looking up like some fucking rube. ”The sand’s a literally pain in the ass.” Hadn’t stopped him though, had it? The dawn sun on his shoulders, warm skin pressed to his, the gritty bite of the sand guaranteed to get into every crevice.

He scooped ice into a glass, setting it down on the inside ledge of the bar. A double shot of vodka splashed in – if Hannya wanted to start slapping his wrist for that, then he’d take it, it wasn’t like Kit had never poured friends measurements – Kace picked up the bottle of peach schnapps, raising his brows over its top as he twisted the lid off. ”About two hours ago,” Kace said with a shrug. ”It’s not like you can explain a gap that big in your resume to most people.” Hannya hadn’t even questioned, although Kace suspected the minute she realised he was Kit’s little brother, all doubts woulda gone out the window. He tossed a heavy splash of the schnapps into the glass, the sickly sweet scent only part of the reason his nose wrinkled. ”He don’t even know I’m here yet. I came beggin’ and some blonde took me on. You know her?” Without much embarrassment Kace drew Hannya’s shape in the air, still holding onto the bottle. There wouldn’t be much mistaking her in a town like this – in California though? They wouldn’t have batted a fake eyelash.

Tagged: CASSIE LUANNA * Word Count: 958

She’d sworn reapers couldn’t just take people if they didn’t wanna go, but the second Leah had dragged him into the alley he’d thought she was there to do that. Shit might not be one hundred percent right between him and Kit yet, the shadow of what had happened that night still hung over them, but the thought of being dragged away from the chance to make it right scared the living shit out of him. Maybe he’d been lucky Leah hadn’t really noticed. She could’ve bent his arm up his back with it, instead of softening to the point where she’d asked. It’d been a weird juxtaposition of what he’d gleaned of her and that softer edge. Kace guessed that was what happened when you were desperate to get someone back.

Sniffing in a breath, Kace lifted his head to meet Cassie’s eye before he nodded. All he knew of reapers was what he’d heard from Leah herself and maybe there was some bias to that shit. You didn’t wanna be the magician revealing all your secrets, especially not if it got you a slap on the wrist. One brow arched, his thumb popping up towards the ceiling. ”With the big man? I guess if he’s swinging that scythe around, you don’t wanna be the one to lose your head.” It was probably just the bullshit TV version of Death, but even that would’ve scared the ever living shit out of him if it had been him – or her, who freaking knew – who’d turned up in his bedroom. Kace gave a short grunt, raking his teeth over his lower lip as he shrugged. ”There mighta been some minor pushing around, but for the most part … it’s just the impression, you know?” Of a cold hearted bitch who might be capable of more if you didn’t cave real quick.

He hoped the guy Cassie had brought back for her – or his brother – wasn’t falling into that same trap he had, continuing to look over his shoulder instead of charging straight back into a life that had carried on without him. It would’ve been a minefield back home, a series of explanations he wasn’t sure he could wade through without fucking up a lot of lives. Maybe he should’ve asked Cassie if she had some Hermione Granger style magic wand to wave for him and make it easier.

Fuck, it’d feel good to have the sand between his toes again. He’d take the bite of it against his skin, the sand rash in awkward places, the crunch of salt in his hair, for a taste of it. The ocean rising under his board, that feeling of flying that nothing else ever came close with. The warmth on his skin later, the bottles passed back and forth before that warmth was stoked into a heat by night cooled fingers finding bare skin to get start it all. Kace tipped his head, not wanting to shatter every one of Cassie’s illusions about that kinda thing. ”Honestly?” he chuckled out. ”Just gotta find someone to teach you how to Obi Wan that shit.”

He wiped his hands off against the bar apron he wore, reached out to take Cassie by the wrists to grind her palms together instead. Amusement tugged at his lips. ”Try sand up the ass instead.” Not exactly romantic when you were walking weird for a day after, but as a teenaged girl, Kace imagined that the Hollywood twist on everything had made it that way. ”Plenty of bad ways, but you’re not gonna worry about those. A girl like you? The guys are gonna be lining up for it. You’ve got the power, you get to pick who you try it with.” Kace gave her wrists a little tug, trying to peel the embarrassment away from everything else.

There’d been a time – and all teenagers hit it – when the nerves over when you’d do it seemed more important than the act itself. Maybe your first time out was a real shit show, but it didn’t mean every time was gonna be and Cassie would find that out in the end.

Kace looked around for a clock as he poured the schnapps into the glass, didn’t find anything to confirm how long, but it was close enough. ”About that,” he confirmed. Blue eyes narrowed faintly as he set the bottle back behind the bar – he imagined one outta place and it’d have Kit reading him the riot act about leaving the place in a mess, like the place downstairs wasn’t a thousand times worse. ”Playing househusband for some rich guy in the Caimans?” Kace joked. Maybe he could pull the Habitat for Humanity shit off in some places, especially if he said he felt like it was some penance for growing up rich and entitled. Do some charity work for a couple of years, working up a shit ton of good karma. ”You wanna write my resume up for me?” Kace sucked a breath in over his teeth, letting it out in a hiss. ”I’ve got an in with the bar manager, he won’t can me the first time, and anyway, it’s good for return business.” As though Cassie wouldn’t be back – he hadn’t been the one she’d come to see after all.

She definitely wasn’t there looking for Hannya, not with the way Cassie started frowning as she put the pieces together from his demonstration. Kace cracked the shaker in place on the glass and shook it, rattling through Cassie’s description. She wasn’t wrong, there were probably a dozen guys downstairs who she constantly had to kick aside just to walk around the place. ”Maybe not all the guys huh?” he admitted. ”I’ll take built like a twig over someone who’d likely rip my head off after, if you get what I mean. She’s…” Kace’s shoulders twitched like a chill ran down his back. ”Let’s forget the all okay? What was I gonna say? The blonde … in a place that’s filled with ‘em now.” He lifted his chin towards the dance floor, indicating the women who’d filtered in the minute the place opened.

Shit. Kace knocked the shaker off the top of the ice and poured the liquid back into a fresh glass of ice. He set it down in front of Cassie, gripping her hands he wrapped them around the glass. There wasn’t much making up for it when you felt like the entire world was looking past you at something like that – it was a Hollywood curse and had broken the hearts of thousands every year who’d been the prettiest girl in their high school, but were now finding they were well down the list in a town where almost everything could be improved with a little money. ”You’ve got nothing to be bitter about, Cassie. Any guy who picks some unhinged bitch like her over you ain’t worth it in the first place.” His brows furrowed as he let go of her hands. ”Is there some asshole you’ve got your eye on who’s been a little swayed by the bounty?” It’d explain that rush of bitterness, maybe Cassie’s presence here tonight too.

Tagged: CASSIE LUANNA * Word Count: 1197

Growing up in LA – half growing up there – meant that his childhood hadn’t exactly been normal. The place wasn’t all movie sets and Hollywood stardom, but it wasn’t exactly bumfuck Idaho, or backwoods Texas either. You saw crazy shit on a daily basis, especially down on the beaches and when it came to all those usual milestones, they were all a little twisted. He’d thrived on that shit, maybe even more than Kit had, but it’d sure as hell left him jaded even before Kit had come home broken and needing a shoulder more solid than the one he’d ended up with.

He wasn’t under the impression Cassie’s upbringing had been exactly normal either – all that weird witchy juju stuff wherever she’d grown up and all – but beneath the veneer of ‘been there, done that, got the t-shirt’ there was still a kid trying to hit those milestones and getting pretty bummed out that she wasn’t catching them the way she thought she should. Kace’s lips curled at her puffed words, his gaze following the sweep of her hand. In a place like this it was probably better that she didn’t have them lining up. ”Give it time,” he assured her. And maybe visit somewhere the guys hadn’t spent the last decade scraping the bottom of a barrel that was 20 stories below her. Kace patted the hands she kept clamped to her hands lightly. It might take some irritation and a whole lot of disappointment, but she’d find her way through it in the end. Just like he was gonna with this job.

Mystic Falls hadn’t exactly seemed like the land of opportunity. Was the club the best thing he could get? Probably not. Was it gonna put a few bucks in his pocket for now without having to open up the can of worms of telling the people he loved back home that he was alive? Definitely, even if it was probably gonna take more than a couple of free drinks to a teenaged witch to bump those tips up. Maybe in comparison playing house husband to some guy with a bum heart and wandering hands woulda been easy. Kace clucked his tongue, his smile curling up at one corner of his mouth. ”There goes my dreams of never having to work another day in my life,” he quipped. ”Definitely.” He bumped his knuckles lightly against Cassie’s arm in appreciation. At least he didn’t have to hide any of the shit that had gone on in his life from her – unlike Hannya. She might’ve been something, but he wasn’t about to walk into the club and tell some chick he didn’t know that he’d been resurrected just a few months ago – that shit was supposed to stay heavily under wraps, for Cassie’s sake especially.

Women weren’t exactly his forte, but he knew one who was hiding shark’s teeth behind a pretty smile when he saw one. Hannya had been friendly, overly so. Kit’s name seemed to have her lighting up in all sorts of ways. A shudder had rippled down his spine that, something in the pit of his stomach coiling up in a way that had him sure for a minute that the whole thing had been a mistake. If Cassie thought he’d be front of the line for her then she was wrong. ”I’m not gonna go kissin’ her ass for the job,” he assured her with a snort. ”And yeah, I’ll take the twig every time. You gonna call me a liar now?” When her ego was stinging, maybe Cassie would. This wasn’t the place to go leaning across the bar to prove it to her either, not on his first day at least – not that Kit ever seemed to have a problem doing that. ”You’re always gonna stand out amongst them. Let them vanish.” They weren’t worth it. Maybe after a drink or two Cassie would realise it.

Kace set it down in front of her, making her take it. He could continue playing wise old man while she got liquored up on it and told him about the blonde obsessed asshole – or not asshole in her opinion. Releasing her hands, he propped his on the edge of the bar when she looked up at him. ”Danger’s overrated, and he’s gonna realise that if he’s stupid enough to try – which I don’t think he is. Which one is he?” Kit hadn’t exactly been all ‘let me tell you about my work bestie’ at the dinner table, but he’d spent enough time catching on stuff since he’d got back and watching all of this from a distance before that to have some clue about the assholes who worked here (definitely Kit’s word for most of them). ”You’re welcome,” he murmured, plucking up a paper umbrella to drop into the glass on one of its trips down from Cassie’s lips.

If Cassie’s welcome was all warmth, then Kit’s was fucking frigid in comparison. Kace felt the bite of it against his bare arm as he straightened up and turned. The bite of Kit’s voice was harsh, not exactly what he’d expected. ”Figured you’d get here eventually,” he said, his smile brittle and fleeting. He let out a long breath, hands already coming up like he could ward off the rest of the wash of temper. ”Hannya, yeah, and I didn’t know she had to get your permission to hire around here, she seemed pretty keen to get me on board the minute she knew I was your little brother.” And there was all the confirmation he needed that something was off with Bad Bitch Barbie. ”It was runnin’ pretty well ‘til just now.” Well, for the time he’d been here, before he’d started neglecting the rest of the bar to try and pull Cassie out of her sads.

He could feel her watching this, the heat creeping up his face as his family drama was played out in front of her. Kace ignored Kit’s order, scooting the shaker aside to start cleaning up. Kit wasn’t fucking finished yet though. No working here, no serving paying customers drinks – well, customers drinks. His face screwed up as he looked up. Cassie was already wise enough to scoot out of reach, giving Kit a metaphorical shot to that tight jaw. “You think I was born yesterday?” Well, he had practically been reborn yesterday, but he hadn’t lost his fucking mind in the process. ”She’s old enough. You honestly gonna start in about her bein’ a kid? How about you give me a damn chance here? I can’t keep sittin’ about the house with my thumb up my ass. One shift … it doesn’t work out, I’ll go …” Kace started to turn away, his frown settling in deep as some jackass in a Hawaiian shirt hollered over at him for a beer. He flipped his fingers up, acknowledging it before he grabbed a glass.

Tagged: CASSIE LUANNA * Word Count: 1155

Downstairs. Cassie didn’t need to waggle her brows to get the hint across. Kace glanced across to the door at the back of the floor. Plenty had disappeared through it while he’d been floating around here – just one of the ghosts this place was probably swimming with. He’d stuck with Kit then, not tempted to go poking around the place his brother was sinking into day by day. After … just hearing the words vampires and demons had put a stop to any curiosity – Kit wasn’t exactly poetic after all, if he said demons he meant …

Cassie had already gotten herself neck deep in the heavy stuff saving his ass, the last thing she needed was to go chasing after a … shit. Was it better that it was a fang-y person? Probably not, especially when the one with an interest in the vampire was sweet and naïve, not more than a kid. She was the kinda person who’d still have that childlike quality about her even when she was eighty. He just hoped she got that far. The world, even without the biting and the literal Hell, could chew you up bad enough, Kit was proof of that, maybe he was too. Kace made a low sound, something that was maybe half approval, half concern. Sweet and cute wasn’t always enough. And even if he’d been either, Kit still would’ve been an asshole.

All thought of what his brother had gone through, including what they’d gone through, fled when Kit arrived to kick him the fuck off the job on his first night. It was a wave as salty as any that had ragdolled him, a slap in the face from the one person he honestly didn’t need it from. Kace’s jaw tightened, his hands dropping to fist at his sides. ”You just don’t want me to be doin’ it under your nose.” Playing a permanent reminder of what had landed him here in the first place. They coulda both been sitting on a beach back in Cali, living the golden fucking life instead of working in a place with literal demons if it hadn't been for that night. Kace swallowed hard, feeling that little burst of understanding. He was a reminder, like he’d been in the kitchen when a cut finger had thrown Kit into a full on meltdown.

Later Hannya would probably get a roasting for this, a face full of angry werewolf, growling and snarling and demanding she fire him after less than a night at the club – nah, one night at the club. He wasn’t the sort of asshole to walk out on a shift, even with Kit trying to push him to make the jump. Kace ignored the burn of his brother’s gaze on the side of his face, picking up the glass. ”Fuck you,” Kace growled, left hand already on the handle for the beer on tap, right clutching nothing but air as Kit yanked the glass out of his hand and slammed it down. The music covered most of it, but he and Cassie froze, his eyes on her, hers wide open. His fingers spread open inches above the bar, tried to close into a fist as Kit grabbed for his wrist to turn his hand over, suddenly concerned now he might’ve drawn blood. ”Nah, I’m not, but you didn’t cut me.” Again.

The laugh rolled out bitterly, his teeth bared and gritted as he glanced at Kit and shook his head. Playing house husband was sounding better and fucking better. ”There’s nothin’ to talk about. You’ve made it pretty fuckin’ clear.” He pulled his hand free, planting it against his brother’s shoulder to push him clear. ”She might be young, but I’m not. I can find my own way home, thanks. If I’m goin’ home. There’s plenty of other spots in town, and you know what, you can’t get me kicked from any of them. Enjoy the clean up.” And the pissed off customers. Kace yanked off the apron, tossing it down on top of the glass before grabbing his jacket out from under the bar.

Scowling, Kace headed for the pass, taking Cassie’s hand as he waded through the crowd. There was no point in talking later when all it was gonna be was another lecture. You can’t go doing what I do, keep your nose clean, stay safe – you know, in case you ask to get yourself killed again. He brooded in silence until they were outside and Cassie broke it. Not crazy, just shitty. ”None of that was about her,” he told Cassie. ”It’s about him not bein’ able to look at me.” Not without being thrown back to somewhere neither one of them wanted to be. His expression softened as he let go of Cassie’s hand and slung an arm around her shoulders. ”Thanks … I’d appreciate it. ‘s probably wise to stay away from the crazy, huh?” The sort that distracted you with the three Bs while she got you to sell your soul at least.

He could’ve sent Cassie off, or seen her home himself – out of the two of them she definitely needed watching out for the most – but good little Kace did what he was told, heading back to the one damn place he was allowed. Sent to his room like some punk kid who’d broken his curfew. The place was dark when they got there – Frank obviously out and Katja, she was probably at the club already, allowed to set foot in spooky central cause she could handle herself. Cassie slipped in ahead of him, dragging him along. He tailed her into the kitchen, puffing out his cheeks as slumped back against the counter. ”I’m sorry for that,” he murmured. ”You shouldn’t have had to be in the middle of that.” But Kit had made it happen anyway.

Sandy brows rose, a snort rolling out of Kace. That smile was hard to be shitty back to. He couldn’t imagine anywhere else in town pulling off the whole cocktail act the way the club did, but their staff was less asshole heavy too. ”I’m gonna be walkin’ you home after this.” Especially since she’d likely be staggering after a couple. ”Probably a million of ‘em.” Kace was already straightening up, reaching up to check the liquor cabinet. In a house like this it had a high rate of turnover, the level in the bottles shrinking rapidly under the strain of three guys looking to drown their own personal demons with the booze.

Twenty? Kace snorted again, the smirk tugging at his lips. He could make at least that many. If there was one thing surfers weren’t it was creative. There was nothing funnier than asking for Sex on a Beach or a Long Hard Screw. Tugging a couple of bottles down out of the cupboard, Kace turned to find Cassie holding her phone out to him. ”Yeah. Wrap your lips around it and get a shot of cream.” You could always tell the morons by who mixed their drinks all night just to finish off with a shot that was gonna feel like it was curdling instantly in your gut. ”You’d be fine,” he promised. Leaning down, Kace propped his elbows on the counter and stared at her phone. ”How about normal vodka with some juice and we make that a non-cocktail thing. Call it me makin; up for Kit being a dick? And makin' sure you’re not endin' up with some complete asshole for the first time.” Although that might’ve been debatable.

Kit had called Cassie jailbait, but that was bull. Did age even count when you’d died and come back? Like surely that added a couple of decades to your real age. Leaning in, Kace pressed his lips to hers, giving Cassie time to pull back before he slipped around the counter to tug her up out of her seat. A hand on the back of her neck, a thumb beneath her jaw to tip her head up as he deepened the kiss. If Kit came home and found them in the kitchen with him … it was gonna be a fucking circus, but he was gonna be gone for hours, maybe the whole night if he wanted to avoid that talk. The longer the fucking better.

Tagged: CASSIE LUANNA (finish with yours?) * Word Count: 1380