To Tell a Tale (Season One)

“I shouldn’t have left you alone,” Nash growled, trying his hardest not to glare at the bartender.

“It’s not your fault.” Airianna placed her hand against his cheek. “You were sent there so that this would happen. He wouldn’t have messed with my drink if you had been with me, and we wouldn’t have caught him.”

“How do we catch him, though? We need proof,” Smitty grumbled.

Airianna pointed to her drink. “There’s your proof.”

“How do we prove he gave you the drink?” Smitty asked, looking at the bar—without looking at the man who tried to roofie Airianna.

He knows Nash is feeling guilty right now. Fuck, so is he.

“The camera,” Maribelle whispered as she leaned in over the table so they could hear her.

“The fucker keeps looking over here. He doesn’t like seeing Airianna on Nash’s lap,” Smitty grumbled.

Damn stupid ass motherfucker. He messed with the wrong girl. For one, she saw what was coming before it happened, and two, her boyfriend is a fucking detective who’s going to tear him a new asshole. Smitty grinned at the thought.

“Can you call Doctor Sterlington to come test the screwdriver?” Airianna asked, looking at Nash.

Nash nodded and pulled out his phone. Airianna started to stand and smiled when his arm tightened around her. He didn’t want her going anywhere.

“Hey Doc, how’s it cookin’?” Nash said into the phone when Tabitha answered.

“Hey, Nash. What’s up?”

“We have a situation at the bar we’re at. You think you could join us?”

“I heard you were undercover. Does that mean you want me to join in your playtime?”

Nash snorted. “A little.”

“Mmm, okay, I’ll be there in ten.”

Nash smiled and placed his phone back in his pocket.

“So, other than the asshole bartender, see anything else suspicious?” Smitty asked, leaning forward and looking at Airianna so she could read his lips.

Airianna shook her head.

Nash wrapped both arms around her and held her close. He wasn’t leaving her alone in this place—ever again.

“Hey, babe.”

Nash, Smitty, and Maribelle looked up at the newcomer. Airianna saw them all look up and looked up as well. The group smiled at the man.

“Hey, babe,” Maribelle said, pulling her husband down into the seat next to her. She leaned over and kissed his cheek as Daemen reached his hand out to the two men across from him.

“Hey, Daem.” Nash grinned as he shook his best friend’s hand.

Bygones will be bygones. Nash saved his friend’s life and forgave them both for the past. He looked at the woman in his arms with a smile, and he has a new woman. The woman—the one for him. Or so everyone keeps telling him.

“So, anything exciting yet?” Daemen asked, looking around at everyone.

Maribelle leaned over and whispered into his ear. Nash figured she was telling him what happened at the bar.

Daemen looked at the screwdriver on the table, then at Airianna. Nash could see the fire burning in his eyes.

“I’m going to kill him,” Daemen growled.

Maribelle giggled as she wrapped her arms around her husband’s arm.

“We have to do this right,” Nash grumbled.

“What’s righter than killing the man who intended to rape your girl?” Daemen asked, looking at Nash.

“How about following the law?” Nash asked.

Daemen grunted. “What if you shoot him while he’s escaping?”

The others snickered, but Nash shook his head. His friend was always—shoot first, ask questions later—and damn the law. Though he did do right when he found the papers that sent Wallawits to prison for a very long time. But when it came to women being raped, he didn’t give a shit about the law.

Which he couldn’t blame him. Daemen’s sister was raped when she was a kid. She lost her virginity at six. But because it was a relative who raped her, the man was never charged. Or he should say—kid—the guy was under eighteen, but still…

“Are you okay?”

Nash looked down into Airianna’s eyes and smiled.

“I’m fine,” he assured her.

She pouted. “You don’t look fine. What’s on your mind?”

“I’ll tell you later,” he whispered, moving his lips so she could read his words.

She nodded and leaned up so she could kiss his cheek.

Nash sighed as he held her close. The bartender is going down just for thinking about touching his seer.

“Wow, you guys look all snuggly.”

Everyone looked up at Tabitha Sterlington as she sat at the table with them.

“Hey, Doc.” Nash nodded.

Tabitha smiled back and waved at Airianna.

Nash watched Airianna wave back at the doctor and smiled.

“Okay, so what am I here for?” the doctor whispered.

“This.” Smitty pushed the screwdriver across the table to her.

“A drink?” Tabitha asked, confused.

“We need you to test it for Rohypnol or something like it. The bartender gave the drink to Airianna, and before she could drink it, she had a dream,” Smitty whispered to her.

Nash pushed the notepad of Airianna’s sketch to the doctor.

Tabitha looked at the drawing, her eyes opening wide. She looked up at Airianna. “It’s a good thing you’re a seer.”

Airianna nodded and laid her head on Nash’s shoulder.

“I will be as quick as I can. What will you do if it comes back positive?”

“Arrest the fucker,” Nash growled.

“Who knows how many women he has doped up and raped,” Daemen snarled.

Tabitha nodded. “And how do I get this out of here without him noticing?”

“Here, pour it into this.” Maribelle handed the doctor a sports bottle. “It’s empty. I drank the last of my water before I got here.”

“Why do you have a sports bottle on you?” Nash asked, watching Maribelle.

Maribelle shrugged. “My doctor told me to drink a lot of water.”

Tabitha took the sports bottle from Maribelle, opened the lid, and held it upside down, ensuring no water remained, then poured the screwdriver into it. She smiled as she placed the empty glass on the table.

“You may want to pretend to drink it, so he doesn’t get suspicious.” Tabitha looked at Airianna.

Nash looked down at Airianna, who’d been watching everything from her perch on his shoulder. Smitty pushed the glass over to them, and Airianna picked it up and pretended to take a sip.

“I’ll order us something from the other bartender,” Smitty said as he got to his feet.

“I can’t believe we came here looking for vampires and got a rapist,” Maribelle mumbled.

“Vampires?” Tabitha asked, intrigued by the thought.

Airianna watched from her perch on Nash’s shoulder as Maribelle explained to the doctor why they were at the bar. She was glad they had friends like them. It made things so much easier. She looked up at Nash and smiled when he looked down at her and winked.

“Oh, by the way. I fired the tech.”

Nash’s head whipped to Tabitha. Airianna sat up and looked at the doctor. What had she said?

Tabitha must have seen Airianna’s confused look because she repeated her words so Airianna could read her lips.

“You did?” Airianna asked, a frown on her face.

Tabitha nodded. “Yep. I was debating whether to let him go before the mishap in the lab. The way he acted towards you, before and after, made up my mind.”

Airianna frowned. She hadn’t thought the kid being fired would sadden her. He’d only been doing his job, even if it was a bit stupid of him to not come to her instead of going straight to the guards. Who she heard were fired the other day as well. Shit, she has caused nothing but trouble at the police station.

“Get that look off your face.” Tabitha pointed at Airianna.

Airianna let out a breath.

“None of it was your fault.” Tabitha smiled at her.

“She’s right.” Nash turned her face to look at him. “You did nothing wrong.”

She smiled up at him. He was so gorgeous. She wanted to lick his neck and nibble on his ear… shit; she better stop thinking of things like that in public.

“But I do need to warn you, Nash.”

Nash looked at Tabitha, and Airianna followed. She must have said something else.

“He threatened to take his revenge on Airianna.”

Nash growled, and Airianna felt it vibrate in his chest.

“Like hell, he will.”

“Don’t worry about him. His bark is worse than his bite,” Tabitha assured them.

“Whose bark is worse than his bite?” Smitty asked as he rejoined them, a tray of drinks in his hands.

“The tech. Tabitha fired him, and he threatened revenge on Airianna,” Nash said.

Airianna caught some of their words but didn’t care. She snuggled back against Nash, and they waited for what was to come next.

~🔮~

Ten minutes later, Doctor Sterlington left with the sports bottle, and the group of friends talked as if they didn’t have a care in the world. Airianna cuddled in Nash’s arms while Maribelle clung to her husband. Hours ticked by, and nothing interesting happened. They discussed what they were going to do to trap the bartender and how they would take him down.

Nash didn’t like the plan, but Airianna was sure they could pull it off.

When Doctor Sterlington called to say the drink was positive, that the bartender had roofied Airianna’s drink, the table was full of growls and grunts.

“I think she’d be out about now.” Maribelle watched Airianna pretend to sip the last of the screwdriver.

“Let’s do this,” Airianna said as she got up from Nash’s lap.

Nash stood and looked into Airianna’s eyes. “Don’t let him touch you.”

Airianna leaned up and kissed him. “Go to the bathroom. I feel a bit dizzy; I’m going to go outside for some fresh air.”

The four of them watched Airianna head out the back door that led to the alley.

Time to rumble.

~🔮~

Airianna sat against the outside wall of the bar and pretended to be out of it. She felt the wall vibrate and turned to watch the bartender exit the bar, a cocky grin on his face when he saw her. Airianna closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. She had to fake being drugged.

“I see you escaped your boyfriend,” the bartender said as he made his way to Airianna.

Airianna forced her eyes to flutter open, then close again.

“I better get you out of here before they come looking for you.” The bartender stopped in front of her.

Airianna groaned and flopped her arms around as if she couldn’t move them. She has seen too many cop shows.

The bartender squatted down in front of her with a satisfied grin. “Usually, I take the single ones. First time I have managed to take one away from another man.”

Airianna read the man’s lips through the slit of her eyes as she squinted to watch him. Her stomach churned, and she felt like throwing up.

‘Damn asshole.’

The bartender moved to lift Airianna into his arms. The back door flew open, and two large men tackled him to the ground.

“What the fuck?” the bartender bellowed.

“You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent; anything you say can and will be used against you….”

Airianna watched as Nash cuffed the asshole. Smitty stood above them, grinning.

“Wait, I didn’t do anything….” The bartender tried to wiggle out from under Nash.

“You drugged my girlfriend and tried to take her away so you could rape her,” Nash snarled.

He despised men like this one.

“You have no proof,” the bartender said, still trying to break free of Nash.

“But we do.” Smitty pointed to Airianna, who was watching them, her eyes open wide.

Airianna pulled her phone from her pocket and replayed the man’s words for all to hear.

“Fuck,” the bartender growled.

“Yes, you are very much fucked.” Smitty chuckled. “We have the screwdriver in our lab, showing you spiked it. And don’t try to deny it. One call to a judge, and we will have access to the cameras.”

“Looks like you tried to fuck the wrong girl,” Airianna said with a smirk.

Nash looked at Airianna and grinned. “That’s my seer.”