The Barrier Between (Collector Series # 2) (45 page)

Thanking him, Riley turned to the paper and flipped
it open. She pulled out a pen from her purse and went to work
scouring the
Help Wanted
section.

“Job hunting?”

Riley jumped and struck the underside of the table
with her knee for the second time in a matter of twenty minutes and
nearly upended her cup. She grabbed for it and steadied it before
snapping her attention to the woman standing a short distance away,
dressed beautifully in a salmon pink business suit and matching
shoes.

She was breathtaking. Hands down one of the most
beautiful women Riley had ever seen in her life. She was six feet
of legs and perfect curves, topped with a flawless peaches and
cream complexion. Her mane of corn-silk blonde curls hung in a
thick, glossy cape down the center of her slender back, stopping
inches from grazing round hips. Just being in the same room as her
was a serious blow to any woman’s ego.

The woman grimaced guiltily. “I’m sorry. I didn’t
mean to frighten you.”

Riley, still dazed by the woman’s beauty, shook her
head. “I think I’m beginning to get used to it.”

The woman laughed, pushing a blonde curl behind her
ear. The candlelight caught the gold hoop in her ear and glinted.
“You’ve met my husband.” It wasn’t a question, but an amused fact.
“I’m buying him a bell for Christmas.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to suggest the woman
buy herself one, too, but she kept it to herself. Riley couldn’t
figure out how the woman managed to make it all the way across the
room in heels that were no less than seven inches, without making a
single damn sound. She hadn’t been concentrating on the newspaper
that hard, had she?

“I’m Kyaerin Maxwell.” The woman moved forward, slim
hand extended.

Riley hurried out of her seat to accept it. “Riley
Masters.” She tilted her face and frowned. “Karen?”

The woman shook her head, still smiling. “Close, but
more like Ki-ren.” Kyaerin gave her hand a shake, a squeeze and
released. “It’s nice to meet you, Riley. What brings you to our
neck of the woods?”

Riley gestured to the window. “I live down the road,
but I’m here returning a wallet that was dropped. I think it
belongs to your son, Octavian? He dropped it at the post
office.”

Kyaerin’s look took on the same slack-jawed
appearance her husband had given Riley. “Is that so?” But unlike
her husband, hers melted away quickly to a sweet, genuinely happy
smile. “Well that is awfully kind of you. Not very many people
would go out of their way—”

“It wasn’t out of my way,” Riley insisted. “Like I
said, I live just down the road. It was on the way.”

Kyaerin waved away her explanation with a flick of
her dainty wrist. “Even then, most people wouldn’t bother,
especially with the substantial amount of cash that had been
inside. He was supposed to go to the bank this morning,” she said
when Riley studied her, curious as to how she knew what had been in
the wallet. “It was his turn to deposit this week’s float. Octavian
will be so grateful you returned it and saved him a tongue
lashing.”

Riley laughed weakly. “Really, not a big deal.”

Kyaerin’s laugh was the soft tinkle of bells. “Well,
we’re grateful nevertheless.” Her gaze dropped to the paper in
front of Riley. “What kind of jobs are you looking for?”

Startled by the abrupt change of topic, Riley
faltered for a second before responding. “At this point, whatever I
can find.”

Kyaerin moved to pluck up the paper and examine the
circles Riley had made. Her pert little nose crinkled into one of
disgust. “Warehouse worker? Waste management? Goodness.”

Riley laughed. “Like I said, whatever I can
find.”

Kyaerin folded the paper none too gently and tossed
it down on a nearby table. “Those are not jobs for a young lady. As
it so happens, my husband is looking for someone to help out around
here full time. I could put in a word if you like?”

Work at the Addams Family Mansion?

“Oh no, that’s okay. Thank—”

Kyaerin wasn’t listening. “You would be doing us yet
another favor, I assure you.”

Wary, Riley frowned. “What would I need to do?”
Because if she had to lure people into the basement and hang them
by their feet as their blood drained … even a desperate girl had to
have limits.

“We need a waitress to help during the evening rush.
You’d have to get meals and drinks. Nothing too strenuous.”

That didn’t sound so bad, except … “I’ve never
waitressed,” she confessed.

“It’s very simple,” Kyaerin insisted. “You’ll be
trained before your first shift. The pay is reasonable and you’ll
get every other weekend off.”

Now isn’t the time to start turning down jobs,
especially one that is offered, the voice in her head chided.

Riley forced a bright smile. “That would be
wonderful. Thank you so much!”

Kyaerin left her, moving with a graceful swagger
through the doors behind the counter. The click of her pumps faded
as the door swung closed behind her. Riley dropped into her seat,
nerves warring with dread. She was so not dressed for an interview.
Her clothes were rumpled from the heat and her makeup was smudged
and faded. She didn’t even want to think how bad her hair looked.
But she was never one to back out of an opportunity, even if it was
being offered purely out of gratitude for the safe return of their
week’s earnings. A job was a job.

Hurriedly, she unhitched the clip from her hair and
let the copper strands tumble around her shoulders. The usually
straight strands fell in waves that she quickly combed out with her
fingers. She dragged her knuckles beneath her eyes, rubbing away as
much of the makeup smudges as possible before using a napkin to
scrub the faded lipstick from her lips. She was reaching for her
purse to reapply when the kitchen doors swung open and Kyaerin
hurried out, followed by her husband. Riley plastered what she
hoped was a confident smile on her face and rose to her feet to
meet them.

“Kyaerin tells me you’re looking for a job,” the man
came right out and said, extending a hand to Riley even though
they’d already met.

Riley took it, giving it a buoyant shake. “I am. I
have resumes in the car if you—”

The man waved the offer away. “Later. Let’s just talk
for now.”

Riley sat, counting to ten in her head and willed her
nerves to quit shaking.

“Let’s start with your name.”

She learned the man’s name was Liam Maxwell. He and
his wife owned Final Judgment, a diner and bar; a business that had
been family owned for years. Their sons helped when they could, but
they had other responsibilities that kept them busy and they needed
an extra hand to pick up the slack. Riley listened as Liam spoke,
describing the type of job required of her and the hours she would
need to put in. When they got to the salary she would be getting
every two weeks, Riley nearly fainted. True, she’d never had a
waitressing job in the past, but she was pretty damn certain no
other waitress was getting that much in a single night, not
including tips.

“Our customers are very generous,” Kyaerin said when
Riley’s eyes widened. “You could make anywhere between fifty and a
hundred dollars a night. Sometimes more.”

Now, Riley wasn’t stupid. She knew a sugar coating
when she heard one, but even if the tip earning was greatly
exaggerated, the facts remained that she’d be earning enough in one
week to pay the rent and most of the bills and all she had to do
was wait tables.

“This all sounds a little too good to be true,” she
admitted.

Liam smiled at her kindly. “I won’t lie to you, it
won’t be all champagne and roses, but you seem like someone who
picks things up quickly.”

“I am,” Riley said, struggling to keep her voice
even. “I’m not afraid of hard work.”

“Fantastic,” Kyaerin said, glancing at her
husband.

Liam nodded. “I have a question though.”

Riley waited.

“How old are you?”

It took a great deal of effort not to grimace. This
was the part that scared a lot of potential employers away.

“I turned nineteen last week,” she confessed after a
split second hesitation. “But I don’t drink or smoke and I don’t
party.”

Liam chuckled. “Well, then maybe you can teach our
sons a thing or two. Lord knows they do enough of all that.
Regulus, is eighteen. We usually keep him in the kitchen to help
Gorje during rushes and serve drinks during the evenings, but he
isn’t permitted to mix or pour the drinks himself. Octavian or
Gideon do most of the bartending.” Liam squinted at Riley. “So I’m
guessing you’re looking for part-time employment, am I
correct?”

Riley shook her head. “Full-time, if possible.”

Liam’s eyebrow rose questioningly. “No school for
you?”

It took a bit more effort not to let it show how much
the question bothered her. “I’m taking some time off from
college.”

Liam nodded like it made sense, but made no comment.
His gaze shifted over to his wife, who had remained mute throughout
most of the transaction. They said nothing for several minutes as
they did that weird eye communication thing only couples could pull
off.

At long last, he trained his attention back to Riley,
and smiled. “When can you start?”

Bottling back the bubbling squeal building up inside
her, Riley opened her mouth to respond when the front door opened
and three boys scuffled in, carting a dead body between them.

Airicka Phoenix is a romance junkie with an
incurable addiction to chocolate. She is also a prolific author of
several novels written for young adult and new adult romance
addicts who love bad boys, hot kisses and a gritty plot. Airicka
prides herself in producing quality material her readers can fall
in love with again and again.

When she’s not hard at work bleeding words onto
paper, Airicka can be found cuddling with her family, reading,
watching TV shows, or just finding any excuse not to do chores.

What she loves more than anything is hearing from
her readers so hit her up with your comments, questions, or just
drop in to say hey.

»Website:
www.AirickaPhoenix.com

»Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/airicka.phoenix

»Twitter: @AirickaPhoenix-
https://twitter.com/AirickaPhoenix

»Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5823058.Airicka_Phoenix

»Email:
[email protected]

Be sure to join her newsletter and be the first to
get news on giveaways, teasers, excerpt, and so much more

»http://eepurl.com/VgLqD