Southwest Nights (Semiautomatic Sorceress Book 1) by Kal Aaron (large ebook reader txt) 📕

Lyssa grabbed her receipt from the pump and tucked it into a pocket. Checking on a suspicious warehouse that might be related to organized crime in broad daylight was dumb even for a Sorceress, but she didn’t want to spend all day sitting on her ass in a diner in Midland, making up excuses for why she was nursing her coffee.

That was one problem with having a motorcycle. It made stakeouts more difficult. Wraith form and other types of darkness sorcery cloaking took energy to maintain, and that wasn’t infinite. Draining herself before a potential big fight was idiotic.

Lyssa frowned. She’d need a better plan. Waiting until night, then making her move made more sense. It also gave her regalia and herbs more time to heal her. Just because she wasn’t in pain anymore, it didn’t mean she was healed. She’d rushed out of her place because of Samuel’s visit, but it wouldn’t hurt to go back.

Her hand jerked into her coat when Silverado Boy-Next-Door started toward her. Torch reflexes could be annoying. He slowed, offering her a smile.

“Hey.” He kept his hands in his pockets.

Lyssa dropped her hand away from her hidden gun. “Hello. Can I help you?”

“Not exactly.” The man inclined his head toward her Ducati. “Nice bike. I’m more of a truck guy, but it’s hard to ignore a hot girl on a hot bike.”

She grinned. “I like to be close to the road, feel that wind around me. It’s hard to do that in a truck.”

“I get that. In another life, I’d be a Harley dude, but it’s hard to haul things with a bike.” Boy-Next-Door’s gaze flicked to the side.

Lyssa tensed and almost reached for her gun again. She told herself it was because of the ambush at Serafina’s place. It was close to the truth, but she hated to think she was always that paranoid.

Two other guys around the man’s age emerged from the gas station, holding plastic bags filled with snacks and sodas. They stepped away from the door and stopped, watching their friend with eager attention, stupid grins all over their faces.

“Are you sure this man isn’t an enemy?” Jofi asked.

Lyssa let a laugh escape before she could stop herself. Boy-Next-Door looked confused, then insulted. She felt bad for the guy, but she couldn’t risk explaining the situation to Jofi. Spirits could always make an awkward situation worse.

On some other day, when she wasn’t getting ready to gun down gangsters wielding powerful sorcery-based artifacts, she might have been willing to give Boy-Next-Door a try, at least a single date. He wasn’t her type, and her life was more complicated than most, but Tricia was right. Lyssa needed to try to live life.

Juggling the many balls of her day-to-day life would continue until she died or quit. Given her lifestyle, it might not even be when she expected it. Finding some temporary fun and floating along with the river of normal existence on occasion didn’t seem so terrible.

“So,” Boy-Next-Door began, “I’m Bill.”

“Lyssa.” She smiled. “I hate to do this, but let me save us both some time. You’re cute and all, Bill, but I’m not looking at this exact moment, and I’m kind of on the way to something. I know that sounds like a line, but if you’d met me some other time, things might have been different.”

Bill’s mouth twitched, but he kept his smile. “That’s cool. Thanks for your honesty.” He waved and headed toward his truck. “See you around, Lyssa.”

“See you around, Bill.”

Lyssa headed toward the building. She’d stabbed the man in the heart, but he’d live. His friends hurried past her, one smirking, the other looking pained. She’d reached the door when they arrived at his truck.

“Yo, Bill, what the hell, bro!” the smirking man said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. “Did you think you were gonna get a hot biker chick to go out with you? And look at that bike. It’s crazy-expensive. Out of your league, bro. Out of your league. That was like a high school running back getting smashed by an NFL linebacker. It was painful to watch.”

Lyssa grimaced and entered the building. Bill was all right. She wouldn’t say she was out of his league. She wasn’t even sure what her league was.

The obvious choice would be to limit her dating pool to men who knew her identity and weren’t freaked out by a woman who routinely dressed like a scary force of nature and gunned down dangerous criminals and terrorists. That was a damned small pool. She sighed as she made her way to the cold section.

“Do you desire companionship?” Jofi asked.

“I’ve got you,” Lyssa whispered.

“Human companionship.”

Lyssa found the ice cream section. Her eyes darted back and forth as she surveyed the available brands and flavors. Not enough strawberry varieties.

“I don’t know what I want,” she murmured. “If Samuel keeps me this busy, it won’t matter for a while.”

“You could combine your desires,” Jofi said.

None of the pints was calling to her. That was rare. She shifted a couple of yards to grab a water bottle.

“Combine my desires?” Lyssa snickered. “That sounds kinky.”

“It would be useful to seek companionship from someone you’re in close contact with,” Jofi said, conveniently ignoring her joke.

“Someone I’m close to?” Lyssa pulled a water bottle from the shelf. “I already thought of that. I don’t have a lot of choices.”

She lingered near the drinks, wanting to finish her conversation with Jofi before going to pay. Sticking in an earbud was a nice cover in some situations, but she hadn’t brought one and often didn’t bother. It didn’t help when they needed to discuss Society matters.

Damien’s face flashed into her mind. He could be frustrating, but he was handsome and intelligent. It wouldn’t hurt to get to know him on a more personal level. Unless she was crazy, there was something there.

Sparks? Maybe. Enough to start a fire? Maybe that, too.

“I’ve been thinking about your situation,” Jofi said.

“You’re worse than a middle-aged mother pressing