Reyna gritted her teeth as she made her way into the steakhouse. Her eyes moved to examine the crowded restaurant. It was one of the more popular steak places in town, and it had some of her favorite food. It wasn't as good as Bianca's pizzeria, especially since she had to pay here.
A hostess stood by the front door. Upon seeing Reyna, she spoke quickly, "Miss Ramirez-Arellano, it is a pleasure. We have your table ready."
"Has my guest arrived?" Reyna asked. She gripped her crutches and shifted slightly. There was a pit of something forming in her stomach, and she wasn't quite sure what it was.
"No ma'am. Would you like me to show you to your table?" the hostess asked. Reyna nodded. She followed the hostess across the restaurant. Reyna hated how everyone seemed to glance at her. Whether they recognized her or just had their attention caught by the sound of her crutches, she wasn't sure. She didn't care either.
"Here's your table," the hostess said as they stepped into a private room. Reyna smiled slightly. There was a candle burning in the middle of the table and a few bottles of wine. Their table was circular with only two chairs. Reyna had called the restaurant and told them she wanted a private room for her date. They were more than happy to oblige.
"Thank you," Reyna said. She carefully placed her crutches against the wall and sat down. "I'll also need to send your most expensive wine to my friends when they arrive to spy on me. Bianca and Nico Di Angelo are their names. Although, I'm sure their reservation is under the name Artemis or even Diana."
"Of course," the hostess replied duly. Reyna winced as she shifted and gently leaned back in her chair. She should have been focused on her date, but she couldn't get her mind completely off of work. Could she work with Thalia and the other vigilantes? Why would she?
Reyna had this place in the palm of her hands, especially since Octavian was dead. It wasn't like she would get power in these other cities if they took out the criminals that ruled them. Would she? Reyna frowned at the inner debate.
The thing that no vigilante seemed to understand was that taking down the criminal in charge of the city would cause a vacuum of power. It might be by their second in command or a greater villain that filled the space. There was no telling, but if Reyna helped out the vigilantes, could she fill the vacuums of power with her own lieutenants?
A small smirk came to Reyna's face. That could work. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. The door opened a moment later, and the hostess spoke, "Here's your table."
Reyna opened her eyes and turned to look at the door. A smirk came to her face as she saw Thalia, but surprise graced her as well. Thalia was absolutely beautiful. She wore a blue tie, a white dress shirt, and dress pants. Her hair was wet like she just came out of the rain.
"Hey," Reyna said after a moment. She studied Thalia.
"Hey," Thalia said in return. She walked towards the table and sat across from Reyna. The hostess set down the menus.
"Your waiter will be with you in just a moment," the hostess informed the couple. She turned and walked out. Reyna focused on Thalia, studying her beautiful face. Thalia studied her back and then smirked.
"You're so fucking hot," Thalia said seductively. A blush came to Reyna's face. Thalia's smirk widened. "You know that, right?"
"You're pretty hot too," Reyna commented as she slowly regained her composure. She looked down at the menu. "Have whatever you want. I'm paying."
"And flashing your money around. Even better," Thalia teased. Reyna's blush worsened than before and she felt her breath getting caught in her throat. Why was it that she always struggled with what to say to Thalia or had issues with controlling herself? Was this what a crush made her do?
Thalia's smile widened, and she looked down at the menu. Her eyes kept creeping up to Reyna. It took most of Reyna's willpower to keep her eyes glued to the menu and not on how beautiful Thalia was. This was a date, though. What did people do on dates again?
"Tell me about yourself," Reyna spoke after a few moments. She watched Thalia. "You have a brother. Are the rest of the vigilantes related to you?"
"No. We're just best friends. I've known Percy and Annabeth for years. The others I met on a job taking out the kingpin of a city," Thalia answered. She watched Reyna in return. "What about you? Any family? Or, are you just interrogating me?"
"I have a sister," Reyna answered. "An older one: Hylla. She's in prison right now. Running it really."
"You haven't tried to bust her out?" Thalia questioned. Their conversation was paused as a waiter came in and took their drink and appetizer orders. When the waiter walked out of the room, Thalia looked at Reyna. "Or even pay bail."
"She won't let me," Reyna answered. "I offered, and she offered to kick my ass for it. It's like she's staying in prison because she wants to. I can't figure out why."
"What did she get arrested for?" Thalia asked. Reyna shrugged. Her eyes moved around the room. There were no windows that showed the outside and no windows that showed the rest of the restaurant. It was quite simply a small room with complete and utter privacy. Good for when she was killing someone. Was it also romantic?
"It's been years. I don't remember. I was fifteen at the time," Reyna answered.
"How old are you now?" Thalia asked. "I'm twenty-five if that helps you any."
"Twenty-two," Reyna replied. Thalia whistled like she was impressed. "What?"
"That young and already running a city. I guess crime lords start early these days," Thalia commented. Reyna rolled her eyes. "What about your parents? I don't know my father, and my mom died when I was young."
"Both died when I was young. It was just my sister and I until she was arrested. Then, it was just me," Reyna recapped with a shrug. "I found my mother's old hideout and used that to train myself."
"You've been on your own for seven years?" Thalia asked. Reyna nodded. "Fuck. I'm sorry."
"It's just my lot in life," Reyna replied. She fell silent as the waiter came back to drop off their drinks and take their orders. "That vigilante that attacked me-"
"Sorry," Thalia interrupted. "I am not going to tell you anything about her."
"I just want to know if she is going to come after me again," Reyna assured. She swallowed back her anger. "I can forget that she almost killed me, and that is not something I do lightly. I just want her out of my life."
"Hmm. So, you really do want me," Thalia commented with a sly grin. Reyna's eyes narrowed, and Thalia's grin widened. It didn't long for her to lose that grin. "I am sorry, really sorry, about what Clarisse did. I feel terrible that she tortured and almost killed you."
"I've had worse," Reyna dismissed with a shrug. She looked away.
"If you've had worse than what I saw her do to you, you've had a fucked up life," Thalia noted. Reyna smirked. "Is that why you're so fucked in the head?"
"Probably," Reyna agreed. She sighed and studied Thalia. "You know, I've never been on a date before."
"Is it bad that I can believe that?" Thalia asked rhetorically. Reyna rolled her eyes. "Hey, you're doing great so far. All we need to do is get really drunk, talk shit about all the idiots we've fought, and eat some fancy ass food."
"I can do that," Reyna said as she raised her glass of wine. Thalia raised her glass as well, and there was a devious look on Thalia's face.
"And after we eat, we can have some fun," Thalia promised. Reyna choked on her drink as she took a sip. Thalia laughed.
"Asshole," Reyna complained as she coughed and regulated her breathing. Thalia still had that stupid little grin on her face. "Let's see what happens after dinner."
"Who said that we should wait until after?" Thalia teased, and she winked. Reyna found her eyes shooting around the room again. It wasn't soundproof, but it was near the small band that played. It could mask any noise they would make. Wait. Was Reyna really thinking about doing this? "Of course, we could ask for dessert for fun."
Reyna felt her face heating up, and she felt like it would just permanently remain that way for the rest of the night. Thalia spoke, "It's kind of weird. We've gone five minutes without you trying to punch me. Or without me breaking your nose. How is that poor little nose of yours?"
"Shut up," Reyna grumbled. She shook her head. "So, you said that it's just you and the other vigilantes. They're like a second family to you?"
"More like my only family," Thalia answered. "I'm guessing it's the same way with you and that guy who was pointing a gun at me. Now tell me this. Do they put cocaine in the pizza sauce or something, because that shit is so addictive."
"No," Reyna said with a smirk. "Bianca and Nico are from Italy. They ran into some trouble with the Mafia, but that was mostly because of what their father did. They came here and opened their restaurant. I met Nico when he tried to kill me."
"He tried to kill you?" Thalia questioned. Reyna nodded and took a sip of her drink.
"Nico is a hitman. A rival put a hit out on me, and he tried to kill me," Reyna explained. "He almost got me too, but I learned about the hit before he could come. I set an ambush for him, and the bastard got himself out of it. We fought a bloody duel, and while he says that I lost, I won. He's just a cheater, and his sister jumped in to help him. Bianca always wanted to keep blood off of her hands."
"Which is why she shot those guys. Or was that Nico?" Thalia interrupted.
"Bianca will get her hands dirty if it means protecting people she cares about," Reyna said. She looked down. "I guess the two are like family to me."
"How did you go from trying to kill each other to like family?" Thalia asked. The waiter came back in and set down their appetizers. He took their orders for the main course and walked back out of the room.
"I had Nico pinned to the ground, and I was only debating killing him. I never got to decide as Bianca shot me in the leg. She shoved the gun into my face, and one of my lieutenants aimed a gun at her. It was a little standoff before I asked Nico how much money for him to work for me. From there, we just got really close," Reyna explained. "I was the only friend he had."
"He had that doctor who healed you," Thalia guessed.
"No," Reyna said with a shake of her head. "Nico didn't meet Will until later, and I hate it that Will has healed me not once but twice. You do know about healers, don't you?"
"I know that they can heal pretty much anything. Like cancer or even a sucking chest wound. I think they can also bring the dead back to life," Thalia began. Reyna shook her head. "Oh, really? What am I missing, Miss Know It All?"
"It kills a healer to heal someone," Reyna stated. Thalia's eyes widened in surprise. "If a healer were to do too much healing, it would kill them. Like trying to cure someone's cancer or bring back someone who is clinically dead. It is possible, but the healer won't survive. That is why Will went to medical school."
"Will uses his knowledge of medicine to solve a problem or lessen how much healing he has to do. Healing like he did to pretty much save my life drained him greatly," Reyna said. She looked down. Reyna wasn't sure if healing took years off of Will's life or not, and she really hoped it didn't. She just knew that it exhausted Will greatly. And made him sick.
"I can't believe you actually know someone I would classify as a good person," Thalia teased. Reyna rolled her eyes. "We've only heard of a few healers on our travels."
"I know they're rare. We try to keep it quiet that Will is a healer. If the wrong person were to hear, they might want Will to do more than he can," Reyna said with a shrug. "So, the other vigilantes. Your friends. Who are they exactly? I've seen their pictures, and I've seen some in action."
"Our two unofficial leaders are Annabeth and Percy. The two are dating and are also my best friends. Annabeth is a genius. She's probably smarter than the rest of this city combined. Percy is a good, loyal guy," Thalia explained.
"Who can manipulate water. Which is fucking bullshit," Reyna interrupted.
"It is pretty bullshit," Thalia agreed. "But, my brother can control air."
Reyna nodded her agreement and rubbed her jaw in remembrance. Thalia continued, "I love Jason with all of my heart, so don't ever think of fucking with him."
"Trust me. I learned exactly what he can do. He seems a little soft to be a vigilante," Reyna commented.
"Jason's a good kid at heart. All of the others are really. They don't like to get violent, but if they have to, it's bad for whoever pissed them off," Thalia said. "Our two newest arrivals were Hazel and Frank. The newest members of our group. We're all one big happy family."
"And maybe, we'll have an addition to our family," Thalia said as she looked Reyna up and down. Reyna remained silent. "Now, what should we get for dessert?"
