Bachelor Moon (Princess of Darkness)

Bait

Being gregarious was something that Jace didn't plan on experiencing here. "It's seven to nine for breakfast, eleven to one for lunch, and five to seven for dinner." The gentle lilt of someone who was raised in the area was evident in the way Scarlett speaks.

Jace pushed her lips to stretch into what she believed was a grin of her own as Scarlett gave her another warm smile. She hadn't smiled at anyone in such a long time that it felt awkward and strained.

"Now, if you'll follow me, I'll show you to your room." Scarlett said. "Was it this calm all the time?" Jace asked once they had reached the second-floor. The latter turned to face her. "It's relatively calm during the week. The place only fills up on weekends, when things get a little livelier. Other than one man who has been staying here for the past two months, nothing much happens here. That means you have the next three days to appreciate the tranquility, if that's your thing."

She gestured her into a room on her right. The large airy bedroom was painted soft gray with white borders. The four-poster bed looked as if it had one of those pillowy mattreses that instantly made Jace's muscles to moan in sweet anticipation. She set her duffel bag on the floor and moved to the window to look outside.

"The bathroom is here," Scarlett said, drawing the attention of her guest away from the window. "And here's the key to the room." Jace took the key she held out to her and noticed that she wore no wedding ring.

Then who's the man she was referring earlier? Not that it mattered. Not that I cared in the least. There was only one thing she wanted to know from her.

"What is the best bait to use?" Worms or crawdads Scarlett replied. "And I don't clean what you catch, but I'll be glad to cook it up for you if you want. Just let me know if you need anything else and once again, welcome to Bachelor Moon."

Jace was grateful when Scarlett leave her alone. Being sociable and pleasant had never been one of her strong suits. What she did best was crawl into the mind of killers. "Not here, not now," she muttered to herself as she opened her duffel bag to unpack.

Jace left the room and went back to downstairs, intent on spending the rest of the day with a fishing pole in her hand.

Her last fishing trip was ten years ago, and she had only gone a few times overall. She had gone fishing at that time with her closest pals as well as the father of her best friends. It had been among the few happy recollections she could find from her early years

"I don't want to be here. I wanted to be in the field, hunting bad guys and getting them off the streets."