I held his stare, contemplating my response. I couldn’t lie and say I wouldn’t. And he was threatening me for all the right reasons, so challenging him was out of the question.
“Understood.”
He narrowed his eyes, driving home the threat. “Good.” He nodded as he exited my personal space. “What’s the deal with the box?”
We examined it from a distance while I filled them in on my assessment, scant as it was. The box was lighter than I’d expected, and evenly balanced with the weight distributed along the bottom.
“No rattling as I carried it.”
“So your fingerprints compromised the evidence,” AJ accused.
“No, they didn’t. I wore gloves.” And because I needed to regain some of the power I’d lost in the stare-down with AJ, I added, “And I only used my thumb and trigger finger on opposite corners.” I pinched the two digits together on each hand and then rolled my wrists and flipped him two birds.
He laughed.
“This isn’t my first rodeo, Janerek.” I spat out.
“Right, sorry, Bro.”
My phone buzzed. “Kroup’s here.” I went around front to meet him.
“Hey brother,” I said, shaking his hand before pulling him into a hug and slapping his back. “It’s good to see you.”
“Right back at you.”
“Hey, Havoc, how you doing, boy?”
Havoc barked in response as I scratched behind his ears.
Pleasantries finished, Kroup asked, “The box in the back?”
I stood. “Yeah, this way.”
Ashley and Gran were handing out glasses of lemonade when we arrived. Having them so close to danger wasn’t ideal, but there was nothing I could say to control Gran. Or Ashley.
“What a pretty dog! I bet Prince would love to play with him.” Gran said enthusiastically.
“This is Havoc,” Kroup answered.
“Nathan, don’t be rude. Introduce me to the tall Greek Adonis standing next to you,” Gran ordered. Good God, she reminded me so much of Ashley with her zero fucks to give attitude.
“Just go with it,” I whispered to a wide-eyed Kroup before saying, “Violet, this is my friend, Jon Kroupa. Jon, this is Ashley and her grandmother, Violet.”
“Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“None of that ma’am stuff. Call me Violet, like Nathan does. Or Gran, like I told him to.”
I closed my eyes so she wouldn’t see me rolling them.
“Noted.” Kroup humored her with a smile. “Everyone calls me Kroup.”
Kroup made a hand signal, and Havoc trotted to his side and sat. He released the dog when he introduced him to Violet, so she could give him love and attention. “Who’s Prince?” he asked.
“My cat.” As if on cue, a black cat sat in front of the patio window and glared at Havoc. At least I think he glared. I wasn’t familiar with cat expressions, so, for all I knew, Prince could’ve been bored or in love.
“Violet, thank you for the lemonade, but I think it’s best if you and Ashley go inside now,” Jamie said, adding a please at the end.
“Alright, but only because you said please. You boys let me know if you want lunch. Ashley makes a mean ham and cheese sandwich.”
