“Violence never solved anything.” She pouts but I grin.
“Sure as hell did. What about World War Two.”
“Now you’re comparing next door to Normandy?”
“Let’s drop it, have a cup of coffee, and think about our next caper.”
She rolls her eyes. “Only if you promise to never fight with those construction guys again.”
“No promises.”She may not like it but I’m not letting her Uncle Vinny get away with any more shit.
I open the fridge and hold up the eggs. “French toast? Maple syrup?”
Smiling, she accepts my peace offering. “With powdered sugar?”
“Bien sur, ma cherie.” When I lean over and kiss her hand, she shoots me a crooked smile.
Together we make breakfast. After, she sits back and heaves a heavy sigh. “You need to stop being so overprotective.”
“Huh? This wasn’t about you, babe. I’m in dire need of a few hours of sleep and the fucking noise triggers my nightmares.” That much is true but I don’t think she believes me.
Frowning, she opens her computer. “Whatever. I’m sending Mrs. Nardo her bill. No pictures until she pays. I don’t trust she won’t forgive her cheating bastard husband.”
Nodding, I make my way to the bathroom where more tiling awaits. Maybe she’ll be less touchy if I get the shower finished. Sure as hell, she’ll be surprised at all the extra sprays I’m installing. I imagine her with her arms raised and water blasting her naked sexy body.
Yup. I need to get a move on.
After a while she sighs from the other room. “Okay, I got to get to the salon.”
“Did you find out anything more about Mrs. Gallo?”
“Not yet. I’m going to tap a resource at the FBI. Do you think you can copy her phone the same way you did Mr. Nardo?”
“We’ll need to get it, first.”
“Hmm. True. I’ll work on a plan.” She kisses me goodbye, walks to the door, and all of a sudden I remember my conversation with Slate.
I call out from the door, “Sam? I almost forgot to tell you. I won’t be here when you get back. Slate got me a gig, guarding some diplomat. I’ll text you from the Waldorf.”
Her mouth drops open. Maybe it’s because I’ll be staying at one of the fanciest hotels in the city but her passionate kisses tell me something altogether different.
“I’ll miss you.” Her eyes leak and I feel real bad we had a fight so lighten up the mood while reminding her I care.
“No sleuthing while I’m gone. No blind dates, no eating after midnight, and no partying with your cousins. If I missed anything, none of that neither. Wait. And no going next door. Those guys are bad news. You call me if they keep up with their wolf whistles. I’ll help teach ’em some more manners.”
“Okay. The only thing I’ll do is research on my computer. I promise. Scout’s honor.”
As she walks out the door, my stupid heart tightens. I hate leaving her alone in the city which make no sense. Before she met me, she lived in DC and grew up around here. Maybe Iamoverly cautious about her well-being.
On second thought, probably not. She’s either got an incredible guardian angel or it’s pure dumb luck she survived before she met me.
Chapter 8
Sam
Shit. I hate fighting, especially because he’s going to be gone for a few days and we’ll miss the best part, makeup-sex.
The rest of the day goes without incident and on Friday I wake with Catrina’s wet nose pressed to mine.
