Eight stares at me with his dead eyes, then turns to Chris. “Get the fuck on with it,” he growls.
Chris nods quickly, as if he just realized that he has a Hell’s Jury member in the station. “Right. It’s too early to process the check, so we can either mail it or you can come back later today and pick it up.”
I think about it, but Eight grabs my bicep. “Mail it.”
“No. I want to pick it up.”
“And if I said, ‘pick it up’ you would have said, no mail it.”
“Maybe,” I murmur, realizing I might be a little bit contrary.
“Fuck’s sake,” Malcom snipes. “Sign the form and get out of here.”
As I sign the form, Sadie says, “I want my phone call.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Malcolm grumbles as he grabs Sadie to haul him out of the lobby.
When we get outside, Eight says, “You know this coulda been a five-minute drop-off?”
I glance at my watch. “Yeah. If you’d stopped interrupting.”
I say it with a smile though to show him how self-aware I am.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Eight
I’m driving down the strip thinkin’ about Selkie. About who she is, how she is. Thinkin’ about the rest of my life with her and how crazy it’ll be. But I’m excited too, which is something I haven’t felt for so long I’m surprised I recognize it.
Selkie yawns and stretches, then settles back in her seat.
“Do you know how hot you are?” I say, glancing at her.
There’s a moment of silence and I wonder what she’s thinking.
Finally, she replies, “You know, I don’t think I do.”
I don’t know how to respond. I haven’t told a woman she’s sexy since Chloe, but I expected Selkie to say something like, thank you or awe shucks, or you’re sexy too. Or something more sarcastic like, you sure know how to get into a girl’s pants. Anything to deflect the compliment.
I glance at her again. She’s waiting for a follow-up. I rehearse a bunch of words in my head. “I find you very…” Shit. That’s bad. “It’s just that…” Nope, not that. I take a deep breath and will myself to settle down. “I’m attracted to you like no other woman I’ve ever met.” Yeah, better.
“Hmmm,” she replies.
Jesus, she’s not making this easy. “You’re beautiful, Selkie. Whether you realize it or not.” I pause, think about my next words. Not sure they’re insulting or not. But, what the hell. Pile meet shit. “But sexy’s not just about looks. You’re fearless, you know how to handle tense situations.” I pause as my heart constricts. “I don’t think you’re afraid of dying.”
“Thanks, Yoda.” She shifts her body so she can face me. “I’m not fearless and I am afraid of dying. But that makes no difference in dangerous situations. Begging doesn’t help. Crying doesn’t help. If someone’s going to break every bone in my body, I’d rather go down fighting or at least not give them the satisfaction of thinking I’m terrified. “
The words that need saying spill out of my mouth. “You’re a fighter. A strong woman. Independent.”
“I have bad qualities too.”
I laugh. “I hadn’t noticed.”
She laughs too.
“Tell me about your bad qualities.” I say when I realize she’s not going to expand.
“Let me think.” She crosses her arms like she needs to protect herself. “I eat too fast. I don’t shave my legs very often. I don’t really like reading books and shit. I chew my nails, not out of habit, but I hate the whole filing bullshit.” She pauses, thinking, then, “The worst I guess is that I can’t seem to stop swearing even though it’s always my resolution on January 1st. I usually break it by noon.”
