I smiled at him as he disappeared into the back, turning to make myself something to drink. A honey lavender latte like I’d made for that guy. I found myself walking toward the front window anyway, tugging aside the curtain just enough to see the street outside.
Empty.
Not that I was expectinghim. But… part of me was hoping.
I didn’t know why he interested me so much, beyond the aura of mystery. Maybe it was the way he sat for hours but never looked bored. The way he drank his coffee like he didn’t taste it at first, like it was just a prop to make him seem normal. I wanted to figure him out.
I turned away from the window.
Maybe he wouldn’t come back. Maybe he was just passing through. A name and a face and a moment that would dissolve with time like most things.
Still, I had made sure to set aside a blueberry muffin for him.
Just in case.
Chapter eight
Halo
“In the Grey”
Iknewbetterthanto linger in grey areas. That’s where mistakes lived, where hesitation peeled open a weakness, and where emotions got you killed. This girl lived in the grey, though. She wore softness like armor, unaware that the world could eat her alive. I wasn’t sure how it hadn’t yet. Every time I saw her, I was more and more surprised that she’d managed to survive this long. It made me wonder what sharp edges she hid under all of that kindness. What protected her from all of the hurt?
I found myself parked across from her café longer than I needed to be. I memorized the way she pushed her sleeve up when she poured coffee, how she smiled when someone used her name. She was beautiful in the boring ways that most people overlook.
And then before I realized I had crossed the street, I was the goddamn fool sitting in the corner of her cafe, pretending I still knew what I was doing. I cupped one of her lattes between my calloused palms. A plate with blueberry muffin crumbs sat off to the side. I picked pieces of the berries out of my teeth with mytongue, keeping an eye on everyone who walked in and out of the cafe, but mostly I kept an eye onher.
She caught me watching her, maybe not directly, but enough that her eyes skimmed over mine and paused. She approached, and I looked away, jaw tight, hands flat on the table.
“You need anything else? Another muffin?”
“I’m good, thank you,” I responded, keeping my eyes on the cup in front of me.
I felt her standing there a second longer than she had to, like she was about to say something and thought better of it. Maybe she wanted to sit down, but instead, she walked away and I could breathe again. Every time she came up to me, she took the oxygen right out of my atmosphere. She disappeared into the back and I took it as my opportunity to leave. I tossed a twenty-dollar bill on the table and headed out the door.
I couldn’t do this, and I was wasting time pretending that I could. As though he could sense it too, Matteo called. I looked down at the burner phone in my hand, rubbing a frustrated palm over my face before I put it up to my ear.
“What?” I snapped.
“Halo, you’ve had time. She’s still breathing. What are you doing out there? Sightseeing?”
“I’m… being careful. This girl doesn’t go anywhere; she doesn’t do anything. Just waiting for the right opportunity.”
“You’re not going soft on me after all these years are you? You’vealwaysdelivered faster than anyone else.”
“Nah. Just logistics on this one. She isn’t some guy I can kill and make it look gang or drug related.”
“What are you thinking then? Do youhavea plan?”
“Going to fake a robbery. Kill her in the shop.”
There wasn’t fear in me when I said the words; there was nausea.
“Listen. I like working with you. If this just isn’t in your wheelhouse, I have about five other guys that would jump at the chance for easy money like this.”
“I’ve got it,” I bit out the words.
“Alright. I’ll check back in, but your time is up. If someone beats you to the punch, I can’t help that.”
