His response was instant."Who?"
"The bag packer."
I waited several beats, and when he didn't reply, I sent a follow-up."What, you thought I packed it?"
"You didn't?"
Maybe I should've, if only for the laugh. I kept my response simple."LOL."
"WTF does that mean?"
Feeling charitable, I decided to put the guy out of his misery."It wasn't me. It was your housekeeper."
He replied with a single word."Bull."
I knew why he thought this, so I had to lay it out."No bull. Had to pay her extra to come in after hours."Before he could reply, I sent another follow-up."You owe me."
"How do you figure?"
"I had two choices. The housekeeper or…"I waited several beats before completing the thought."Your mom."
Like a twelve-year-old, I laughed as I sent it. Griff's mom didn't even live in the city, but the thought of her packing his briefs was too funny to ignore. I texted again."You're welcome."
He replied with a finger emoji and nothing else. But hey, that was fine by me. Tomorrow, I'd be meeting him for dinner. He just didn't know it.
ButIdid.
I had questions.About his boss. My favorite barista. And his side gig as a killer for hire.
If I was lucky, he'd have answers. Plus, I wasn't acompleteasshole. If the guy was so hungry, he was working for food, the least I could do was throw him a bone.
As I kept walking, I could still hear the couple bickering near the bike shop. Soon, they'd be attracting a crowd.
Recon time was officially over.
But tomorrow?
Yeah, I was gonna be busy.
31
Cue the Alarm Bells
Tessa
At the kitchen table, Maisie was laughing. "Oh, please, he's not a hit man."
I could see why she laughed, but something about her new employee wasn't adding up.
What was his angle, anyway?
I paused in the middle of pouring flour into a measuring cup. "I didn't say he was."
"But Franny did?"
"She didn't say for sure," I admitted. "It was just one of her theories."
Maisie took another sip from the tiny bottle of pineapple rum I'd left sitting on the table – a little something to help her relax – except now she lookedtoorelaxed to take any of this seriously.
