“A factory,” Jack whispered. She was definitely going to kill him. There was no other reason for the intensity in her gaze, the strange tilt of her shapely brows. His hands clenched around his satchel. If he hit her hard enough, it might slow her down.
Or he could just punch her, but he hated to actually hurt her, even if she wouldn’t hesitate to do the same. Better to catch her off guard with the satchel and run.
She frowned. “Why are you whispering?”
“Um…”
“Why do you look like you’re about to shit yourself?” shedemanded, slamming her hands on the desk with such force that the legal pad bounced.
“I, uh, I just…”
“Am I frightening you?”
“Yes,” Jack admitted weakly.
“Listen.” Claudia leaned forward, palms splayed flat across the desktop. A silver ring glittered on her finger. “If you need a diaper, I’m sure I can find you one. But I’m not scary, I promise.”
“Wow. Rude,” said Jack, more than a little offended. “I don’t trust you, and no, Idon’tneed a diaper.”What the actual fuck?
“Good enough,” said Claudia with a shrug. “Listen, I—” Then she broke off, words replaced by a scowl. She rubbed a hand across her forehead and sighed. “I need a drink. Do you want a drink?”
“Uhh,” said Jack, confused. Was this standard? Should he be concerned? “A drink?”
“Yes, idiot,” she said. “I’m pretty sure we’ve got whisky in here.” She opened a drawer and rummaged around without taking her eyes off Jack. “Ah-ha!” Her hand reappeared, grasping a massive, beveled decanter. Then she produced two crystal glasses, setting them on the desk with twin thunks.
Jack had never seen anything like this outside of the movies. Was he in a movie? Wasthatthe fucking problem?
“Here,” she said, dumping whisky haphazardly into a glass until it was half-full. She thrust it at Jack, didn’t even flinch when amber liquid sloshed over the sides and onto the desk. “Drink that and calm down. I didn’t bring you here to hurt you.”
“Then whydidyou bring me here?” asked Jack. He gave the glass a suspicious sniff.
Claudia raised her glass to her nose and gave an exasperated sigh. “Apologies. This is actually bourbon.”
Then she downed half in one go without even flinching.
“That’s good, too,” said Jack weakly. He took a hesitant sip, relished the smoky burn. “Shit. Thisisgood.”
“Yeah, Ronnie’s always got the good stuff,” said Claudia.
“Who’s that?”
“He’s, uh, the owner of this place”
“Who are you, then?”
“It doesn’t matter. What are you, a snitch?”
Jack shook his head, grip tightening on the glass. “Nope. I take secrets to my grave.”
“Huh.” Claudia looked him up and down, sneered, “You’re totally a snitch.”
“Trust me, I was never here,” said Jack. His hand started to shake. The glass rattled against the desk.
“If you came in last night, then you don’t know shit about this place, anyway,” said Claudia, still scrutinizing him.
Just put me under a microscope already, thought Jack. He took a sip of bourbon, let the heat ground him. “Feels like it’s been forever,” he said, feigning nonchalance, clutching the glass like a weapon.
She wasn’t fooled. “Yeah, I’ll bet.” She took another swig of bourbon. The bangles around her wrists clinked together like chimes. “You don’t want to know why I’d ask you here after one night in town?”
