Yeah… I could see that.Time to regroup.“Okay, your sister worries about you,” I started.
“And she let me go home all by myself with Firenze as a guard right up to the ferry where she knew I’d be just fine without Don Manca’s dogs on my ass.And, speaking of dogs…what are you doing here?”
My brain scrambled for something other than the truth that crawled up my throat and begged to leak out.“I’m here on business.”Whew.
“Business.”
“Yes.”
Her eyes rolled upward, and she groaned before snatching the food from my grip.“If I’m going to go to prison for aiding and abetting, I’m eating first.Damn you.”
“Aiding and abetting what?”
Her glare said something, but I couldn’t figure out what.“You know what.Who’s the target this time, me?”
I got a little hung up on the way her yoga pants clung to her ass so my reply didn’t come out quickly enough to erase suspicion.“It’s real work.There’s a company here that?—”
Her hand shot into the air.“Shut up.Don’t talk, I don’t want to know.I’m tired, still half drunk, and really don’t want to hear your voice.”
We should really talk about her anger.It was unjustified.
Maybe?
“Listen, I know we didn’t exactly part on the best terms, but you gotta?—”
Ellie set down the bags and dug in a drawer while I was talking.I stopped when she pulled out a wicked-looking taser and then a fresh cartridge.
“Sweetheart.Put that down.”
She loaded it instead.
“Baby, those things hurt an awful lot.”
“Good.”She depressed the button and nothing happened.
“They also need to be charged once in a while.”Thank God.
She threw the whole thing at my head.I caught it, barely.“Let’s talk.”
Ellie went to the kitchen window and picked up a potted plant.The novelty pot was a heavy, white, ceramic piece cast in the shape of an octopus pointing middle fingers up from each tentacle.It would hurt like heck if it broke on my face.
“Okay, no talking.Let’s eat instead, please?Your poor plant doesn’t deserve to die because you’re mad at me.”Although, it did appear to be dying from embarrassment.
She stared at the vessel in her hands.It took her a long time to weigh the choice, but eventually she set it down, and I breathed a little easier.
I opened my mouth to ask about plates, but caught her glare before I could squeak out anything more than a “Wh—” Instead, I mimed the circular platter with my hands and pointed at her cabinets.
“I hate you.”
The h-word.Yikes.But I wasn’t being forcefully removed yet.Her hands were empty.And her phone was abandoned on the table.
I edged around her carefully, holding my hands high to show I wasn’t a threat to her.After opening a few cabinets, I found plates.Utensils were easier to locate.There were only three drawers in her tiny-ass kitchen.One was situated between the dishwasher and the sink, so I opened that first and hit the jackpot.I placed two settings on her tiny table as she unpacked the food.
There was a lot.I hadn’t really factored in much more than purchasing a variety so she could pick her favorites.I’d eat whatever was left.It didn’t matter much to me.Food was a means to an end.
Staying right at her side was the most important thing.
5
