“Commanding Officer Shadow, since when do you have an assistant?” she questions as I pass over the phone.
The kid pales, and he wipes at his upper lip. “You’re Shadow?” he squeaks.
“Yes. Sorry. Were we not clear on that during our interview?” I ask the kid and motion for him to hurry and answer her.
“Uh, yes, Princess. This is the real Princess. Correct?”
I laugh at his continued disbelief.
“Okay, uh, yes, umm… Reggie. My name is Reggie. About three minutes ago. Territory Five, the lower part of the territory. Eighteen. I have a scholarship to attend NYU in the fall. Pre-law. NDA?”
I wave her question off. “We can discuss that later. Just get her shopping list. I mean, her friend’s shopping list.”
I have no idea what she tells him, but he calms down and laughs. He spins around and heads toward the café. He walks right pass his girl, too engrossed in his phone conversation.
I casually stride alongside him until we find a table. I order both of us a cup of coffee.
He asks the waitress for a pen and writes down some items. Laughing again, he says, “If he kills me, I hope you’ll at least give me the courtesy of filing a missing person’s report.”
Is he flirting with her? “Hey, she’s the Princess. Off limits, buddy,” I warn.
He offers me an apologetic look before rattling off some numbers.
I grab the phone out of his hand. “Princess.” I hear her giggle. “I was just teasing—payback for putting me on the spot.”
“Not funny. Thank you for your help. I think I can manage from here.” I hate that I had to hang up so abruptly. Soon after, she texts a kissy face emoji.
The waitress delivers our order, and I study the kid. He definitely has a magic aura around him. It's subtle, not glaring like others I encountered, which means he’s used to hiding it. With his emotions all over the place, he probably has a hard time controlling it. His hands are rough and stained with some black substance. Maybe he works on cars, as a job or a hobby. Curious, I start to ask him questions.
“How did a kid like you end up with a girl like that?”
He frowns.
“I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m just curious.”
He shrugs. “She wasn’t always like that. Her mother married some guy with money. When she moved schools and made friends with that bunch,” he jerks his chin in their direction, “she changed. She used to be sweet, shy, and smart. She used to give a shit about important things in life. Now, all she cares about is money and designer crap.”
He shakes his head, leans back in his seat, and crosses his arms.
“She’s been blowing me off for a while now, only calls when she’s lonely or feeling insecure. Last weekend, she went to an eighteen-and-over club, and I heard Travis Larson was there, hooking up with all kinds of girls.”
I palm my face. Please don’t tell me my brother fucked around with this girl. I really need to talk to him.
“I don’t know if she hooked up with him. She denies it, but since then, she’s been after me to look the part, buy her this necklace that’s supposedly the equivalent of an engagement ring or something. I don’t know. I’m not into that shit. Last night, she told me this was my last chance.”
Understanding hits me. He showed up to give her an ultimatum, to choose him as he is.
He hesitantly pushes me the list he wrote. “I told her you were going to kill me.”
I look down and read a list of sex toys. I cringe. My phone buzzes with an incoming text.
Princess: LOL, winky face emoji
Me: Not funny
Princess: Yes, it is.
Me: You hang around Emily too much!
