“Are you hungry? I have food,” she offers the second I open the door, as if she thinks I’m going to go right back to bed.
“Eat it. I can take care of myself.”
“I made extra.” She pushes a plate across the island with scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.
“Are you trying to poison me?” My voice is slow and deep. Jesus, how long did I sleep?
“No.” She pulls the plate back a little, and I almost growl at the loss. “You want me to taste it first to prove it’s safe?” One hand goes to her hip.
“Where’s yours?”
“Right here. I can trade if you’re concerned that I put Drano in yours.” She spins and grabs another dish, and this one has less food on it.
I’m tempted to say yes because I want her to get enough to eat, but watching her face, I know she would take offense. “No.” I pull the plate over with one hand and reach for the pepper with the other before taking my seat, too tired to examine why I don’t want to hurt her feelings.
I try not to show how fucking cold the stool is under my ass, considering I’m only in my shorts.
She stays on the other side, standing while she eats, but I notice her attention is on me between bites. The tension between us is mounting with every second. It’s like she wants to say something, but she’s holding back. I’m certain telling her to spit it out isn’t the right move, so I just continue eating.
“Did everything go…okay? I noticed your hands,” she finally says, seconds before I finish my food.
I glance down at my knuckles. Hitting someone in the face is a dirty business, and it usually always leaves evidence behind, which I try to avoid, but William had it coming. “Are you asking if he’s dead?” I’m confused by the question.
“Did you get hurt?”
If I weren’t already sitting down, I might have fallen on my ass. “What?” I must have heard her wrong.
“Did he fight back? You went straight to bed and crashed for a long time. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I was tired. He lived way up north.” I don’t mean to sound defensive, but it’s a little insulting that she thinks a guy like him could fuck with me.
“Oh, well, that’s good. I’ve been checking the news. I haven’t seen anything, but I’m limited to local channels without my computer or phone.”
“You don’t need to worry about it,” I tell her, still confused why she is.
“I’m notworried.” She looks away, and I realize she’s lying. She is worried.
“It won’t come back on you, Max. They’ll never find him,” I assure her.
“That’s not… What… How…” She bites her lip.
“He’s dead. That’s all that matters. There’s one less thing keeping you here.”
“Listen, I don’t… Let me take care of them. I’ll find out who hired the guy and let you know once it’s taken care of. You don’t need to clean up my mess.”
“You don’t think I can get the job done?” I shouldn’t be surprised.
“No, that’s not it at all,” she replies.
“Then tell me, what it is?”
“It’s my job.” She clutches at her chest. “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even know he existed. His blood is on your hands because of me.”
“You’re worried it’s going to keep me up at night, Max?”
“It could,” she agrees quickly, making me think she’s not immune to the things she’s done.
“You listen to me. Every one of them deserves death or worse. Don’t you dare feel bad for them.”
