“As I was telling Marco, we’ve already pulled together some info showing you’re out of the country right now. This is the only reason I wanted you to know about this. So you don’t go bumping into him somewhere.”
She nodded slowly. “I feel awful for ignoring him like this. I’ve known him for years. I owe him more than that.”
Marco took what was left of her drink, finishing it, and then he pulled her up from her seat, and against his chest.
“You don’t owe him anything at all. He spawned the fucker who attacked you. If he’s not careful, he’ll disappear too.”
She tried to pull back from him, looking horrified, but I interrupted them both.
“Clearly the Bennett twats are trying to avoid that. That’s exactly why they’ve got me running interference, and pretending I’m working the case for him. I just need to make sure that nothing outs me, as the fucking liar that I have to be right now. It’ll stop him believing whatever damn story I’m told to sell him, when the body shows up.”
Lenore looked at me, then angled her head to look at Marco.
“The Bennetts are protecting me?”
He chuckled. “Of course, sweetheart. You’re part of the family now.”
I raised my hand. “I thought I was too. Are you sure we’re the kind of family who punch each other, when we’re only trying to help?”
The look Marco sent me shut me up. A buzzing sound, the vibration of a phone on a surface, caught my attention, making me realise that it wasn’t the first time I’d vaguely picked up on the sound. It wasn’t Lenore’s, which sat on the counter right in front of us.
I checked my pockets. “Fuck.”
Lenore suddenly moved away from Marco, and strode over to the opposite wall, where I’d landed. She stood up again with my phone in her hand. The continuous buzzing meant it was a phone call. She looked from the screen to me.
“I didn’t know you had a kid.” She commented, as she passed me the phone. One glance at the screen told me that it was a call I desperately wanted to answer, but not in front of them. I opened my mouth to lie, because that would be the end of the discussion, but Marco beat me to it.
“He doesn’t.” Bugger.
The call rang off, and I hated myself for letting her think I’d ignored her, but I couldn’t talk to her around these people. Their paths couldn’t cross. Ever.
“So who’s ‘Little Angel’, Adam? Sounds like a kid.”
Marco frowned at me. “You don’t have kids. We did a full check on you.”
I stood up, shoving the phone in my pocket.
“I don’t have kids. It’s just… a friend. Nothing to worry about. Anyway, thanks for everything. You know, the information, breaking my face, getting me just tipsy enough that I’ll probably steer into a fucking lamp-post. See ya later.”
“Adam.”
I turned to look at Marco, as I reached the door.
“We’re watching you, mate. You better not be up to anything… unsavoury.”
I stared at him. “Me unsavoury? You want to take a look in the fucking mirror, mate.”
Again, I made my escape before anyone else tried to kill me. What a fucking nightmare.
As I sat in my car, I realised that I needed an explanation for this. I couldn’t hide a broken face.
Lenore suddenly banged on my window, scaring the crap out of me. I pushed the door open again.
“What?” I snapped, and then I sighed. “Sorry. My face hurts.”
She grinned. “That’s why I wanted to stop you leaving. I’m going to text you an address. Go there, and the ‘family’ doctor, Jeffrey, will patch you up. Might need that re-set.” She pointed at my nose.
I shrugged. “Sure it won’t be the last time one of these bastards tries to rearrange my good looks. Bad timing when I’ve just fucking met someone.”