“Are you sure it is not a problem?”
“Are you worried about the job, or are you worried about your sister?”
She pauses, staring at me with pursed lips. Finally, she says, “Call it both.”
“Your sister is a grown woman who can make her own decisions. But I’d rather die than let her get hurt.”
“And yet here she is.”
“I’m aware of the contradiction.”
She takes another drag and sips half the mug. “It is not my place, yes? I barely know the girl. Less than you, I suppose. But I will say, be careful. For both of your sakes.”
“Thanks for the advice, but I still want to know where you’ve been.”
Adrienne comes out from the extra room in a white t-shirt and jeans. She studiously ignores me as she accepts coffee from Reina, and I note that Reina hadn’t offered me any.
“So where are we?” Adrienne asks.
“Reina just finished chastising me for sleeping with you and now she’s getting into business.”
Adrienne turns pink. She waves her hands in the air like she’s warding off bad spirits. “It’s not like that—”
“Like I said, I don’t care if you two are sleeping together.” Reina’s glare could melt ice. “Stop pretending like sex is such a bad thing.”
Adrienne glares at me and composes herself. I smile back, enjoying her discomfort. Why should we pretend like we don’t all know at this point? The sooner she gets over her awkwardness, the better off we’ll be.
“You still haven’t told me where you went,” I press, unwilling to let Reina off the hook.
“I was meeting with some people from my organization. I will be honest with you, Peter, they were not happy. I hadn’t realized the depth of their discomfort and impatience but here we are.”
I sit very still. Adrienne looks at her coffee like she wants to fall into it and I’m not sure she’s even listening at this point. Reina’s right—Americans can be such prudes sometimes. But I can wake up Adrienne’s dirty side.
I say, “Can’t say I’m surprised considering what’s been happening. Is the deal still on the table?”
“It is still a possibility, oui. But they want forward momentum. The numbers we agreed on were acceptable, and now they want logistics.”
“We all want logistics. I guess you’re going to tell me to talk to your pilot?”
“That is exactly what I am doing.” She puts the mug down with a clatter. “You do not entirely understand, Peter. Le Milieu has other potential contracts on the table. You are not the only people in the world that want our product.”
“Your heroin,” Adrienne murmurs.
Reina ignores her and watches me. I watch her back, trying to see through her brave facade, and that’s what it hits me.
She’s afraid.
That’s the difference between yesterday and today.
Yes, she’s tired, and yes, she was out all night. But her hands are shaking slightly and her eyes are wide and she’s on edge.
When we were chased by gangster thugs and Reina had to lead us on a quick getaway, she didn’t bat an eye a single time. There was no hesitation and no fear in that girl.
Whatever Le Milieu told her must’ve been bad.
“What else did they say?” I ask quietly.
There—just a hint of her eyes widening. “Nothing. They want progress, that is all.”