My mouth twitched. That was a comment I wouldn’t be passing on. “Enough. I’m going. Thank you very much for the ride.”
I slammed the door and made my way toward the club.Inside was the usual chaos before opening. Theo waved to me across the bar.
As I got there, his eyes fell on my hand. “Woah, that looks nasty. What is it?”
I looked at my hand, not realizing I’d been scratching it again.“I don’t know. Eczema?” I scratched the hardened, inflamed skin. When I angled my hand, it felt like something was under there.
“You’re falling apart. You need to see my naturopath.”
“Great. Maybe when I win the lottery. I paid Mom’s bills today . . . well, half of it, and I have about ten bucks to live on for the rest of the month.” I tied my apron and shoved my hair back in a half-assed bun.
“That’s fine, honey. You’ve got dark and dangerous bankrolling you now if you play your cards right.” Theo nudged my side. The thought of Kirill in any capacity made me smile, but Theo picked up on the muted quality of my grin. “What is it? Spill?” Then he clapped his hand dramatically over his mouth. “You finally got laid!”
“Shhh, keep your voice down,” I hissed at him, my cheeks flaming again.
“I knew it! You wouldn’t swap shifts unless it were something important.” Theo propped a hip against the bar, holding his hands out like he was measuring something imaginary. “How important was it in inches, just ballpark? This important? This?” He kept moving his hands further apart, and my amusement overcame my embarrassment.
“It was more than averagely important. A lot more,” I told him and wiggled my eyebrows.
Theo clenched his firsts together in a sign of victory. “I knew it. He’s got that energy about him. There was no way he wouldn’t be packing an extremely advanced-use weapon down there.”
A pang went through me at Theo’s phrasing. Advanced-use? I was undoubtedly severely underqualified to handle Kirill’s advanced-use equipment, though he hadn’t seemed to mind. Still, how thrilling would it be to surprise him with being good at the stuff we did together, not just enthusiastic?
“What is it?” Theo asked, catching how my expression had turned pensive.
I chewed my nail. “It’s just weird. It’s not like I imagined it would be when I saw him again. He’s so much more experienced than me, worldly and grown-up. And yes, I’m aware I’m twenty-five when I say that. I sound like an idiot.”
“It has been seven years,” he reminded me. “People grow up. I’m sure you have too.”
I chuckled. “I’m not sure I have. Not like he has. He’s so guarded. I catch him watching me sometimes, and he’s not smiling or frowning. He’s just – watching. I can’t explain it.” I shivered as the words spilled out. I hadn’t acknowledged that I felt that way until this moment.
“Sounds like boss daddy has it bad.”
“Boss daddy?”
“Max, his sexy sidekick, calls him boss. So, he’s Boss Daddy. What do they do anyway?”
“Finance or something,” I muttered.
“Finance or something,” Theo repeated. “Geez, don’t let anyone say you’re not an interested girlfriend.”
“Shut up. I’m not his girlfriend.” I sighed, my heart tugging painfully in my chest.
“No? What are you?”
“I don’t know. We’ve not talked about it. I can’t get a read on him anymore. I used to be able to tell what he was thinking by the tone of his voice, but now he’s a maze, and I can’t find the center. I can’t get close.”
“You can’t rush these things,” Theo said. He straightened as Rafe paced past, opening the joint for business. “Let’s talk later. You better act like you’re feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after last night, or you might get the axe, and then who would I nag at work?”
* * *
Kirill metme at the door after my shift ended, but my excitement was dimmed by the feeling that something was off between us. The radio chattered on as he drove through the lavender-gray morning. I wasn’t listening until a familiar name caught my attention.
“Wait, what did that say?” I asked, reaching out to turn it up.
“.. . the body was found this morning, washed up on a shore near Brighton Breach in Brooklyn. He was identified at the scene as Kaplan Richard Holmes, the son of Senator hopeful, William James Holmes. Police will release a statement later with their initial findings, but sources in the department hint that a homicide investigation will soon be opened into death . . .”
“Jesus,I can’t stomach that this early in the morning,” Kirill said casually, reaching out and turning the radio off.