I placed the book on the seat and reached for the glove compartment. The door was holding on by one hinge when I opened it and the Advil bottle fell with a hollow sound. Popping the lid, there was single pill stuck to the side. At least it was an extra strength. A couple of bangs against my palm set the pill free and I swallowed it dry.
A quick check in the mirror showed the makeup job over the side of my face wasn’t the best. Nothing a quick rearrangement of my hair part couldn’t fix. I’d just have to remember not to push it behind my ears, as I liked to do, and try and stay on everyone’s left side. That store clerk had certainly had one mean right hook.
My old Honda’s door creaked and I gave her a pat on the hood after I shut it. “I feel you, old girl, all too well. It feels like we’re both hitting the end of the line.”
Step by step, I walked toward the building, trying to concentrate on not limping. I’d hurt the already sore knee during a different job last night, when I’d jumped a fence as the police pursued me. They’d been under the misconception I’d just knocked off a jewelry store. In truth, I’d just helped the burglar escape.
I walked into the office suite, and I noticed the receptionist watching me from behind a copy of Stars Magazine. Her narrowed eyes followed my steps. They were starting to catch on that something was off with me. It was in their eyes, when they thought I wasn’t looking.
“Are you walking funny?” she said, just as I’d made it to the interior door.
“Nope. Not at all,” I said, hoping she’d take the hint and drop the subject. Maybe I shouldn’t have risked coming in today, but I had to know if any of my last jobs were a Lock. I wasn’t going to make it too much longer, at this rate. I needed to figure out what Malokin was up to, because if I didn’t…
Try as I might, I couldn’t see a way out of this mess. Kitty could be anywhere. I was no closer to finding her than the day she disappeared.
And Paddy. Where was he? His absence made how much I’d relied upon him being there to catch me brutally obvious. I was jumping without a net, these days.
The receptionist dropped the magazine onto the desk, dropping the subterfuge of not watching me with it. “Yeah, you are.”
“It’s these shoes. They aren’t that comfortable.” I was wearing sneakers.
She forced her mouth into a smile, but it didn’t wipe the doubt from her eyes. I smiled back and hoped I did a better job of faking it than her.
I pulled open the interior office door to the back, never noticing the full weight of it until now. My knee felt like it was going to tell my shin it wanted to go its own way. I focused on walking as normally as I could, while maintaining a face that showed anything but pain. Even annoyance would do.
I took a quick inventory of its occupants. Luck wasn’t in, which was a good thing. She read me better than most and almost as well as Fate.
“Hey, guys,” I greeted, as I made my way past Crow who was talking to Jockey. I waved to Bernie as he watered a potted four-leaf clover on his desk and went to sit over at my table by the window.
Gripping the chair, it helped support my weight as I sat down. I whipped a book out of my purse and pretended everything was good in my world. As if I wasn’t fighting the force of the Universe on a daily basis and barely escaping.
The arrival of Buddy, Bobby and Billy, the Jinxes, was heralded by the skidding sound of skateboards. They knocked into the table I was sitting at, pushing its leg into a collision course with my knee. I grimaced before I could stop myself and then forced my teeth to unclench.
“Chickie, you don’t look so good,” Bobby said, and Billy and Buddy didn’t hesitate to back up his opinion.
“I’m fine. And a gentleman should never criticize a woman’s appearance,” I replied, hoping to shut down this line of questioning.
It had the opposite effect on the three of them. They looked at each other and made mocking faces before breaking into a fit of laughter. Yeah, I wasn’t operating on all cylinders today.
“Chickie, that’s the funniest shit we’ve heard in a decade!”
The Jinxes were laughing so hard I didn’t notice when Fate walked in. I was clued in to his arrival as soon as I saw the Jinxes start to lean on the table, wall, windowsill or whatever else they could place their little hands on.
He was heading in our direction. I could feel the way his eyes bored into my skin as he neared. Every inch of my body seemed to become more alive, as if it had some sort of intrinsic awareness of him on a cellular level, or whatever it was that my body was now comprised of. Or maybe it was a heightened sensitivity after our last romp.
“Hey, what’s up?” Buddy addressed him, leaning on the table with his ankles crossed, trying to play it cool.
Fate looked over, as if he hadn’t noticed them until they spoke. He nodded, and then turned his full attention back to me.
“Need to talk.” His tone meant business, but I wasn’t sure which business it was. Did he want to talk about our moment the other day, to put it nicely, or was this about the job he’d shown up at a few nights prior? I could still see that woman choking in my mind.
Either way, it meant getting up. That would, in turn, lead to him noticing my limp. Fate saw everything; I’d never be able to hide it from him if I couldn’t even make it past the receptionist.
“Right this second?” I motioned to the boys, as if I didn’t want to leave their company. I knew it was a stretch.
“Now.” He didn’t scream the word; he didn’t have to. And yet somehow the whole office heard him say it anyway. Maybe it was because they had an ear in our direction every time we were together. Fate and I were the hottest piece of gossip currently circulating through the building.
The Jinxes looked at Fate, then me, then each other, and quickly decided the other side of the room looked more appealing. Couldn’t blame them. He wasn’t happy, and a pissed off Fate was a scary Fate. Not that I was particularly worried. Fate wasn’t threatening Kitty’s life, or kicking me in the gut, so he wasn’t listed as a top threat in my book. No one got that honor these days until they’d nailed me in the head with a metal-reinforced boot toe.
I remained in my chair and looked out the window. His presence hovering over me was palpable. He wasn’t going to leave. I couldn’t hide the limp and after that last knock to my knee, I wasn’t completely sure I could even stand, yet.
Waiting him out wasn’t going to work. “Why don’t you sit?” I motioned to the empty seat next to me.
“No. Not here.” He grabbed my chair and pulled it out for me, banging my knee against the table leg again. An instant burst of pain exploded, causing me to catch my breath. I was impressed I hadn’t screamed or made a noise, but my cover was completely blown.
His brow furrowed and his eyes squinted accusingly. The vein pulsed in his neck and his body seemed stiffer than it had been even a minute ago. That was impressive. If he got any tenser, he might turn to stone.
“Do you need me to carry you?” The words were said softly but with a definite edge. He looked so angry I wasn’t sure if he was mad or trying to help.
“No.” The last thing I wanted was to be carried out of there.
I turned in my seat and tried to get a read on him. An idiot would’ve known he was pissed but beyond that I got nothing. Why was he the only person in my life I had so much trouble reading?
He started to lean down and I realized that I was out of time.
“Don’t you dare,” I said, trying to delay whatever action he was preparing to take. Looked like my stall quota had been all used up. If I’d had any delusions of him cutting me any slack because of what had happened between us, I was quickly realizing how wrong I’d been. He seemed even worse.
He moved closer and grabbed me under one arm. But not hard, and I realized he was actually trying to be helpful with his previous offer when he tried to assist me in getting up.