I looked around the table. Everyone was staring at me.
“Actual y, I’m going out tonight with Indy, Tod, Lottie and Daisy. I’l probably be out late.”
That’s al I shared, he could guess the rest.
More silence.
More Spanish.
He guessed the rest.
“Eddie…”
Final y, he said, “I’l ask Lee to tail you.”
“No! We think we have a lock on Dad and Lee’l scare him off.”
Lee’d scare anyone off, one look at us with Lee in charge, word would spread like wildfire and Dad would be gone.
“It’l be okay,” Eddie said.
“Anyone sees him with us…”
Eddie laughed softly but it was a serious laugh. “If Lee tails you, no one wil see him, not even you.” Somehow, that scared me more.
“I don’t think—” I started.
“Trust me, Chiquita.”
“I’m not sure—” I tried again.
“I want you to trust me and I’m askin’ you to do this for me. It’l give me peace of mind. I might have some shit goin’ down tonight. I don’t need to be worried about you.” My breath froze in my lungs.
This was a lot, trusting Eddie, doing something for Eddie and worrying about Eddie al at the same time.
I made a split-second decision.
“Cal Lee,” I gave in.
He talked in Spanish again, his voice now soft, I knew some of the words and they were sweet.
Then he said, “When you’re done, you’re comin’ to my place.”
He wasn’t asking.
“Yeah,” I said, feeling the warmth curling in my bel y, I couldn’t say anything else; I was in an Eddie Daze.
“Leave your sister with Tex.”
“Okay,” I was stil in The Daze.
“Be careful.”
“You too,” I said quietly, meaning both words and meaning them a lot.
He was silent for a beat and then he said, “This is the part that makes you worth it.”
I blinked again, not keeping up with him.
“Pardon?”
“You got two kinds of sweet and I like both of ‘em.” Then he disconnected.
Dear Lord.
Chapter Twenty
War
The afternoon passed in a whir.
We went back to Fortnum’s, then Duke took me to the bank (my second ride on a Harley) so I could deposit my tips and the (very generous) col ection from the folks at Smithie’s.
While I was gone, Lottie trailed Mom and Tex home in her rental in order to visit with Mom and get settled at Tex’s.
Tex seemed surprisingly content with his house fil ing up with women. Indy explained Tex had been a loner and kinda hermit for years before he met her, so she figured he was making up for lost time.
Duke and I went back to Fortnum’s. I helped close and then Lee and Indy took me to my apartment to find something sparkly to wear. I’d packed for Eddie’s during a mammoth flip out and thus, didn’t do it very wel . I was going to use the opportunity to pack more (a girl’s gotta have options).
Lee made Indy and I stand in the front hal while he did a walk-through of the apartment. I felt kinda stupid standing there, not to mention uncomfortable. The favors people were doing for me were spreading far and wide, so far and so wide, I’d never be in a position of payback.
“Al clear,” Lee said with a chin jerk.
Indy fol owed me into my bedroom while Lee hung out in the living room and flipped open his cel . Before going into my room, I glanced at him as he moved around my living room and a thril went up my spine. He was just talking on the phone but he’d somehow completely claimed the space. In fact, his presence fil ed the entire apartment with a kind of dangerous, badass magnetism.
“He kinda scares me,” I admitted to Indy when we’d entered my room.
She threw herself on my bed to watch me pack.
“He’s kinda scary,” she told me.
I stopped digging through my closet and stared at her.
“How do you get over it?” I asked, then immediately started digging again. It was a nosy question and real y wasn’t my business.
Then, I couldn’t help myself, I had to, so I decided to share.
“I’m only asking because Eddie kinda scares me too.
He’s a cop, he says something’s ‘going down’ tonight. I don’t know what but it doesn’t sound good. It flips me out.
How do you take the worry?”
Clearly not thinking I was nosy, she shrugged, “I love him.”
Simple as that.
Though, I guess that would do it.
We went to Eddie’s to dump my bag, Lee doing the walk-through/al -clear thing again.
I pul ed out what I was going to wear that night and then we went to Indy and Lee’s.