me.” Hennessey touched his heart. “I didn’t think I had it in me to love someone selflessly. Then Lola poked me.”
“She poked you?” I laughed.
Hennessey stuck his finger against my left arm. Hard. He wore a shit-eating grin.
“Hey!” His touch sent off a cascade of sparks through my body.
He started to laugh. “That was my exact response to Lola. Before I knew what was happening, she climbed into my lap and pushed my sleeve up to look at my tattoos.” Hennessey set his meaty left forearm in front of me. “She traced the lines with her tiny fingers. When she was finished, she looked up at me with this look of awe in her eyes and told me my arm pictures were beautiful. She won my heart at that moment. It’s crazy to think how I ever lived without those girls.” He pulled his hand back and grabbed his taco, taking a large bite as if he hadn’t just unlocked his heart to me.
I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to him. My body felt like it was vibrating in tune with Hennessey. I didn’t want to open my mouth and ruin this moment, so I followed Hennessey’s lead and grabbed my taco.
We ate together in companionable silence until the restaurant door opened. A tall man wearing mirrored aviator sunglasses stepped in. He was thin, with his clothes hanging off his frame like he’d dropped a lot of weight without buying new clothes.
“I’ll be damned,” Hennessey nearly whispered under his breath.
“Well, well, well, Hennessey McCoy. We meet again,” the strange man said. His lips curled into a smile I could only describe as maniacal.
My eyes moved back and forth between the stranger and Hennessey. The man looked triumphant while Hennessey looked as if he were holding back his temper with every shred of his self-control. I wasn’t sure if I should stay where I was or bolt. There was a pleading look in his blue eyes when they locked with my own.
At that moment, I knew my place was at his side. I wasn’t moving, come hell or highwater.
7
Hennessey
When he walked through the door, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. Morrison could see him too, which meant I wasn’t hallucinating or losing what was left of my mind. He was really here, just like he’d promised so long ago.
Every muscle in my body was tensed and ready for a fight. I was about to stand up when he slid into the booth next to me. I caught a whiff of booze and something a bit more rancid, like garlic or weeks-old body odor. His hair was still blond, but there was less of it now than the last time I’d seen him. “What the hell are you doing here?” I gritted from behind clenched teeth.
“Is that any way to greet an old friend and superior officer?” he asked before turning to Morrison. “Stan ‘The Man’ Russell, United States Coast Guard.” He offered Morrison his hand.
It was on the tip of my tongue to remind Stan he was no longer a member of the Coast Guard. Thanks to him, neither was I, but I didn’t want to get into that discussion there or then.
Morrison raised an eyebrow but made no move to shake Stan’s hand. “Morrison Rowe.” His words were polite but said with an icy air.
There would be time later to examine Morrison being on my side without knowing an iota of what happened in Miami all those years ago. Right now, my focus needed to be on Stan “The Man.” “You didn’t answer my question. What are you doing here?”
Stan smiled, giving him a sinister vibe. “It’s a free country, isn’t it? I’m simply visiting an old friend at his place of work. You are running a public establishment, correct?”
My stomach felt like it was twisting in knots. I would have handled this conversation in a completely different manner if Morrison wasn’t sitting across from me. “Stop answering my question with more questions. If you don’t tell me why you’re here, I’ll escort you to the door.”
“That’s no way to run a business.” Stan shrugged, turning his attention back to Morrison. “New boyfriend or co-worker? Back in my day, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was in place, so I couldn’t have given Hennessey the boot even if I’d known about his vile habits.” That ruthless grin was back in place.
“Don’t say a word, Morrison. I know exactly why he’s here.” I sighed. I knew damn well that