“Um… yeah.”
“That’s it? Your trouble is that Sissy’s filing for divorce?”
I grabbed another chunk and put it into my mouth while I turned to him and leaned my hip against the counter. “She’s my best friend. Her troubles are my troubles.”
Luke stared at me for a beat then said, “So why were you there last night?”
“She needed something and asked me to get it for her.”
“She needed something out of Vincetti’s nightstand?”
Hell and damnation.
I looked down at the melon and back at Luke. “I cut too much melon just for me. You sure you don’t want any?” I stalled again.
He shook his head, totally seeing through me, but took a chunk and put it in his mouth. I found watching him chew was weirdly fascinating and decided I was not a dork, I was a freak.
Once he swallowed, he said (his voice kinda scary), “Ava, I’m not gonna tell you again not to lie.”
Crap.
I took another chunk of melon and chewed while glaring at him. “You know,” I told him, again trying to stall. “This is really none of your business.”
“It became my business when you and I were caught in a hail of gunfire.”
Hmm.
In all fairness, he was kind of right, though I wasn’t about to tell him that nor was I going to give in. I didn’t ask him to be there.
I nabbed another chunk of melon and chewed it angrily, now seriously glaring at him. “I didn’t ask you to be there,” I pointed out. “You weren’t even supposed to be there.”
“Okay, then it became my business when you walked into the offices yesterday.”
“No it didn’t.”
“Yes, it did.”
“No. It didn’t.”
He took another chunk of melon and threw it in his mouth calmly then his eyes came back to me and I noticed he was totally oblivious to my glare.
“I don’t need your help,” I told him, switching subjects and still delaying.
“Right,” he said.
“I don’t.”
“Maybe you would have had the presence of mind to get out of the line of fire last night, maybe you wouldn’t. With the way you freaked out afterward, I doubt you would have. The way I figure it, you owe me double.”
I blinked with confusion. “Double?” I asked. “I owe you double for what?”
“Saving your ass last night and not telling me you have a situation.”
I shook my head, not following. “Excuse me?”
“You’re standing here, right now, because of me. And yesterday, I told you if I found out you had trouble, you’d pay. You’re paying.”
I was not getting a good feeling about this.