“I think you have to miss a period. I’ll run down to Walgreen’s and look at one.”
Then off she went, luckily Walgreen’s was only a few blocks away.
“Tex, can you make me a skinny vanilla latte, please?” I asked.
“So you’re talkin’ to me again?” he asked.
“Just make me one!”
“Who’re you? The Man?”
“No, I’m The Woman who wants a vanilla latte!”
“Fine. Jeez. I’ll make you a latte. I’ll make it decaf so you’ll calm down.”
“If you make it decaf, you’re fired,” I said.
“Caffeine may not be good for the baby,” Tex replied.
That’s when I screamed, full-on-Nightmare-on-Elm-Street-scream-your-lungs-out.
The customers jumped and stared.
The bells over the door went. I stopped screaming and saw Eddie coming into the store.
He didn’t look happy.
In fact, he looked scary unhappy.
His mirrored shades were off and his dark eyes were intense.
My frustration at my crazy, f**ked up life went out the window and I walked up to him.
“You okay?” he asked.
I felt my stomach pitch. He wasn’t talking about me screaming.
By the look of him, I was assuming something happened to someone I loved. Seeing as I was a cop’s daughter, this moment was always in the back of my mind. For me, especially coming from Eddie, it could be anyone, Lee, Dad, Malcolm, Hank or dozens of other guys who were friends of mine or Dad’s.
I opened my mouth to answer and I heard then saw the Ducati. It stopped in front of the store, Lee pushed down the stand and swung his leg off. He came inside.
His mouth was tight, his eyes were blank, his expression was grim.
He looked at me, then at Eddie, then back to me.
“You okay?” he asked.
“What the f**k is going on!” I shouted.
“She needs caffeine.” Tex said, handing me my latte.
Lee came closer to me, both he and Eddie were less than a foot away, crowding me in. Tex was still beside me and Duke had wandered over, feeling the vibe, and was standing close behind me.
Bad news was coming.
“Cherry Blackwell’s car exploded this morning,” Lee said.
I stared at him.