neither friendliness nor hostility.
Cole turned his head. “Ah Keira! It’s been too long.” He addressed the men. “Show some respect! Don’t you know who this is?”
They looked confused.
“This is Keira Maddock. Tell me you’ve at least heard the stories?”
Two of the men looked down, but one shook his head. The woman on his right nudged him and pointed at a man seated at the bar. I looked too. How could I forget? He’d burned my left shoulder. He picked up his drink and took a sip.
“Hey, what happened to his fingers?” the man sitting across from me asked.
Cole sighed and returned his attention to me. “I heard you were doing well for yourself.” He looked at my outfit, and his eyebrows shot up. “I thought you were self employed though.”
“I am. This was necessary for my last job. Cole, something’s happened.”
“Something that brought you to me?” He smiled.
“Did you see the fireworks display earlier this evening?”
“No, but I heard about it. You did that?”
“You know me better than that.” I playfully slapped his arm. “That’s not my style.” I leaned down close to his ear and whispered, “Someone did that to me. I need a place to stay for a while, a place to lay low.”
He set down his cards. “Did anyone follow you?”
“No, I’m pretty sure they think I was in the apartment.”
“Chrissy’s moving out.” He glanced across the room and tilted his head in the direction of a petite brunette.
I turned to see Chrissy. With her was a tall slender woman I didn’t recognize.
“She’s moving up in the world. Payment includes room and board. How will you be paying this time?”
I needed to keep every gat I’d just earned. “In the usual way,” I said.
Cole nodded in agreement and picked up his cards.
I walked over to Chrissy’s table and looked for an empty chair.
“Oh, here,” her friend said. “I was just leaving.” She stood, then leaned down to give Chrissy a hug. “Congratulations!”
I sat in the vacated chair and ordered a beer.
“I saw you talking with Cole,” Chrissy said.
“I need a place to stay. I hope you don’t mind.”
She shrugged. “I figured that’s what you were talking about. I’ll take the couch tonight.”
“What’s the good news?” I asked.
“I’ve replaced the Beckett’s nanny.”
“Oh? What happened to her?” My drink arrived, and I took a sip.
“Rumor is she’s expecting, and Lance Beckett is the father.”
I thought back to the other day when April and I had watched the Beckett girls at play in the park. Was that the errand the nanny needed to run?
“You be careful in that house. I wouldn’t put it past him to try that again! Tell April to be careful too, won’t you?”
“That’s right! I saw her when I interviewed. I’ll tell her.”
“You’ve got an important job ahead of you now. You need to teach those girls to respect and appreciate the Working Class because one day they’ll be at the top. We don’t want them to end up like…” My thoughts drifted back to what Guy had said about people just being people, no matter what their station. “Well, like most of the Elite.”
“That’s a good point. Why are you back, Keira? Anything you want to talk about?”
“No, I’m not ready to talk about it just yet, but thanks for asking.”
Chrissy nodded. “Anytime.”
“You could help me out though. Would you pass along a message to April?”
“Of course!”
“You can tell her where I’m staying and that I’m okay, but remind her to be careful what she says to Scott.”
“All right. Anything else?”
“No. Thanks, Chrissy.”
“Sure. Are you about ready? I’m beat.”
I tipped back my head and quickly downed the rest of the beer. Maybe the alcohol would help me get through the night.
Arm-in-arm, Chrissy and I walked the few blocks to Cole’s house, a one-bedroom bungalow. In the living room, I reached out and wiped a finger across the coffee table. Chrissy had cleaned. I sat down on the faded checkered couch in the living room and looked out the window at the night sky. Chrissy went into the bedroom to pack.
Now that I had a place to stay where I knew exactly what was expected of me, I could plan for the future. Tomorrow, I’d shop for some new clothes and purchase a few other necessities. Then I’d lay low for a few weeks. Once Elaine Ramsey believed she’d successfully killed me, I would be free to move on.
When Chrissy returned to the living room, I said goodnight, entered the small bedroom, removed my caterer’s uniform