a steak and you can tell me about murder.” What have I become?
“Thank you,” he said quietly, and she could sense the weight of feeling behind his words but, because she was an immature idiot, shrugged and looked away. Which is why she didn’t notice her would-be muggers until it was close to too late.
She’d led him outside rather than taking the skyway, and they were skirting the edge of the parking ramp when opportunistic thieves made their presence known with, “Give it up.”
Oh, swell. This is on me. Tom’s probably still freaked out; I should’ve been paying attention for both of us. An unpleasant experience is nigh. Nigh, I say!
She knew the best and safest option was to meekly hand over her purse
“Man said give it the fuck up.”
no matter how much she wanted to arm-wrestle them for it. Still, they were both big—almost as tall as Tom. More worrying, they didn’t seem especially nervous or edgy—she had the impression they’d done this before. The one on the left was wearing a knitted cap pulled low, which also should have tipped her off, and had one hand stuffed into his pocket
(knife? gun?)
while his empty hand dangled at his side. His partner was shorter and wider, and flashed his knife with disconcerting confidence. Less-than-even odds, in other words.
She started to unsling her purse from her shoulder
(better update my list and get more Tootsie Rolls and also a new wallet)
when Tom struck. Literally. She felt the wind of the blow as his fist shot past her face, which was followed by a “crunch” not unlike the sound of someone wrenching a turkey leg from the thigh.
The tall one made an outraged, bubbly sound as blood poured down his chin while his partner lunged into Tom’s left hook. She was astonished at Tom’s speed—she would have expected him to be strong, not swift. Tom made a grab for the first guy, but they had decided to git while the gitting was good, and were around the corner and away not even ten seconds after Tom had thrown his first punch.
“Holy shit! Are you okay?”
“Yes. Are you?”
“Are you kidding? Nobody touched me. I didn’t even get my purse all the way off. C’mere, let me see.” He held his hands out to her like a kid letting a grown-up see if their hands were clean. One was fine; the other was … holding something?
“Oh my God, you lifted his wallet.” She stared up at him in amazement. “I thought you just grabbed for him and missed, but you picked his pocket!”
“Yes.”
“That is so cool!”
He grinned and ducked his head, affecting a “no biggie” shrug. “I don’t believe this attack is related to Danielle’s murder or the vandalism, but I’ll hold onto this just in case.”
“Sure, fine, great plan, and also maybe your bodyguarding idea isn’t as craptastic as I assumed.”
“Thank you,” he replied dryly, as she produced Kleenex and dabbed the blood off his knuckles.
Radisson BLU
Bloomington, MN
Room 263
“… and the filet mignon with mushrooms.”
“Yes.”
“And cheddar herb mashed potatoes.”
“Yes.”
“And a pitcher of iced tea.”
“Yes.”
“And white chocolate banana cream pie.”
“Yes-yes-yes!” For a moment, Tom thought the room service server was in real danger as Ava lunged. No, she was merely in a rush to sign the bill and devour her meal. “Looks great. Thank you. Tom! The food’s here.”
“Ava, I am six feet away. I’m very aware the food is here.”
“Keep up the snark and no dessert for you.”
She had brought him back to her one-bedroom suite and ordered their food while he excused himself and fled to the bathroom, washed his hands, then glared at the idiot in the mirror and told him to calm the hell down—yes, hell, I meant hell and definitely not heck—for God’s sake!
It wasn’t the fight. She was fine, he was fine, the threat had been neutralized. It was the other thing. He thought about how best to explain. Most of the time I would have been fine in such a bustling place. But there were a number of factors that heightened my anxiety and shattered my focus. The first factor: Ava Capp.
Must I explain? He was surprised by the thought, one his much younger self would have asked plaintively. Again?
The sharp rap on the door had splintered his concentration, and a few seconds later he heard a delighted yelp
“Food’s here!”
and left the bathroom.
So here they were, eating in companionable silence while he struggled to think of what to say. Ava had wasted no time spreading out the food