“You two are so good for my ego,” she teased them. “Here I was thinking nobody cared.”
“Of course, we care.” Will gave Paul a worried look.
Paul nodded in agreement. “When we heard you left yesterday feeling sick, we were both concerned. Are you all right today?”
“Fit as a fiddle.” She gave them both a warm smile as she poured more coffee into their cups.
Andrew arrived, sliding onto a stool beside the other two. “It’s good to see you back today, Lou.”
“It’s good to be back, Andrew. Do you want your usual?”
Naturally he did. As she scrawled the order on the notepad she carried with her, the door opened.
She looked up and then stilled, pen poised over her pocket. It was Armand. The chatter of the customers faded into the background as she watched him scan the room, find her and then begin to make his way towards where she stood.
She sensed every eye in the place following his progress, interest coming from the women and a grudging respect from the men. Armand wasn’t cocky like Ryne yet there was a confidence about him, a solid stability as if he knew who he was and his place in the world. It was one of the things she loved about him and was the antithesis of her own floundering as she tried to figure out what she wanted in life.
“Hello, Lucy.”
“Armand. I didn’t expect to see you here.” She‘d thought he’d call or stop by her apartment later in the afternoon.
“I told you we had unfinished business.” His gaze swept over her before returning to her face.
Unfinished business. Those two words had her stomach doing an excited flip flop as she envisioned what that ‘business’ might entail. When she didn’t reply, he prompted her.
“I’ve come to pick you up.”
“Oh.” With a start she realized she’d been staring at him. She glanced at her watch. “I still have to work for a couple more hours. I do a double shift, breakfast and lunch.”
“Ah, my mistake. I assumed you’d be leaving around this time, just as you did yesterday.”
She felt her face grow warm as she recalled her disappearing act the previous day. “Um, no. That was an…unusual circumstance.”
“Really?” The corner of his mouth twitched.
She pressed her lips together. Drat him, he knew exactly what had happened yesterday!
“I’ll return in two hours then.” He reached out and tucked a stray curl behind her ear, his fingers lightly stroking her cheek as he gave her a slow smile.
“Okay.” Her reply came out on a breath, his touch having erased her irritation.
With a last lingering look, he turned, his gaze sweeping the room, acknowledging those present. Heads turned as the customers followed his progress to the exit. His kind was a rarity in the King’s Plate.
There was a moment of silence when the door closed behind him, as if everyone was trying to process what had just occurred; and then the room came back to life, those near her peppering her with questions.
“That’s the guy from yesterday, isn’t it?” Kathy hissed as she passed by, a tray of food in her hands.
“You know him?” Will asked.
“Who was that?” Paul spoke at the same time.
“Someone from back home.” She answered automatically, still stunned. He was and yet wasn’t the Armand she’d known for years. He looked and sounded the same but there was something different, like he was staking his claim and making sure those around her knew it. She fought the need to fan herself.
“Back home? Where is that?” Andrew’s question jerked her from her reverie.
“Um…pretty far from here.” She gave him a distracted smile. “I’ll go place your order.”
She continued to be asked subtle and not so subtle questions about Armand for the rest of her shift.
“He called you Lucy. I always thought Lou was short for Louise.”
“How long have you known him?”
“Was he your boyfriend?”
“Where is he taking you after work?
“Is he staying in Chicago very long?”
She managed to fend off most of their inquiries with vague answers.
“You’ve never agreed to go out with me,” Paul said woefully.
“You only want me so I can slip you extra pieces of dessert,” she teased.
“Well there is that, plus you’re as sweet as pie,” Will pointed out.
After looking to the left and the right, she leaned closer to them. “Let me tell you a secret.”
They looked at her expectantly, breath held and eyes wide with interest.
“I don’t make the dessert. Jeff does. I guess you really should be asking him out.”
They looked at her in surprise and after a beat burst into loud laughter that had the other customers smiling. Gin, of course, scowled from where she was listening as she made a fresh pot of coffee.
The end of the lunch shift approached, and she became lost in speculation as to how her evening with Armand might progress. She wasn’t sure why he was here or what he was expecting but his kisses yesterday had left her hot and bothered. It had been a long time since she’d scratched that itch and now that it had been stirred to life, she was having a hard time ignoring it. She’d told Roxi that Armand wasn’t the kind one played around with, however she might never see him again once he left. Did she want to always be wondering ‘what if’?
Distracted by her thoughts, she wasn’t paying attention when she went to the utility room to get more cloths for cleaning the tables. The edge of the shelf was sharp, and she caught her arm on it.
“Damn!” She exited the room, sucking on the scratch, cloths in the other hand. “Jeff, didn’t you report that shelf to Mr. Henderson?” Mr. Henderson owned the diner but was elderly and absent more often than not.
“I did,” Jeff looked her way. “Got cut again?”
“Yeah.” She examined her arm. “It’s not too bad.”
“Here,” Jeff rummaged in a drawer and then handed her a bandage.
“Thanks.”
“I’ll let Henderson know about that shelf again. Last week it was Kathy. This week you. Heaven forbid Gin ever gets snagged on it!”
“We’ll never hear the end of it,” she agreed. “Thanks for the bandage.”
Armand returned to collect Lucy at the appointed time, having spent the previous two hours talking with his investment counsellor, Ashton Blake. After rearranging his finances—a tidy nest egg he'd accumulated from working up north as a rigger for several years—he walked away, thankful someone else was in charge of managing the money. The Broken Antler provided him with enough to live on and that was all that mattered.
Now he was waiting patiently at the door, as Lucy tucked away her tips. Several people noticed him standing there and eyed him curiously. He returned their looks with a steady gaze before placing a possessive hand in the small of Lucy’s back and leading her out of the diner.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
He shrugged. “I was early.”
“What did you do with your day? Find a park with some trees and sit there pretending you weren’t surrounded by buildings?”
He laughed. “I considered it. Instead, I contacted a friend.” It was the truth; Ashton was a friend of sorts.
“That’s nice. It’s always good to keep track of family and friends.”
“Mine are scattered across the country. It’s rare I get a chance to see them.” Taking her hand in his, he smiled down at her. “What would you like to do? It’s only mid-afternoon and too early to eat. Do you want to visit a museum or go shopping or…?”
“I’m not dressed for anything fancy.” She gestured towards the uniform she was wearing. The shirt had the diner’s name embroidered on the sleeve but otherwise looked like a normal garment to him as did her dark blue pants.
About to say she looked fine to him, a group of teens brushed passed them, heading into the bowling alley that was adjacent to the diner.
&nbs
p; Lucy eyed them for a minute and then grinned. “What about bowling?”
“Bowling?”
“Sure, why not?”
“Bowling it is, then.”
He stopped as they were about to enter and pointed towards a poster on the door. It was covered with grotesque images of people dripping blood and sporting fatal wounds. “What’s this?”
“They’re having a zombie bowling night.” One of the other waitresses—Kathy according to her name tag—answered his question as she paused to adjust her purse over her shoulder. “You two going bowling?”
Lucy nodded.
“Have fun.” Kathy flashed a quick smile and continued on her way.
“Zombie bowling? She was kidding, yes?” He must have made a face for Lucy laughed.
“No zombies in Stump River yet? They’re all the rage here.”
“No, no zombies.” He gave her a cautious look. “Do you like these things?”
“Me?” She studied the picture and shivered. “Nope. I came too close to dying to want to dress up like I really did.”
The image of her lying on the ground surrounded in blood caused his gut to clench and he could only imagine what the memories must be like for her. His gaze drifted to where she was adjusting a strand of hair over her scar. “Do you think about it often?”
“No. Well…sometimes, especially at first. It’s getting better with time.” She shrugged. “And it did remind me life’s short. Before, I had plans but never acted on them. Not anymore.”
Plans. Yes, he knew about events that could have you re-evaluating your life. Still, it hurt that her plans hadn’t included him. He made no comment though, instead opening the door and gesturing for her to enter.
The sound of rolling balls and crashing pins mixed with music and conversation to create a wall of noise. His inner animal lowered its head and covered its ears with its paws while muttering about the peaceful quiet of a forest.
After paying the fee and gathering footwear, they made their way to their assigned lane. He noticed Lucy sliding a look his way as he squeezed into the shoes; it was the largest size they had but still a tight fit. Apparently bear shifters didn’t frequent the establishment.
“Um, I guess I should warn you…” She bit her lip, hesitating.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re not a skilled bowler,” he assured her. “I haven’t played in ages so we’ll be well matched.”
“Really? That’s what you thought I was going to say?”
“It wasn’t?”
She waited a beat then shrugged. “Sure, I was warning you about my bowling skills. Why don’t you go first so I can see how it’s done?”
He complied and managed to knock down half the pins and then take out the rest with the next ball.
“That’s not bad.” Lucy stood and picked up a ball.
“Not bad?” He glanced from her to the now empty lane. “I cleared all the pins.”
“And it took you two tries.”
He opened his mouth to reply but she was already striding toward the launch. She stopped, stared at the target and then in a fluid motion that spoke of much practice took four quick steps and sent the ball spinning down the lane. All the pins fell with a resounding clatter and she gave a victorious jump and whoop before walking back to her seat.
“Not a skilled bowler?” He raised one brow.
“I didn’t say that. You assumed, and you know what I say about that.”
He stood for his turn. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Assumptions can come back and bite you in the ass.” She laughed and lightly smacked his rear before taking her seat. “Now go knock down those pins, tiger.”
“Bear.” Her touch had him befuddled and the word slipped out before he could stop it.
“Pardon?”
“I…um…I hope you can bear my poor skills.”
She immediately bounced to her feet and hugged his arm, her face a study of regret. “I’m sorry, Armand. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I shouldn’t have teased you.”
“Lucy, I’m fine. My ego isn’t so delicate that it can’t take a joke.”
His assurances fell on deaf ears and she spent the rest of the game offering him pointers. By the time they were done, he’d managed a few strikes though she beat him soundly with a near perfect score.
“You’re very good.”
She shrugged. “We get free bowling passes; the owner slips them to us to help make up for all the noise.”
He looked at her smiling face, the faint flush on her cheeks. It was good to see her like this; happy and teasing him with her smart comments. This was the Lucy he knew from back in Stump River. He missed her and the time they’d spent together; darts, shooting pool, watching a hockey game together on cold wintery days when few customers ventured out.
“Are you hungry?” She interrupted his musings.
His stomach answered with a rumble and she laughed.
“What about pizza and a movie at my place?”
“I would have thought, being in a big city, you’d want to do something more exciting.”
“I used to.” She shrugged. “But after a while it gets to be old. A quiet night at home is nice, especially if you can share it with a friend.”
“A friend? Your roommate won’t be home?”
“Nope. Not until late tonight if she comes home at all, or so she told me this morning.” She took his hand and gave it a squeeze.
His inner bear nodded in approval.
It hadn’t been pleased with him for walking away last night only seeing reason when he mentioned Roxi’s presence would put a damper on certain activities. The girl had a twisted sense of humour and would quite likely find it amusing to interrupt them.
They stopped and bought a pizza near Lucy’s apartment and then made their way to her place. The scent of the hot cheese caused his stomach to rumble once again and she was teasing him about it as they climbed the last flight of stairs.
“I think you should have stayed at the diner this afternoon. I could have slipped you a—"
He interrupted her, pressing a finger to her lips.
One foot on the landing, she gave him a questioning look.
He gestured with his chin towards her door. It was shut. Outwardly, nothing appeared out of the ordinary.
“What’s wrong?” She mouthed the words.
Leaning close, he whispered into her ear. “I hear someone inside.”
She cocked her head. “I don’t hear anything.”
“I do.” He moved so he was between her and the apartment. “Didn’t you say Roxi was at work?”
She nodded and pulled out her phone, sending a text to Roxi asking where she was. Mere seconds passed before there was an answer. Turning the phone, she showed him the reply. Yes, she was working.
“Stay here.” He traded the pizza for her key and quietly walked the short distance to the door. With utmost care, he unlocked it and turned the handle, easing the door open.
The apartment was dimly lit, late afternoon sunlight struggling to work its way between the tall buildings to the windows, one of which was wide open, the curtains stirring gently in the breeze.
“They must have got in using the fire escape!” Lucy hissed the words as she peered over his shoulder.
“Wait outside.”
“It’s my apartment!”
He scowled at her and she took a mere half step back. Holding back a sigh, he returned his attention to the noise coming from the rear of the apartment. The thief was likely looking for jewellery or small electronics to pawn.
As quietly as possible, he began to make his way across the living room. He’d only taken a few steps when a figure appeared in the hallway. Dressed in dark clothing, a small bag in hand, all he could see was the silhouette of a short, lithe individual.
Perhaps it was the light from the outer hall or maybe they’d made a noise for suddenly the thief gave a start and dove towards the fire escape.
“Arrête! Stop!�
�� With a shout, he gave chase, stretching out a hand to catch hold of the thief only to miss by a fraction of an inch. He started to follow but even as he was swinging his leg over the sill, the thief was scrambling down the last flight of stairs and jumping the remaining distance to the ground before landing on a discarded mattress and disappearing down the alley.
With a frustrated growl, he hit the wall, his fist leaving a crack in the plaster. And then he gave a loud sneeze!
Chapter 10
Lou jumped at the sound of Armand’s fist hitting the wall. Light from the window had him silhouetted, bits of plaster dust floating in the air around him like a halo. The curses erupting from him, however, were decidedly un-angelic. Armand seldom lost his temper—in fact she’d only seen it happen a few times in all the years she’d known him—but when he did, it was best to give him some time to cool down.
She closed the apartment door, set the pizza on the counter and her purse on a chair and pondered the fact that everything had happened so fast, she hadn’t had time to feel afraid.
We’re acting like we used to at the Broken Antler, the voice in her head said. Wading into the fray, ready to act…
The realization surprised her, and she gave a half-smile. It had felt good, freeing and sort of comfortable, like slipping on an old tatty sweatshirt.
Perhaps we need to do this more often. Be less cautious.
She considered the point until she realized Armand was done cursing. Taking that as a good sign, she went to peer through the broken window. “Did you get a look at the person?”
“No, dammit!” He grumbled as he glared at the fire escape. “Was anything stolen?”
She scanned the living room. The shelves that held their books and movies were still nicely organized, the TV and DVD player still sat on the stand. “Everything looks normal unless the thief was a neat freak and tidied up after ransacking. I’ll go check the bedrooms.”
Roxi’s room was the usual disaster so there was no way of knowing if it had been disturbed or not. Her own room seemed unchanged. The dresser drawers were shut, her jewellery box was closed. Of course, it only contained cheap costume stuff, but the thief might not have known that.
“I think we surprised him just as he broke in. Nothing’s been touched.” She called out the news to Armand.
Veil of Lies Page 11