Chapter 21
HARLOW
Cass' face paled. "Buying a handful of bulbs might take longer than we thought?" He didn't look convinced.
"We shouldn't have let him go alone," I said.
In the scheme of things, lightbulbs weren’t that important. Still, he didn't have to go that far to get them. Would Eros act against him out on the street in broad daylight? Men like him operated in the shadows. Should I say, people like us?
I wasn't that different, no matter how hard I tried to convince myself I was.
Cass took a step toward the door. Stopped.
"I don't want to leave you here by yourself." The conflict was written in every angle of his face. His eyes were heavy with it.
"Gina will be here soon," I said. "I'll be okay."
Did I feel that confident? Not really. I could take care of myself, but Erin lying dead, her eyes glazed, hair slick with blood, still shook me. Chances were it always would. That was the point, right? To put me on the back foot and make me question everything. It was working.
Right now, in the back of my mind, I was wondering if this was some kind of set up. Jules left, then Cass would, leaving me alone and vulnerable.
Just like Eros wanted.
"What is it?" Cass stepped back and placed his hands on either side of my face, stroking his thumbs up and down my cheeks. "I won't leave if you don't want me to."
I tried to contain my flinch.
"What the hell?" he whispered. Dropping his hands to my shoulders, he stared right at my face.
"Talk to me." He used his forceful, bedroom tone, which made me swallow deeply. Now was not the time for my clit to throb like a bucking bronco.
"I thought I could trust her," I said softly. "Now I don't know who I can trust."
That was the truth, without coming out and saying it directly.
"You think you can't trust me?" He looked hurt, like I kicked him in the nuts at the same time as I kicked his puppy. Those would be some mad gymnastics skills.
I looked away, my gaze on nothing in particular.
"I don't know," I said. "Right now, I'm not sure I trust myself."
"Look at me," he said. "Harlow. Look. At. Me." When I brought my gaze back to his face he said, "I don't know what I have to say to make you understand, but you can trust me. I'd never betray you. For one thing, I love you. For another, you'd stab me in the balls if I pissed you off."
I snort-laughed, then blinked at him a couple of times.
"You love me?"
"So much." He lowered his forehead to mine, lightly touching. "Please don't stab me in the balls."
"You've never given me reason to," I admitted. I wanted so badly to believe him.
"You have every reason to be careful," he said. "I'd be worried if you weren't questioning everyone and everything. In my experience, blind faith is a bad thing. It leads to complacency. And complacency leads to…"
"Walking into your restaurant and finding one of your staff members lying dead on the floor?" I said. "Yeah, complacency is a bad idea."
"At least you aren't fucking," Jules said as he stepped back into the restaurant, a box in his arms.
We jumped apart and let out matching sighs of relief.
"What took you so long?" I asked.
"Awww, were you worried about me?" He placed the box on the table and opened it to reveal smaller boxes, each containing a lightbulb.
"Pfft, of course not." I waved my hand dismissively. "We couldn't get rid of you that easily. I know, I've tried."
“Uh-huh, sure," Jules said, clearly disbelieving. "Admit it, you were worried about me."
"You didn't answer the question," Cass said. "What took you so long?" Apparently my wariness was contagious.
"They had to get more from out the back," Jules said easily. "It took them a while to find them. Excuse me if I wasn't walking out with two less than we needed. Call me anal, but leaving two bulbs warm would drive me bananas."
I looked over at Cass. "Would we call him anal?"
Cass slid a sly smile in his brother's direction.
"Ha fucking ha." Jules started to pull out the smaller boxes and open them. "Shouldn't you be cooking or something? I'll get started on installing these."
I nodded. "There's a step ladder in the storage room if you need it."
"Can't reach without one." He inspected the bulb in his hand, but seemed satisfied it was what he wanted.
"You could, but I prefer people not stand on chairs or tables in my restaurant," I said. "I'll be in the kitchen if you two need anything." I figured the job would go faster with both of them working on it at the same time.
"Are you going to admit you were worried about me?" Jules called to my back.
I turned back and gave him a small smile before heading into the kitchen.
Not five minutes later, the the door opened again and Gina stepped inside.
"Is it safe to come in?" she called out.
Any other time, I might have joked around, reminding her I had sharp knives and hot oil.
Today, I gave her a smile and said, "Perfectly safe." For now. "Are you ready to get back to work?"
"As nice as the idea of a paid holiday was, I was already getting bored," she said with a laugh. "I see we have some help." She looked around, nodding toward Jules, who stood on the ladder, and Cass, who was handing a lightbulb up to him.
"I figured it was time you had someone helping you on the floor," I said lightly. "Don't want you overworked anymore."
"Have I told you lately you're the best boss?" she asked sweetly. "Did they figure out what happened to Erin? Or should I say, who?"
I picked up a spoon and started to stir the risotto. "The cops don't have a clue. They think the killer was someone she knew." I watched Gina carefully for her response.
"Someone she knew," Gina echoed. Her expression was guarded. "Is it possible it was someone you also know?"
"It's possible, but I have no way of knowing," I said. "It might have been someone we all know, so be careful."
"You know me." She started to wind her hair up into a bun at the back of her head. "I've never been the type to take candy from a stranger."
I managed a short laugh. "That's true. You have more street smarts than most people I know." Like me, she was born and bred in the city. There wasn't much that rattled us or took us by surprise. Badassery was in our blood.
"Hell yeah, I do." She fastened the bun into place. "So, how are you doing? I was surprised when you said you were opening the restaurant again so soon. Are you doing okay?"
"I needed to get back to normal," I said. "Or close to normal, given its me we're talking about." I gave her a self-deprecating smile.
"Are you staying at your place alone?" She frowned. "I mean, you did say the killer might be someone you knew. What if they come after you next?"
"I'm staying with a friend," I said simply.
A slow, knowing smile crept onto her lips. "Cass? Or Boner?" She cocked her head. "Or are you staying with Archer?” She must have seen something in my expression, because her smile widened. "Nice work, girl, he's a hottie."
"It's only temporary," I said, my tone evasive. I shouldn't be talking to anyone about where I was staying right now. Not even her.
"That's how it starts," she said. "The next thing you know, you're picking out wedding dresses."
I dipped my head and looked at her from between my eyebrows. "I'm not going to be picking out wedding dresses anytime soon."
For so many reasons, including the fact I'd have to choose one of the men in order to marry them. Why choose one when I could have them all?
"Right," she drew the word out for added disbelief. "It's nice to see you back in the kitchen. Right where you belong. I should go and make sure everything is ready for the lunch service."
"Yes, thank you," I said. I watched her walking away with a sway in her hips and a tickle of unease on the back of my neck.
Cass gave his job over to Gina and joined me in the kitchen.
"Something is off," he whispered. "I can't put my finger on it." His brown eyes looked troubled behind the shiny lenses of his glasses. His hair was clipped back today, off his face, showing me all of his expression.
"I know what you mean," I whispered back.
I ran Jules' story about the staff at the lighting store hunting down more bulbs over and over in my head. I had no reason to think he wasn't telling the truth, but something was not right.
He could have met up with someone before or after he bought the lightbulbs. Made a phone call. Sent off a text.
Something.
I didn't want to believe he was working with Eros, but apart from being Cass' brother, what did I know about him? We'd hated each other on first sight, and now he was around all the time, insinuating himself into everything from our living arrangement to working here.
The latter that was his idea.
He was in the area when Erin was killed. Was he the one who did it?
He could have slipped out, walked down the street before turning around and walking back after Cass called him.
Did he have a good laugh at my expense, seeing me shaken right after I found her?
The idea made me want to stab him in the neck and slice him into pieces the perfect size for a good stroganoff. It wasn't an item I usually had on the menu, but I was flexible.
"Harlow," Cass said softly.
"Be ready for anything," I told him. "Right now, that means checking on the Bolognese sauce for me." I jerked my head over to the pot, which was bubbling away.
"It's just…" Cass gave the sauce the side eye.
"Pork and beef," I told him. "Just pork and beef."
He was going to look at everything with suspicion for a while, wasn't he?
At some point, he might be confronted with the reality of my disposal technique. That was a bridge we'd cross when we got there. I'd keep doing whatever I had to do to stop us from getting caught.
Cass was too adorable for jail. So were Boner and Archer.
I wanted to add Jules to that list, but right now? I couldn't. I couldn't get the image of him killing Erin out of my head. Slicing her up, leaving her in pieces. Spreading her blood all over the walls and floor.