Chapter 18 Tallus #2
While he consumed breakfast, I whipped up a protein shake for him to take to the office—because six eggs weren’t enough, apparently. We either headed out in separate vehicles or went together, depending on the day and where I had to be.
That morning, the unwanted houseguest threw a wrench in our routine. By the time I dragged myself out of bed and found something suitable to wear to work—these things took time—Darcy claimed the bathroom, showering again.
I stared at the wooden door for a full minute, contemplating the various ways I’d learned to get away with murder.
Luckily for Darcy, I was too tired to follow through on any of them.
Grumbling, I aimed for the kitchen—double-checking Baby was safely in her terrarium—figuring I’d start with coffee and cereal instead.
Only, the carton of milk wasn’t in its usual spot in the fridge.
When I located it in the trash bin, I discovered it was empty.
Whimpering, I closed the lid. “Diem, he drank my milk.”
Diem didn’t miss a beat, found a box of pancake mix in a high cupboard, and informed me he would make waffles instead.
I pouted. “With chocolate chips?”
“Do we have any?”
“No.” I collapsed at the table and sulked. “I ate them with peanut butter last week.”
Diem found frozen blueberries instead. Not the same.
“Those are for your smoothies.”
“It’s fine.”
A creamy, sugary coffee appeared in front of me, and my sour mood lightened a fraction.
Diem whisked the ingredients and poured batter into a waffle maker before snapping the lid closed. They took about two minutes, and while they cooked, he marched down the hall to the bathroom.
He pounded a fist on the door and shouted, “Unless you’re paying the water bill, your shower is finished. Food will be on the table in five minutes. If you’re hungry, move your ass, or Tallus will eat all the waffles.”
The water cut off, and Darcy yelled, “Coming. Sorry.”
I sipped my coffee and surreptitiously spied on Diem as he returned to the waffle iron and transferred the first batch onto a plate before pouring more batter into the machine.
He acted like this was any other normal day, like housing, clothing, feeding, and parenting a practical teenager was second nature.
Darcy appeared and dropped into the seat across from me, hair dripping wet and wearing more of my clothes. Did he help himself this time? Rude. He smelled like my expensive body wash, too.
Diem deposited a stack of waffles in the middle of the table. When Darcy moved to grab one with his hand, Diem swatted the snaking appendage with a fork.
“Ow.” Darcy retracted it with a jolt and rubbed the injury.
“Get a plate and utensils.”
“I don’t know where they are.”
Diem glared.
Darcy blinked confusedly for a minute before pushing back from the table, clearly wounded. “I’ll look,” he mumbled.
I smothered a smile. The instant Darcy’s back was turned, I grabbed a waffle from the top of the stack—with my bare hands—folded it in half, and shoved the entire thing into my mouth.
Diem narrowed his eyes and armed the fork.
“I dare you,” I said with my mouthful.
He chuckled, snagged my chin instead, and kissed me. “Brat.”
A miserable groan erupted from behind us. “Oh my god. Front row seats. Gross. It’s bad enough I woke to your noisy fucking. So gay.”
Diem stood to his full height and skewered Darcy with a look of contempt.
Since Darcy had one hand over his eyes, he didn’t see the six-and-a-half-foot threat looming over him.
“Sit down,” Diem barked.
The kid jumped and raced to the table with a plate and a fork. He sat, eyes still covered, and clumsily poked around until he located the remaining waffle and transferred it to his plate.
“Is there syrup?” Darcy asked, still not looking.
When neither of us answered, he peeked between his fingers. Lowering his hand, he mumbled, “It’s cool that you’re gay, but I don’t wanna see it.”
“Ugh. I can’t do it.” I pushed back from the table and grabbed my coffee, heading to the bathroom. “Handle your child, Diem. He’s obnoxious. I’m going to shower, then I’m calling my mother and apologizing for all I put her through. And, Darcy?”
“Yeah?”
“God help me, there had better be waffles on my plate when I get back, or I will feed you to the snake.”
“’kay.”
“And if you ruin my Fear of God hoodie, they will never find your body. I have friends in homicide, and they will look the other way.”
“Dude,” Darcy whispered to Diem, “is he for real?”
“Yes. Now shut up and eat.”
***
By five thirty, after a busier than usual day in the records department, I had almost successfully forgotten about my morning from hell until Diem showed up—new pet and Echo in tow.
I glowered at the kid but spoke to Diem. “I thought I was meeting you at the office.”
“New plan. Do you have any change?” Diem unclipped Echo’s leash and let her wander. She wagged her tail and darted off to sniff every corner.
I eyed Darcy, whose hands were shoved in his pockets. He was back in his own ratty clothes but looked better than the previous night when we’d chased him down the street. Cleaner.
The pair reeked of cigarette smoke, which only elevated my irritation. Not that my boyfriend didn’t slide off the rails plenty on his own, but with Darcy in the picture, it gave me someone to blame.
I returned behind the counter and scrounged through a drawer where I’d seen a collection of loose coins. Echo snuffled too, likely hoping for one of Kitty’s hidden biscuits. “How much do you need?”
“Couple bucks?”
I picked out a few quarters, a loonie, and a toonie and handed them to Diem, who passed them to Darcy. “Left out the door. Another left at the junction. About thirty feet down, you’ll see a bank of elevators. The vending machine is in an alcove across the hall. Get whatever you want.”
Darcy counted the change and blew his long bangs out of his eyes. “What if a cop sees me?”
“So?”
“Won’t he, like, wonder why I’m here?”
“Gee, you’re right. You might end up locked up for buying a bag of chips, and I don’t have bail money. Better not get caught.”
Darcy’s indignation surfaced. “You’re kind of an asshole.”
“You get used to it,” I said, interrupting and earning a caustic glare from my boyfriend. “What? I happen to adore your assholery. Have since the day we met. Not everybody gets it.”
“Shut up, Tallus.”
“See. Shut up is code for ‘I love you.’ PS. I love you too.” I blew Diem an air-kiss, and the corner of his lip twitched into an almost smile. “My cuddle bear.”
His chest rumbled, and the smile broke free.
“You guys are so gross,” Darcy muttered as he pushed out the door, the bell announcing his departure.
The minute it closed again, I rounded on my boyfriend. “It’s a minor miracle he’s still alive. I’ll be honest. I didn’t think you two would last a whole day together.”
“He’s an idiot, but he’s not so bad.”
I quirked a brow, but Diem diverted.
“I need an opinion.” He handed me Darcy’s burner phone. “Read that text. We haven’t sent it yet. I was afraid the guy would jump before I was ready, and I needed you with us.”
I took the phone and skimmed the text he’d prepared.
So, remember how I saw G yesterday? Well, there’s something I haven’t told you.
She gave me an envelope of cash and asked if I would deposit it at the bank.
Something about an old slush fund her husband kept under the mattress in their room.
IDK. It’s over 2k. I was going to keep it, but I thought you’d get mad. What should I do?
“Did you write this?”
“Yeah. I tried to mimic Darcy’s style.”
“It’s not bad.”
“Believable?”
I studied it again, then motioned to the screen. “Do you mind if I do some editing?”
“Go for it.”
I made a few adjustments, inserting a few spelling errors and adding bad grammar and more text acronyms, before handing it to Diem.
He read the newly formed text, nodding. “He’s not going to let the kid keep two thousand bucks, is he?”
“Doubt it. It does seem a bit far-fetched. Owning up to having the money.”
“That’s what Darcy said, but I don’t know how else to draw this Luke guy out.”
“What if he gives Darcy banking information and tells him to deposit it?”
I could tell Diem hadn’t considered that. His frown deepened. “I don’t know. He deals in cash with payments. I doubt he does. I guess we see what happens and go from there.”
Darcy returned with Sun Chips and a can of Dr Pepper, the latter he handed to Diem. Wow. One day hanging out with my boyfriend, and the kid already knew how to play his cards.
The little shit was smarter than I thought.
I still didn’t like him.
“Are we going to do this now?” Darcy glanced between us as he crunched chips.
Diem locked gazes with me, silently seeking confirmation that I was on board, and asking if we were doing the right thing. It was rare he sought my advice, and a swell of pride bloomed in my chest.
I considered the text again and nodded. “Do it. See what happens. We can always improvise depending on how he responds.”
Diem hit send on the text, and the three of us stood motionless, staring at the device like it was a ticking time bomb.
A thousand scenarios raced through my brain, and I worked out solutions for each in case Luke didn’t respond as we hoped.
I was good with words, and manipulating people was one of my fortes. Plus, I could think on my feet.
What we didn’t expect was Luke dismissing the text option altogether and calling Darcy’s phone.
The instant it rang, Diem swore.