Chapter 36
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Scotch scoops a spoonful of whatever he’s making and nods his approval. “It’s ready. Grab the bowls from that cabinet, please.”
I follow his instructions and put four place settings on the table. On the table is a baby toy. “Hey, where’s the baby?”
“The Strongs are keeping her tonight. We were having some alone time. I’m sure it's total mayhem over there, but Momma Strong loves it. So, we get a night to ourselves.”
I turn back to him with realization on my face. “Damn. And here we are, up in your space.”
Scotch laughs. “No problem, you won’t be hurting my game. You might just want to wear earphones when you go to bed tonight.”
Grumbling, I go back to finishing the table set up. “Great. Just what I need.”
“You’ll be busy anyway.”
“Not gonna happen. She and I have a serious prob—,” I clear my throat. “Here they come.”
The back door bursts open. “I knew it was time to eat.” My sister goes straight to her husband and wraps her arms around his muscular body. “Sexy man, how’s your masterpiece?”
He kisses her swiftly then lifts a spoonful to her mouth. “Perfection.”
Good grief. They can’t keep their hands off each other. “You two cut that crap out…”
Simona grins. “Jealous much?”
“Just give me the bread.”
She passes a basket of freshly baked bread to go with the stew. Damn, it smells good. My stomach lets out a loud, rowdy growl.
Kate’s watching this whole exchange warily from the doorway. I tip my chin toward the table. “Make yourself at home.”
Quietly, she moves to the nearest chair. Before she can pull it out, I do it for her. She nervously glances at me, then slides into the offered seat. I take the one next to her. “Did you catch Simona up on things?”
“Some of it.”
“They will help us. Together, we will try to get a plan together for recovering your lost property. Including getting the money restored to your account.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything.”
Lowering her eyes, she seems to gather her strength. “It feels good to have someone’s help. Besides my grandmother, I’ve never really had anyone to turn to. Except Mikail.”
Like nails on a chalkboard, the man’s name makes me scowl.
Kate reaches for my arm. “He’s just a friend. I promise you.”
Simona drops into the chair across from me. “He’s got trust issues.”
I throw my sister a glare. “Thanks for that PSA.”
“Truth, Wolfy. We operate on truth here. So, it’s okay to admit you’ve been hurt and don’t want it to happen again.”
Scotch places a gigantic kettle of stew on the table and I take the opportunity to quickly ladle a serving into my bowl to avoid the eyes of everyone in the room.
But I do see Kate at my elbow, with an expression of growing understanding on her face.
Scotch takes his seat next to Simona. “So, Kate. I hear you’re the newest member of the Agile Team.”
Carefully spreading her napkin over her lap, Kate replies, “I am, but I’m not sure your boss will want to keep me now.”
Scotch chuckles, “Fired before you even start? I doubt it.”
There’s a hint of wobble to her voice. “I might as well come clean with you guys because now everything is going to be exposed. The identity that I used to get the job is fake.”
I stop with my spoon halfway to my mouth as my eyes pivot to Kate.
Holy hell. Inch by inch, my body tightens to stone.
She narrows her eyes on me. “You didn’t think I’d use my real name when I moved here, did you?”
Simona shrugs as I stare at Kate. My sister says, “Understandable.”
While someone might think that’s reasonable, I’m angry with myself for getting involved with this mess, and angry with her for not being straight up with me from the start. Hell, she deceived Agile by applying under a fake name.
Which raises a whole other set of issues. Someone ran a background check and didn’t catch that.
I give my head a rough shake. God. How much crazier can this whole craptastic mess get? If I felt shaky about trusting women before, Kate’s driven another dozen nails in that coffin. Nothing about the woman is as it seems.
Kate breaks off a piece of bread and nibbles on the edge, her face filled with some kind of sad emotion. After a minute, she says. “There’s more…”
I stifle a groan. “What now? Are you going to tell me you’re from Mars?”
“No, but…” She pulls off the green and gold ring her grandmother used for the wedding and sits it on the table in front of us. “This might be.”