“What do you mean?” I frowned, not really sure what she meant.
“Most of the people in Palm Bonita are the bad. They have come here to disappear so that they won’t be caught.”
“Oh.” I pursed my lips. “Well, that means we good guys should stick together.”
“Who said I was one of the good ones?” She raised an eyebrow, and walked away from me and back down the alley. I watched her as she walked away again. She stopped after a few yards and looked back at me.
“Be careful, Noah.” She placed a finger against her lips. “Be very careful.”
I sat on the couch, holding my phone, thinking about the first time I met her when Zane walked into the living room. He stood there staring at me for a few moments, and I laughed.
“Don’t tell me the cat has your tongue.” I shook my head. “This is the first time I’ve actually seen you stand and think before spouting off whatever you wanted to tell me.”
“Blame Lucky.” He laughed as well, and sat down on the couch next to me.
“More like thank her.”
“There’s that as well.” His eyes crinkled as he thought of his fiancée, and I envied him the peace of mind and stability she had brought to his life. I wanted that for myself, but I also wanted to make sure that nothing interrupted the new joy that Zane had in his life.
“What were you thinking about just now?” Zane’s tone became thoughtful. “You looked so far away just now.”
“I was just thinking about the day I moved to Palm Bonita.”
“Palm Bonita? Is that were you where?” Zane stared at me. “Is that here in California?”
I shook my head. “No, it’s a small town in Florida, about an hour south of Orlando.”
“I see. Did you choose the area?”
I shook my head and almost chuckled to myself. “Agent Waldron suggested it might be a good place for me to go and lie low as I didn’t want to become a part of the witness protection program.”
“Wait, what?” Zane’s eyebrows furrowed. “What are you talking about? I thought you were in witness protection?”
“I wasn’t an official part of the program.” I shrugged and looked away from him. “Once you go in, you can’t really come out. I wasn’t willing to close the door.”
“So you did it for me?” Zane’s lips thinned. “You risked your safety for me, yet you couldn’t or wouldn’t tell me what your plan was.”
“I don’t want to go through this again.” I let out a big sigh. “Not now, please.”
“So what happened the day you moved to Palm Bonita?”
“Honestly?” I laughed. “I wondered what the fuck I had done and wanted to call the whole thing off.”
“It was that good, then?” Zane gave me a half-smile, but his eyes looked me over with concern. No matter how angry he was at me, I was still his brother, and he was still concerned about my feelings more than anything.
“Better.” I rolled my eyes. “Palm Bonita is one of those nowhere, small dusty towns, where ex-gang bosses and mafiosi go to spend their days.”
“Sounds delightful.”
“Yeah. It was an adjustment.” My thoughts drifted back to the decrepit apartment building I had found myself living in. It was cockroach- and rat-infested, but even worse than that was the smell. The stench of rotting eggs and hidden fish had filled the complex, and no amount of spray or candles had diminished it.
“Want to tell me more over lunch?” Zane looked at me hopefully, and I nodded. There were many things I couldn’t tell him, but I knew that he would want to know about my time away. And as long as I kept to the bare minimum, everything should be okay.
“The sky looks beautiful today.” Lucky walked into the living room with some recently picked flowers and my face turned white. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I jumped up. “I thought you said something else. That’s all.” I gave her a weak smiled and I noticed Lucky and Zane exchanging a worried glance. “I’m okay, guys.”
“No one said you weren’t.” Zane grabbed Lucky’s hand, and pulled her towards him. “Noah and I are going to lunch, want to come?”
“If Noah doesn’t mind.” She looked at me eagerly, and I tried not to laugh. She was so different than the type of girl I had imagined seeing Zane with.
“I don’t mind. I’m pretty sure whatever I tell my brother, he shares with you anyway.”
“Zane can keep a secret.” Lucky blushed, while my brother glared at me.
“I’m just joking, guys. It’s fine. I don’t expect you to hide anything from each other. Secrets ruin relationships.”
“Yeah, they do.” Zane gave me a pointed look and I jumped up and turned towards the stairs. I had walked into that trap, and I didn’t want to stay around and feel guilted into revealing information I wasn’t ready to share.
“You guys choose a place for lunch, I’m just going to go upstairs and get my stuff ready.”
“What stuff?” Zane’s voice was curious, and I smiled at Lucky as she pulled him away from me, whispering something about wanting his help choosing out a crib for the babies.
“Hi, I’m Robin and I’m going to be your waitress today. Can I start you off with any drinks?” The girl in front of me was gorgeous and I couldn’t help but to admire her body. I gave her a once-over and I realized that she had caught me as I looked back up and she was glaring at me. As our eyes connected, I felt a spark of recognition light up my heart. I’d never seen this girl before, but something about her had ignited a feeling of warmth inside of me. “I’m not on the menu by the way.” The smile fell from her face as she spoke to me and I wondered what had gotten her so upset. She looked away and the buzz in my ears faded.
“I didn’t think that you were.” I frowned at her in confusion.
“Well, the way you were looking at me made me think that perhaps you thought something else was on the menu.”
“Um, okay?” I looked at Zane to see if I had missed something. Had I said something and not realized it, or was this chick just crazy?
“No, it’s not okay. How would you like it if I looked at you like you were a juicy steak and I was a dog ready to pounce?” Her frown lifted and her expression changed to one of excitement and anticipation, she looked me over slowly and licked her lips before locking eyes with mine. “Not a very nice feeling, is it? To be treated like a piece of meat.”
“Actually, I don’t mind.” I laughed and leaned towards her. “It makes me feel quite excited, actually.”
“Noah.” Lucky’s voice sounded shocked and she shook her head at me.
“I’m just being honest.” I shrugged.
“Typical male reaction.” Robin shook her head and turned towards Lucky. “Anything I can get you guys?”
“We’ll have three waters, please, Robin.” Lucky smiled at her widely and we were all silent as Robin walked away.
“Okay, is it me or is that chick crazy?” I exclaimed as soon as Robin was out of earshot.
“Noah.” Lucky laughed and made a small face. “I mean, she does seem like she is having a bad day.”
“She’s off.” Zane shook his head. “Like loony-bin off.”
“Right? What was up with that?” I rolled my eyes. “I thought she was going to grab a knife and stab me and for what?”
“Well, you did give her a once-over.” Lucky smiled at me. “Some girls don’t like that.”
“I looked at her and appreciated her beauty,” I coughed into my hand as Robin returned to the table with three waters. “I thought waitresses were meant to treat their customers like royalty, not like shit.”
“Are you talking about me?” Robin raised one eyebrow at me, and our eyes met again. She had the most unusual hazel eyes; they seemed to change from brown to green to match her temperament.