It wasn’t lost on me that several gwyllgi cut me looks out of the corners of their eyes once they caught scent of me. Bathing in perfume had worked about as well as Ford promised it would, but I still had to try.
“What do you want?”
Distracted by the tone, I glanced down from the overhead menu and blinked. “You?”
The pixie-haired Swyft driver stared back, spatula in hand. “Me.”
“You work here too?”
“Bills.” She rubbed her fingers together. “I got ’em.”
For her to be so money hungry, she must be paying for her car out of her own pocket.
That or she had an addiction costing her a small fortune and leaving her no time to indulge it.
“I’ll take the bourbon chicken, fried potatoes, and noodles.”
“Combo?”
“Sure.”
“What do you want to drink?” She snapped her fingers. “Come on, corpse-raiser. You had to know that was coming.”
“Sweet tea,” I blurted, reaching for my debit card. “Here.”
“Hey, look at that.” Since she hadn’t asked for it yet, she winked. “You’re learning.”
“How many jobs do you have?”
“A few.” The girl dished up food as fast as she drove. “You haven’t dialed me up all week.”
Thankfully, I didn’t have to lie. “I’m working a case with someone. He’s got a truck.”
Her rapid-fire motions slowed. “Midas?”
“What is your deal with him?”
“Exactly that.” She snapped the lid shut with a click. “My deal.”
“Just making conversation.” I caught the takeout box she tossed at me. “Got a fork?”
“In the bag.” She poured my drink and slid it across the counter like a barkeep slinging a shot. “Napkins too, so don’t waste your breath or my time.”
Backing away slowly, I took my food and headed for the parking lot. About to pull out my phone to call for a Swyft, I saw a familiar truck rumble to the curb in front of me. The window lowered to reveal a grinning Ford.
“Hey, darlin’.” His gaze dipped to the container. “I hit the BBQ joint on Dekalb. Wanna go halfsies?”
“I don’t know.” I cradled the food against my chest. “What did you get?”
“Burnt ends, pulled pork, ribs, fries, and banana pudding for dessert.”
A rumble in my stomach betrayed me. “Are you sure you can spare any for me?”
“I offered a trade.” His smile widened. “That bourbon chicken smells mighty good.”
“How did…?” I would have palmed my forehead if my hands weren’t full. “Gwyllgi.”
“I was the last time I checked.”
“Can you take this for me?” I reached up, almost putting my hands over my head, and passed over my food and drink before climbing in his pickup. “Goddess, did you have to jack it up so high?”
“Yes.” He winked. “One day, maybe I’ll show you why.”
“Hey, you nearly made eye contact.” I hauled myself in. “I call that progress.”
Twelve hours had made a dent in the mark at least, that was progress in my book.
The second my butt hit the seat, he sneezed. “Excuse me.”
“Bless you.” I took the food back and got settled. “Did you see the Perkerson report?”
“I did.” He sneezed again, louder this time. “Sorry about that.”
“I bathed in perfume,” I confessed. “It didn’t help.”
“I can tell, and I told you it wouldn’t.”
“Let’s go back to my place, and I’ll shower before we eat.”
Relief filtered through his voice. “Bonnie still there?”
“No.” I had gone to bed alone, staring up at the canopy. It was a touch more lopsided than the original, with staples in the fabric where Midas had given up on sewing and run out of hot glue, but he had hidden them well. That counted for something. “Guess she figured since the gig was up, she might as well go back to her place. Ares was with her the last time I saw her.”
Ford sneezed three times in a row, his eyes closing a smidgen, and the truck swerved a hair.
“That reminds me.” I retied the knot on top of my takeout container. “As much as I hate to encourage you to talk about your man crush, do any factions have a beef with Midas?”
Tension ratcheted through his shoulders before he forced his muscles to relax. “Not that I’m aware of.”
“Hmm. That’s weird. Maybe it’s personal then.”
“What’s personal? You’re losing me.”
“The Swyft driver who dropped me off at Shonda’s crime scene was weird about Midas. I saw her again today, working in the food court, and she got hostile when I mentioned him.” I shifted my attention out the window. “She’s an odd duck, but people—women in particular—seem to like him well enough. It struck me as odd that she’s laser focused on him is all.”
“He’s never had trouble with the ladies,” Ford agreed, “for better or worse.”
The pixie, or whatever she was, held a grudge. I’m not saying Midas couldn’t take care of himself, but I might be willing to dig around after I closed this case and see if she was a problem waiting to happen or if she had her braces in a twist over nothing.
“Just thought I would ask.” I happily dropped that topic and picked up another. “I didn’t think I would like having a dog, but now I miss it.”
“She was never a dog,” he reminded me. “I don’t think you miss what you think you do.”
“Enlighten me, Oz the Great and Powerful.”
“Such a geek,” he muttered. “You’re starved for human contact. A dog was a handy conduit for the touch and conversation you’ve been denying yourself.” He cut his eyes toward me. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
“I’d be happy to.”
“Mean it.”
“Maybe there’s a kernel of truth in all that somewhere,” I allowed. “I like Bonnie, liked her, whatever, but I don’t know who she is, really.”
Glass house, meet stone.
“You’ll still have me.” He smiled out at the road. “The end of the case doesn’t have to be the end of…us.”
A twisty feeling in my gut made it hard to decide if that was a good thing or a bad one. I liked Ford. I felt like we could genuinely be friends, despite the fact I was pretty sure his alpha had him spying on me. Considering all my friends were spying on me, and for good reason, I couldn’t find it in me to hold that against him. I also felt like he wanted more, and I didn’t know if I had it in me to offer. There was no spark. Not like with…
Don’t think it, don’t think it, don’t think it.
Not like it should be when you’re considering an entanglement. That initial zing is what kicks off a relationship and makes you ponder if you should, if you want to, if you dare. You don’t fade into the mostly comfortable friendship Ford and I enjoyed until after the whirlwind romance part, right?
“I’m onto you.” I scoffed, turning his offer into a joke to avoid it getting serious. “You just like me for my swords.”