Page 58 of Cruel Love

“Yes.”

He dips his head, staring down at us over his sunglasses with suspicion. “A cool Brit?”

Archer furrows his brow. “Yes,” he says again.

“I’m just fuckin’ with ya.” He grins and waves at us again. “Come on back.”

I step around the blushing blonde and walk to the backside of the truck. Archer follows behind me, his face piqued with interest and amusement.

Milo stands by the door with his hands in his jean pockets beneath a dirty, white apron.

“I must say,” he begins, “this is not the order I expect when I get a call from you, Box. Who’s the girl?”

“Just a friend,” I answer, vaguely.

“Last we spoke, it was computer bugs and worms and all that.” He leans forward. “You’re not… trafficking this girl, are you?”

“What?” I blink. “No!”

“Because I have a very strict line for what I allow my work to be used for.”

“She just needs to get out of town for a while,” I say. “Same as us, so… if you don’t mind…”

His eyes jut toward Archer. “You running from somebody? Who?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, man.”

He laughs. “Sounds about right.” He leans back into the truck and grabs a paper to-go bag from a lower cabinet. “Same day rush delivery. I think you’ll find the sauce hot and satisfying, as usual.”

I reach for the bag. “Thanks, man. I’ll get the money wired to you soon.”

Milo pulls it back. “Soon?”

“You know I’m good for it, Milo.”

He eyes Archer again. “Didn’t you just pull that hotel job? Paying for this should be a drop in your bucket.”

“I did,” I say with a nervous nod, “and it is, but that money is kind of claimed at the moment. I need to move it around a little. I’ll get back to you.”

He furrows his brow. “Since when are you so fiscally conservative?”

I sigh. “Since I ran across the country to save my wife who I haven’t seen for two years from a bunch of assassins who shot me which turned out to be not that bad because it brought us back together but now she’s pregnant and I’m not sure how the hell we’re going to afford it so I need some time to move some money around, okay?”

Milo leans back, his eyes widening more and more with each word that tumbles out of my mouth.

Finally, his throat clears. “I have questions,” he says.

I rub the bridge of my nose beneath my glasses. “Yeah, I know.”

“But I can sense you’re going through kind of a rough patch, so I’ll just…”

He slowly shifts forward and drops the paper sack into my hands.

“Thanks, Milo,” I say.

I peek into the bag, finding a brand-new passport and Lucy’s photo ID inside.

“I know you’re good for it,” he says with a shrug. “And I know that you know the kind of company I keep, so I know I don’t have to worry about you stiffing me…”

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