Page 78 of The Torment of Two

Surprise!

Now that the cat’s out of the bag, there’s no reason why he can’t join us. In fact, I want him to join us. Since last night and this morning went so badly, I’m aching to see him to make sure we’re okay—that he’s okay.

Of course he’s late.

Naturally.

Aubrey, with her daughter Rue sitting in her lap, waves me over. As much as I want to cuddle my niece, I’d rather be ready for Two’s arrival. Spencer saves me when he steals the seat beside her and then starts tickling the baby.

Dad watches me with narrowed eyes but doesn’t speak to me.

Finally, the doorbell rings.

“I’ll get it!” I shout, bolting for the door.

I’m grinning from ear to ear when I fling it open, ready to leap into Two’s arms. Except, it’s not Two. It’s a man.

One of Dad’s friends.

Chief of police and Sloane’s boss, Hiroshi Tanaka.

The strange bird-like man bores his stare into me. Normally, I might blow off such an intense look, but something about him unnerves me.

“Hello, Gemma.”

His icy cold tone makes me shiver. He waits patiently, like a friggin’ vampire, for me to welcome him inside. I’m tempted to close the door in his face.

“Hiroshi,” Dad greets from behind me. “So happy you could join us today.”

Dad clutches my shoulder and gently moves me aside so he can usher in Tanaka. Their newly formed friendship wasn’t all that surprising. Dad aligns himself with anyone and everyone of importance. Having the chief of police in your back pocket is a flex my dad no doubt wanted to have.

I want to ask Dad why this man is here, but I bite my tongue. When I catch Sloane’s stare on me, she gives me a comforting smile. She’s obviously trying to assure me that it’s okay. Nothing to worry about.

So why do I feel edgy now that this man is here?

I could just be paranoid.

Before I can read too much into it, Two’s hunk of junk roars down our road. He skids to a stop right in front of our house. Since the driveway is full, he leaves his vehicle where it stopped, blocking our road from anyone coming or going.

As soon as he steps out of the vehicle, I run out of the house toward him. He’s waiting for me and catches me when I launch myself at him. Our mouths meet for a starved kiss, each of us mauling the other with desperation.

Yeah, we’re good.

Really good.

We pull apart to grin goofily at each other. He can be cantankerous and strange and obtuse, but he’s also cute, sweet, and funny. I love being with him. It truly is the highlight of my day when I get to see him.

I finally pull away from him and reach for his hand. “Ready for the firing squad?”

He snorts. “Yup.”

Then he pulls my hand closer to his face to inspect my nails. “I like these. It looks like real gold flecks on the matte black.”

I preen at his compliment. “I did them last night after you left.”

“What is that stuff?”

“It’s this really fine gold foil that sort of disintegrates when you handle it, giving it a gold fleck effect. Cool, huh?”

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