Page 105 of A Taste Of Darkness

Sterlie Adams

Arlo kept glaring at Milo, mumbling words under his breath, and between sips of coffee.

His hair was tousled, mismatched clothes were just thrown over his body, so he at least wore something. The mismatched clothing was triggering me the most.

“If I had a gun on me right now, I would’ve shot you in the fucking foot,” Arlo grumbled and finally set his cup of coffee down on the table. “It’s two in the morning, people. I’m old. I need my beauty sleep.”

“Aren’t you Kai’s age?” I asked.

“Yes. And Kai is old, isn’t he?”

“He’s thirty… Thirty isn’t that old.” At least I didn’t think so. Flora had been stressing about turning thirty ever since she was twenty-six, but I never understood why it was such a big deal.

She literally looked the same. It wasn’t like she’d grown wrinkles and gray hair over night. Well, she wasn’t even thirty yet, so who knew? Perhaps it would come soon.

“What do you guys want anyway?” Arlo asked.

Milo laid his hand on my thigh, and my gaze immediately fell. My lips tugged up into a soft smile as I watched his thumb caress me. I wasn’t sure when he stopped worrying, stopped telling me he’d touch me before he did, but I liked that he was comfortable enough to show me some kind of physical affection without telling me beforehand.

“You said you had an idea about how we were going to get out of here unharmed,” Milo said. Though we were here because of me, because I couldn’t sleep and kept playing horror scenarios in my head, I couldn’t concentrate on the conversation.

His hand slid up my thigh, I wasn’t sure he noticed, but I definitely did. If he moved any further, he’d touched me just between my thighs, but I was sure he wouldn’t. Not with Arlo around anyway.

Eventually, I ripped my eyes away from Milo’s hand and looked up.

“Seriously?” Arlo’s eyes rolled. “That couldn’t have waited until the morning?”

“As a matter of fact, it couldn’t,” Milo replied, though he didn’t elaborate why, which was fortunate for me.

I wasn’t cut out for this kind of lifestyle. I wasn’t an innocent little lamb by any means, could stand up for myself just fine, but there was a difference between having a backbone and being part of the goddamn mafia.

I’d learn with time, but I didn’t even want to be okay with all they did. My presence here was solely because of Milo; because I couldn’t leave him if I tried. For him, I’d learn to like living here, but if there was a chance to get out, Lord knew I was going to jump on the first possible option.

“What did you have in mind?” Milo asked to which Arlo’s features suddenly softened.

I always thought Arlo was just a lawyer. Thought he was a normal guy who decided defending criminals was his destiny in life. He’d always been kind to me when we met at get-togethers—which barely happened because Kai hated them—at my sister’s place.

He never struck me as someone with a history of being part of the mafia. Then again, neither did Milo.

But either way, Arlo’s presence was already some sort of condolence. If both Kai and Milo trusted him, that meant something. And if they could trust him, I knew I could.

“I had two things in mind,” Arlo began. “However, I quickly realized that the first one wouldn’t work at all, so let’s skip that one.”

“Then why mention it?”

I nudged Milo with my elbow. “Don’t be rude.”

“Sorry.”

“Because I want you to know that I’m smart?” Arlo exaggerated a sigh. “Anyway. Since you very obviously don’t want to be here, and I’m not planning on going back to Canada now that I don’t have to…” He trailed off, giving us the chance to connect the dots ourselves.

They both exchanged a look that I didn’t quite understand. At least not until Milo shook his head, but even then, I wasn’t sure I was thinking the same as them. Chances were high that I wasn’t.

“No,” Milo snapped.

“What no?” I asked and pushed his hand off my leg to get his attention. He immediately glared at me and put his hand back on my body as if it belonged there.

In a way, it did.

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