Page 29 of Fight

Seven

P

“Made some new friends?” Ioan asked as we drove away from the house.

He didn’t look at me, but I could see the little smile on his face. It was much like one he’d flashed when I’d walked out of the house after leaving Fawn, Lily, and Esther with promises to take care.

I’d spent a little over an hour with them, and somehow, had ended up in a pair of Fawn’s jeans and one of her T-shirts, while Lily and Esther had worked to tame my unruly hair.

I hadn’t left the small den, something I realized was very intentional, probably a part of the security that was ever-present there.

It hadn’t mattered, though. I’d felt more welcome than I had since, well, yesterday, and far before that. And though Fawn’s clothes weren’t a perfect fit, I was way taller and heavier than her, by the time I left, I felt almost human again.

Looked it too, if the little smile I’d seen in Ioan’s eyes could be trusted.

I smiled myself then and nodded. “Yeah. I think so,” I said.

He continued to drive and I looked at him, feeling almost happy, a feeling that was so unfamiliar.

“What?” he asked.

“I’ll be honest. I was a little nervous.”

“Just a little?” he said.

“No, not just a little, but that was…all right,” I said.

It was true and insane. An impromptu girls’ afternoon with a cadre of mob wives was not how I thought I’d be spending my day.

Ioan nodded, seeming pleased with my answer. I watched him, waiting for him to say something else. When he didn’t speak, I cleared my throat, somewhat hesitant to voice what was on my mind, a feeling that was unfamiliar to me. I needed to, though.

“Was it, Ioan?” I whispered. As fun as the afternoon had been, there was still pressing business at hand. Ioan had told me nothing about why we’d gone there, but I needed to know.

“What?” he said.

“Was it all right?”

I hadn’t wanted to speak, had wanted to cling to those moments of carefree friendliness that were so foreign. But I couldn’t.

Something was off.

Ioan was off.

He was usually so calm, but after this meeting, he was wound tight. There was a new rigidness to the way he sat, and the way he kept his hands tight on the steering wheel was out of the ordinary. And any trouble he was facing would be trouble I would face.

“What happened?” I said.

He didn’t even bother to look at me, and instead continued driving.

“Are you trying to ignore me? You know that’s impossible, right? I’ll just ask the same question over and over until I get an answer,” I said, again speaking out of turn but not really worried about his reaction.

“And I could push you out of this car,” he replied, a sharp bite in his words.

I chuckled. “You could. But I’d tell Fawn, who’d tell your grandmother.”

He blanched slightly, and I couldn’t help but smile at how adorable it was. “Yup, Fawn spilled the beans, told me how close you and she are. What would she think if you pushed little ole me out of the car?” I said, voice syrupy.

“She’d know I was justified,” he muttered.

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