Page 60 of Truth or Dare

“Good morning! Angel, right? I’m Sarah Martinez. I’m Dario’s housekeeper. Housekeeper for the girls, too. I flit around, like a happy cleaning and cooking butterfly. But I’m like more of an auntie to the family. Can I get you coffee or tea?” She moved to my counter and fetched a mug.

I gave Angel an eye roll as she wandered over.

“Nice to meet you,” she said to Sarah.

“How do you take your coffee?”

“Extra milky, 2 sugars. Thank you very much.”

“Ooh,” she winced. “That much sugar is bad.”

“Oh, I know it,” Angel said. “I gave it up for 2 years. But I’ve backslid. I’ll probably give it up again soon.”

Sarah smiled. “Good. Give it up as soon you can, mija, It is so bad. I read this book…”

I took that opportunity to go grab my dry-cleaning bag, kissing her on the forehead as I passed. She gave me a warm look and ran her hand up my chest and sank into me while I kissed her forehead.

“I’ll be one sec, Sarah,” I said but Sarah was too busy educating Angel on the evils of sugar to acknowledge me.

When I got back to the kitchen, they were sitting at the island chatting and Sarah had her own cup of coffee. Fuck.

“Come for a sec, baby?” I dropped the garment bag on a sofa and led her into the den and shut the door.

“We need a cover story,” I told her.

She nodded.

“So,” I started. My phone rang. I grabbed the desk line. Private Caller.

“Hello?”

“Dario Ferrano?”

“Yeah?”

“Sheridan Leo. Local associate to Stanley Smith.”

“What’s up?”

“Stan asked me to meet you and deliver an envelope to you. Says there’s time-sensitive information in there for you.”

“Courier it to my office.”

“I’ve been asked to hand it to you and no one but you.”

I got her address, told her I’d pick it up on my way to my office, and hung up. Angel was still in front of me.

I looked at her blankly for a second. “Right. Cover story. If anyone asks we’ll say we met on the plane coming back from Thailand. Stick close to the truth. I was there on business. You and I met on the flight here. You taught there but that ended and you’re relocating here. Your plans to stay with a friend fell through when we got to the airport you found out you had no place to stay and were goin’ to a hotel but I offered my spare room and you’re staying here for now.”

“People will believe that?”

I shrugged. “I don’t give a fuck. I have had no time or headspace to come up with a better one. The more complicated the less believable. I’ll tell my family that you’re getting over something, not to ask you questions. It’ll make them back off. Except Sarah. Sarah will dig and dig to try to get your backstory. She’s harmless, just a den mother.”

“Okay.”

“But don’t give her an in. She’ll pick at you like you’re a scab until she gets to the good stuff. I gotta go. See ya later on. I’ll get Sarah to leave with me. Stay here till we go.” I pulled her in for a kiss.

Stan’s colleague gave me an envelope with another one of those tablets. I sat in my car in the covered parking lot by the Ferrano office and opened it with my fingerprint, again hating with a passion that they had my prints.

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