Page 24 of Carmine

We spent a couple of hours talking, and I was delighted to see Molly open up. The only time she went shy was when somebody approached us. Bernard had a very strict rule: no fan-crowding celebs. The rule was in clear sight as you entered the restaurant, and it underscored the promise to kick you out.

It was one place I could relax and eat in peace. But it didn’t stop friends and acquaintances stopping by to say hi. Dylan Hawthorne did with his flavour of the month. His women lasted two months, and then he was done. Dylan made it clear anything over two months meant a relationship, and he wasn’t being trapped.

My brother Micah was eating with several of his friends, and he nodded but refrained from coming over. Ramirez stopped on his way out and said hi to us both, and I was surprised to see Simone and Butch from The Juno Group appear and disappear.

Molly became quiet during these visits, and only spoke when directly spoken to, but I could tell she wasn’t used to be greeted warmly. Once she realised nobody was going to attack her, Molly relaxed and made small talk.

I didn’t want the night to end, but I did not want to push her too hard, either. I got the feeling Molly would rabbit if I did. Bernard snuck me the extra mousses on the way out. When I dropped Molly off at her home, I gave her a gentle kiss and the package and waited till she walked inside.

Molly sent me several looks over her shoulder, which reassured me she, too, was interested. Now, it was a game of patience and courting her. And I intended to win Molly.

Chapter Six.

Molly

Iwas wondering whether I should hide from Carmine when I woke up the following morning. The night had been wonderful, and I’d been buzzing when we returned to my house. I’d offered him coffee, but he’d declined and left after giving me a sweet peck. After shutting my door, my mind started working.

I’d unloaded on Carmine. Had I guilted him into asking me for a date? Yes, Carmine had given me a soft peck on the lips, but it wasn’t a kiss like I’d imagined. Had he felt sorry for me? Self-doubt flooded me. After all, Carmine was a famous baseball player. I’d researched him on the sly and heck, I could not understand why he was giving me the time of day.

Carmine had dated models and been seen with the rich and famous, and I was a disgraced scientist. Was Carmine playing with me? I certainly couldn’t match up to the women I’d seen him in pictures with. I wasn’t slim or pretty enough, and I wouldn’t know a Versace from a Ralph Lauren. And I certainly was not headed down a red carpet anytime soon.

Damn it. Perhaps Carmine had just been kind to a waif who’d no idea of social skills or what society expected. And my mind carried on until I finally wore myself out.

Now, in the cold light of day, my fears came flooding back as I stared at the door leading to the command centre. Harleys were all lined up neatly, and I spotted Carmine’s straight away.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and several people rushed out. Their urgency prodded me to get out, and I called out to Dr Dune, who was heading towards her vehicle.

“Dr Dune!”

“Follow us, Dr Balfour-Cherlyn! There’s been an incident in the Hills near Buzzard’s Roost,” Dr Dune shouted over her shoulder.

Quickly, I jumped back in and was surprised when my passenger door opened, and Carmine climbed in.

“Hey, Doc,” he said with a happy smile.

“Hi Carmine,” I replied, determined not to make this awkward. Carmine was such a nice guy and had performed a kind gesture for me.

“Seems Dr Jones-White got a report this morning that caused some excitement. Next thing we know, Dr Dune was heading out babbling about fish.” Carmine sounded confused.

“Fish?” I asked, puzzled.

“Yeah. Weird.”

I followed Dr Dune as she weaved her way towards Buzzard’s Roost and then parked up. She kept checking her phone, and I realised she was looking at the GPS coordinates. Without a word, Dr Dune set off, and I grabbed my bags. Something major had clearly happened, and the excitement was reverberating through the small group. There was me, Dr Dune, Carmine, three students, and another doctor I wasn’t familiar with, but he was from EROS.

“Shit. It’s true,” Dr Dune said, stopping suddenly.

Quietly, I moved up beside her, and my eyes widened. A small lake to the south-east, just before we reached Buzzard’s Roost, was before me. The scary thing was all the dead fish floating on top, they’d been boiled alive. The smell of sulphur was strong, and the water was still bubbling.

“Check temperatures now and wear protective clothing,” Dr Dune barked, and the students moved quickly.

“No tremor was recorded this morning.”

“Thank you, Dr Wains. As I thought, the last tremor documented was the micro one yesterday at eight-twenty-seven at night,” Dr Dune said.

“Dr Dune, I’m getting a temperature of ninety degrees Celsius,” a student called.

“This just happened,” I murmured, moving forward. My eyes raked the water’s surface, finding it a yellow-brown colour.

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