Page 41 of Renegade

“How do you think they do that?” he asked as he opened the cupboard and pulled down the bag of dry food and a can of wet. Stanley liked both, and I always tried to invest in the good stuff because the vet told us male cats tended to get urethral blockages quite easily.

“You mean how do they manage to look like they’re melting?” I asked. “I’m not sure but it’s hilarious.” I filled two bowls with the kind of granola Miguel liked, full of raisins and driedcranberries, topping it with a cut up banana, and pouring coconut milk over the top. I always tried to buy organic foods but even so, the ones from grocery stores, couldn’t compare to the food grown on the small farm back home on the Navajo rez. I looked forward to stocking up on everything at home, including salted and dried jerky, nuts, and the world’s best dried fruit I’d ever tasted, when we took Nana back after this stupid recovery was over and done with.

I brought our bowls to the table as Miguel refilled our coffee cups. He slid into the booth across from me, glancing at the bowl and then up at me.

“Thanks. This looks good.”

I snorted, picking up my spoon and digging in.

“Thanks for letting me sleep in,” he said.

“You’re welcome. I figured you deserved it after the day we had yesterday.”

He smiled around a bite of food. “You had quite the day yourself, Raven.” I was quiet as his expression grew serious. “I’m so sorry my shit has come back to affect your life. None of this should be your worry.”

I reached across the table and took his hand, staring deeply into his eyes. “It’s not your fault, Miguel. You couldn’t have known any of this when we accepted that recovery job from Gregory Aston and I’m not totally convinced the ruby was stolen from the Flores estate anyway.”

“You don’t trust Mrs. Flores?” He somehow didn’t look surprised.

I frowned as I shook my head. “Not as far as I can throw her. Sheandthat weird bodyguard she keeps by her side all thetime. He’s shady as hell and she’s hard to read. We need to run a background check on him too. I’ll get Judy to do it.”

“I’m gonna call that investigator too.”

I nodded. “Good thought. For all we know, the whole lot of them are working together,” I said.

Miguel nodded, looking pensive. “Yeah, there’s something about them I just don’t trust. And the weird Hollywood type ‘grieving.’ When did you last see anyone that young in a black veil?”

“Like she was playing a part?”

He nodded and ate another spoonful of granola, swallowing before he spoke again. “What do you want to do today? We ran into a brick wall with the research before we found out what Judy did.”

“We have to get fitted for suits.”

“For what?” He frowned.

“I don’t have anything nice enough to wear to a black-tie event,” I said.

Miguel scrubbed over his face with both hands as he sat back in the booth. “Crap. With everything that happened, I completely forgot about the invitation.”

I finished off my cereal. “We should go, don’t you think?”

He pursed his lips and sighed. “Yeah, I guess we should. The sooner this recovery is over, the better it’ll be. I have half a mind to call Aston and tell him we quit.”

“I know. I had the same thought, but then I remembered what the guy in the stairwell said. He expects us to get the ruby and give it to him and I don’t think he’s gonna back off just because we say we’re not working on the case anymore.”

He nodded, frowning. “I fucking hate the idea that we’re being blackmailed but you’re right. We have to recover it even though I’m not really sure we should give it to him when we do.”

It was my turn to frown. “How can we avoid it, Miguel?”

His expression hardened. “I don’t know yet, but we’ll figure it out, Sunshine.”

My heart was racing. Maybe he wanted to bring Cassidy and Mike into it. The Feds were already involved…at least Mac was and by extension, Jarrett’s father. Mac was FBI and Jarrett and Thayne were ATF. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, so I simply nodded agreeably and reached for his empty bowl, stacking it with mine before getting up and taking them to the sink.

“I figure we can rent suits at a tux shop somewhere,” I said, washing our bowls as Dolly walked back into the room. The second I saw her, I remembered Nana. “Oh, crap, I completely forgot about my nana.”

“What’s that, Raven?” Dolly asked, putting Nana’s breakfast dishes on the counter.

I sighed, looking at Miguel before asking her, “Miguel and I are invited to a black-tie event happening at the Getty tonight, and I completely forgot to call the agency to see if they have someone to stay with Nana.”

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