Page 29 of A Labor of Hate
I shot him a sardonic smile.“It just wanted to say hi.Hell has been pretty lonely since you escaped.”
His lips twitched as he returned his attention back to the notebook.“With Hell as the alternative, I can’t see why the demon would choose to possessyouinstead.”
“Haven’t you ever heard of the refiner’s fire?Maybe the demon is trying to become a saint by putting up withyoufor two months straight.”
“You give me entirely too much credit,” he tsked.“Especially since sharing a body with you would earn it a ticket to heaven alone.”
“Are you speaking from experience?”
“Oh, undoubtedly.”At my triumphant scoff, the corner of his mouth quirked up into a smirk.“I’d say I’ve earned my ticket from enduring you.”
Well, shoot.I didn’t expect him to twist my words that way.Tricky little snake.
Worse yet, I couldn’t come up with a response.I couldalwayscome up with one.Except when it came to him, in which case it was fifty-fifty on whether I’d come up with a sarcastic quip or resort to making his office setup crooked.
At my hesitation, his smirk only deepened.“Is there anything you need from the grocery store?”
I blinked, thrown off by the abrupt topic change.“What?”
He sighed, as if explaining himself was the greatest inconvenience he’d ever faced in life.“I’m making my grocery list right now since there’s little to nothing here.It would look weird if we did our shopping separately, especially since we’re not sure how much surveillance we’ll be under or for how long.Either you can come with me, or I’ll just get everything in one trip.”
Ofcoursehe made grocery lists.He’s Colt.But to think of me, even for the sake of our cover, showed a thoughtfulness I hadn’t thought him capable of.
“Looking to replace your apple juice already?”
His eyes narrowed.“I wouldn’t have to if you hadn’t dumped half of it out.”
“I didn’t throw it out.”
I returned the towel to its place, barely hiding my shudder at the memory of chugging four glasses of apple juice back to back after he’d gone to sleep last night.Zero out of ten, would not recommend.But, as much as he would have had it coming, I wasn’t about to waste any food by dumping it.I was raised better than that.
“You expect me to believe you drank it all?Highly unlikely.”
“Well, I wouldn’t have had to if you hadn’t gotten rid of my coffeemaker.”
His lips twitched.“To use your own words, ‘I didn’t throw it out.’”
A list of potential hiding spots raced through my head.If the coffeemaker wasn’t permanently gone, then I’d find it.There wasn’t a stone in this house I’d leave unturned.
As if reading my mind, he chuckled.“I really am doing you a favor, you know.”
“What you’redoingis putting your life at risk.”There was no way I wouldn’t murder him if I had to go the entire assignment without coffee.
He graced me with an eye roll, which I would’ve been happier about if I’d had even a drop of caffeine all day.“Apple juice increases alertness just like coffee, but without any of the side effects.”
I narrowed my eyes, not entirely buying into his claim.For one, I hadn’t been bouncing off the walls all night after my juice binge, and for two, it seemed like the granola mom equivalent of Santa Claus: a lie you told your kids so they’d behave.
Before I could argue, he tapped his pen against his notebook.“So, any groceries you’d like me to get?”
“A new coffeemaker would be nice.”
His lips twitched more noticeably, coming dangerously close to an actual smile.“Nice try.Food items only.”
I harrumphed, finally breaking down and sitting across the table from him.“What if I’m on my period and I need more tampons?”
Granted, I’d brought more than plenty so we wouldn’t have to re-stock and risk drawing unwanted attention.But still.
Unlike any other man I’ve met, Colt didn’t so much as squirm at the mention of menstrual products.He simply arched a brow.“Then obviously I’d get those for you, too, but you’re not.Don’t pretend you didn’t come prepared.”
