Page 25 of Greed
“Do tell.”
“Always. I can’t keep secrets. So, every time I’m near him all I can smell is him and it’s like this musky-forest kinda smell and a hit directly to my—you know what? Never mind. You don’t need to know that.” Lilo shut herself down. The last thing she needed was to start mooning over Griffin’s body odor when she knew there’d never be anything between them, especially since he’d been so clear about his intentions.
It was probably just a post trauma sort of fascination.
A slow smile inched up one side of Grace’s face. “Magical body odor. Right. Been there, done that.”
“Forget it. It’s stupid.”
Grace shrugged, but couldn’t stop the smile on her face. “So, are you coming to the grand opening of Hell?”
“The new nightclub next to Heaven? Isn’t that owned by the Lazarus family?”
“Parker I think, but yeah. So?” Grace wiggled her eyebrows.
“Isn’t it invite only?”
“Do you mean to tell me Griffin hasn’t invited you?”
“No. Why would he? We just met.”
“Why would he indeed,” Grace mumbled to herself as though she knew a secret Lilo wasn’t party to. “You have to come. Maybe bring your Polish friend, what was her name again?”
“Misha.”
“Yes, that’s right. From what you said last time, she was having trouble with her father’s business, and a night out might be good for her too. You can both be my guests.”
“I don’t know…”
“I heard the press have been ignored… this could be an opportunity to get the story no one else can!”
“You’re dangling a carrot in front of my face. You always do this!”
“I know. C’mon, when was the last time we got to hang out together. It’s only one night.”
“When is it?”
“I think it’s this weekend sometime. I’ll have to get the exact time and date.” Grace held her breath and implored Lilo with excited eyes. “Come on. I miss you.”
“Okay, fine.” It wasn’t like Lilo had anything more important to do. May as well give her spare time to her best friend.
“Yes!” Grace fist pumped the air and Lilo laughed because she knocked over an instrument tray.
It was good to see her friend so happy, and Evan was a big part of that. The thought made the little pang in Lilo’s chest grow. It had been a while since she had someone who made her glow like that. Being with Donnie drained her. And before him, there hadn’t been anyone in her life. No one since she left her family.
“Hey,” Lilo said. “Do you happen to have Griffin’s number?”
Grace smirked as she straightened her tray. “Sure.”
“Don’t look at me like that. I need to speak with him about what happened at the precinct. I want to get our story straight before I go into the office and write it up, and he left in such a rush. I should also check that he’s okay. Is he on his own? Maybe he needs help getting around.”
Grace stilled and hesitated. When she spoke, she lowered her voice. “When you say get your story straight, are you speaking about the person who shot your cousin?”
“Griffin told you? What did he say?”
“He said some imposter dressed in a Deadly Seven suit attacked and murdered Nathanial.”
Lilo bit her lip. “I don’t think it was really one of them either, and if I mention what I saw in the write up for the paper, then it could be taken the wrong way. I’m torn. I have to report the truth. You know me. I’m the first person to cry it out. But… it’s only a gut feeling telling me it’s a fake vigilante. I have no proof. You can’t write up gut feelings, that’s not how it works.”
