Page 62 of Lust
Sounds came from inside. Unlike last time, she was in full nervous mode and felt her underarms prickle with sweat. What if she was pushing too hard? Sure, there was work to do and, sure, she’d had a breakthrough when Evan had offered to draw a picture of her assailant, but maybe Joe needed more time before making a big leap of loyalty to her family.
She could have tested the waters by calling him first, but there was also no reason for her to stay home. They already had a twenty-four-seven guard watching Daisy in case she made a wrong move. Liza couldn’t stand another minute in Parker’s orbit. During their training earlier, his judgment was too critical, despite her control of her poison getting better. The dude seriously needed to get laid.
So did she.
The door opened.
“Liza?” Joe’s brow furrowed as he took her in. Still dressed in his suit, he must have recently arrived home. She probably should have checked that. Hedidsay he had a thing yesterday. Maybe it ran longer.
His eyes glided down from her face to the box. “I thought we said we’d do this tomorrow.”
“It is tomorrow, and I have ideas,” she said. “And I brought food. Your favorite.”
He looked confused for a moment, but then an inquisitive dark brow arched toward her package. “Beef and Black Bean?”
She grinned, already feeling a win coming.
“Come on,” she pressed. “I didn’t see you all day. You’re probably starving. Plus, Evan drew a likeness of the guy from the alley. There are coincidences we need to discuss.”
Liza wasn’t aware of the breath she’d held captive until it escaped upon his release of the door. He collected the box from her hands.
“I got it.” She tugged it back.
His jaw clenched. Nostrils flared. For a moment, Liza thought he would instigate a tug-of-war, but he let go and stepped into his apartment.
“I’ll get the wine,” he said.
Another small win. When Joe shifted from beer to merlot, he relaxed. Unable to contain the grin on her face, she entered and kicked the door closed. An evil laugh cackled in her mind, and she gloated at his back. She was going to break through to him. He stood no chance against the Liza Lazarus maelstrom. No chance.
“Did you say something?” he asked as he retrieved two glasses from the overhead cupboard in the kitchen.
“Huh?”
Had she said that out loud?
“I’ll just put these over here.” She went to the couch by the window, but it reminded her too much of that… other woman who shall not be named. The small two-seater table between the couch and the kitchen was better.
Liza set the box down and realized there was no room for food, so shifted the box to the floor and put the takeout on the table. The chopsticks had just been snapped when Joe handed her a glass of red wine. He sipped from his glass and sat down with a long, drawn-out sigh.
“Long day, huh?” she joked, then winced because anyone making light of the past few days was stupid.
Another sigh was her answer.
Jitters rode her system. She feared she’d never be done with them, so took a big swig of merlot, and then dug into the food. Joe watched her with a small smile kicking up one side of his mouth.
“What?” she snapped. “I’m hungry.”
He made a noncommittal grunt, and then picked at his food. She used her chopsticks to trap his against the plate.
“What was that look for?” she asked again, refusing to release his captive chopsticks.
“You eat when you’re nervous,” he explained.
She let go and slit her eyes. “You crack your knuckles.”
“I’m not now.” He flexed the fingers of one hand.
“But you were all yesterday afternoon.”
