Page 111 of Coup De Grâce
“Can you taste the Funyuns?” he asked, his eyes bright with wonder. “I sprinkled Funyun dust all over the meat to flavor it. I think it really adds something.”
Yes, it did add something, but it was not good. Still, I swallowed it down and gave him the most half-hearted thumbs up I could muster. Settling back against the pillows, I fought the sleep that was tugging at me despite having just woken up. I was exhausted, and my body was beaten to hell. It was even worse than when I woke up yesterday.
Then again, yesterday, Eva was in bed with me and I hadn’t touched her in so fucking long, I think I could have made love to her if I was literally dying of a heart attack.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, scrubbing a hand over my sleep-deprived face.
“Well, since you asked, after drowning one of your former colleagues in a vat of acid, I decided my work was done and could join my favorite leader on his adventures. Lucky for me, I brought The Kamau’s jacket,” he grinned. “You didn’t tell me he would be with you.”
“I didn’t even tell you where I would be,” I pointed out.
“Well, not that it matters. I rarely go anywhere without The Kamau’s things. You know, just in case he needs a spare. I would hate for him to be missing such a vital piece of himself when he’s on the job. Hence, my amazing boots.”
He wiggled his feet, pointing to the motorcycle boots that had seen more wear than the average pair of shoes. Then again, he’d been wearing them since…well, it had been a long fucking time.
“Shouldn’t you replace those boots? They’re falling apart.”
He stopped jerking on the bed and shot me the most horrified look. “Get rid of The Kamau’s boots? Are you serious?”
“Fox, I’m sure he replaces his own boots from time to time. I highly doubt he’s been wearing the same pair for the last twenty years.”
“Well, of course he hasn’t. I’m wearing the pair he had on when we first met.” He scoffed out a laugh, shaking his head at me.
Yeah, I was the ridiculous one.
“Anyway, I just don’t think I could ever give these up. It was the start of a beautiful friendship. And now that we’re brothers?—”
“You’re not brothers, Fox. You’re not related to any of us,” I pointed out.
He barked out a laugh, shoving more shawarma in his mouth. “You crack me up, boss. Anyway, these are my lucky boots. There was no way I was leaving them behind on such a vital mission.”
I couldn’t argue with that. After all, I had Betty, not that she was with me anymore. I had left her on the box in my office. God knows if she was even still there. Someone might have thrown her out.
“And speaking of lucky…”
He dug into his pocket, fighting with whatever was inside with his yellow-crusted fingers. “Ah-ha!” He held up Betty, surprising the hell out of me. Only, Betty was covered in yellow dust now. But still…
I carefully took her from his grip and stared down at my lucky charm. She still looked the same. No one had bothered to throw her out, and for that I was grateful.
“You kept her.”
“Boss, it’s not like you left and we all moved on with life. We knew you were coming back.”
That was odd because I had no idea if I would ever be back. I had hoped, but was I positive? Not at all. I knew there was every possibility I wouldn’t come out of this alive.
There was still that possibility.
But the fact that they had so much faith in me was startling.
“Thank you,” I murmured, squeezing Betty tightly.
“Honestly, I don’t really get why you leave her behind when you go off the rails. Wouldn’t you need more luck when that happens?”
He had a point, but it always felt wrong to take her with me when I knew I was a tad too unhinged. It was like I was tainting her with my decisions. But maybe he was right. Maybe I should have kept her with me at all times.
I felt way too sentimental for the ass crack of dawn, so I cleared my throat, shoving all emotion aside, and got to the point. “So, this guy you boiled, what did you get from him?”
He grunted around a bite of food, wiping his hands on the comforter that I would now never sleep under again. “So, funny story. As usual, he didn’t want to talk.” Fox rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. “That’s pretty typical.I won’t give in. I’m special. I won’t talk.”
