Page 34 of More Than Nothing
“You don’t have a tab.” Nathan sounded frustrated.
Roman crossed his arms. “You heard the man,” he said. “No money, no booze. Pay for it or put it back.”
Athena tried to outstare him for a minute, hampered by her eyes crossing behind a lank, cherry-red lock of hair that flopped over her face. She wrinkled her nose. “You are no fun at all.” Twirling away, she tripped over her own feet and Roman grabbed her elbow to stop her falling. She wrenched it out of his grasp, shooting an icy glare over her shoulder. “We could have been very good friends but I don’t think you’re my type after all.”
Nathan snorted.
“We all have our crosses to bear,” Roman said evenly. “I’ll have to try to live with it.”
Athena shoved one of the bottles under her arm—both men feared for its safety—and squeezed the tips of her fingers into her front pocket. When she pulled out a crumpled pile of bills, Roman wasn’t the least bit surprised.
“Here.” She slapped them down on the counter. “Happy now?”
Nathan rang them into the register without comment.
Roman opened the door of the store. “Come on,” he said to Athena. “I’ll take you home.”
In the confines of the police car, the smell of alcohol was even stronger. Athena raked thoughtful eyes over him as he drove. It was a quiet night in town. They passed minimal traffic as they left Main Street and headed uphill toward the Daxes’ house.
“So what do you see in my daughter?” Athena’s voice was harder now. The vodka lay in her lap and she picked at the seam of her jeans.
Roman heard warning bells louder than downtown Detroit. “I hardly know your daughter.”
“Oh, really?” Athena mocked him with an arch look. Then she laughed and there was no humor in the sound. “Take a tip from me and stay well clear. You might have a stick up your ass but you can seriously do better.” Roman’s hands clenched around the steering wheel, knuckles white. Athena ran a hand through her hair. “When I was her age, I had so many men chasing me, I could choose a different one every day of the week. There wasn’t a party that took place without me and not a single one where I went on my own.” Her expression soured. “Being an adult is so dull, don’t you think? Less parties, less fun.” She squinted at Roman, eyes unfocused, face bitter. “You don’t look like you have much fun, Chief Straight and Narrow. When was the last time you let your hair down?”
“You sound like my ex,” Roman murmured as they pulled up a little way from the house.
“So you do date!” Athena’s mercurial mood shifted again. An alcohol-fueled loose cannon in action, she unclipped her seatbelt and leaned toward him, providing a view straight down the front of her tank top. Elenie’s mother ran her hand up his arm. Her touch was cool, her nails painted and bitten short.
“Good evening, Mrs. Dax. Be careful getting out of the car.” Roman’s voice was as neutral as he could make it.
For a moment, neither of them moved, then Elenie’s mother sat back. Her eyes clouded.
“Stay well clear,” she repeated, each word slurring into the next.
Roman held her gaze until she pulled at the handle on her door and spilled out onto the pathway. He expelled a long breath as Athena wobbled away toward the house.
Chapter 17
Elenie
Coming down the stairs, Elenie bumped into her mother in the hall. “I didn’t see you in the dark,” she said uneasily. “Has the bulb blown again?”
Athena gave her a look she couldn’t read. “No idea. I didn’t try it.”
Her mother weaved into the kitchen and placed two bottles of vodka noisily on the table. Coordination taxed by the removal of her cardigan, she saved herself from overbalancing by grabbing the back of a chair.
Christ. One of those nights.
“Want some toast?”
Athena waved her away, reaching for a glass instead.
Elenie pulled a loaf of bread out of the cupboard, checked it for mold, and dropped two slices into the toaster. Her hope of grabbing some food and retreating upstairs faltered as the front door opened and slammed.
Frank was on the phone. “I’ll take a Navigator or an Escalade. Whatever you can get me by next Friday. I can change the plates myself. Let me know when and where for the pickup.”
She heard Ty hack up a cough and someone else’s voice in the hall, drowned out by Frank’s conversation. Elenie made a conscious effort to look relaxed as she watched the doorway.
