Page 85 of More Than Nothing
She’d had to get it out of her house, couldn’t wait for a meetup with Dorsey. It was far too dangerous to hang onto the gun any longer—she had nowhere safe to stash it. Instead, she’d messaged the special agent a full explanation last night, along with the address in Saginaw where they’d made the collection and a description ofthe two guys they’d dealt with. Dorsey could arrange a handover of the evidence with Roman, and Elenie had not a single care if Chief Deputy Shawn Booth didn’t like it.
He wasn’t the one who had to live with Frank.
New arrivals through the door of the diner made them both turn around. Roman bit off a curse as his mother and father called out their surprise to see him, his fingers reflexively tightening their grip on the box in his hands.
“What wonderful timing—we didn’t expect this!” Ava reached up to cup his face, planting a kiss on his cheek. His dad gave him a slap on the back. Elenie shot them a careful, guarded smile and moved quickly away, grabbing the next order from the hatch.
“If you’d like to find a table, I’ll be right with you,” she said politely over her shoulder.
Serving two groups and taking an order from another, Elenie took a few calming breaths and found that Roman had introduced his mom and dad to Otto. The four of them were now sitting together at his table in the corner, chatting like old friends. Well, three of them were. Roman still had one hand on the takeout box and an exasperated expression on his face. She shared his concern. Of all the days, why had his mother and father chosen this one to come into the diner? She was so unsure about how to play this.
“Hello, everyone. Do you know what you’d like yet or shall I give you more time?” Reserved but friendly, she maintained a little distance between herself and the table.
Roman’s eyes held an apology. He gave her the smallest of shrugs in a “what the hell?” kind of way. Ava and Elias did their best to rein in their natural urge to shower her with attention. They placed their orders in stilted voices, flicking glances at Roman for his approval as they chose from the menu.
Otto watched them all with the genial half-smile he wore most of the time. He raised his eyebrows at Elenie, blue eyessparkling. “It must be my lucky day to share the morning with such special company.”
When she returned to the table with their food, a tea to go for Roman, and a refill of coffee for Otto, Ava was asking about the box. Elenie’s heart stuttered in her chest. Her eyes flicked first to Ava, then to the innocuous cube of white cardboard and finally to Roman’s face. He pushed the box casually away from his mother, tucking it against the wall at the far end of the table.
“Donuts for the team.” His calm and steady tone gave nothing away. “A bit of bribery now and then keeps the wheels turning smoothly.” He tipped his takeout cup. “That’s why I can’t stay long this morning. It’s dangerous to keep the guys from their sugar fix.”
Everyone chuckled and the crisis passed. Elenie clenched her hands on the empty tray so no one would notice the tremble in her fingers. Stress and sleep deprivation were taking their toll on her nerves. She needed to get a grip. “Would anyone like any sauces or more napkins?”
Behind her the door of the diner opened again. A subtle charge seemed to run through Roman’s body. Achingly aware of him with every nerve ending she possessed, Elenie turned her head and looked slowly over her shoulder.
It was quickly becoming another day measured in WTFs per hour.
Chapter 40
Roman
Could the morning turn into any more of a shitshow?
As if it wasn’t enough that he was sitting in the diner with what he suspected was a fucking handgun in a takeout box, his parents had decided to show their support for Elenie, despite knowing they couldn’t let on they knew her. Roman silently cursed the huge heart of his headstrong mother. The cardboard box sat openly on the tabletop; he was desperate to get it back to the station.
Only now, Frank and Athena Dax were wandering casually up to the counter and pulling out a couple of bar stools. They sat down just a few feet away and Roman knew he wouldn’t be going anywhere for a little while yet.
Elenie excused herself, her beautiful face the blank mask he most hated seeing. He clenched one hand into a fist beneath the table. Otto shot him a quick, concerned glance and he nodded.
“Get us a couple of coffees and two breakfast specials,” Frank growled at Elenie.
She gave him a cool look. “Money first.”
“Don’t be such a little shit.” He leaned toward her but she stood her ground. Without betraying the slightest hint of awareness that others might be watching or listening, she regarded him steadily,eyes completely flat. It was the first time Roman had seen Elenie with any of her family.
“You’re tedious and I’m thirsty. I need coffee!” Athena’s voice was a breathy whine.
Elenie raised one eyebrow and walked away to take another order.
“Is that—?” Roman’s mother bumped his shoulder, nodding toward the counter.
“Frank and Athena Dax. Elenie’s mother and stepfather.”
Ava’s eyes narrowed.
Athena was jittery. She ran slim hands through her hair and fiddled with the clasp on a small green shoulder bag. Frank, leaning sideways, rested one bulky arm on the counter. He ran a casual gaze around the diner, following Elenie’s path as she piled a tray with empties and returned to unload it. With heavy brows, he pushed a couple of bills toward her. She took the money without a word, rang it up at the till and wrote up their order for the kitchen. Within minutes, she’d handed them each a steaming cup of coffee. Athena took a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of her bag.
“You can’t smoke in here,” Elenie told her.
