Page 15 of Deja Who
“I’ve signaled for an ambulance. You’re hearing the siren.”
He blinked at her like an owl, a stabbed owl, and swayed on his feet. He was unreasonably overjoyed when she reached out and steadied him. “Hey, thanks, if I fall, I’ll prob’ly bleed more and also it would hurt probably, I dunno, it doesn’t hurt as much as it did earlier. Careful, you don’t want to get any on you.”
She was looking at him in the oddest way. “Thank you. You’re right, I wouldn’t want any on me. That was thoughtful.”
“Okay, and when you didn’t stick the knife in my heart, that was also thoughtful, so thanks for not lethally knifing me.”
Another smile! Two in thirty seconds! Or had it been an hour? Who cared? She’d fall in love if he didn’t bleed out and they’d make babies who were weird and had gorgeous smiles and hammerhead shark eyes. “Beautiful shark-eyed babies,” he told her and, to Leah’s credit, she didn’t flee, or hoist a knee into his balls. “When’d you do that? Make the ambulance come?”
“While you were whining about how I didn’t kill you.”
“Whining! No wonder you don’t have any friends except that homeless lady in the park.”
“That lady used to be the mayor of Boston, is not homeless, and never mind about my friends or lack of same. If you aren’t my killer, who are you? I don’t know why I can’t see you, butyoumust know that at least.” She took his elbow and gently shook it. “Concentrate. Tell me.”
“I keep saying. The client wants you.Reallywants you.”
She stepped back. She hadn’t been afraid of him when she thought he was someone else, someone who would have killed her, but now,nowshe stepped back. And that smile was long gone. What. The. Fuck? “Oh, no,” she breathed.
“Yeah.”
“Not...”
“Yeah. Your mom. She really wants to see you. She says the time has come for you to forgive each other and work on your comeback.”
She stabbed him in the other shoulder.
