Page 57 of Bullet
We walked through the open front door and came face to face with a fairly attractive man with caramel skin and warm eyes that reminded me of my dad, and next to him was a tall, peach-skinned woman with short black hair and pristine blue eyes.
“Dad,” Harry said, “this is my girlfriend, Celia.”
My heart jumped up into my throat. It was the first time I’d heard him phrase it like that and Ilovedthe way it sounded. I was suddenly feeling like I might have made a mistake. Maybe Harry and I could have come to some sort of understanding. He did kill my dad, but… maybe there was something I was missing.
It was too late. I’d already fudged his books. It was just a matter of time.
The man stuck out his hand and I took it. “Nice to meet you, I’m Cameron.”
“Nice to meet you,” I replied.
Cameron put his hand behind the back of the woman next to him. “This is my beautiful girlfriend, Marisha. Marisha, this is my kid, Harry.”
I saw the shake in Harry’s hand as he stuck it out to take Marisha’s. She must have noticed it, too, because when Harry’s hand got into hers, she closed over it with her other hand to calm him. She gave him a warm smile and said, “It’s so lovely to finally meet you.”
“Yeah, sorry about it taking so long. I’d give some excuse, but really I think I was just procrastinating,” Harry admitted.
“I’m glad you brought backup then,” Cameron said, winking at me. “Well, come in, dinner is on the table already, and we can get started.”
Harry had mentioned that Cameron was a chef in the past but had definitely downplayed how amazing he was. He could have easily been a famous chef in New York or California with the way he presented freshly roasted brisket, perfectly cooked, over rice pilaf and a bed of greens. The red wine Harry and I bought just so happened to go perfectly with it, so we popped it open and poured everyone a glass, then settled down to eat it.
“So, Celia, how’s it going dating my boy?” he asked.
I looked over at Harry and smiled. “Sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve him.”
“Right?” Cameron said. “I never had kids, but then Harry came into my life and it was like ‘Wow. How did I get so lucky?’” He looked at Harry while pointing at me. “I like her.”
“Me, too,” Harry replied.
Cameron gushed about Harry and Marisha over dinner, clearly going the extra mile to make sure they liked one another. What he didn’t see, but was plain to see for me, was that Marisha and Harry were silently bonding over how much they both loved Cameron. Every time he told a story or laughed, they exchanged a quiet glance of understanding, and each time it happened, things at the table got more and more relaxed. It was surreal to be around, and I felt honored to experience it firsthand.
“Have you heard from the private detective?” Harry asked Cameron after a while.
“Private detective?” Marisha and I asked at the same time.
“You didn’t tell her?” Cameron and Harry asked each other in unison and then we all laughed.
“I kept it to myself because it’s not my place to share,” Cameron said.
“Yeah, I guess we never really got around to talking about it,” Harry said. “I have a younger sibling out there somewhere. Living with my mom. We haven’t really talked about it all that much, but she’s the reason I had my, you know, trust issues. I’ve been using some money I got from a settlement to fund searching for him or her so that, hopefully, I can save them before my mom screws them up like she did me.”
Settlement. “Were you in an accident?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “A handful of years ago. Four, maybe? Five?”
“Six,” Cameron said.
“What happened?” I asked.
“It was not long after I joined the Steel Knights. I was on the road headed to the club, and this guy started up with me,” Harry explained.
“Darrien Pescoe,” Cameron hissed. “I’ll never forget the name. The man who almost took my son from me.” Marisha put a hand on Cameron’s wrist, and he calmed a bit. “One day I get this call that a car ran Harry off the road, flipped his bike, and he was in the hospital.”
“I guess the guy had pledged for the Steel Knights, but didn’t make it,” Harry said. “When he saw me in my colors, it pissed him off and he tried to race me. Although it was less like a race and more like a demolition derby. I felt bad for the other guy in the car, he was clearly trying to get him to stop, but he wouldn’t listen.”
My heart started to beat faster and faster. “He hit you?”
“Yeah, he tried to just nudge me, I think, but he had no control over the car. I was flying, trying to get away from him, so he had to be doing like a hundred or more in a car with low handling. I tried slowing down, speeding up, this guy just would not let it go. Finally, he scooted over and hit my tire, and we both lost control.”
