Page 27 of The Woman with the Target on her Back (Grassi Family)

“My gym has a branch here. I got in a quick workout and shower before meeting the guys at Traveler’s shop,” he said, handing her a cup of coffee. “I stole a bag of your ground coffee while I was there,” he told her.

“That explains why it smells so good,” she said, taking a long sniff before sipping. “Does it look as bad as August said?” she asked.

“It’s… not pretty,” he said, pushing something round and wrapped toward her. “I have an extra one with meat, if you eat it, but that one is just egg and cheese,” he explained.

And, yeah, Aurelio would pick up on the hippy-chick vibe at her shop, and likely draw conclusions about what she did or didn’t eat.

“We swept up the glass and crystals,” he went on. “I saved the chunks that were big enough to,” he added. “And I grabbed the plants that had broken pots. They’re in my car. I figured you could toss them into dirt when we drop by your house.”

“You’ve thought of everything,” she said, giving him a smile without a hint of sarcasm, something I wasn’t sure she’d ever given me. And I found myself jealous of my fucking cousin for the attention he was getting from a woman I thought I didn’t like.

“They didn’t go for your cash,” Aurelio added, handing me a bagel with egg, cheese, and bacon.

“I think it has less to do with money, and more to do with me,” Traveler said, her head shaking. “How’s my truck?” she asked, looking up quickly enough to catch Aurelio’s wince. “That good, huh?”

“I think it’s at the point where you will need to question if it’s worth what it’s gonna cost to fix it. All new windows, new tires, some body work…”

“I love that truck,” Traveler said, looking down at her food, seeming to suddenly lose her appetite.

With her head down, I caught Aurelio’s gaze, tapping my chest. He knew me well enough to know what I was saying.Get it fixed. I’ll pay for it.

To that, he nodded.

“I would have driven past your place to scope that out,” Aurelio said. “But I don’t have your address.”

“I’m hoping they don’t either,” Traveler said, taking a small bite of her bagel. “I’ve never seen anyone following me home before. I mean, I guess that kind of thing is public record, but who knows if they’re invested enough yet to look into that.”

“Hopefully we get there before they do,” I said. “Grab anything valuable or sentimental. Board shit up if we need to. You got a house or apartment?”

“I’m on one side of a duplex,” she said. “With an elderly neighbor on the other side. He’s nosy. He would call the cops if he saw anything suspicious. But…”

“But what?” I asked when she trailed off.

“But I don’t know what the situation is with my father and the rest of the police force,” she said, shrugging. “Or with the organizations and the force for that matter. If they would even come if they knew it was my place. That kind of thing. I’m gonna go get dressed,” she said after trying to eat one more bite, but giving up.

Aurelio reached for the bagel and re-wrapped it.

“There were a lot of fucking eyes on us at the shop,” Aurelio said. “Not a single set of ‘em seeming purely curious.”

“Great,” I said, sighing. “This is a clusterfuck.”

“Let’s hope her old man wakes up. Sounds like he’s the one with enough power and pull to fix this and reinstate order.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, making a mental note to have Traveler call and ask about him if she didn’t want to go and visit again. “Anything on the news about him today?”

“No,” Aurelio said. “They’re keeping it under wraps.”

“I guess that works in our favor. I want to get done with her place early. Figure her out there anywhere visible is a bad idea right now.”

“Yeah. She’s better off here,” Aurelio agreed. “But we’re going to need to hit the streets and get a feel for what’s going on around here.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Hopefully, she can recognize the guys from the cameras and make our job easier.”

Traveler emerged as Aurelio and I were finishing our food, wearing the same outfit as yesterday, sans the apron.

“If you want to shower, it’s all yours,” she said to me as she went to the coffee machine for a refill.

Half an hour later, we were all in my car, heading out.

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