by Ruby Vincent
Cash pulled me up short—turning over his decision in the middle of the street while the sirens got closer.
“Fine.”
Chapter Three
Cash
I openly watched her from the passenger seat. Adeline gave no sign she noticed my observation. She glided in and out of the lanes, turning up the express for Waterford.
Adeline Redgrave. Weaknesses confirmed. History of abuse confirmed. Everything else...
There was nothing suspicious in her notepad. She was right to be angry at my questioning her sincerity after we were late rescuing her from Angelo’s men. We should’ve been there. We should’ve prevented her suffering under the hands of another monster.
A lot of things should be that aren’t. I should have this twenty-three-year-old chef figured out from her favorite food to her taste in men. But I didn’t.
She made a new meal every day. Not going to repeats that would indicate a favorite. When we packed her old room, the walls were devoid of pictures of her childhood. Signs pointed to an organized personality but not much else. As for her taste in men, Sinjin pegged her as his soulmate within twelve minutes of meeting the woman, but as was becoming an annoying habit, I couldn’t see what it was about her that made Adeline the girl for us.
“Why are you staring at me?”
“Why don’t you trust the cops?”
“What?” She took her eyes off the road to frown at me. “Where did you get that from?”
“You didn’t go to them after Sinjin killed Spencer and we tried to kidnap you. The first time. You employed your expert dangle game to get to Ivan instead of reporting him to the cops. Why?”
She sighed. “You know why I didn’t go to the cops after Raiden Spencer, and I had no proof of who killed the Maldonados. Not until Ivan confessed to me. I have the same healthy suspicion of the cops as any girl who grew up in rough neighborhoods and watched dealers pay them to look the other way. No more, no less.”
“That’s no excuse for going into that club alone tonight. No backup. Recovering from a knife wound. The deadliest thing you were packing was a pen.” I flicked to the red marks on her neck. My lips peeled back. “I put you down as a lot of things but not reckless or stupid.”
“You’re right, I’m neither of those things. So, I obviously know how to take care of myself. I faced the Merchants and lived, didn’t I?”
“You don’t do this shit again. Or the next time will be the same. I’ll shoot first and ask questions later.”
“More like shoot and fuck first.” Adeline held my hand in her lap, blowing my irritation into a blaze. I was seconds away from jumping out of the car, hunting Ivan’s body down in the morgue, and killing him again. While she was relaxed and rubbing her middle finger over my knuckle, tightening my balls in my pants.
“You keep saying, rather rudely, that I dangle my pussy to get what I want, but the only time I’ve done that was tonight, and it wasn’t for you. Didn’t stop you from taking it, Killian. What was the lesson supposed to be?” she asked. “That my pussy belongs to you? Because I didn’t realize you were interested.”
“I’m not.”
“There’s a thong abandoned on a bathroom floor that says otherwise.”
The car slowed down, drifting to a stop in front of a nondescript apartment.
“The lesson was don’t play games with me, Redgrave.”
She hummed. “We’re here. Let’s go.”
Adeline got out and waited for me on the street side. She linked her arm through mine as I fell in beside her, leading me across to a lone food truck in the silent neighborhood. A red and orange eyesore with pictures of food next to the serving window and “Kiwicha” written in bold yellow letters on the bottom.
“Addy, is that you?” The man climbed out of his truck to hug her.
“Hey, Vasco. It’s been too long.”
Vasco was a tall, portly man sporting a short beard covered by a hairnet. “Where have you been?”
“I took a new job. Got into a new relationship.” Adeline rested her head on my arm, earning me a smile from Vasco. “But that’s no excuse for not coming to see you sooner. This is Cash.”
We shook hands.
“You must be the new guy. What can I get you?” he asked over my denial.
“Two number threes, please,” Adeline replied.
“Coming right up.”
He climbed back on his truck, and soon the air was full of sizzling meat.
“Why are we here?”
“Dinner.”
“I’m not eating anything from that tin can. One in six people contract a foodborne illness every year.”
She laughed. “You ate my food after locking me in a cage. You’re clearly more adventurous than you let on. Trust me.”
There was that word.
“This will be the best Peruvian food you’ve ever tasted. It’ll be worth it even if we spend the night with our heads in a toilet.”
“This is you selling it?”
She bumped my hip, giggling. “Vasco, a cup of ice too, please.”
Twenty minutes later, Vasco handed us a takeout bag, a cup of ice, and a kiss for Addy. He was old enough to be her father, so I let it go on for half a second before pulling her back.
“Thank you.” Adeline made to leave.
“How much?” I asked him.
He waved my bills away. “Adeline gets whatever she asks for on the house. Enjoy.”
Adeline beckoned me from the sidewalk. “Don’t fall behind, toy boy.”
“My only acceptable nickname is Cash.”
She laughed again—a light, flirty sound like raindrops sprinkling the window. Impossible to ignore. “You’re so serious all the time. I’m seeing you at Christmas wearing a Santa hat and frowning it up Grinch-style while your nieces and nephews hang ornaments off your ears.”
“Now who’s stalking who?”
She gasped. “Killian Hunt, was that a joke?”
“Was it?”
Shaking her head, Adeline rounded a building and took off down the alley. A single door lay tucked behind a dumpster. Adeline reached for it but I was there first, opening it to allow her through. We stepped inside a dark, concrete stairwell.
“Why does that guy give you free food?”
“Vasco used to park his truck on my street. I warned him about staying open at night, but he said he’d be fine. He didn’t keep much money on hand and there was little for anyone to steal. Vasco didn’t understand that not much is still plenty to some people.
“One night, he was robbed at gunpoint. The guy took the money and then proceeded to kick his face in. I heard him screaming and came running. Hit the guy over the head with a sauté pan and pepper-sprayed the crap out of him. After, I told Vasco to come here. It looks chill right now, but this street is full of university students that don’t know a spatula from their asshole. He’s their got-to food truck with no competition. As you can tell, he’s grateful.”
“So, that’s your thing,” I said to her ass. Wasn’t my fault it was eye-level as I trailed her up the stairs. “You believe you’re some caped crusader. Maybe you think the Merchants are too.”
“That’s not it,” she replied, a faint trace of anger beneath her words. “I’m not on some crusade for justice. I don’t step in because I don’t believe the police can do their job. This is just who I am. If the nice man who gives me extra servings of steak strips is screaming for help, I don’t keep walking.
“The homeless man outside of my apartment wants a homecooked meal, I give it to him. A drunk girl is fed drinks at a party, I help her to the bathroom. Make sure she’s safe. I’ve only ever done what I thought was right, Cash. I’ve had five lifetimes’ worth of people who do terrible things just because they can. Why is it strange that I do the right thing because I can?”
“Because people aren’t that good, Adeline.” The low reply resounded oddly in the close space. “Take it from the man who sees everything.”
We fell silent, w
alking up the final five flights without sharing words or glances. Our trek ended at a door labeled “Roof Entrance.”
“This is my favorite spot in the entire city,” she said. “Sunsets at Mercy Park and rowing on the canal during the cherry blossom festival are contenders, but this remains the most beautiful sight in Cinco.”
She swept open the door, and I nearly trod on the mouse scuddling to a hole in the plaster. I looked around at the slightly dirty, unimpressive space. Rainwater collected in little brown puddles scattered about the roof. An attempt was made to brighten the place with a row of potted plants. All were dying.
“Is this a joke? Because I suggest you’re the one who’s no good at them.”
“Over here,” she said, laughing.
Adeline ducked around the entrance to a raised deck. Two chairs and a small table sat on top.
I stepped up, and a low whistle slipped out unbidden.
All of Cinco City lay before us. Millions of flickering, still, and racing lights. The skyscrapers of Leighbridge. Trapp Tower. Ellington Conservatory. Cinco in a snapshot was right here—living and pulsing beneath us.
“You could almost believe we’re like any other city. Beautiful, rich, and flawed.”
I nodded.
“Sit,” she said. “I’m starving.”
I sat down, more contented to enjoy the view than I’d let her know.
She set out the food. Dumping out the ice, she wrapped it in the plastic and plopped down on my lap.
“What are you doing? Get off.”
She gave me a look. “You just hate-fucked me on a bathroom counter. You can handle me sitting on your lap. Give me your hand.”
“Why?”
Adeline draped her legs over the arm of the chair and rested my hand on top of her knee. It was bruised and bleeding. I hadn’t noticed my fight with the car window left us both battered.
She held the ice on my knuckles. “Put the food on my stomach. We’ll have to feed each other.”
“Get off.”
“I refer you again to the hate-fucking,” she said, amused. “Stop being so grumpy. It doesn’t work now that I know you want me.”
Adeline wriggled on my lap reaching to get the food herself. My cock twitched a hello.
“You’ll be extremely disappointed when you find out how untrue that is,” I said in spite of the traitor.
“Extremely disappointed? Because you’re a great catch?”
“Yes.”
“Mmm. Then, I better try harder to melt the ice around your heart.”
“You assume there is a heart inside.”
“I know there is,” she said. “I’ve seen it.”
“What is this?” I asked, steering the conversation away.
“Lomo saltado. It’s a stir-fry with beef, onions, rice, fries, and tomatoes.” She stabbed a strip and pressed it to my lips. “If this is not the best thing you’ve ever eaten in your life, I will pay back every cent of my generous salary.”
I wasn’t a betting man like Sinjin, but not even I could turn down those terms. I accepted the bite, chewing the tender, marinated beef that exploded a different burst of flavor on its way down.
“It’s pretty good,” I said grudgingly.
“Knew you’d love it.”
Slipping out from the ice, I took the tray from her.
“Cash, I don’t mind.”
“You can save that perching-on-a-chair-and-feeding-me-grapes crap for Sinjin. He’ll love that shit. I can feed myself.”
“At least let me hold it, so you can rest your hand.”
“Feeling bad you made me break it?”
“No, I did nothing wrong.” She let me be, taking her own food in hand. “You should feel bad for not trusting and accusing me of cheating.” Adeline let her head fall back on the arm. “It’s past time we did this. Me and you. Sitting down and getting to know each other. So, I’ll make you a deal. Give and take. I’ll tell you something about me as long as you reciprocate. If you stop sharing, so do I. Agreed?”
I inclined my head.
“Equal value or higher,” she said. “Don’t tell me about the day you lost Teddy at the fair after I share a traumatizing, soul-crushing secret.”
“Losing Teddy was soul-crushing.”
She laughed—eyes shining, round nose wrinkling, hair falling across her cheek. I decided I liked the sound, even if I wasn’t sure about the girl it came from.
“Well, I’ll go first. My name was supposed to be Madeline. The ‘M’ was forgotten in my mother’s drugged stupor.”
The fork paused halfway to my mouth.
“Imagine going your whole life with a name you shouldn’t have, and knowing the reason why.”
Adeline didn’t sound angry. Though she lived with the knowledge long enough that she either accepted, or learned to mask it.
“Your turn, Cash. Equal or higher value.”
I turned my response over, deciding between truth or lie.
“My name is Killian Hunt.” I forced it out. “Killian Alfred Hunt.”
“Alfred.” Adeline grinned around her meat. “Really?”
“Like I’d lie about that.”
“Why Alfred?”
“My mother is another woman who can’t be understood.”
She seemed to find that hilarious. “Why Killian?”
“My father grew up in Ireland. His childhood best friend was named Killian.”
“That’s sweet,” she said. “Answer accepted. My turn. The weirdest place I’ve had sex was actually not a torture dungeon—”
“What the hell are you doing?”
The smile she flashed me could only be described as wicked. “Equal value, Cash. I get to hear about your sexual escapades after this.”
“I knew I would regret this. Just didn’t know it’d be this soon.”
“Hey. You wanted a peek through the curtains. Get to know the real Adeline Redgrave. Buckle up, this is going to be a long night.”
I gestured for her to go on.
“The weirdest place I’ve had sex was a porta potty at a music festival. Yes, it was as gross as you’re imagining. Yes, I have regrets. I’d take the torture rack over that any day.
“Your turn.”
“My first kill was Ruben ‘Deathrow’ Johnston. He took exception to Sinjin cleaning him out at the cards table and followed us into the alley. I regret nothing.” I smirked into her eyes. “Higher value, Redgrave. Murder tops a go in a shit box.”
“I knew you’d make this difficult. Just didn’t know it’d be this soon.”
I cracked a smile. It was gone as quickly as it appeared. But I knew she saw it, and suddenly I wanted her off my lap. Off this roof. And speeding off in my car with her in my rearview. Nothing good would come of this.
Adeline stroked my jaw. “Killian?”
Nothing.
“Don’t do that,” she whispered. “Stay with me.”
I may not see the full picture of her, but I don’t think she has that problem. With any of us. She never did.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My voice was flat. “Your turn.”
Her next answer came slow. “I learned to cook... because I had no choice. Sometimes my mom disappeared. Days or weeks at a time. I had to learn to make the little left in the house, or starve,” she rasped. “I try to see it as something good coming from the bad. Cooking gave me a future when I thought I had none.”
“Is that why you’re working at Salvatore’s again?”
“Working at—? Oh.” She shook her head. “I forgot you hitched a ride with me today. I’m not getting my old job back. I went to ask Ryan if he’d consider letting me work with him on catering jobs. He made me do a shift to prove I was still up to scratch.”
“Why would you want to do that? Are we not paying you enough? Or do we need to give you more to do?”
A smile played at her lips. “Cash, I have a dad, mentor, male friends, and, at the rate we’re going with the unprotected sex, I’ll hav
e a son. You have to learn to share me with other men.”
My always working, running, calculating, planning mind ground to a halt.
“You’re on the pill, right?”
“Ah. Now he asks,” she teased. “How do you feel about Alfred Jr.? Little A.J.”
I set my food down. Appetite gone.
Adeline seized the chance to rest my hand on her chest, cradling the melting ice on my bruises. I moved my hand down her stomach.
“I’m good with A.J.,” I announced. “We’ll need an heir to take over one day. Might as well start cooking the kid now.”
Her lips parted. “Do you really—?”
I crooked a brow.
“Ah, Cash,” she cried. “Stop messing with me.”
I laughed out loud.
“You don’t fool me. You’ll be the one spending all night comparing crib safety ratings, and trading your gun holster for a baby carrier. If I can’t tame you, little A.J. will.”
The night carried on in the same strange vein of serious revelations glanced across the surface. Honesty with our eyes closed, backs up, and shields on. But honesty nonetheless.
Adeline told me of the day her father found her and she was rescued from her mother.
“I hadn’t been able to speak a word of what was happening to me. To my teachers or my friends. Then one day, Dad was there. Standing outside my school like he used to. And I just knew that he would never let me go again.”
I shared my life as the son of carnival ringmasters. Youngest of five siblings and a Sinjin.
“He was wild when we found him. Sounds like we picked up a feral cat, but it’s not far off. He was put in a foster home after his father was killed, but something in him had already broken. His foster dad tried smacking him around, and Sinjin took a bat to him. Cracked his skull. Blinded him in one eye, and then took off running.
“He lived on the street for a few months till he ended up at the fairgrounds to pick our customers clean. The folks took him in and said I had to look after him. I wasn’t that interested in Sinjin. He felt differently.
“Sinjin said, did, and took what he wanted without thought to consequences to himself or anyone else. My cool reservation sparked a challenge in him. It became his mission to crack my shell. Sinjin harassed, goaded, and messed me up every chance he got. One morning, he tripped me coming down the bleachers and busted my lip. I broke his nose and gave him a split lip to match. Our fight had to be broken up by four workers. Sinjin grinned through the blood and said, ‘now we’re brothers.’”
