Scythe

by M K Mancos

  Her smile could have blinded him. “A real date. I don’t remember the last real date I’ve had, it’s been so long.”

  “You don’t know how much that warms my heart to hear.” Not a lie. The fact she didn’t date much made him feel rather lucky.

  “Yes, well, I’m a busy woman.” The words were said in a teasing manner with her gorgeous eyes sparkling.

  “Glad you think I’m worthy enough to fit into your schedule.” He gave her a leisurely kiss, taking his time to taste her to the fullest. After he pulled away, he placed gentle pecks on the corners of her lips. “I better go, or I’ll stay here kissing you all day.”

  “Not a bad idea, but I do have to earn a living.”

  It still amazed him that she’d need to work while going to school when she had parents who could afford to live in Short Hills. Which just went to prove that she was both independent and self reliant.

  They agreed on a time and Josiah left to take the anxious Pugsley home.

  As he drove away, he looked in his review mirror to see Midnight crossing the street from an opposite building then duck inside Keely’s outer door.

  19

  Keely smiled when the outside buzzer rang. What could Josiah have possibly forgotten? He had his dog, his gun, his underwear.

  She heard the stomp of feet on the stairs and moved to open the door for him.

  “Did you miss me?” The words died on the brisk air. Her shock left her almost gasping for air.

  “More than you know.” Dark shadows swirled around him as he grew nearer. His very presence seemed to suck all the light from the stairwell.

  How could she ever have thought him a harmless Goth?

  The outer door opened again. Josiah stood at the bottom of the stairs looking up at her. She couldn’t tell by the expression on his face what he was thinking. But it didn’t look good.

  “Forget something?” Keely put her hands in her jeans pockets and stepped back into the apartment as Josiah bounded up to her door.

  He pushed past Midnight. “You harassing my girlfriend, now?”

  “I don’t see her wearing a name tag announcing her as your property.”

  Keely winced. That probably wasn’t a wise move on Midnight’s part. “I’m no one’s property. However, I am curious as to why you’re standing at my door.”

  “You know why,” Midnight challenged.

  Keely glanced at Josiah then raised her shoulder, stumped as to Midnight’s reason for being there. “I have no clue.”

  “Sure you don’t.” Midnight sounded like he had a secret. His dark gaze shifted, landing on Josiah, who was bowed up behind her. “I’ll let it go for now. But I will see you around.”

  He turned in a swirl of dark duster. The distinct rip of fabric sounded loud in the hall. However, it didn’t stop Midnight’s descent down the stairs.

  “I need a plastic bag and some tweezers.” Josiah turned, heading for her kitchen. “You do have sandwich bags, don’t you?”

  “Lose the attitude, buddy.” Keely pulled hard on a drawer, retrieving the requested bags. “Here. Tweezers are in the medicine cabinet.”

  She followed him with a glare as he rattled around in her medicine cabinet then came back out to inspect the banister. “What are you doing?”

  “Collecting evidence.”

  Keely crossed her arms, canting her head to the side. “Evidence of what? That some joker knocked on my door?”

  Josiah raised a brow at her. “No. To compare it to other dark fibers found at crime scenes connected to him.”

  “Oh.” Really, what else could she say?

  She watched him stuff the black fibers into the plastic bag. “What kind of crime scenes?”

  “What do you think?”

  Suddenly she didn’t feel very well. She knew the guy was bad news, but damn.

  She barely dared to blink before Josiah dragged her back into the apartment and closed the door.

  “I asked before if you knew him and you said you didn’t.” If Josiah invaded her personal space any further, they’d be wearing the same shoes. “Tell me what you know about him.”

  “I told you before, I don’t know him. Not personally. I’ve seen him around the neighborhood a few times, but I promise you he’s not exactly my first choice for best friend material.” Keely put her hands on his shoulders. “I did take your warning to heart, Josiah.”

  His expression softened. “Good. He’s bad news.”

  “I gathered that for myself.” Keely leaned forward and kissed his taut mouth. It quickly softened under hers.

  His arms came around her, holding her close. “You’re going to start something you have no intention of finishing.”

  “I know. I can’t seem to help myself where you’re concerned,” she said in between kisses.

  “You make me crazy.”

  The kisses went on for a few more minutes before he pulled away. “I better go. Pugsley will make a mess of the car.”

  Keely smiled, bumping her body against his. “Did you come back here to protect me?”

  “Damn straight.”

  She gave him one last peck. “Thank you.”

  “You’re very welcome.”

  “So, I’ll see you tonight then?” Keely couldn’t help herself, she had to touch that sexy stubble on his jaw. The bristles were rough against her palm.

  “Oh, yeah.”

  “Be good until then.”

  He slid his hand under her hair. “I always am. But do me a favor.”

  “What’s that?”

  “If that loser comes here again, don’t answer the door.”

  “I didn’t answer it this time. Well, I did, but I thought you’d come back.” She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. “I really have no idea why he came here.”

  He stared at her a long, silent moment before saying, “I believe you.”

  Keely leaned her forehead against his, knowing deep down it was important that he believed her. No man had ever really got her. Not her sense of humor, not her need to be strong on her own terms, and certainly not her obsession with her inner nerd. He was her other half. Her kismet.

  Every time he kissed her, held her, she got the vision of an entire life stretching out before them. Together. It sounded corny and stupid, even in her own mind, but it was the truth. And they’d had so little of that between them.

  Oh yeah, making the relationship with Josiah work had become one of the most important things in her life.

  20

  Nico’s was hopping for a weekend afternoon. Keely tried to keep her focus on her job, but as the day wore on, the task became increasingly difficult. In a few hours, she’d be all dolled up and going out on the first real date she’d had in a long time. A date with a man she also deemed worthy enough to share her bed.

  She’d never been a prude, but she was damn sure picky. These days, it paid to be picky.

  “Hey, gorgeous,” a deep voice said, calling Keely’s attention away from her silent reverie.

  She blinked a few times before she recognized Josiah’s friend, John. “Hello, yourself. How’s it going?”

  “Transitioning, but that’s all right.”

  When Keely gave him a blank look, his face took on a serious expression.

  “I came in to thank you. Looks like you might have saved my life the other day.”

  “Wow. Really?” Relief washed over her. He’d taken her suggestion seriously and gotten his condition seen to. “So, your blood sugar was out of whack?”

  “I’d say.” He rolled his dark eyes heavenward. “Doctor said he’d never seen anyone’s so high and had them still functioning normally. He wants to monitor it and see if we can get it under control with diet. If not, we’ll have to look at me going on insulin.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, feeling for the man. Living with diabetes wasn’t an easy task, but it could be controlled. “Not that you got seen by the doctor, but that the diagnosis isn’t a quick fix.”

  He gave a good-natu
red shrug of his wide shoulders. “Like I said, you saved my life. I don’t know how you knew and I don’t really care. I’m just grateful you did.”

  The news was just what she needed to hear. Her work as a Scythe had helped one person. Or maybe more, if one counted the fact she’d been responsible for a murderer being taken into custody. She wouldn’t miss the work or the hours, but at least she had a few successes to count.

  “Can I get you anything? You want some lunch?” She started to grab a menu, but John had already started to shake his head.

  “My wife packed me a lunch off the diabetic menu. She’d go flat wild if I came home with a burger on my breath and the other food still in the box.”

  “Then you should probably eat what she packed.”

  The door opened and John’s partner came in carrying a bag from the deli. “You ready to roll?”

  “Yeah.” He held his hand out to Keely. “I gotta run. Thanks again.”

  “Anytime.” She took his hand and let the energy from him flow into her palm. Instead of that underlying sense of something being off kilter like before, he seemed in perfect balance. She smiled at him.

  She watched John walk out of the bar.

  “Order up, Keely,” Roscoe, the cook, called from the kitchen.

  She started into the back and stopped. Samson stood inside the door. He put his hand up to his mouth in a gesture for silence. Glancing around the kitchen, it didn’t appear as if anyone saw him. Great, what was that, a partial stealth mode?

  She grabbed the plate of loaded nachos and exited the kitchen. When she turned back to the bar, Samson sat on one of the stools, facing her.

  She shook her head and set the plate down in front of one of her regular customers. “Can I get you anything else, Pedro?”

  Pedro shook his salt and pepper head. “No. This’ll set me up.”

  “I’ll call Wanda and tell her to ready the antacids for you.”

  He stopped with a nacho halfway to his mouth. “Please, don’t. She’ll skin me if she knows I’m at the spicy food again.”

  Keely laughed and walked down the bar, asking the other patrons if they needed anything.

  “You didn’t offer me anything,” Samson said like a petulant child.

  “Am I allowed to talk to you now?” she asked under her breath.

  He considered the people seated on either side of him. “Of course.”

  “Did you want anything? Other than to harass me of course.”

  “He is willing to make concessions to get you back on the job.”

  “Oh, really? And what are those concessions? I get to actually sleep for more than four hours a night? I can interact with my peers? I’ll be able to visit my family when I want? If none of those things are on the list, then forget it.” She grabbed a cloth from behind the bar and started wiping it down with vigorous strokes.

  “I think your biggest concern was for not getting involved, as in the Gennaro woman’s case.”

  Keely threw the rag down on the counter. “That, my friend, was a catalyst, not my biggest concern.”

  “Then what else can we do to get you back on the job?”

  “Nothing. I’m done. I told you that.”

  “But we really could use your help tonight. We’re starting to lag behind.” He leaned over and motioned for her to get closer to him.

  When she obliged, he whispered, “We’re losing clients to Death, Inc.”

  “Well, I’m sorry for you, but I have a date tonight.”

  “So, you won’t come back to work?”

  “Not on your life.” She covered her mouth with her hand in mock surprise. “Oops. What do you call it if you’ve never technically been born?”

  His eyes turned cold, boring into her with all the intensity of an ice pick. “It’s life. Just a different form.”

  He stood then and swept from the bar as if he were a French king of old.

  “Asshole,” Keely muttered under her breath, happy to see him gone from her life for the last time.

  Keely had never been to Monte Carlo’s before. It was a kitschy place with a casino theme. The atmosphere was all reds, blacks, and bright lights. It was fun and fabulous. Though gambling was illegal in Water Point Station, and therefore none went on inside Monte Carlo’s, the piped-in sounds of slot machines ran over top of the music. It was an added touch that made the restaurant authentic in the auditory experience.

  Monitors hung over the bar, showing various horse races. One of the monitors showed a live feed from the Meadowlands Racetrack.

  “Maybe we should’ve gone somewhere else,” Josiah said as he leaned over the table, taking her hand in his. “It’s a little noisy in here.”

  Keely gazed at him over the table candle. “You could always scoot your chair closer so we can whisper in each other’s ears.”

  He gave her a hot smile then did exactly that. “This might work.”

  Yes, it was definitely working for Keely. She turned her face to press her lips to his.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered once the kiss ended.

  “So are you.”

  The waiter brought their food to the table, setting it down in front of them. He gave a knowing smile at their new seating arrangements. “Can I bring you anything else?”

  “Another one of these.” Keely lifted her martini glass to hand to him. Their fingers collided and she dropped the glass, sending it smashing onto the table. The waiter, so young and healthy looking, was a ticking time bomb. He needed immediate medical attention, or he’d be dead within the hour. She knew that as sure as she knew her birthday.

  “Let me get that cleaned up and order more food for you.” The waiter picked up the plates again and headed back for the kitchen.

  “You’re pale.” Josiah turned to her, chafing at her upper arm. “You all right?”

  “Sure.” She placed her napkin on the table. “I need to go to the restroom. I’ll be right back.”

  She hurried through the dining room and down the long, red-leather-upholstered hallway that led to the restrooms and kitchen area. No one was coming down the hall, so she ducked into the kitchen.

  “You aren’t supposed to be in here,” a woman with big breasts and wild hair said. She looked like a cigarette lady from an alternate-reality Vegas.

  Keely spotted the waiter at the pick-up window. “I need to speak to him.”

  “Hey, Andrew. The lady needs to see you.”

  The waiter hurried over to her. “Is something wrong?”

  She put her hands together as if praying. “This is going to sound really strange but bear with me. Do you have a heart condition?”

  Shock widened his eyes. Red crept up his neck. “My grandpa had a bad heart, but as far as I know I’m fine.”

  “I don’t mean to alarm you, but you have to go to the hospital right now. Don’t stop to analyze. Don’t think about it. Just get to the nearest emergency room and tell them you’re having chest pains.”

  “But I’m not having chest pains.”

  “Please. Go. You won’t be sorry, and you’ll be alive in the morning.”

  He stood looking at her for a full thirty seconds before the manager walked over to them. “I need someone to drive me to the hospital,” Andrew told his boss.

  Things happened pretty fast after that. Keely hurried from the kitchen, stopping at the bathroom to splash cold water on her face.

  After she’d taken her seat again, Josiah said, “Something happened to our waiter.”

  “What makes you say that?” Keely turned her head this way and that, as if looking for the man in question.

  “One of the others came over and told us our waiter had to leave suddenly.”

  She made a noncommittal sound in the back of her throat.

  For the remainder of the meal, Keely worried if the waiter, Andrew, had gotten to the emergency room in time and if they’d seen him. She’d really have no way of knowing, unless she stopped in the next time she came to this part of town.

/>   Obviously, her weird powers of medically assessing people hadn’t lessened after she’d quit her night job. It was a hell of a thing to have. At least she couldn’t see if they’d be in horrible traffic accidents or murdered by muggers.

  “You’ve grown quiet,” Josiah said as they exited the restaurant and headed to his car. “Did I lose my charm sometime over the entrée?”

  Keely slid her arm through his, resting her head on his shoulder. “No. Just thinking.”

  “That’s probably not a good sign for me.” They stopped at the passenger door of his car. “If your mind is already wandering on our first date, you might not let me ask you on a second.”

  Keely leaned into him. “I definitely want you to ask me out on a second date.”

  He kissed her then opened the door for her, before going around to the driver’s side and getting in. “So what were you thinking about instead of listening to my riveting conversation?”

  Now how was she supposed to ask him her question without sounding even loonier than she already did?

  Hypothetical. That would probably be best.

  “Suppose you could touch someone and know they had some kind of horrible medical condition that needed treatment, but if you told them, you’d be eaten up, worrying if they took you seriously or not? Would you tell them?”

  He put the key in the ignition and started the car. “This is what you were thinking about? Man, I am losing my charm.”

  Keely tried to keep from laughing at his forlorn expression. In order to get him to answer, she’d have to pull out something she knew he’d respond to. “All right then, if you had a superpower, what would it be?”

  The twinkle came back into his eyes. “Now you’re talking my language.”

  “So what would it be?”

  Josiah shrugged. “In my line of work, it would be much easier if I knew for certain someone’s guilt before pursuing an investigation. It’d sure save a lot of time on dead ends and false starts.”

  “But if you already knew their guilt, you wouldn’t have to investigate.”

  Josiah stuck his finger up in the air. “Ah, but I’d be the only one who knew, so I’d still need the proof to arrest the suspect.”