Page 18 of Hidden Ties

Valerie stopped in her tracks and spun on her heels. “From where?”

“Wherever you wanted.”

She doubled back to his car, hitting his shoulder as she passed in a hurry to reach her destination. “You shoulda led with that.”

EIGHT

A LARGE BAJA BLAST

There was no one in the world he hated more than Valerie Monroe right now.

“You want to go where?”

“Taco Bell.” She pronounced the fast food place like he was a two-year-old and had just heard it for the first time.

“Of course, you fuckin’ do,” he mumbled as he regretfully pulled down the street where it was located. That and a bucket of chicken from KFC was any gamer’s dream. “I thought you’d want to go eat inside somewhere? I’m buying, so you can pick anywhere you’d like. I meananywhere.” He emphasized the last word in a desperate attempt that she’d want to make him pay by racking up an expensive dinner bill. Money wasn’t the issue. Hell, he had copious amounts of it, and he’d throw it at her if that was what she wanted. What he detested was the fast food chain that, frankly, he wouldn’t serve to a dog.

Valerie gave him another look that questioned his brightness, and it was another thing he was starting to highly detest.

“I’ve spent a weekend in jail, Sal. Do you really think I look acceptable enough to eat at a nice restaurant?”

He gave her another once-over and debated on telling her he didn’t think she looked much different than how he usually saw her. Sal decided against it, though, considering she was a fucking lunatic, but it appeared she had figured out his thoughts, anyway.

Her hand went to the door handle. “You know what? Just stop the car.”

“I could take you back home to change first, if you’d like—”

“Stop the car!” she screamed at him.

I would love nothing more than to stop the fucking car!But he had to continue to play it cool. “I thought you wanted Taco Bell?”

“So, you’re taking me?”

Christ, it was like dealing with a toddler. “Yes.”

“Okay, good,” she said, making herself too comfortable in the leather seats, enough to play with the buttons in his car. “I thought your car would look like a piece of shit on the inside.”

“What? Why would you think that?” he asked, clearly offended. His car was a classic and meant more to him than a lot of things in life. It was the longest relationship he’d ever had. Hell, the only relationship he’d ever had.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess ’cause it’s old.”

“Just because something’s old, doesn’t mean it should be thrown out.”

“Hey, I agree.” Valerie held her hands up. “Just telling you what ninety-nine percent of the population would do, and they would have upgraded at least two times by now.”

“Well, I’m not ninety-nine percent of people,” he said, leaning over to shut the glovebox before she could rifle through it.

Getting his message, she tried her best to sit still. “Oh, there it is, my beautiful neon lights.”

He rolled his eyes heavenward as he pulled into the lot to park the car.

“Nuh-uh, we’re going through the drive-thru,” she told him, moving the wheel toward the long line of waiting cars. “I look like shit, remember?”

“Everyone in Taco Bell comes out looking like shit,” he told her, trying to turn the wheel back.

“Is this my peace offering or not?”

A dark thought might have popped into his mind before his boss’ face. That was when he decided to go through the drive-thru.