Page 18 of Lawbreaker

“Earl won’t bathe,” Stasia recalled.

“Not until the boys get tired of holding their noses and throw him into one of the ponds,” she laughed.

“Oh, the rural life. City people don’t know what they’re missing!”

“Tell me about it. I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’m sort of trying to avoid that Donalson man,” she said, making a face as she got to her feet.

“Tell Tony.”

“Tony knows.” She sighed. “But he can’t be everywhere.”

“Stick to the Jersey crowd.”

“I would, but they left to pick up somebody at the airport.”

“Aunt Lucia,” Stasia said knowingly. She laughed. “She’s a card. She can get lost in a store and need directions to find the way out. She’s a character, though. You’d love her. Are they going to bring her by here?”

“They said not. It will be late when they get home.”

Stasia sighed. “That’s because Aunt Lucia feels safer at LaGuardia Airport, because it’s smaller, so they have to drive up from Jersey to get her.” She laughed. “She’s eccentric. Well, maybe I’ll see her next time.”

“I’ll get you that ginger ale,” Odalie said, and went out the door.

Donalson was nowhere in sight when she got downstairs, but another man saw her, and his eyes lit up. He made a beeline for her, where she was refilling her own glass and filling one for Stasia, with crushed ice as well.

“Hello, gorgeous person,” the man said with a long sigh. “How are things in Mount Olympus?”

Odalie stood with wide eyes and the bottle of ginger ale suspended in midair while she stared at the man in stunned surprise.

He wasn’t handsome. His face was too angular. But he was tall and well-built. He had kind dark eyes and a nice smile and nice hands.

“I’m Rudy,” he said. “Who are you?”

“Odalie,” she replied quietly.

“Pretty name,” he remarked and sipped champagne from a flute. “Did you come with somebody?”

“Yes,” she said and didn’t elaborate. She smiled faintly. “And I have to get back. I’m expected.”

“All right, then. Here for the weekend?” he asked hopefully.

“I don’t know.”

“Ah, well. If Mount Olympus reclaims you, I will mourn. Farewell, sweet sprite.”

She blinked. He was laying it on thick. She nodded and turned around. Right into Burt Donalson.

“Hello, stuck-up,” he said with a faint sneer. He glared at the man behind her. “You propping up the drink cart and hunting big game?” he asked sarcastically.

The other man pursed his lips. “What do you think?” he asked, not retreating an inch.

They squared off. Tony saw the building confrontation; the two men were business rivals, and not any business he wanted Odalie to be part of.

He moved into view.

“You two planning a tug-of-war or something?” he asked in a voice that turned them both around smartly.

It reminded Odalie of two young bulls suddenly confronted by an older, bigger one. They retreated.