Page 65 of Lawbreaker

Ben answered in Italian, followed by Tony answering in Italian, followed by a lot of arm waving.

“Enough!” Mrs. Murdock muttered. “Everybody sit down, right now!”

It was hilarious how fast everybody did. Even Tony, after he seated Stasia. Odalie seated herself, too shy to wait for him to do it.

“Mrs. Murdock has you intimidated,” Stasia teased Tony. “Admit it.”

“Of course I’d admit it! She carries a Ka-Bar around in that apron pocket. I’ve seen it!” he added.

“Wuss,” Mrs. Murdock huffed. “I can use it, too, so you just mind your manners.”

While she was in the kitchen, bringing in the fruit salad, Stasia turned to Tony and asked, “Does she, really?”

“She does!” Ben answered for him, lowering his voice. “One of our guys came back from overseas with his National Guard unit. He gave it to her. It’s her treasure,” he added with bright eyes.

“Yeah, we think she’s smitten,” Tony added on a chuckle. “He’s her age.”

“An officer, too,” Ben added.

“I hear you in here talking about me,” Mrs. Murdock teased.

“We were only remarking how dangerous you were,” Tony said.

“Yes, I fit right in,” she agreed, putting down the salad. “I have a rosebush that you’d look lovely under, Tony, my dear,” she purred.

He held up both hands. “I’d look awful under a rosebush. How about something more in keeping with my image. Deadly nightshade...?” he suggested.

She made a face at him and everybody laughed.

“At least you two have finally learned not to try and sneak off into the kitchen at meals,” Stasia said with pointed looks at Ben and Mrs. Murdock.

“Am I missing something?” Odalie asked.

Stasia chuckled. “The first time I had supper here with Tony, I asked him where those two had gone. He led me to the kitchen and pointed. They were sitting at the kitchen table with food halfway to their mouths.”

“So, what did you do?” Odalie asked, because she already knew the answer.

“I picked up my plate and sat down with them.”

“Well, in our defense, we knew you came from wealthy people in Texas,” Mrs. Murdock began.

“Wealthy people on a ranch in Texas,” Stasia added, sipping coffee. She grinned at Odalie. “They never pulled that stunt again.”

Everybody laughed.

“This is really good,” Odalie remarked as she savored a bite of Tony’s home-cooked lasagna.

“Thanks,” he said, smiling at her and letting his glance linger just a bit too long for politeness. “It’s the ricotta cheese. You need to add enough.”

“And it helps if you can cook,” Mrs. Murdock added, with a really vicious glance at Ben.

“Hey, I protect the boss,” Ben grumbled. “Nobody said I should learn to cook, too.”

“What did you do?” Odalie asked him.

“I made scrambled eggs.” He glared at Tony, who glared back.

“Scrambled eggs.” Tony nodded as he finished a bite of lasagna. “With raw whites, burned yolks, a tablespoon of eggshell and no seasoning.”