“What was that all about anyway?” Irene asked.
“That guy came in and demanded money from Dice. He said someone named Tawny owed him money, and he wanted Dice to pay him since he couldn’t find her,” Evie explained.
“Who’s Tawny?” Irene asked.
“I have no idea,” Evie said. “Daphne, do you know?”
I shook my head and wiped my eyes. “Never heard of her.”
“Well, I’m glad they got the situation under control without anyone getting hurt,” Irene said. “What can I get for you, honey? How about something to drink?”
I nodded. “Yes, please.” My mouth felt dry and gross from crying.
Irene returned moments later with a glass of sweet tea. Unfortunately, I was still extremely shaky and proceeded to spill most of the contents all down the front of me.
“That’s my fault,” Irene said. “I should have put it in a to-go cup. I’ll be right back with a towel and a new drink.”
I don’t know how much time passed, but when Dice finally came back to the office, my clothes were almost dry.
“Daphne,” he breathed and wrapped his arms around me. “I got back here as soon as I could. The cops just left.”
“Can we leave now?” I asked. I was more than ready to go home. I wanted to take a shower to wash the sticky tea off me, and I was suddenly extremely tired.
“Yes, we can. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes,” I answered quickly, then turned to Irene and Evie. “Thank you for helping me.”
“Any time,” Irene said.
“Do you want me to box up some food for you to take with you since you didn’t get to eat lunch?” Evie asked.
“Thanks, but no. I don’t think I could eat anything right now.”
“That’s understandable. Let me know if you change your mind later. I can bring you something when I get off work.”
“Thank you,” I said and hugged them both before I turned to leave.
“Hey, Dice,” Irene called as we were walking out the door. “Who’s Tawny?”
Dice’s body tensed for a second before he answered. “Badger and Macy’s daughter.”
We drove home in silence. I had plenty of questions I wanted to ask, but couldn’t bring myself to ask any of them, and he didn’t seem like he wanted to talk about it anyway.
“I’m going to take a shower and start a load of laundry,” I told him and gestured to my tea-stained clothes once we arrived at his house.
“How did that happen?”
“My hands were shaking, and I spilled a glass of tea.”
His face softened. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. Just a little shaken up. Evie said it was the adrenaline.”
Ink pulled into his driveway right as we were walking inside. “Daphne,” he called and jogged over to us, immediately pulling me in for a hug. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to you. You doing okay?”
“A little shaken up, but I’m fine,” I repeated.
“You did a great job handling that situation. You did exactly what I wanted you to do,” he said proudly.