I slide into the booth, where Pete’s looking down, presumably at his phone.
“Hi, Pete,” I say.
Startled, he looks up, and I wonder how this man survives. A snake slid into the booth with him, and he’s on his phone. Either he’s stupid or finds me nonthreatening. A medical doctor isn’t stupid, so he must believe that I’m nonthreatening. There’s another option. Arrogance.
“Mr. Crossbow. What are you doing here?”
I blink. “Are you dumb?”
He leans back in his seat. “If this is about Ekatia, I can assure you that I’m not interested in her anymore. You can have her.” He shows me his palms as if he’s taking his hands off her. Red flares before my eyes.Uh-oh.
The bruises on Ekatia’s right thigh probably came from this left hand. Not that that matters. I’ll take both his hands.
“I can have her?” I repeat.
A server arrives at the table. It’s a woman. Five foot two maximum, barely eighteen, and terrified. She stammers, “Can…can I get you started with a drink?”
I hold back my insanity for a while longer. “No, thank you. Is most of the staff gone?”
“Yes, sir. It’s just me and the chef, in case you’re hungry.”
“And your boss?”
“She’s closing up, yes.”
“I don’t want anything. Stay off the floor.” I shoo her away with my hand, then look at Pete, who’s texting. Motherfucker is texting. Okay, I’ll wait until he’s finished.
Pete slides out of the booth and pockets his phone. I give him a once-over. He looks like he’s going golfing. Are those sneakers he’s wearing? To a date in a place like this? Oh, come on. I should kill him just for that.
“I have surgery in half an hour.”
“I doubt that very much.”
“What do you want, Connor? You want to bully me into not going out with a girl I’ve been wanting to go out with? Fine. It’s done. She’s all yours. Now.”
I stand up. He’s a few inches shorter than me, but he works out. Not bad. Maybe he’ll put up a fight.
“What did I tell you to do with her once you were done with the date?”
“Don’t be childish,” he says.
“You’re the one who takes me for a joke.”
“Fine. You said to drop her off at the Crossbow mansion.”
“My father lived in the Crossbow mansion that burned down last year.”
“The new Crossbow mansion.”
“So you do know where I live.”
“Ekatia left on her own.” Pete points at the booth. “Her purse is still here. She went to the bathroom and never came back. Ididn’t get a chance to drop her off at your house, or I would have.”
“She had no ride.”
“The city has transportation.”
I punch him in the nose. Blood spurts onto my chin and shirt. I lick my lips. The taste of crimson stokes my rage. I want more of his blood. “You.”Punch.“Tried to stop her from leaving.”Punch.“Left bruises on her thigh.”Punch, punch. “She took the city transport, but it doesn’t go all the way to my house, so she took off her heels and walked barefoot.”Punch punch punch.