Page 28 of Below The Surface
“I do aim to please.”
She snorts and places our burgers in front of us. “Enjoy, guys.”
“I plan on it.” I barely wait for her to leave before I’m smashing the bun down. I moan into my bite. The tomato juice drips down my chin and I’m sure I’m a mess, but I don’t care. This burger is everything right now.
Dallas swallows. “You’re a very passionate eater.”
I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and make sure I swallow before I talk. “Stick around. You’ll find I’m passionate about pretty much everything.”
We chat about silly things. Whatever I can think of, really.
“You don’t have a favorite dinosaur?” I press a hand to my chest.
“Is yours really a T-Rex?” Dallas lifts a brow and takes his last bite of his burger.
“I have a about five dinosaurs that I rotate as my favorites. Today’s just happen to be the T-Rex, but usually I favor sauropods.” He seems confused, so I clarify. “The long-necked dudes. I love them.”
“And fish.”
“Don’t get me started on fish or ocean related topics. We’ll be here for months. So good thing we’re in a restaurant.” I finish my burger and pick at the rest of the now cold fries. “Still so good.” Jim uses cheese sauce and shredded cheese and some spices I can’t figure out. As long as he always makes them the same, I don’t care. “I’ll be back.”
I slide from the booth with Dallas watching me as I head over to see what Jim has for me. Cindy nods to the office door and I slide in to wait for Jim. His office has a splash of color, but mostly it’s beige paint. The desk takes up a third of the space and it’s blue. I convinced him to add the color.
“Casey.” Jim wraps me in a hug, smelling of raw onions and fried food. Not a fan, but I’ll do anything he asks.
“What can I do for you?” I plop into the seat across from him as he drops into his seat with a sigh.
He runs his hands through his sweaty hair as he takes the hair net and ball cap off. “I held it off as long as I can, but there’s a group of guys in the neighborhood scaring everyone.”
“What kinda deets can you give me?” I lean back and kick my feet up on the desk ad the same time he does.
“I think they’re dealing drugs. There’s like three or four of them. I can’t tell if it’s a twin or the same guy. They’re doing shit at all hours of the night. They’re harassing the kids. Cindy said one of the guys talked to her son and she doesn’t like it.”
My face goes hot. “What do they talk about?”
The door opens and closes again. “Sorry to interrupt, buttheyjust came in.”
Jim nods, and she leaves. He turns to me and steeples his fingers as he leans in. “If you could do some of your investigating and deal with them, we’d be eternally grateful.”
“I’m on it. Gives me an excuse to play tonight.” I grin and grab one of the candy canes he always has on his desk, regardless of the time of year. “Consider them taken care of.”
I stroll out of his office and Cindy subtly indicates the table of four I need to deal with. So twins, it is. This is going to be a blast.
All four have shaggy hair, as if they need haircuts. Or maybe they just like the shaggy look. Who am I to judge? I keep my hair shaved closed to my scalp because the color is unsettling. At least everyone else says the color is unsettling. Kendra doesn’t though. But I can see it in people’s eyes. They go straight to the orangey red hair and they judge me over some ridiculous superstitions. I will say, I am pretty fiery in the right situation.
All four of these guys wear button up shirts with a logo for Steve’s Flower Shop. I haven’t heard of the place, so must be new. They’re all muscular and taller than me, but that doesn’t mean shit. I’m scrappy and will fuck a dude up when the occasion calls for it. Whatisweird is a bunch of dude bro lookalikes running a flower shop. Seems sus to me.
I slide back into my booth with Dallas. “Miss me?”
He snorts. “Sorta, yeah.” He yawns and I glare at him when I yawn back. “Kinda need a nap.” He yawns again.
“My bed is nice and comfy. Then tomorrow we can work on securing your gym if you think you can wait till then.”
Another yawn. “I’ve never had security on it before, other than the few cameras inside.”
“Alrighty. Let’s go then.” I grab his hand when I walk by him. He doesn’t struggle, which makes me happy.
I’m glad he has his ball cap right now. It keeps his identity hidden in a way my bare face does. All my makeup and wigs disguises my real face enough that people don’t realize the redheaded menace is the flirty Merrick, The Merman people go head over heels for.
