Page 68 of Penny For Your Thoughts
We stopped at the Jeep to get Echo and followed the kid to a nearby Subway. He ordered a loaded footlong with a Coke, chips, and four chocolate chip cookies, glancing three times in my direction as though expecting me to object.
I didn’t. Whatever made him happy and agreeable.
Tallus, not to be outdone, ordered the same amount of food—peanut butter cookies for him—and grinned devilishly when I mumbled, “Really? Four cookies.”
“I’m a growing boy.”
“I thought you were sixty-five.”
“My stomach is sixteen.”
Wasn’t that the truth. Tallus’s appetite didn’t surprise me anymore. I wasn’t sure where he put it. He was one of those people who could eat a metric ton of food without gaining an ounce, and for a guy who hated the mere thought of working out, it should not have been possible, but he was as slim and trim as ever.
I stuck with a loaded six-inch meat lovers and a Dr Pepper.
We sat in a booth by the window, tucked away in the corner. Most customers didn’t stay to eat, ordering their meals to go, so we had a bit of privacy.
The kid ate a cookie, assessing Tallus and me like he expected us to sprout tentacles or transform into aliens. I wanted to tell him this wasn’t an abduction, but it kind of was. I’d chased him down and tackled him in the street before using my daunting size and charming personality to get him to the restaurant.
When he unwrapped his sandwich and seemed settled, I opened the conversation. “Start with your name. Don’t make me ask again. My patience is balancing on a razor’s edge right now. I’m going through a nasty bout of nicotine and alcohol withdrawal, and my body is beat the fuck up, no thanks to you, so let’s not play games.”
“You’re the one who came after me. I was defending myself.”
“Name.”
“Darcy.”
“Was that so hard? I’m Diem. This is Tallus. How old are you?”
“None of your fucking business.”
“How. Old. Are. You?”
“Why does that matter?”
I rubbed my temple and repeated the question a third time through clenched teeth.
The kid mumbled, “Turned nineteen last week.”
“Happy birthday,” Tallus said jovially.
Darcy gave him a dirty look and didn’t thank him. He took a huge bite of his sandwich instead, as though fearing the confrontation would turn to shit before he got a chance to fill his belly.
I let him eat while I picked at my sub.
Darcy wolfed down his sandwich at such a velocity that I feared he might choke.
“It’s not going anywhere.”
He didn’t slow down.
When Tallus looked like he was about to dive into the thick of things, I nudged his knee, subtly shaking my head. He wasn’t used to me taking the lead with conversations, and ordinarily, I would have preferred Tallus take over, but not this time. I sensed Darcy would respond better to me, not because I frightened him, but because I understood him.
Tallus finished his sandwich and was about to dive into dessert when I asked him to take a walk and see if he could find dog food for Echo somewhere. I earned a scowl and imagined he wasn’t pleased with the dismissal, but I had a hunch Darcy would be chattier if he didn’t feel like we were ganging up on him.
“Can’t it wait?”
“No. She hasn’t eaten in ages.”
