Page 25 of Two Tricks

“Aren’t we lucky people to find something like that in our lives?” Sprocket mused as he picked up his plate and sat down at the counter next to me.

I couldn’t help but grin at the fact that this asshole was making a statement when he didn’t make me a sandwich. Both Eagle and Picasso had made me all of my meals since I had been here, but Sprocket was not planning on catering to me.

Hopping off my stool, I wandered over and made my sandwich. Making sure to pile it full of as much meat and cheese as I could, I added one leaf of lettuce, knowing Wes would have yelled if I didn’t eat enough vegetables. After slathering the bread with mayo, I put it all together and cut it corner to corner, then added some BBQ chips to my plate. Pulling open the fridge and grabbing a can of Mountain Dew, I took my meal back to my seat, pleased with myself.

“I think you forgot something, princess,” Sprocket said with a grin on his face, eyes full of humor.

I frowned, looking down at the feast in front of me, then back to him. “What?”

“That last person always cleans up,” Sprocket instructed.

“How do we know I’m the last person? The other guys could come back and want to make a sandwich.”

Sprocket just shook his head. “They are off the property until later today. I got a text an hour or so ago that they ran into a little trouble, so I get to hang with you for a few more minutes until Tilly is free.”

“Fine. I’ll put it all away when I’m done,” I huffed.

Sprocket grabbed my plate and slid it away from me. “Nope, not gonna work. If you wait too long in this heat, you could make the meat or the cheese go bad.” Before I could control my face, my lower lip popped out in a pout as he blocked me from my meal. “The longer you take pouting, the longer it will be before you get to eat.”

I growled at him as I went back to the kitchen and started to put things away. “If you touch one chip on my plate, I’m going to stab you with a rusty fork!”

Sprocket’s eyebrows shot up at my words. “My, that is a very specific threat. I have to know—do you have a rusty fork hidden somewhere on you?” he asked as he poked at a chip on the top of my pile.

I grabbed the knife I used for the mayo and threw it at Sprocket, letting it hit the wooden countertop right next to his hand. “Fresh out of rusty forks at the moment, but I do have plenty of knives around.”

Sprocket didn’t even blink as he removed the knife from the counter and gave me an impressed look. “That’s quite and arm on you. Not many people could get a butter knife to stick in such thick wood.”

What the hell would it take to freak this guy out? Didn’t he realize that I could have killed him? Or at least really stabbed him with that knife?

Trying not to show how much he threw me off my game, I put the last of the food away and came back to my seat. Sprocket slid my plate over, and I dove in, ignoring his chuckles as I glared at him.

“Hello!” a female voice called out from the front door.

Sprocket stood and opened the door, letting in a woman who gave him a wide smile, which he returned. For some reason I couldn’t even begin to explain, I did NOT like this woman looking at Sprocket like that.

“Tilly, welcome. Thank you for looking out for Dax today. It seems that they lost all her belongings at the airport, so I scrounged up what I could,” Sprocket said, lying through his teeth.

Tilly was beautiful. Tall with thick, long, brunette hair that had that effortless wave girls killed for. Her slim body was accented by her tight ripped jeans and t-shirt that said Real Women Ride, which was cut into a crop top. Turning, she finally took me in with warm brown eyes that seemed friendly.

“Oh god, please don’t tell me that they have been forcing you to wear shit like that?” Tilly said with a wrinkled nose and wide eyes.

Okay, I kind of liked her.

“Not the worst I’ve had to make do with,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

“Come on, babes,” Tilly said, waving me over. “We’ll get you sorted out, and tomorrow I’ll go out and get you some real clothes.”

I grabbed my plate since I wasn’t done with my food and hopped off the stool.

“Dax… leave the plate here,” Sprocket said, frowning down at me.

I looked down at my half-eaten meal, then back at him. “Nope,” I said, popping the P. “I’m gonna take it with me. Don’t worry, I’ll bring it back.”

Sprocket tried to lunge at me to grab the plate, but I skipped out of his way and growled at him, practically baring my teeth. “Don’t touch my fucking food, asshat. You try it again and I can’t guarantee you will keep all your fingers.”

“Yup, we are going to be good friends, Dax. Come on, let’s hang out at my house,” Tilly said, grinning at the scene unfolding before her.

“Be good, Dax!” Sprocket called out as we walked out.