Page 48 of Crosscurrent
“About change.”
Cara let a beat pass while the Grill kept moving around them—forks on plates, Manny calling orders, someone laughing at the front table. “What kind of change?”
Ortiz’s pen stilled. “The kind that comes when outsiders involve themselves in matters they don’t fully understand.”
Cara would have admired the careful wording, if his threat hadn’t been aimed straight at her. At the people she loved. “I’m not sure I follow.”
“No?” Ortiz’s smile softened. “Huh. Then maybe Sugar & Salt isn’t the right fit after all.”
“Probably not.”
He closed the notebook. He hadn’t come for answers. He had come to deliver a message. He slid the business card another inch toward her. “If you change your mind, call anytime.”
Cara looked down at the card, then back at him. “Do you answer personally?”
A flicker. Tiny. There and gone. “I try to.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Ortiz stood and picked up his messenger bag. “Enjoy this great weather while it lasts. I hear a storm’s coming.”
He walked out through the front door without looking back. Cara didn’t turn to watch him leave. She used the reflection in the coffee urn instead.
Ortiz paused on the sidewalk for half a second—just long enough to glance north—then continued down Marina Street.
Reagan blew out a breath. “Neptune?”
“Definitely.”
“Threat?”
Cara picked up the card. “Absolutely.”
Reagan’s mouth tightened.
From the kitchen, Manny shouted, “How does Piper feel about coleslaw? I’m talking lime crema, medium hot.”
Cara rose. “Tell him yes.”
Reagan put a hand on her arm. “You okay?”
No. Yes. Both.
Cara looked toward the door Ortiz had used. “They want us scared.”
“Not gonna happen.”
Cara slipped the card into her pocket. “Scared is good. Panicking is not.”
“Agreed.” Reagan eyed the steaming pot as if she regretted not dousing the stranger. “Among the long list of things on our side, is the element of surprise. These people have no idea who they’re dealing with.”
While Cara appreciated the sentiment, the same could be said of their opponents. Neptune was far from a known quantity. She had the sense the water had just gotten far deeper.
17
Cara walked out through the Grill kitchen and didn't look back.
By the time she keyed the basement door, Tom was already pulling up records. Reagan had texted on Cara's way up the street.
