“I wear the badge proudly,” I agreed, doing a tiny bow.
“And that giant rat under her arm is Tuna Roll.”
“He survived a life on the streets,” I told Christopher. “And he has been angry about it ever since.”
“I got a nephew like that,” Christopher said, dragging a little laugh out of me.
“Teenager?”
“I think he might be possessed by a demon sometimes.”
“Bet you were a piece of work as a teenager.”
“You knew me as a teenager.”
“Nineteen, going on twenty. Doesn’t count. I need to know what that fifteen-sixteen mark was like.”
“I was angry,” I admitted. Though most of the anger was hiding sadness. I got very good at covering up hurt with hard.
“So, same as now,” Leo teased.
“Careful. My gun is sitting right here.”
“It sure is. And I’d be really scared if I was two inches from the muzzle. But we both know you’re not hitting anything further away than that.”
“Hey! I’m getting… less awful.”
“Keep telling yourself that, kid. You got this? I’m just gonna go drop in to talk to the guy at the deli before we head to the next place.”
“Yeah, I got this,” Christopher agreed.
“Do you, though?” I asked once Leo was gone.
“Fuck if I know,” he admitted, letting out a deep sigh.
Now that I knew he genuinely was a Costa guy, my interest was more piqued.
“Want some coffee?”
“I look that bad, huh?”
He was actually stupidly handsome. All the Costa guys were. But he looked like he hadn’t slept in a week.
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“Not even gonna soften that blow, huh?” he asked, his smile bemused.
“I’m not in the business of stroking men’s egos.”
“No, you’re in the business of… tiny culturally insensitive figurines.” He picked up one from a shelf as I walked around the counter.
“That guy was here when I took over the place. I keep meaning to look up where I might be able to donate him or something. I’m not sure that just tossing him is the right move.”
“DVDs, really?” he asked as he followed me down the rows of stock.
“They’re actually crazy good sellers. DVDs and CDs. People want their physical media back. Luckily, I can’t go a week without someone showing up and dumping a box or two full of them on me.”
“I feel like you’re not a woman I should be following into a creepy, dark back room,” he said when I opened the door to the storage room and break area.
