Page 29 of Deliverance

CHAPTER 13

ALEXANDER

The bacon sizzled in the pan in front of me. I cursed as some of the hot grease popped and splattered against my skin.

“Remember, I like my bacon crispy.” Sebastian peered over my shoulder.

“You’ll get it however I make it,” I shot back. Truthfully, I also liked my bacon crispy, but Sebastian’s hovering in the kitchen was irritating. “Why don’t you make the orange juice?”

“Most normal people just buy their orange juice from the store,” he teased as he pulled the industrial fruit press from the bottom cabinet.

“And it’s full of processed ingredients,” I said. “So press the damn oranges.”

“You’re so grumpy without her around,” Sebastian said. “You know she’s fine. She can handle herself.”

I rolled my eyes. Okay, maybe I was a little grumpy. It was Sunday morning, and we were all at home. Minus Evelyn. She was hanging out with Grace and Danny at Danny’s apartment. Grace had been discharged from the hospital this morning, and Danny had moved her into his apartment, something that went down about as well as expected. Grace and Evelyn were a lotalike: strong, independent, and absolutely resistant to being cared for. I had helped Danny set up his spare bedroom as a fully kitted out medical room. A little overboard? Maybe. But I owed Danny for his help in getting Evelyn moved into the apartment below us, so when he called and asked for my help, I was more than happy to give it.

I just didn’t expect Evelyn to go help, and even worse, to insist all of us stay here. Izzy had shown up to collect her, so she wasn’t alone, but still… I was antsy at the thought of her out there without any of us. Not that Evelyn or Izzy weren’t capable of defending themselves, but with no idea who Kingfisher was yet, he could walk up to them on the street, and they would have no idea.

“Smells great in here,” Adrian said as he and Dominic walked through the door. “Mom sent over sourdough cinnamon rolls.” He held up a pan.

“How is Momma M?” Sebastian asked as he pressed the oranges in the juicer.

“She’s doing well. She’s excited to cook for everyone tonight. She kicked us out so she could get ready.”

Adrian and Dominic had gone over to Adrian’s mom, Melissa’s, house this morning to help her with a few yard projects in advance of our dinner with her tonight.

“What is she making?” Sebastian asked.

“Pot pie, mashed potatoes, and enough food for an army is what it looked like,” Adrian said.

Sebastian groaned. “Pot pie? Yum! Dominic, you’re in for a treat.”

“From the smell of the cinnamon rolls, I agree,” Dominic said as he walked into the kitchen. “Need any help with anything, Alexander?”

The more I got to know Dominic, the more I liked him. He had really hit the ground running with our group, ready andwilling to pitch in wherever he was needed, whether it was yard work with Adrian this morning or building a profile for Kingfisher this week. He had actually made a lot of progress on the latter this week. From what I heard from Evelyn last night, they should be finished with the profile tomorrow and ready to start matching the profile to potential suspects.

“Where’s Marcus?” Adrian asked.

I looked up from the stove and frowned. “I think he may still be on the phone. Something about the Keenan contract?”

Adrian rolled his eyes. “That’s one client we should cut loose after the contract ends.”

“Really?” I asked. “What’s going on?” Usually, I would have already heard about this, but with so many new clients, I was out of the loop more than I would like.

“Evelyn and I were in the introductory meeting with the Echo team and Steven Keenan, and he was…” Adrian paused. “Demanding, to say the least.”

“How so?” I questioned. Usually, I sat in on those meetings, but I had been trying to wrap some other things up, so Adrian and Evelyn took my place.

“He wanted things that weren’t in the contract,” Adrian said. “Usually, we wouldn’t have a problem accommodating him, but since we are scaling back, we don’t have the extra manpower to accommodate his requests.”

“What was he asking for?” Dominic asked.

“He wanted two more buildings covered,” Adrian said. “The two we asked about in the beginning, but he declined coverage for. Now he’s changed his mind, and he wanted to include those two buildings but not pay anything extra. When Evelyn told him we couldn’t accommodate him, he didn’t take it well.”

Sebastian’s head snapped up. “He was rude to Evie?”

“Easy there, tiger,” Adrian said. “Evelyn put him in his place, but he wanted to speak with one of you three, so Evelyn passed him to Marcus, as it’s a contract thing.”