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Vivi gasped and whirled on me, fingers pushed the brass knuckles with the knife aimed in my direction. “Goddammit Jeremiah, don’t sneak up on me!”
Lasso stepped forward and I waved him off, grabbing her wrist so the blade was pointed at the ground. “You have an unhealthy affinity for that knife, babe.”
“It’s not unhealthy. This knife has never failed me. Ever.” Her expression was cool and serious. I wondered what had happened to her when I dropped off the face of the planet. “And it helps when people think it’s a good idea to sneak up on others.”
She was right about that, especially a woman as conspicuous as she was. “What did that redneck wagon do to piss you off?”
Once I crossed the street it was easy to tell, if I looked close enough, that for her attempts to look like a casual photographer, she was definitely focused on the red pickup.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She tucked the knife into her back pocket and crossed her arms, scanning the landscape but her eyes never strayed too long from the red truck.
“Come on, sweetheart. You’re good but you’re not that good,” Lasso told her. “You’re clocking that truck. Wanna tell us why?”
She turned gray eyes on Lasso. “No. Now if you don’t mind…fuck!” She turned, and her shoulders fell as the red truck pulled into traffic and turned at the first visible light. “Thanks boys, you’ve been a big fucking help.” Vivi slapped the cap on the lens of the expensive camera that hung from her neck and shoulder checked me as she passed and ran into Lasso.
“Whoa there, sweetheart. Shit…I said whoa, goddammit!” Lasso’s blue eyes went wide when Vivi tried to punch him. “I’m just trying to steady you woman. Damn!”
“That’s my friend and fellow Reckless Bastard, Lasso.”
She rolled her eyes and took a step away from Lasso and then another. “Do any of you have normal names?”
“Says the chick named Vivi,” Lasso snickered.
“Short for Genevieve. Is yours short for Lasso’s A Lotta Pussy?” I never would have believed there was anything on God’s green earth that would make Lasso blush. Until now.
A laugh burst out of me and for a minute I couldn’t control myself. “That’s pretty close, actually.” Lasso glared at me but Vivi, she just looked…uninterested, but I knew that wasn’t it, which meant she was biding her time.
“You saw more than what you let on,” I accused.
“No. I saw a big flashy ass red truck and I used the brains in my head to make a few deductions. The only reason to use an obnoxious vehicle like that to do surveillance is because it’s yours, which pegged him as a local.”
She gave me a look that said I should have figured all that out on my own and she wasn’t wrong.
“And now I’ve wasted a day with no fucking answers so I’m going to get some food.” Her legs were on the move again but I kept up with her.
“Sounds good. Where are we going?”
“We aren’t going anywhere. I prefer to eat alone.”
I smiled at her petulance. “I prefer to eat with company, especially when I can’t eat the company. Yet.” She skipped a step but I didn’t call her on it.
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“I didn’t need to hear that,” Lasso said, sounding disgruntled. “Unless you want to give me more details.”
“He doesn’t,” Vivi shot at Lasso, glaring over her shoulder.
“It was worth an ask.” Without looking I could hear the smile in Lasso’s voice. “Anyway Rocky is making enchiladas tonight. They’re my favorite.”
“Sounds good to me.” I grabbed Vivi’s hand and tugged her in the direction of my bike. “Come on. We’ll meet you there, man.”
Vivi of course never did anything easily and yanked out of my grasp. “You boys have fun.” She turned but I had her wrist before she moved two steps. “Get your hands off me.”
“No. Settle the fuck down. I’ll help you ID the driver of the red truck. Right now, though, I really fucking want some of those enchiladas.”
Those gray eyes looked so deep into me that I was pretty sure they saw straight through me, down to the parts of me I hid from everyone. Even myself.
“You are completely ridiculous, I hope you know that,” she said and pushed me away, but instead of walking away she went and grabbed my helmet off my bike and slid it on, taking the driver’s position. “Hop on.”
