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Strap laughed loudly. It echoed through the cafe, and not only did he make poor Gladys jump with the sound, but he surprised himself. A happy tear crested on the rim of his eye. Strap wiped it away with a finger.
He placed his other hand on top of Gladys’s. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I wasn’t laughing at you. I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just no one has called me ‘sir’ in my entire life.” Strap stopped to think. “At least, I don’t think so.” He smiled at Gladys. “Thank you, I liked it. It makes me feel respectable.”
Gladys raised her eyebrows at Strap. He thought for a moment she would kick him out for being a kook, but instead, she let loose a cackle that made him jump. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all day. Thanks for the laugh.” Gladys patted Strap’s hand. “Follow me, sir. You can have your pick of tables.”
Strap sat in the back corner because it felt safer to see all of the room. However, he didn’t feel threatened. The decision put him more at ease. His table sat next to a large window overlooking a busy street with many pedestrians walking the sidewalk.
It was beautiful.
Gladys handed him a menu. “I’ll be around with your water in a minute. Want some coffee too?” Strap nodded and smiled. His nose was already deep into the list of food items. It wasn’t gruel, and it wasn’t rubbery chicken parts. “Yes, thank you again, Gladys.”
“I think we’re going to be good friends,” she said and walked away.
The food on the menu all looked delicious. Strap was going to have a difficult time deciding. Then, the panther spotted steak, bacon, pork, and sausage. It stretched inside of Strap, giving him the inclination to order meat.
All the meat, his condor agreed.
Gladys set down water and coffee in front of Strap, who looked up at her kind face. “Gladys, I will have all the meat.”
“Ha,” she cackled again, “all the meat it is, boy.” She nodded and went to put in his order.
With nothing more to do than to look outside or add sweetener and milk to his coffee, Strap’s mind began to carve out a path. Never in his life did he envision finding an actual mate. Some guys in the Supermax withered away because they were separated from their significant others.
Strap hadn’t thought it possible for him because he was two shifters instead of one. And he’d been happy with that. He’d never wanted to be one of those shifters so connected to another living being that every ounce of their existence was tangled with the other.
Now the bond was forged in his chest. He would never not know Mickey, even if they didn’t end up together if Mickey rejected him. He would always have that trickle of their link inside.
He didn’t want her in his life if she was going to be a criminal. He’d lived that life. He’d done it. It hadn’t gotten him far. And Strap knew he was better off for getting caught. He was better than what his fifteen, twenty, and twenty-something-year-old self thought he was.
Gladys put the first mountain of meat in front of him.
Saliva pooled in his mouth from the sight and smell. “Holy shit.” He swallowed and blinked. He thought it might disappear. Was it a mirage? He slowly picked up a fork and poked at the meat.
“Fuck.” He turned his gaze to Gladys. “This looks and smells amazing. I can’t wait to eat it.”
Gladys gave Strap a knowing look. She had seen this from other people in the same situation as him. Instead of calling him out as a criminal, she patted his shoulder. “Let me know if you need anything else. The first meal is always the best.”
“I will.” Strap didn’t wait for her to leave. He stabbed a sausage link and shoved it into his mouth.
Fennel, meat, and spices slid over his tongue as the juice of the sausage ran over his chin. “Oh, my, God!” Strap exclaimed. The few people who milled in the cafe glanced at him, but he didn’t notice. The chewy bit of sausage wrapped around his tongue, and he enjoyed every morsel.
The saltiness of the food began to swim in his head, and after a few more bites, the thought of Mickey mixed in. He had to change her mind about being a thief. There had to be some way for him to show her how dangerous that profession was.
The thing that confounded him was that she seemed like a smart woman with a good head on her shoulders. Old Mick was smart, too, but the intelligence in Mickey’s eyes wasn’t tainted with manipulation or greed. There was something else in the blue depths of her irises.
Strap wanted to bring out that part in her.
Reluctantly, he finished his food and paid for it with money the US government gifted him.
Strap waved goodbye to Gladys and hoped they would see each other again. The food was fantastic, and his belly was full for the first time in five years. He almost felt whole.
On his way out of the cafe, he spotted a newspaper strewn over the counter. Strap walked up to the customer. “Can I borrow this for a minute?” The man nodded and continued reading a different section.
The headline read “Billionaire’s Art Collection Arriving at Barcelona History Museum Tomorrow.”
“Well, shit.” Strap knew where Mickey was up to. He looked at his watch. There was still time to stop her. He thanked the man and ran out of the cafe.
Back at Mickey’s apartment, Strap stared at the white door for a heartbeat. He prepared himself to be turned away, and instead of leaving, he forced his hand up to the door and beat on it.
