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“Is there a reason I shouldn’t be?”
He looks at me like I’m nuts, which is when I remember that dead bodies in motel rooms and watching people dig graves aren’t exactly normal.
“Would you prefer I panic? I could cry if it would help,” I offer with a saccharine-sweet smile.
He snorts before turning back to Andino. “No. I’m just surprised, that’s all. I’m never surprised, and yet you’ve done nothing but shock the shit out of me since the second we met.”
I finish my beer and place the bottle next to his. “I’m just me, Calix.” I shrug as I climb to my feet and walk over to Andino.
He stops digging and looks up at me as I approach. “It’s good, right?”
“Better.”
“I still don’t know what was wrong with the other one you made me dig. The soil was the same over there as it is here,” he grumbles as I look over at the tree and, more importantly, the grave I had him dig beneath it.
I hold my hand out for the shovel, which he passes to me. He reaches up again for me to grab his hand and help him out, but I don’t.
“You’re right, there was nothing wrong with the soil near the tree.”
“What? Then why the fuck did you make me dig another?”
I smile at him, lift the shovel, and swing it at his head. He screams, but since he’s standing inside the hole, he has nowhere to go but down. He drops as I lift the shovel again, but it’s yanked out of my hands. I turn and see Calix looking at me in that mix of pissed off and surprised way of his.
“What?”
“What, she says. Fuckingwhat?”
I cross my arms over my chest and tap my foot—the universal sign of a pissed off woman—but is he fazed by it? No, of course not.
“What did you think was going to happen after he dug the graves?” I frown. I mean, did he think we were looking for treasure or something?
“I think you have a fucking husband here. Why didn’t you just ask me to help?”
I stare at him in confusion. Why the heck would I need help?
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he snarls, giving me up as a lost cause. He jumps down into the grave, shovel and all, as he continues to beat Andino to death with the shovel. It’s overkill since I’m pretty sure he was dead after my hit, but who am I to spoil his fun?
Once he has burned out his aggression, he tosses the shovel out of the hole and pulls himself out. I’ll admit, I’m the one who’s surprised now. He just pulled himself up by his freaking fingertips.
He must read the expression on my face and realized where my train of thought was going because he answers my unspoken question. “Not much to do when you’re locked up besides work out.”
“Yeah, but still…” I check out his arms and his large frame. I’ll admit, I’m impressed. Don’t get me wrong, I have skills. I’m a Candy girl, after all. But there is no way I could swing on my fingertips like some modern-day Tarzan.
I pull myself together and reach for the shovel, but he holds it firmly.
“I’ll do it.” His voice brokers no argument, which makes my temper flare.
“Do I give off damsel-in-distress vibes?”
“No—”
“No. Give me the shovel. I can fill in the damn hole.”
“Why, though, when you have me, and I can do it in half the—” I cover his mouth with my hand.
“I’m gonna stop you before you say something that will result in me burying you. If you had stopped with theme, big man, and you, weak female routine, I’d have told you that I have something else for you to do. Something I’m sure you’d find easier than I would. Believe it or not, I do know how to ask for help, Calix. It’s just that I know how to handle my shit and don’t always need rescuing.”
I take a deep breath and pull my hand away.
