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Chapter 9
As soon as he was outof sight, Desi whipped around and placed her hands on the edge of the counter, steadying herself. She certainly had a knack for pissing him off. She saw the look that crossed his face when she ordered him around. What the hell was she thinking telling him what to do? It’s a wonder he didn’t bark her head off.
Sighing she pushed away from the counter then lifted the lid on the frying pan that he’d dropped. She wrinkled her nose as the smell of burnt bread wafted around the kitchen. She could save them. Taking the sandwiches out, she took a butter knife from the silverware drawer and started scraping the blackness away into the garbage can. Satisfied with her work, she set them back in their takeout containers and dumped in the fries before closing the lids.
She walked to the pantry and took out a cookie sheet that she’d seen when Ava had showed it to her. Stacking the food onto it, she opened the fridge and spied the ketchup and mustard bottles and added both to the makeshift tray. She raised her brows when she spied the wine bottle sitting next to a couple of coffee mugs. Lane must have a taste for it, or he had plans on getting her drunk to have his way with her.
Desi snorted out a laugh at the thought. “Ha! Yeah right.” He was too good looking to settle for someone like her, with that thought she placed the bottle and mugs beside the takeout containers. Taking hold of the cookie sheet she headed to the stairs, as she held her breath for fear of dropping something. Placing her foot on the bottom step, she carefully made her way up the incline.
Lane found Desi’s bag right where she said it would be. Opening it, he noticed it was hella dark in there. Not wanting to seem like he was prying into her personal stuff by digging through it, he dumped the contents on the bed. There was the makeup bag just like she said. But something else caught his eye... a photo. Not wanting to touch it, he leaned closer to see that it was Desi looking down at a cat on her lap and a sketchy looking dude sitting beside her. Next to it was a brochure of Kim and Dean’s inn with writing on it. That, he picked up and read it:Brian headed to Pearl Lake, need to find him asap to get my baby Nala back before he sells her. But first I need to get a job here to blend in...
“There you are, I’ll just take this to the...,” Desi stopped talking and froze when she saw what he was holding.
Lane stood there; a dark look gathered on his face as his brows pulled together. It was the brochure.
“What is this?” he waved it in the air.
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
“Yeah, it is, it’s something alright. You have a kid?”
Desi rocked from foot to foot, resisting the urge to tell him. “It’s not what you think.” She quickly turned and headed to the living room. When she heard him stomping after her she quickened her pace until she got there; then sat the food on the coffee table and turned to face him.
He was mere inches from her when he all but yelled, “You have a child that he took to sell and all you’re wanting to do is to blend in?!” A murderous look flashed across his face, when he continued ranting, “Have you ever thought of calling the cops?”
Desi took a step back and folded her arms across her chest. “They won’t do a damn thing. It’s a cat.”
“Of course, they will! This is kidnapping, possibly human trafficking...” He raised his brows, “Awhat?!”
Desi nodded. “A cat. Nala is my cat.” Turning away from him, she took a seat on the sofa and started unloading the cookie sheet.
“She’s a Snow Lynx Bengal, and as a desired breed, worth a fair bit of money,” she said, opening one of the takeout containers.
She hated the fact that when she got nervous, she ate. Popping a fry into her mouth, she chewed it slowly, gaging on how much she was willing to share with him now. To hell with it, she thought, shaking her head, she pointed to his food, “Sit down and eat, I’ll tell you everything.”
Lane took a seat beside her and tossed the makeup bag on the table which she promptly snatched up. Unzipping it, she looked at him and said, “First things first. Give me your hand.”
He held it out to her and watched as she pulled out a tube of cream, and a gauze pad that she ripped from its packaging, followed by medical tape.
Taking his hand in hers, she looked at him and said, “Sorry, but this is gonna hurt.”
He shrugged, “Can’t hurt anymore than when I grabbed the handle of the pan.”
But it did.
“Son of a bitch!” he muttered between clenched teeth.
Ignoring him, Desi, carefully applied the ointment and quickly applied the gauze pad, before taping it around his hand. “There,” she said softly, smoothing the edge of the tape down with her thumb. “It’s a non-stick pad, so it won’t hurt when you remove it. Just leave it on until tomorrow. I’ll change the dressing and don’t get it wet.”
“Right...thanks.”
“No problem,” she said, as she put the cream back into the makeup bag and zipped it up.
Lane grabbed the wine bottle and stuck it between his thighs, holding it there, he twisted the cap off. Pouring some into a mug, he drank it in one gulp, then refilled it and looked at her. “Do you want some?”
That settled the idea of him wanting to get her drunk, he wouldn’t have asked if that was his plan. “Um, sure.”
