Hard Up(44)

“You had them brought here?” she exclaimed. She rushed to hug him, the touch lingering. “You’re a monster, you know that?”

When she pulled back and moved to her bags, she couldn’t help but notice the way her gaze followed her. She liked it.

“You’re just mad that I can bring things in without you noticing,” he said mildly. “Now get dressed!”

She did, quickly changing into a crisp white cotton dress. She left her long blonde hair loose, hanging at her sides. She cast an eye over his jeans and tight red t-shirt, and figured they must not be going anywhere too fancy.

Good, she thought. I don’t want to go anywhere that we’ll be recognized.

“You know, you look amazing in that,” he said, eyeing her longingly.

She grinned. “Food. Remember that we’re going to get food, and we might get out of here.”

He groaned as she led them out of the room. Rather than take the car, he opted for walking, saying again that the place was right around the corner. She put on sunglasses without him asking, keeping the mood light.

They walked the three blocks slowly, enjoying the salty air. The downtown area was busy with tourists when they stepped onto the boardwalk. They were innocuous, no different than any of the tourists bustling around.

When they reached their destination, stepping inside, Vi’s jaw dropped.

“An arcade?” she asked, reaching out to touch one of the nearest machines, crammed in every which way. “I didn’t think these existed anymore.”

“You got it. I used to have one just like this down the street from my house as a kid,” he said. “Declan and Cormac and I spent all our time and spare change there.”

“Cool,” she said, walking around the old machines.

“You’ll like the very fancy food,” he said, drawing her around some arcade machines to a concessions area. “Nothing healthy here.”

“Oooh. I’ll definitely have to go for cheese pizza.”

“Yeah… I was thinking the same, actually.”

He ordered for them both at the dinky concessions window, then filled both their soft drinks and nodded to the tables.

“You choose,” he said, his hands full of soda.

“This one,” she said, choosing the first one. “Looks the cleanest.”

He gave her that look again, curling his lip as he sat down across from her.

“What, you’re too good for the arcade?” he asked as he slid her drink over to her.

She had a moment’s intuition, realizing that he’d brought her here for a reason. He was testing her, somehow. Seeing if she was too good to hang out in this spot that reminded him of his childhood, though she had no idea why.

She wondered if this was how you got to a deeper level with Callum.

“Are you kidding? I’m going to own that Ms. Pac-Man game over there,” she said. “Wait till I get my hands on that baby.”

She had no real idea if she was any good, but she saw a gleam of approval in Callum’s eyes.

“I’ll have to remember that,” he said.

She sipped her drink. He seemed laidback now, in his way. What would happen if she asked about his past?

“So what made you decide to join the Navy?” she asked.

He cut her a surprised look, but not an unwelcoming one. He shrugged.

“I went and signed up the second I turned seventeen. My father was a right bastard, number three in the Cúram. I went and signed up with Declan and Cormac, blackmailed my dad for his signature.” He sighed. “I thought I’d be in the SEALs until I aged out, you know?”

Viola took a breath; that was a lot of information. Which part should she ask about first?

“Your dad isn’t living anymore?” she asked.

“No, he is.” Their number was called, and Callum jumped up to retrieve their pizza. “Here ya go, fresh pizza. And my dad is definitely still alive and well. He’s the head of the Cúram.”

Vi’s sudden coughing fit was certainly not about her first bite of pizza, though she pretended it was.

“Sorry, did you say that your father is the head of the Irish mafia?” she wheezed.

He handed her some napkins as she waved away his concern.

“Yeah. Me and the boys got into what I’ll call a bit of trouble in the SEALs. I swore I’d never be a scumbag like my father, but he got us out of an impossible situation we were in. In exchange, we swore to work for him for seven years. So now all three of us are scumbags, because we owe him.”

“I don’t… what?” she said.

Vi’s expression of disbelief must have been comical, because he chuckled as he ate.

“I’ve never told anybody that,” he said. “It sounds pretty ridiculous, huh?”