Hunt

I had no idea what he meant about the top guys.

Johnny inhaled the last of his cigarette and blew out smoke. “We own the city. We could clean it up.”

I lowered the bloody knife.

“You want a cup of coffee. There’s also a dozen of any donuts you want. It’s on me.”

“Uh. . .”

“In fact, anytime you come into one of my shops, you get free donuts. You got me?”

I cleared my throat. “Sure. . .”

“Come on.” Johnny slung the cigarette on Dr. Nicos’s corpse. “I’ll get rid of him for you.”

“O-kay.”

He pointed at the hose next to the door. “Wash the blood off your shoes and hands. I just mopped the floor.”

I smiled at that old memory.

Since then, Johnny and I chatted whenever I came to Paradise to kill. Every now and then we did a little business. I bought guns from him. He gave me inside news on strip clubs to rob. When I did the jobs, I always brought a little back to him as a thanks for the information.

Griff walked over to me and stretched out his arms. “Finally, I get my damn donuts.”

“Yes. Finally.” An odd chemical scent hit my nose. I swore it came from him. I sniffed the air. “What’s that smell?”

Grinning, he brushed down his shirt. “You like that? I sprayed my new cologne. It’s called, Wild Hysteria.”

Sighing, I walked off.

Griff got to my side. “You like it?”

“Did you put it on for me?”

“Of course not.”

“Then, it doesn’t matter if I like it.”

I opened the door. The smell of donuts, yeast, and butter wafted through the air as we stepped inside.

The place was empty except for the blonde behind the counter. She’d been smearing chocolate icing on a donut. Anytime I saw her handling food I worried that her massive lashes would fall on it. This morning, they were extra thick and reaching out at least two inches from her eyes. She had blue powder on her lids that matched her blue lipstick.

When she spotted us, she shrieked. “Oh my God.”

I held in my groan.

What the hell was her name again?

“Good morning, Cain.” Her eyes remained on me and not the donuts in front of her. Due to that, she began smearing chocolate onto the counter. “You look nice.”

I nodded.

She noticed what she was doing and put the knife down. “Damn it.”

Griff and I stopped next to the counter.

“See what you do to me, Cain?” She took off her plastic gloves and patted her hair down. “Johnny didn’t tell me you were coming in today.”

“We didn’t know we were coming until last night.”

Pouting, she batted her lashes. “Still, you could have called. I gave you my number right?”

“You did, and I nicely explained that I wouldn’t call.”

“But Johnny could have said something. After I ice these donuts, I leave for the rest of the day. I can give you my special pie.” She licked her lips.

“I’m not a fan of pie.”

“But this is the sort of pie that you can’t buy.” She winked.

“That’s fine.” I checked the area behind her, searching for Johnny. “As I told you before I’m watching my sugar intake.”

“Although this pie is sweet, it doesn’t have that much sugar in it.” She ran her gaze over my chest. “Plus, you don’t need to watch calories, honey.”

Griff cleared his throat. “Hey, Pandora. Good morning. How are you doing today?”

That’s right. Her name is Pandora.

“Oh yeah.” She continued to watch me. “Hey, Gary.”

He frowned. “It’s Griffin.”

“Yeah. So true.” Pandora twisted a strand of hair around her finger. “So. . .Cain, how long will you be in the city? I would love to show you around and give you some of that pie I was—”

“I’m here on business.”

Her pout deepened. “All work and no play can make you a grumpy man.”

“It’s too late for that.” Griff chuckled. “He’s already really grumpy.”

“Paradise has so many gyms that you can work out in.” Pandora looked at my arms. “I would love to show you some of them.”

My patience left me. “Where’s Johnny?”

She tilted her head to the side and switched to Spanish. “No time for small talk?”

“Not one second.”

“Hey, guys.” Griff raised his hands. “It’s rude to speak another language when I can’t understand.”

“Oh my God, Cain. You can’t talk. I’m just trying to be nice.” Pandora rolled her eyes.

I returned to English. “Is Johnny here or not?”

Pandora gestured behind her. “He’s in the back.”

“Thank you.” I went to the end of the counter and rounded it.

Griff followed. “For your information, Pandora, I like pie.”

“No.” I shook my head. “You like donuts.”

“And pie.” Griff raised a finger in the air. “I could leave you my number, Pandora.”

“Sorry, Gary. We’ve run out of that pie for today.” She picked up the knife with the icing.

“Well. . .” Griff pulled out a piece of paper and left it on the counter next to her. “When the pie is available again, this is my number.”