Wicked Appetite (Lizzy and Diesel 1)

“Jeez Louise,” I said to Diesel. “Could you put something on?”

“Don’t look if you don’t like it.”

That was the problem. I liked it a lot. And there was no way I wasn’t going to look.

“It’s easier protecting you if I’m next to you,” Diesel said. “And this is the way I sleep. Just deal with it.”

I woke up minutes before the alarm was set to go off. Diesel was asleep beside me, and Cat was sitting at the foot of the bed, watching me in the dark. I shut the alarm off, grabbed some clothes, and went into the bathroom to get dressed. Cat was waiting for me when I came out. He followed me down the stairs and into the kitchen. I poured crunchies into his bowl, gave him fresh water, and started coffee brewing.

Carl came in from the living room, dragging his knuckles, fur sticking every which way, eyes bleary.

“You didn’t have to get up this early,” I said to him.

Carl shrugged, took the box of Froot Loops off the counter, shoved his hand in, and ate a fistful. I did the same with the Frosted Flakes. Ordinarily, I’d take my coffee out to the back porch, but this morning I hesitated. The back porch didn’t feel safe anymore. My door was broken and my arm throbbed where it had been sutured. Diesel had cleaned the blood off the floor and the saber was gone. The kitchen looked normal, but it would take a while before I felt completely comfortable.

I was pacing with my coffee, muttering to myself, angry that my life was disrupted, angry that I’d become afraid of the dark, when Diesel ambled in. He was barefoot, and from the way his jeans rode low on his hips, showing nothing but skin, I suspected he was wearing just the jeans. He poured himself a mug of coffee and drank it black, lounging against the counter.

“How do you feel about carrying a gun?” he asked me.

“I’m scared, but not that scared. I wouldn’t know what to do with a gun.”

“I could teach you.”

“I’d rather not,” I said.

“A gun would protect you against Hatchet.”

“What about Wulf?”

“I’m the only thing that can protect you against Wulf.”

I closed the box of Frosted Flakes and put it away in the cupboard. “Do you think Hatchet will come after me again?”

“I don’t know. He’s a loose cannon. Hard to say what he’ll do.”

“I was so tired last night I forgot to ask you about Mark.”

Cat was on the counter by Diesel, and Diesel instinctively scratched him behind the ear whil

e he drank his coffee. “Mark was waiting for me at the wharf. He had five finger-prints on his neck from Wulf, but not an entire handprint. Between the mess we made in Mark’s apartment, the fire, and Wulf kidnapping him and burning him, Mark was rattled to the point where he barely had a coherent thought.”

“What about the charm?”

“You were right about the charm. Mark had it on him the whole time. He carried it in his pocket. It was a dragonfly. The charm’s in Wulf’s pocket now.”

“So it’s two for the good guys and one for the bad guy. Does this mean our work is done?”

“No,” Diesel said. “It means I don’t know how to complete the job.”

“All the gluttony pieces have been found. What’s left to do?”

“The legend is that there were seven Stones representing the seven sins. Nothing is said about a Stone being fragmented. I always thought if the three charms were combined, they might somehow become one Stone, or else lead us to the real Stone.”

“So you’re thinking there’s a chance the actual Stone is out there somewhere, still undiscovered. And if that’s the case, Wulf has a chance of finding it.”

Diesel finished his coffee, rinsed his mug, and set it on the counter next to the sink. “It’s not a good chance, but it’s possible. Give me a minute to get dressed, and I’ll drive you to the bakery. I don’t want you on the road alone.”

Fridays are always busy. People entertain on Friday night and businesses have lunchtime celebrations that range from baby showers to retirement ceremonies. And all those things need meat pies, breadbaskets, and cupcakes. By eleven A.M., the corporate lunch orders were out the door, and the shop was empty of customers. Clara was in clean-up mode, and I was icing cupcakes for afternoon pickup.