Making the Rent the Hard Way - 14

 

I filled and started the coffeemaker then rejoined Luca, sitting in the lone armchair across from the sofa, studying him. The photo Farnham had given me didn't do him justice. He was, to use my mother's words, a handsome devil—chiseled features, deep amber eyes that watched me warily, and a very muscular body, accented by the T-shirt he was wearing. His hair was pulled back, tied with a leather thong.

"You're staring," Luca said, his lips quirking up in a brief grin.

"Yeah. Sorry."

"No problem." He looked intently at me, his gaze going from my face down to my feet and back again. I was well aware that, compared to him, I was quite ordinary—short light-brown hair, a slight crook in my nose from it being broken several years ago, and a body that could have used a few days a week at a gym. I'm not soft, but I could lose a few extra pounds if I was going to come close to looking like him.

The coffeemaker dinged, so I went to pour us coffee. "Cream? Sugar?"

"No, thanks."

I doctored mine, deciding as I did that I should consider taking it black to cut a few calories from my diet. I handed him his cup and sat, again. After we'd both taken a drink, I asked, "What do you have on Farnham that he's so desperate to find you? I'm presuming he is, or you wouldn't have gone into hiding."

"Before I answer, if I do, why do you care? You're working for him, from what Rocky said."

"I am, but I have the feeling I was conned. No, I take that back. I'm real sure I was, if what Rocky told me is the truth."

"It is."

"You can prove it?"

"I can."

"A man of few words," I said, chuckling softly.

"Until I know if I can trust you, I will be."

"What will it take for that to happen?"

Luca rapped a knuckle on his teeth pensively but didn't reply.

"Let me point out," I said, "I didn't bring Farnham or his goons with me."

"If you had, I'd have been gone the second I sensed them."

Quite possible, I knew. Shifters can teleport, but… "If I'd given them an image of my apartment, they could have come in and grabbed you before you could react."

He nodded. "You have a point. One in your favor."

"Compared to a million against me," I replied dryly. "Still, you wouldn't be here if you didn't think on some level that I'm trustworthy."

"Consider it a test of your loyalties."

"Did I pass?" I asked, feeling slightly amused for some reason.

He actually smiled, and it looked good on him. "So far, but it's only the first one." He sobered. "I don't trust easily, after what I've been through with Farnham."

When he didn't continue, I said, "Tell me."