I thought this would be a tasty treat to keep you warm as we lead up to the Christmas holiday. Enjoy!
Chapter Six
Tina got away with one extra danish for herself after handing the excess out to Moz and the gang. She skipped Lowe’s lecture, thanked her van mates and took the commuter train home. Once home, she stripped out of her track suit and put on her tank top and baggy cotton pants. She turned off the A.C. and flung open the her bedroom window.
“Come on back, fucker,” she commanded. She settled down for a nap. Tina shoved her gun under the pillow next to her. As soon as she hit the sheets, Tatum jumped up onto the other side of the bed.
“Keep watch, boy, while I catch a few winks. Howl real loud if anything looks funny.” She patted his head, then rolled onto her side, facing the window.
Insistent knocking on the apartment door jarred Tina awake. Tatum was already off the bed and was trotting toward the sound. Tina looked at the clock on the bed stand.
8 p.m. She’d been napping for four hours! More knocking. Tina reached for her gun, bounded off the mattress and was at the front door in a flash. “Who is it?”
Unintelligible mumbling greeted her.
“Is that you, Teddy? Better not be. Who is it?” This time Tina put her ear to the portal. This time she heard. She nudged Tatum back with her foot and unlocked the door. “As I live and breathe. What brings you to this part of town?”
“Something you said. May I come in?” asked a sheepish Nate Lowe. “I’d rather not discuss it in the hallway.”
Tina backed up, waved Nate into the apartment and closed the door.
“Coffee? Something to eat? No more danish though.”
“Yes to both questions. I am hungry.” Nate assessed Tina. Nice looking woman.
Not a giddy girl. Damn good looking woman actually. Fit, pretty face, quick wit. A lot like Karen. Under different circumstances, Tina would be right up his alley. But he had no desire to risk anything.
“Sit at the table and I’ll go play with pots and pans.”
Nate took a seat at the dining room table. His knee hit something hard. Reaching under the table, he retrieved Tina’s AK-47. This woman knew her weapons. A hint of a smile flashed across his face as he fingered the gun.
“You’ve discovered my little friend,” said Tina as she set the coffee service on the table.
“You favor a lot of firepower.”
“It’s useless though. I emptied my magnum into that thing and it kept on moving. Cream? Sugar?”
“Black is fine.” Tina poured; Nate sipped slowly. “Guns are no use. It just gives us humans false security.” He pulled out a notepad. “Tell me your story.”
“My mom had requested that to keep the bedroom window open just for some real air. Just a little bit. She was changing into her nightclothes while I was in the hallway. I heard a cry, ran back to the room. It had her in its grasp.”
“What did it look like?”
“I call it a bug/bird. When visible, it had colorless, papery opaque wings. Kind of nondescript.”
“How big?” he quizzed over the rim of the cup.
“It filled the wall of the room.” Tina threw up her arms to demonstrate. “It definitely had an intelligence.”
What makes you say that?”
“When I tried to chase it away, it just grinned at me.”
“Laughed?”
“Not a laugh. A grin. Like it knew my efforts were futile and it knew it had the upper hand.” The timer dinged in the kitchen. “Dinner. Excuse me.”
They finished the rest of the stew and the cornbread. Tina rummaged in the frig and found a bottle of chablis. They took the bottle and two wine flutes into the living room. Tina found conversing with Nate easy. It had the rhythm of a tennis match. He was personable and she had to admit after checking him out a bit that he was extremely fuckable. His jeans were snug, not tight. His blue T-shirt matched his eyes. It hugged his deceivingly muscular form in the correct places. He had a kind of been there, done that expression. It appealed to her. Tina had no time for people without histories.
“And that was my Matty and that’s why I need her back.” Tina swallowed the contents of her flute in one swig.
“My wife was snatched from right under my nose. We were in a car one minute, then poof! she was gone.”
“It hurts. Leaves a void.”
“Yes a void. Tina, I think we can help each other. Would you join my team?”
“Would I have to travel?”
“Only if required.”
“I have to sleep on it.” She held his glass and poured more wine for him.
“Only fair. I apologize for my behavior earlier today.” Nate took the flutes and the bottle and set them on the coffee table. Without hesitation, he pulled her into an embrace and kissed her.
