"Because I saw you coming down the street. You were like two minutes away, so I figured I'd do you a favor." She shrugged. "Save you some trouble."
This wasn't the favor I wanted. "Yeah? Well, theoriginalfavor was keeping it locked."Was I overstepping? Maybe. But those two gangster wannabees were still on my mind, even ifthey weren't on Maisie's. Still, I didn't want to be dick about it, so I deliberately softened my tone. "Better safe than sorry, right?"
"Probably," she said with a half-hearted smile. "I mean…there's always Sierra."
I wasn't following. "What do you mean?"
"I just mean…well, she seems the type to barge in without an invitation." She gave a hollow laugh. "If you're not careful, she might show up atyourplace."
I considered the shithole that Ryder had put me in. With a humorless laugh of my own, I said, "I'd pay good money to see that."
Confusion registered in her eyes. "Really? Why?"
"Because the place is a dump. Trust me, she'd hate it."
"Oh. Right." She cleared her throat. "So whereisit, anyway?"
"Where's what?"
"Your place."
The boathouse?"It's notmyplace," I corrected. "It's just where I'm staying."
Maisie frowned. "But that's the same thing."
"How so?"
"Like…if you rent an apartment, it's still your place even if you don't own it."
"Yeah, well trust me when I say I'm outtathatplace the moment the month is up." Already, I'd been scoping out nicer properties on the island – places I wouldn't mind bringing Maisie without disinfecting it first.
Her frown deepened. "And whenisthat, exactly?" She paused. "I mean, how many more days 'til you're done?"
I had checked just this morning. "Thirteen." Some might call this unlucky. I didn't. It meant that soon, I'd be saying goodbye to the shithole – and hello to someplace new – at least through the end of the summer.
And after that?
Well, we'd have to work it out, that's all.
But judging from Maisie's expression, the number wasn't sitting so great – and not because of superstition. Her fingers toyed with the edge of a rental form on the table. "So…I should probably be lining up your replacement, huh?"
I frowned.Replacement? What replacement?"Maisie – "
"Don't worry." She smiled. "It's fine. I get it. Totally."
I searched her face. "You get what?"
"Well…we agreed in the beginning it was only for a month, so I'm just saying, it's not like you should feel like you can't leave."
What the hell?My throat tightened as I moved forward. "Wearetalking about the job, right?"
She didn't answer right away. And when she did, her voice was almost too quiet to hear. "I don't know. Are we?"
"Is that what you want?" I asked. "Me gone in thirteen days?"
She stared up at me. "Is that whatyouwant?"
She hadn't answered my question, but this was no time to be coy. "Hell no." I leaned over the table and looked her straight in the eyes. "Sorry if I've given that impression, but the way I see it, things have changed."
