Mayhem & Mistletoe, стр. 56

“I asked you to include me. You included me. You held up your end of the bargain. I’m not going to punish you for that.”

“I guess thanks are in order.” It was hard to admit, but I owed him. “So ... um ... I’ll totally do dirty stuff with you later.”

That earned a full-fledged smile. “I’ll hold you to that.” He turned to Mario, who was watching Tiger King on Netflix. “You’re in charge.”

“That’s just the way I like it,” Mario replied without looking up.

“Don’t do anything weird,” Eliot admonished.

“You’re running off on an adventure with Avery and you’re warning me about doing weird things?”

“Just ... remember what I said. If you sell anything to a hot girl, I’m checking the price.”

“You’re, like, zero fun.”

Eliot put his hand to my back and prodded me through the door, halting when Mario called out his name. “What?”

“What if I sell something to a girl who is only okay looking and has low self-esteem?”

“I’ll beat the crap out of you.”

Mario didn’t look particularly frightened. “Avery will protect me.”

“No, Avery won’t,” I said. “I love watching my cousins get their butts kicked. That was my only form of joy between the ages of five and ten.”

“Whatever.” Mario went back to watching the show. “Have I mentioned that I think I’ve found a new calling in life?”

I was somewhat familiar with the show as Eliot and I had stumbled across it while bored one night. Before we realized it, we’d plowed through four episodes. We were saving the other three for bad weather, when we needed our spirits lifted. “You’re going to grow a mullet, aren’t you?”

“I might ride a Jet Ski, too.”

“Sounds fabulous.”

“I thought you’d be in my corner on this.”

ELIOT WAITED UNTIL WE WERE IN his truck on the highway to ask the obvious question.

“What have you got?”

I gave him a brief rundown, and even though I hadn’t intended to include my altercation with Sabrina, I blurted that out, too. “I don’t think I was overly mean, do you?”

“You’ve been way meaner. Heck, I’ve seen you be way meaner to your mother.”

I made a face. “When did you decide you were on her side?”

“I’m not on her side. She’s a pain in the butt. That doesn’t mean you don’t give as good as you get with her.”

“Um, I’m an angel.”

“Yes, all you’re missing is a halo.”

“I’m serious. I’m a total angel.”

“Of course you are.” He deftly navigated onto the freeway. “Do you think Cal is involved in this?”

I pondered the suggestion. “I think it’s a good possibility. I mean, how did he get that job?”

“Technically he doesn’t have a criminal record. Charges were dropped.”

“I know but ... come on. The dude had two kilos of meth. That’s a lot. I know because I asked.”

He chuckled. “That’s definitely a lot of meth. My guess is he turned over on a bunch of other dealers in exchange for his freedom.”

“That makes the most sense. It’s just ... weird. Would you hire a guy who got caught with two kilos of meth, even if he wasn’t convicted?”

“No, but I’m guessing the job at the halfway house isn’t in high demand. I don’t know anybody who would take that job, no matter how desperate.”

“Maybe his reasons for taking the job were strategic. Maybe he wanted to get close with people he knew were likely to break the law again.”

“That’s entirely possible. We wondered how a guy that small managed to keep the others in line. Maybe it’s because he was supplying the money.”

I thought back to Van. “Do you think that big guy was on something the night he attacked us? I thought he was just a jerk. Maybe he was high.”

“I’ve been thinking about that a great deal. Part of me thinks he was obviously high. The other part isn’t sure. My ego would prefer it if he were lit like a Christmas tree.”

“You put up a good fight.”

“And got slaughtered. He was a beast, but at the time, the only drug I considered a possibility was steroids. He didn’t seem messed up otherwise.”

“Do you think Cal was putting on a show for us?”

“If he’s involved, it doesn’t make sense for him to work with us, offer any help. He could’ve just turned us away that first night.”

“Unless he was manipulating us. I don’t know about you, but I was convinced he was straight ... right up until I found that court case.”

“Yeah, he wasn’t on my radar either.”

“We’re usually good at reading people. He didn’t ping for either of us.”

“There’s a chance it was some sort of mistake,” Eliot offered. “Maybe he only had the drugs because he took them from someone else. Maybe he told the prosecutor that, provided some sort of proof, and they let him off. There’s always a possibility that we’re wrong on this.”

“I’m very rarely wrong.”

He laughed. “You have good instincts, but I wouldn’t say you’re never wrong.”

“I said rarely wrong. Everyone is wrong at one time or another.”

“I wouldn’t say you’re rarely wrong either. You usually discover the truth eventually. Some of your hunches, though, tend to be weak.”

I slid him a sidelong look. “And here I thought we were at a good place in our relationship.”

“I’m not going to lie just to make you feel better.”

“You should give it a try. I mean ... you might like it.”

“I’ll consider it. For now, what’s the plan?”

My answer was simple. “I want to talk to Cal.”

“Are you going to accuse him?”

“I’m going to feel him out ... and then probably accuse him.”

“I’m taking a gun this time.”

“Try not to shoot anyone unless it’s absolutely necessary. I don’t want you to get arrested.”

“Oh, you’re so sweet.”

“There will be nobody to cook me breakfast if you get arrested.”

“You should remember that when I propose.”

My stomach did a little dance. “Must you always bring it up?”

“Just until you’re used to the idea.”

“What if that never happens?”

“Oh, it’s going to happen. You’re almost there.”

He sounded more certain than I