Page 137 of Callan

She lifts her eyes to me.

“Aren’t you hungry?” she asks, pointing with her fork at the greens, Christmas ham, and mashed potatoes––interrupting my contemplation.

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

I put food on my plate and we both start eating.

“Can you pass me the cranberry sauce, please?” she says around her food.

I do just that, and she gets excited with how delicious the food is.

“Leave room for dessert,” I say, tilting my chin toward the persimmons pudding and red velvet cake.

Smiling, she shakes her head.

“I don’t know why you don’t like spending time here on Christmas Eve. This place is perfect,” she comments with innocence in her voice.

I give her a grin.

“I’ve never had the pleasure of having someone like you in my house.”

Her smile fades as her eyes glint.

“You’re flattering me now. But frankly, I don’t believe you. I’d love to have someone cook for me,” she says, pointing to the food around the table.

A few moments pass, and her fork clinks as she sets it down.

“So let me see if I can get this straight,” she says.

I gesture at her before she can continue.

“No more questions, Mackenzie.”

Our eyes meet, and she knows I’m serious about it.

She already knows too much about me. And while she doesn’t know the most important things about us––The Bard Brothers––she knows enough to get herself in trouble.

She just had two thugs at her door tonight looking for me.

It doesn’t matter that they didn’t know I was using an assumed identity.Sooner or later, they’ll know the real story.

That I’m after them as much as they’re after me.

That the only reason why they’re still alive is that I still need them to get to the person who thought it was a good use of their time to fuck with me.

She sighs. And she is so cute, doing me a favor by keeping her mouth shut.

Dragging her eyes around the room, she searches for a different topic.

“It’s a unique place,” she says in a different voice. Impersonal and less inquiring.

“Thank you,” I say. “Would you like some wine?”

“Yes, sure.”

I pour a glass of wine for her and give it to her.

“Nothing to drink for you?” she asks, taking her drink from me.

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