Page 44 of After 5

“I’m guessing you can make me happy?”

A smile tugged at the corner of Marco’s mouth. “I could make you happy for a few hours, if you needed someone to take your mind off the Scot.”

Hours?It sounded promising, but I brushed him off. “Funny, but I’m not exactly sure why Caiyan’s doing this. Doesn’t it seem unusual to you that he’s joined up with the Mafusos and he’s agreed to marry Mahlia? I mean, what could be so damn important for him to do this?”

“You want my honest answer?”

“Yes, of course.”

“You.”

“Me?” I stared at him. “You remember he dumped me to marry Satan’s bitch, right?”

“I mean he’s protecting you somehow. Or he’s protecting all of us. Still, it doesn’t make him any less of an asshole.”

I tossed the statement over in my mind. “It started with the Civil War sword. I think if we find the sword, we will have a few answers.”

“Maybe.”

The waitress brought over our pizza. She leaned down in front of Marco to place the pan of pizza on the table, offering him a perfect view down the front of her shirt.

“Here ya go, sugar,” she said, batting her full, fake eyelashes at him. She turned to check on another table but gave Marco a glance over her shoulder on the way.

Oblivious to the woman’s flirtations, Marco frowned at the pizza. Obviously, not up to New York standards. He folded a slice and took a bite. “The sword was Confederate, right?”

“Yes, I’m sure Caiyan told me it was a Confederate sword. Do you think the Mafusos are going to drop him into the Civil War?”

“Mortas wants the sword, and he’s forcing Caiyan’s hand. My guess would be that Caiyan is going to lead him on a wild goose chase. I don’t know what to think about the marriage.”

“If Mortas gets the key, then Caiyan is supposed to get his key back.” I selected a slice of pizza and contemplated Caiyan’s possible logic for his actions.

“I’ve never known the Mafusos to be forthright. Caiyan knows this also. He’s probably going to bag the wedding.” Marco chose another slice.

I picked the green olives off my pizza and felt hopeful for the first time in a long while.

“The next full moon cycle begins at the end of the month. What’s the next major event in the Civil War?”

“You’re joking, right?” His dark eyebrows shot upwards.

When my blank stare told him I wasn’t, he finished chewing his pizza and took a long drink of the tea. “The Battle of Gettysburg begins on July first.”

“That was a pretty bad one, right?”

“The worst battle of the Civil War.”

He gave me the look like I shouldn’t have slept through my American history class.

“I hope they don’t drop him there,” I said.

“Me, too. The guns are shit.”

We ate in silence until I moved the last slice onto my plate, and he finished his pizza.

I leaned back in my chair, the string on my scrub pants threatening expansion once again.

“Have you heard from Agent McCoy?” Marco asked.

“I’m waiting on Jake to approve the search for the sword at Caiyan’s house. He wanted Brodie to check the other potential locations before I went rummaging through his personal space.”

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