Page 44 of Cyn
Angelica’s fingers poked and prodded a little more. “Not too deep, maybe an inch or so. But it looks like it got jostled a little bit and it’s longer than the blade is wide, maybe three inches long.”
Well, that explained the pain. Still, if it were an inch at its deepest, she’d probably be fine without stitches.
“Have Nora look at it tonight,” Angelica said as she smoothed on some ointment. “She may have a different opinion.”
Cyn made a noncommittal noise. She didn’t intend to tell any of her friends about her encounter with John Waters. First, they’d chide her for going to the apartment without backup, and then, once they’d felt they’d made their point, they’d start teasing her about not getting away cleanly. It was a lose-lose situation for her, no matter how she looked at it. Joe was another story. They’d been sharing a lot of naked time together, and she wouldn’t exactly be able to hide the bandage or the bruising that was sure to follow. She considered telling him not to come over that night, but it would take more than a day to heal and there was no way she was going to go a week or two—or however long it took for her arm to heal—without seeing him. Naked.
Finally, Angelica gently placed a large butterfly bandage over the cut then stepped away. “I have a sweatshirt you can wear under the jacket. It will be a little bulky, but it’s better than nothing.”
“You have a bag I can put those things in?” Cyn asked, taking the sweatshirt Angelica held out as she pointed to her discarded clothing.
“I’ll grab you a second carryout bag when we get your food. Your shirt is trashed, but your jacket and jeans can be salvaged.”
Cyn nodded and pulled on her pink cap again then took the red coat from Angelica. Together, they exited the office, pausing on the way to grab a bag and place her clothes inside. By the time they made it back out to the dining area, one of the waitstaff was packing her to-go bag.
“Thank you, luv,” Cyn said as she pulled the red coat on.
“You know I’m always here for you,” Angelica responded.
Once Cyn had the coat zipped, she reached for both bags. “Come for dinner next week? There’s someone I want you to meet.”
Angelica’s eyes went as wide as plates and a shit-eating grin stole across her face. “You met someone, didn’t you?” she demanded as they walked to the front door.
“Maybe,” Cyn drawled.
“Maybe my ass. But don’t tell me. I want to be surprised at this mythical creature who has captured the heart of Cyn Steele. I’m off next Thursday. How does that sound?”
“Sounds like you’re coming to dinner. I’ll invite the club.”
Angelica nodded then bent down and gave Cyn a gentle, one-sided hug. “Take care of yourself and please talk to Nora tonight.”
“Stop worrying about me,” Cyn said. “But thank you. For everything,” she added, holding both bags up.
Angelica gave her a skeptical look but walked her out the door. Cyn was less than ten feet down the street when she saw John Waters walking toward her on the opposite side. He glanced over as the door to the pub closed but dismissed her quickly.
She scoffed, if only in her mind.Amateur.Seriously, if someone was going to go to the trouble of playing war games, maybe they should learn that most wars weren’t won with guns but with strategy and attention to detail. But whatever.
Ten minutes later, after changing back into the clothes she’d left campus in, she was behind the wheel of her car with the smell of the pub’s French onion soup driving her crazy. She had barely enough time to make it back to campus, wolf down her lunch, then make it to her class. Then again, if she knew Angelica…
Keeping her eyes on the road, Cyn reached into the food bag and rummaged around with her hand. Sure enough, her fingers closed around the paper-wrapped sandwich she’d hoped to find. Eating on the road would make her less rushed, but in all honesty, once she realized her favorite Ruben sandwich on homemade light rye bread was in the bag, nothing was getting between her and that sandwich.
By the time she strolled into class, her arm was aching, but otherwise, everything was as it should be. She was prepped for the lecture, had assignments ready to hand out, and was well fed. Secretly, she liked to call on her mentor, Indiana Jones, at times like these. Yes, he was fictional, and yes, he was an atrocious archeologist, but damn could that man flip from professor to spy and back again better than anyone.
Both Harrow and Persons were in class, though neither participated, which surprised her not at all. She didn’t expect much from the two boys who were in the midst of growing a white supremacist organization while simultaneously planning a terrorist attack. It was a lot to take on at the age of twenty-one.
After ending her lecture, Cyn returned to her office to hold office hours, then headed home. She checked in with the club as she drove, but Six was the only one she actually connected with. It was Six’s day off and she’d spent the morning exploringSerrated Serpent. As Cyn meandered home via the backroads, they talked about which players they’d each encountered, identifying four overlapping avatars. Cyn ended the call after promising she’d rejoin the game later that afternoon to see if those four cropped up again. If so, they’d definitely be worth looking into.
She waved to Dan, who was on his way out as she passed him on the driveway, and was pulling into the garage when a text from Joe came in.
“Anything interesting today? Don’t know your schedule, so not sure if call or text was better.”
Rather than text, she connected a call as she slid from her seat and started toward the warmth of her house. And toward a few more ibuprofen.
“Hey,” Joe said, clearly on the road.
“Were you texting and driving?” Cyn demanded.
“Bluetooth, Steele. You’ve heard of it, I’m sure.”
