Page 1032 of One More Kiss

Well, this was nice. He’d clearly been giving me a lot of thought. I nodded. “True.”

“You’ve got all the attributes of your profession.” He lifted his coffee cup to his mouth, eyeing me over the brim. “You’re a thief, and that’s exactly what we need.”

Wait, what?

“Or did you think I didn’t notice how you ate all my food?”

I felt my face heat. “But, but.” I sputtered, searching for the right words. “You gave me the fork!”

He grinned, the expression almost hidden behind his cup. “And you took it, and used it.”

Clara nudged me with her knee and I looked across at her. “Sorry,” I mouthed. She smiled.

Great. I was amusing everybody today.

“I’m sure he’s just teasing. I was silly to think I’d need a bodyguard. But I’d really like you to consider this.” Clara touched my arm. I hated being touched, but she hadn’t picked up on my ‘stay away’ vibes. “I trust you, and I’d be happy to give you a percentage of profits if you prefer. That way, you’d be a partner in the business, not just a delivery girl.”

“Are you for real?” Possibilities flitted through my mind. This could be worth doing, especially with Mom’s knee operation looming. I frowned. “Why?”

“Apart from needing someone I can trust on my team?” She smiled. “You can look after yourself. You’re never going to need someone to save you. But I get the feeling that a helping hand wouldn’t go astray, and I’d like to offer that. You helped me when you didn’t have to. I’m returning the favor.”

She saw too deeply into me, and that was unsettling. But she wasn’t wrong.

“And what about you?” I turned to Jett. “Do you want to give me a helping hand as well?”

“I’m not the white knight type.” Jett set his coffee cup onto the table. “Never met anyone I wanted to save and don’t expect I will. That’s not what this is.”

He gestured between himself and Clara and across to include me. “This is a business proposition. We all bring something to the deal. Clara’s got the product, I’ve got the sales vehicle, and you’re covering logistics. If the profit split percentages are fair, I’m okay being in a business partnership with the two of you.”

I nodded and picked up my cup. I needed a good dose of caffeine. I tuned out as they fine-tuned the details. It didn’t matter to me what percentage I got. Anything was better than the nothing I had now, and I wouldn’t truly believe it was happening until it happened.

“I’ll get my lawyer to draw up the paperwork and send it to yours.” Jett stood and stretched out his hand to Clara, who stood to meet him. “But I’m happy with the details we’ve discussed. You’ve got yourself a deal.”

I felt a burning sensation between my shoulder blades, the feeling of being watched, and glanced around. A glint of metal on a rooftop across the street, just visible between the fancy trees in the planter boxes surrounding the cafe, caught my eye. I leaned sideways to get a better look and felt something hot whip past my cheek. Behind me the water carafe shattered. I dove towards Clara, pushing her to the ground and landing on top of her. Jett flipped the table onto its side, the plates and cups smashing to the ground. He used it to shield us as he put his phone to his ear. Something slammed into the table, causing an indentation in the metal.

Screams rang out as people scattered.

“Shots fired,” he said into his phone. “We’re moving. I’ll leave the connection open.”

He shoved the phone into his pocket and ducked down beside me.

“Aren’t you going to shoot back?” I hissed.

“Too many by-standers.” His voice was grim. “Come on, we need to move. My backup isn’t close enough to help.”

Clara was trying to shove me off her so I slid to the side. “Keep your head down,” I said. “And get ready to run.”

“On three,” said Jett. “I’ll go first and draw their fire.”

I crouched, helping Clara do the same. I scanned our surroundings. Assuming the person on the roof was aiming at one of us, our best chance at escape was to get around the corner to the next street. It wasn’t far, but the tree cover only extended in front of the cafe. We’d be out in the open for long seconds.

“Ready.” I grabbed Clara’s elbow and nodded at Jett. He held up three fingers and lowered them one at a time. On one, he exploded into action. He moved, one moment squatting beside us and the next on the other side of the open seating area of the cafe. He flipped tables onto their sides as he went past, pushing peoples heads down behind them so they were out of danger.

“Let’s go!” I surged forward, keeping low and dragging Clara with me, my arm wrapped around her waist. We used the tables for cover, hearing the ‘ping’, ‘ping’, ‘ping’, as shots landed on metal all around us.

We caught up with Jett at the far side, tucked behind a concrete planter box. His expression was grim. “Stay close to the building once you get around the corner. Don’t stop. I’ll find you.”

“What are you going to do?” I heard sirens in the distance. Hopefully that meant help was on its way.

---