Page 46 of Twisted Empire

“Are you sure we won’t get arrested for trespassing?”

“Not if we’re quick about it. Come on, Piccolina. This isn’t even close to the most dangerous thing we’ve done in the past week.”

I glowered at him, but my mouth twitched with a smile at the same time. “Fine.” He was making this an adventure, maybe specifically to distract me from the much more frightening adventure we were already wrapped up in, and I couldn’t say I minded that.

He lowered his hands to give me a boost, and I set my foot on his palm. At his heft, I scrambled over the top of the wall and landed with a thump on the other side.

Slade heaved himself after me with just a faint thunk when his prosthetic bumped the edge of one of the stones. He dropped down with a grin already in place. “Almost there.”

To my relief, we veered straight across the lawn to a hedge that ran along one side of the yard and pushed through a gap between the bushes onto a narrow but apparently public laneway. No one shouted out anything about trespassers, so we were home free.

Slade took my hand and tugged me along to the end of the lane. He peered out into the quiet street on the other side, checking for suspicious activity. Then we jogged across the road and into a sprawling park I hadn’t realized was here.

A line of trees stood along this edge of the park, and in less than a minute, I could no longer see the street behind us. My shoulders came down, my nerves soothed by the knowledge that no one would spot us unless they specifically came looking for us here. And there was no way Doom’s Seed could guess we’d have taken this little side-trip.

“You planned a breakfast picnic in the park?” I asked, still keeping my voice low, although it might not have been necessary. This early in the morning, the park was empty other than a lone jogger who puffed past us on one of the paths.

“This is a step up even from that. You’ll see.”

Slade urged me around another glade of trees, and then I stopped in my tracks, gaping at the structure in front of us.

A large, old-fashioned carousel stood in the middle of the clearing next to the path. Beneath its peaked roof, an assortment of wooden horses gamboled and reared, a few drawing chariots and sleighs, most of them with saddles that had posts through the pommels. The paint was worn, but I could tell from the faded remains that it’d once been vibrant. Here and there, spots shone with gold detailing.

“Wow,” I said, collecting my jaw. “What kind of city park has one of these just sitting here?”

Slade laughed. “The kind of park you’d find in a neighborhood for people this rich, I guess. How’s that for a picnic spot?”

I beamed at him. “Perfect. But where’s the breakfast?”

“All in good time, Piccolina. Why don’t you pick your seat?”

I circled the carousel until I spotted a sleigh that looked large enough to allow us to sit next to each other without getting too cramped. As I settled into the seat, Slade glanced toward the path. He waved to someone and then loped over to meet a skinny man in a windbreaker who’d just emerged from the shelter of the trees, carrying a couple of paper delivery bags.

Slade took the bags from the man with a bright smile and a thank you and carried them back to the sleigh. “Breakfast is served! I had someone from one of those food apps pick it up from a café in the neighborhood so we didn’t have to be seen out there.”

I shook my head at him, but affection tingled through me at how much forethought he’d put into this plan. He’d made what could have been a simple breakfast date into something almost magical amid all the chaos we were facing.

I couldn’t imagine any of the other guys being able to pull that off.

Slade tucked himself in next to me on the seat, propping one foot against the opposite bench, and retrieved the items from the bags with a flourish. “Coffee, yours with plenty of cream and some cinnamon along with the sugar. Breakfast sandwiches in croissants. Fresh cut fruit, and custard pastries for dessert.”

The savory and sweet smells flooded my nose, making my mouth water. “This looks amazing,” I said, taking in the spread he’d laid out on the narrow table between the seats.

“Here’s hoping it tastes at least half as good,” Slade said with a twinkle in his eye.

I leaned over to claim a swift kiss. “I’m sure it does. Thank you.”

His expression softened, and he touched my cheek. “You deserve this. We haven’t had much chance to spoil you—much chance to do anything except make sure no one’s shooting you down, in a while. This is what our life should look like. What it will look like, when we’ve gotten through this rough patch. I wanted to give you a preview so you know what you have to look forward to.”

I hadn’t known my heart could swell with any more love than it already had, but right then, I felt close to bursting. I twined my fingers with his and squeezed them tightly before turning back to our food. “We’d better dig in while the sandwiches are still warm. I’m starving.”

Slade unwrapped one sandwich and handed it to me, his fingers brushing mine, his shoulder resting companionably against me. When the buttery croissant melted on my tongue, mingling with the creaminess of the egg and cheese within and the tartness of the sliced tomato, I almost swooned. He’d chosen well.

“This is delicious,” I told him, snuggling a little closer. “You get full points.”

His eyes sparkled. “The only win I need is having you here with me.”

We both made short work of our sandwiches and then discovered that the sliced fruit was all in the same container. Slade jabbed the plastic fork into a chunk of pineapple and held it toward me. “Allow me.”

---