Page 20 of Shield and Savior
He looks at me for support, realizing he stepped into something neither one of us was expecting. I shoot him with finger guns. “Plus, you’ll get to dress like a Mongol warrior with those cool hats and fuzzy pants. Comfort and extra layers of armor.”
“I’m sure Nonna has some fabric we can use.” She moves the pasta off the stove and drains the water, the steam rising from the sink creating a smokey mist around her. For a second, she’s a warrior herself in her kitchen.
Looking in the cabinet, she pulls out three plates. But she lingers for a long moment, continuing to stare at the one remaining plate. She jumps a little when I clear my throat. “Only one of us can eat breakfast tomorrow,” she says.’
“Or I can wash the plates while you’re sleeping. Like your own personal cleaning elf.” I take the plates from her and start serving the food while she stares at me like I am completely insane. I’ve been getting that look a lot from this family.
A few hours later, I sit on the left side of the couch while Nessie sits on the other. Her lips tighten, and she has a far off look in her eyes. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She shakes herself back to reality and resumes her normal smile. “Do you want to watch anything? Have you caught up onThe Knights of the Night?”
“I don’t watch it, but my roommate does.”
“Roommate? No girlfriend?” She snickers and pulls a throw pillow across her chest.
I shake my head no. “The job doesn’t leave a lot of time for a personal life.”
I never thought of how it would appear when she moved in. Alana needed some place to stay, and I had an extra room. We’ve been together ever since. Maybe it’s finally time for us to claim our own space. It seems weird to be in my thirties and still sharing a bathroom with a woman I’m not sleeping with. But really, I don’t think she can handle being alone.
“As I was saying, my roommate watches. I’ve seen a few scenes here and there. And of course, there are all the memes I sort of understand and laugh at like I’m completely in the know.”
The couch sinks as she reaches for the remote. “Why don’t you search the place for ninjas while I set it up? We’ll go in chronological order, not the order of release.”
It’s not a bad idea. It’s been about an hour since my last check. I’m not this paranoid around Honey Badger. I don’t know why I’m so concerned about Nessie.
By the time I’m done checking the rooms and the outside cameras for anything suspicious, she’s got the show going. Five minutes in, there’s a battle where someone is choking his enemy with his own intestines. Twenty minutes in, there’s a cute fuzzy pet thing that lies on the lap of the queen and shoots daggers out of its butt. By the time the credits roll, I’m hooked.
Crap. Now I have to tell Alana she’s right.
Nessie yawns. “I’m off to bed.” She stands and stretches, arching her back.
My fingers flex against my own willpower. “I’ll be here.”
“Night, Lance.”
“Night, Izzy.”
ChapterTen
Lance
One week into this assignment and already it’s become my favorite one. Twenty minutes from my apartment, it makes the commute the easiest of my career. I mean that’s got to be the reason why I like it. Right? Less traffic. Yeah. No other reasons.
Champ submitted the rough draft of his wax museum paper after researching Mongolian warriors. He thinks they’re badasses, but still doesn’t want to talk in front of the class. I can’t blame him at all. Public speaking sucks.
Sitting at the breakfast bar, he’s wobbling a pencil between his fingers like a little metronome. He puckers out his lips and rests the pencil on his upper lip, giving himself a mustache.
It’s the post dinner quiet time, except it’s loud with crashing pots and pans. I dry the dinner plates with a soggy blue and white checkered dish towel. Izzy finally stopped giving me the side-eye whenever I stepped in. Light housework isn’t in the job description—and I never had to do it for Honey Badger who had a private chef and cleaning service—but I didn’t have the desire to jump in before now. The lines are blurry in this job. At first, I helped out because Izzy was so overwhelmed, stepping in felt natural. But now, it’s become routine.
It’s only been a few days, but I like it. “Hey Lance, who did you work with before us?” Champ asks, removing his pencil from his lips and tapping it on the counter.
“Mostly celebrities.” I add, “Unlike your mom, they like the way I look in a suit.”
The noise in the kitchen stills, the lack of clanging brutally absent. Izzy’s been trying to figure out the best location for her pots and pans in this kitchen. She’s moved them around at least five times already. Right now, she’s putting them back under the stove, where she had them the first time. “That’s not why…” she starts, but sighs and resumes slamming the pots around.
Champ asks, “Which do you like better?”
“This. No contest.” It’s true, and it surprises me. This job doesn’t have the private jets and gourmet food, but it’s a million times better. “No red carpets, no paparazzi, no crazy fans. Plus, you guys are more fun.”