Devil's Due [h.s.]

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"C'mon." I teased, massaging the red welts at the top of my cheeks left by the goggles. "Admit it. You had fun."

Harry rolled his eyes, balling the coveralls he'd just taken off in his hands and grabbing his gun from the bench. "I'm not admitting anything," he said, tucking the weapon back into the waistband of his pants.

"You had fun." I affirmed, more to myself than him, throwing my own coveralls on the bench. Harry picked them up, squishing them together with his own. His eyes were on me while I leaned forward to re-do my bun before adjusting my turtleneck and swinging my purse over my shoulder.

"What am I doing with these?" He asked, holding up the clothing in his hands.

"We'll bring 'em up front," I responded, grabbing both sets of our goggles and starting back down the hall toward the front of the building. He fell in step behind me, his boots stomping heavily against the linoleum flooring.

"There they are," Maggie greeted us as we stepped through to the front room. She set down her pen and the few pieces of paper that she'd been looking over on the desk, before swivelling in her chair in our direction. "You two have fun?"

"We had lots of fun," I responded for the both of us, setting the goggles down on and bracing my hands on the edge of the table. "I think Mr. Harry over here enjoyed himself, whether he's willing to admit it or not."

As if on cue, Harry awkwardly cleared his throat before stepping forward and placing the coveralls on the table beside me. His chest brushed against my shoulder and I felt his body vibrate as he managed in a low voice, "Thanks."

"Wow," I blew out a small breath, pulling away from Harry, trying not to dwell on the warmth of him, and instead directed my attention to Maggie. "A thanks. Better than I've ever gotten."

"Glad you enjoyed yourself, Harry." Maggie grinned over my shoulder, eyes dancing between the two of us briefly. She tapped a finger on the table, leaning back a bit in her chair.

"Do we have to pay?" Harry's voice spoke from behind me.

I turned toward him with a frown – a little taken aback that he'd both thanked the girl before us and was now being courteous enough to ask if we had to reimburse her for the time we'd spent here. Maybe I should bring him here more often. Harry met my eye with a small shrug.

"Nah, don't worry about that." I turned back to see Maggie waving her arm in front of her. She got up from her seat and took a step toward us, placing her hand over top of mine to give it a small squeeze. "Never any charge for my girl Riv."

"Thanks, Maggie." I turned my palm upwards, looping my fingers through hers and giving a squeeze back. "I'll come around more to visit, I promise."

"I'm holding you to that!" She laughed, releasing me and jerking her chin toward Harry. "Maybe I should get Bond to bring you in at gunpoint." With a small one-armed hug, she added, "I'll see you."

"Promise," I said again, giving her a small smile before making my way toward the door. Harry didn't say anything else, but he followed behind me while I made my way out and materialized at my side once we were back out in the parking lot.

"She doesn't care that I have a gun." He stated. I had a feeling it was supposed to be more of a question, but it had come out sounding like a remark.

I glanced over at him. "No, she..." I shrugged a shoulder, digging through my purse to find my keys. "She deals with a lot of different people at this place. Most of them have come from rough upbringings or have criminal records. As long as you're polite and directing your anger in a safe manner like she wants people to do here, she won't judge or make any assumptions. She understands that life is shitty and that it's hard for people who are constantly looked at like a villain."