The Tangled Web | Peter Parker

Chapter 28

The trial was starting in a few days. That gave us limited time to prepare and brush up on our judicial vernacular. Eddie had rescheduled our meeting with his lawyer informant, Nelson, for this evening. He spent most of the day reminding me that we were only meeting with him tonight to ask questions about the case and that I was not to bring up speaking directly with Connors. I promised Eddie countless times that I wouldn't bring up the interview. Little did he know my fingers were crossed every time I gave him my word.

I held on tightly as Eddie sped through the streets, weaving in and out of traffic in an attempt to make it to the diner on time. We were supposed to have arrived ten minutes ago in hopes of getting there a few minutes before our scheduled meeting. We thought by offering to meet Nelson near his home, it would have been more convenient for him to meet at a decent time.

Eddie had underestimated the amount of time it would take us to get from Queens to Hell's Kitchen and we were cutting it extremely close. We had already canceled on the guy once. If we were late to this meeting, chances were he wouldn't be willing to help us.

Eddie zipped around a corner at an intense speed, causing the bike to lean and nearly collapse straight into the pavement. He quickly regained control of the motorcycle and rolled his shoulders back. He stretched his neck from side to side, attempting to act casual as if he hadn't just almost sent us to our deaths by his poor driving.

He directed his bike toward a small diner placed between two large buildings. The inside was dimly lit and appeared to be empty. Eddie parked his motorcycle on the curb and shut off the engine.

"Told you we'd make it on time," he exhaled, a smirk tugging at his lips as he looked at me over his shoulder.

I leaned forward, close to his face, and scowled. "We're ten minutes late," I stated, narrowing my eyes. "And you almost killed us on that turn back there," I mumbled as I pushed off the back of his bike and regained my balance on the sidewalk.

"Almost kill- excuse me?" Eddie gasped, bringing his hand to his chest to let me know he was offended by my statement. He shook his head while he swung his leg over the seat of his bike and walked to where I was standing. "Don't get me wrong, the thought's crossed my mind plenty of times, sweetheart," he grumbled, his face only a few inches away from mine. "But that back there," he exclaimed, pointing at the street, "that was grade-A driving. I was in control the entire time." He was now standing so close, I could smell his aftershave and the cool spearmint of the gum he was chewing.

Without breaking eye contact with him, I unbuckled the helmet that I was still wearing and slid it over my head. "Call it what you want," I taunted as I shoved the helmet into his stomach and brought my mouth to his ear. "But I call it reckless," I whispered while clapping my hand on his arm once before turning to walk toward the diner.

Eddie let out a frustrated breath and followed behind me. "I am many things," he said, sounding winded, "but reckless is not one of them."

I opened the door to the diner and turned around to glare at him dully. He was standing with his hands on his hips, eyebrows raised, and had a smug look on his face. I rolled my eyes and entered the restaurant.

It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the low light of the diner. Despite it being late, there were still a few customers lingering in the small space.

"Just two tonight?" a woman standing behind the counter called.

"Three, actually," Eddie corrected, slightly tilting his chin in the air.

"Take a seat wherever," the woman nodded. "I'll be with you in a minute."

"Thanks," I said to her quietly as I made my way to one of the stools positioned at the counter.