Sweet Reckoning(64)

“Touchy-feely?” I offered pointedly. A few chuckles rose and died around the room.

Dad actually turned his head to me and gave an embarrassed laugh.

“My bad. Still getting used to this body.”

Apparently, Big Rotty had had some affectionate mannerisms. He was known for being a reformed player as well as a gangster, after all.

Patti ran her hands over her hair, getting ahold of herself. “Well, I’m glad the scare’s over. Everyone come back in and sit down. It’s almost dessert time. Who wants pie?” she called over her shoulder as she headed toward the kitchen.

“Aw, hell yeah!” Dad said, grinning wide as he strutted in his way to the family room.

All of us stood there stunned for a moment before following. Jay wore his same goofy look of awe as he gazed after my father.

This was going to take some getting used to.


“So, where’d you get the money to stop and buy clothes?” I asked Dad.

We were all sitting around the family room, plates of different pies on our laps. Except Patti, who was too nervous or freaked out to eat.

“Before I ditched my old body, I stashed money in a locker at Union Station. That’s another reason I needed to get a new body in D.C.”

“Maybe if you change your look just a bit, sir,” Marna suggested. “Wear something that Big Rotty might not’ve worn?”

“Yeah,” Dad said, nodding. “Get myself a suit. Straight-up gent.” When he grinned, I could see exactly how he’d earned himself a reputation with the ladies. He had a famous scar above his eye from a knife fight, and a scar on his neck from a bullet graze, but he had a roguish handsomeness that made you want to stare.

“I can take your measurements,” Patti offered. “We’ll send one of these guys out to get you some clothes.”

“I will go for him,” Kopano said.

“Perfect.” Patti grabbed the remote and turned on the television. “Let’s see if they mention anything about this on the news.”

So far there was nothing. Maybe the police were keeping it quiet.

I looked down at Kaidan’s empty plate. He’d had three pieces of pie: cherry, pumpkin, and apple.

“Which pie was your favorite?” I whispered in his ear.

His eyes hit mine and I felt my neck heating, the warmth spreading up to my face. All at once we both realized Dad was watching us, giving Kaidan a murderous glare.

Kaidan quickly amended. “Erm, key lime was my favorite, luv.”

“Oh,” I said.

Dad looked away and Kaidan shot me a big-eyed “oops” glance. I choked back a laugh. Patti came up behind us and kissed Kai’s head.

“How you doing, son?” she asked.

He gave her a boyish smile and said, “Very well, thanks.” She pushed hair from his eyes before moving along.

“So, tell me what’s been going on around here,” Dad said to me. “You seen Pharzuph again?”

“No,” I told him. “Nothing’s happened since you came to my dorm room.”

“When’d you see Pharzuph?” Blake asked.

I told them about the surprise visit and Pharzuph’s new body.

“Yeah, brah,” Blake said to Kaidan. “We’ve both inherited fortunes and new-looking daddies we haven’t even seen yet. How many people get to say that?”

“Awkward,” Jay said. “Acko taco . . .”

“With a side of guaco,” Marna finished, and they chuckled together.

“You haven’t seen your father’s new body yet?” Jay asked Blake.

“Nah. Probably won’t now that he lives in China, and that’s fine with me.”

“Do you have any news?” I asked Dad.

He shook his head. “I just know they’re having a summit tonight in Switzerland. Still got my boys looking in on the son of Shax to see if he’s ally material. He seems legit, but I’m not sendin’ you to have words with him till I know for sure. How’d he seem when you met him?”

Everyone looked at me, and I thought about it.

“Well, compared to creepy Caterina, he seemed normal, but I still wouldn’t turn my back on him. He’s slick.”

Dad nodded, and ran a hand over his do-rag. “I was hopin’ to have more allies by this point. I think we all know it’s going down soon.”

We sat quietly, an intensity blanketing the room. It felt like things were happening too fast.