Laughing, I also took my fork to the piece of blueberry pie. I let her eat her fill of whatever her heart desired and hoped to God Martha didn’t come back around to yank me into the back for an interrogation.

After a beat comfortable silence of watching her eat, I glanced at the time on my watch. I needed to decompress before Reaper got back to me with who knows what in his report.. At least I could count on him for a good clean up job. The Dictator would be expecting me with the information we got soon.

I leaned forward, closing the distance between us just enough to drop my voice to a low, husky whisper. “Ready to go, Blondie?” I wrapped a strand of her pale blonde hair around my finger, holding eye contact with her. She looked nervous to be that close to me and her breath shortened just enough for me to notice.

It was cute before she pulled back and tried to compose herself, rubbing her newly formed goosebumps. “Only if you promise me delivery next time.”

Cocking my head to the side in curiosity, I gave her a half smile. She held out her pinky to me in an attempt to seal the promise. Oh, if she knew the things that were included in the promises I made... I latched her pinky with mine and promptly dragged her out the front door–not giving Martha the chance to flag me down.

“Hey!” she protested, pulling her finger from mine.

“I needed a smoke,” I said, catching her pinky with mine again. She wouldn’t get away from me that easily.

Popping a cigarette in my mouth one handed, she watched me with her mouth open again. If she wasn’t careful, I’d take full advantage of it right there in the open parking lot. She watched me with such strange curiosity as I lit it up and took a long first drag to clear my mind of the day’s events.

Little did she know, I didn’t plan to leave just yet. Anytime I went for a bite at the diner, I liked to truly clear my mind at the nearby cliffside. Some days I contemplated jumping off and other days I just liked the view. Maybe I’ll jump off and drag you with me, I thought.

Still holding onto that soft little finger of hers, I dragged her across the parking lot and into the forested wall that had a trail leading to my serene cliffside. The thick foliage concealed us and she was quietly trailing behind me while the only sounds were the crunching beneath our feet and the crackle of the cigarette I was smoking. What? No smart ass comments?