By a Thread (Page 9)

"Thanks. I’ve never been happier."

Callie finally noticed me watching them, and her eyes flicked from me to Bria and back again. "Hey, who’s your friend?"

Friend? Bria and Callie talked all the time, from what my sister said. Surely, Bria had told her about me – right?

Bria hesitated. She sat back down on her stool to buy herself a few more seconds to answer, and I could almost see the wheels turning in her mind as she decided exactly what to say about me. "This is Gin, my . . . sister."

Callie frowned. "But I thought that all your family was dead. Your foster parents and your birth family."

Bria gave her a tight smile. "I did too, until a few months ago. Things have . . . changed since then."

Well, I supposed that was one way of putting it. I stared at Bria, but she wouldn’t meet my eyes.

The seconds ticked by, with only the conversation of the other diners and the clatter of their dishes to fill in the silence. When it became obvious that Bria wasn’t going to offer any more explanation about who I was and where I’d come from, Callie cleared her throat and held out her hand to me.

"Please forgive me for being rude and not introducing myself. Callie Reyes."

"Gin Blanco." I shook her hand. She had a strong grip, and her fingers were warm from the heat of the kitchen.

"Gin?" she asked.

I held up my gin and tonic and shook the glass, rattling the ice cubes and slice of lime inside. "Gin. Like the liquor."

"I see. So what do you do, Gin? Are you a cop like Bria is?"

Bria gasped and choked on the hush puppy that she’d just popped into her mouth. She made a few strangled sounds before she was able to swallow. Looked like my nighttime activities were something else Bria hadn’t told her best friend about.

Callie frowned. "Are you okay? Do you need some water?"

"No, I’m fine," Bria wheezed, taking a sip of her mojito. "Just fine."

Her lips tightened, and she sat up straight on her stool, tension gathering in her shoulders. She didn’t look at me, even though I was right next to her.

For the first time, I realized that my sister was actually embarrassed by me – ashamed, even. Well, not by me exactly, but by the fact that I was the Spider. That I was an assassin. That I’d killed as many people as she’d arrested as a cop. Sure, I still killed people, but usually only to protect my friends, family, or myself. I didn’t slice and dice for money anymore. No, these days, the only jobs I occasionally took on were for good, decent folks who had problems that no one else could solve. With Mab’s death, I thought that Bria and I had finally moved beyond my bloody past.

Apparently not.

"Actually, I run a restaurant just like you do," I said, finally answering Callie’s question. "The Pork Pit, serving up the best barbecue in Ashland."

The other woman grinned at me. "Well, it’s not barbecue, but I hope that you’ll find the food here to your liking."

My smile was as cold and brittle as hers was warm and friendly. "Oh, I always like to see what the competition’s up to."

Callie knew a half-assed insult when she heard one, and the grin slowly faded from her face. I had to stop myself from wincing. I didn’t often let my emotions get the best of me, but I sounded like a petty, jealous bitch, and I was acting like one too.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your meal," Callie said in a fainter voice. "I’ve got to get back to the kitchen. You know how it is. Bria, I’ll be back just as soon as I get a break. Don’t even think about leaving until we catch up on everything that you’ve been up to in Ashland – and I do mean everything."

Callie stared at me once more before turning, pushing through the swinging doors, and disappearing into the kitchen. As soon as she was out of sight, Bria glared at me.

"What is wrong with you?" she hissed. "That was my friend, my very best friend, and you were rude to her, Gin. Extremely rude. You know how much Callie means to me, how she’s like a sister to me."

Yeah, the sweet, perfect sister that I’m not, I thought. The sister that you wish I was. But I didn’t say the words or tell Bria how much it hurt to see them together, how much it hurt to hear her defend Callie in a way that she had never defended me.

"Sorry," I muttered.

Bria glared at me another second before picking up her fork. Her hands tightened around the silverware as if she wanted to use it to stab me instead of her shrimp scampi. It took her a moment to unclench her fingers enough to start eating.

I just sighed, wondering if everyone had as much fun on vacation as we were having.

All around us, the other diners laughed and talked and joked over their meals, but Bria and I ate in silence, with only the scrape of our forks and knives on the plates to break the ugly, icy quiet between us.

At least the food was excellent, just like my sister had claimed it would be. The perfectly grilled Jamaican chicken had a wonderful jerk seasoning that was just the right blend of spicy and savory and was topped with a kiwi-mango salsa sweetened with honey. The poppyseed bun was homemade and still warm from the oven, while the sweet potato fries were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It was one of the best meals I’d ever had that I hadn’t cooked myself.

Callie dropped by our end of the bar as often as she could, as well as moving through the whole restaurant, serving food, stopping at the tables to see if folks needed anything, and asking after the friends and families of her regulars. Not only was she beautiful and a great cook, but Callie Reyes knew how to work a crowd too. I could see why the Sea Breeze was such a success. Hidden treasure, indeed.

Not only was I jealous of Callie’s relationship with Bria, but I also envied the easy camaraderie Callie had with her customers. If I tried to do the same thing at the Pork Pit, I’d wind up fighting for my life against whatever hoodlum had come by determined to take me out – after he’d eaten my barbecue, of course. No use dying on an empty stomach.

Eventually, the dinner crowd came and went, and the picnic tables outside were deserted for another evening. Only a few folks remained inside the restaurant, lingering over their food. Bria had ordered a slice of key lime pie for dessert, while I had a pineapple pudding that was just as good as everything else had been. I took another bite of the pudding, relishing the sweet tang of the pineapple in my mouth mixed with the creamy filling and graham cracker crust. Yep, I was definitely jealous now.

"Whew!" Callie said, plopping down on the stool on the other side of Bria. "I always forget how crazy things get in the spring. Won’t be long now before the tourists start showing up, and we’ll be slammed with customers all day long. It’s a lot of work, but I would miss it."