Page 59 of Emeric

Both Jordan and I stared at him, although for different reasons. Jordan had to wonder what the fuck was happening, considering this was a serious task and Sheldon was talking about being more environmentally friendly. I was wondering when she gave him those bags, and why I didn’t have any.

“What? I can’t have a shopping bag?” he asked.

“You’re not going to be shopping,” our boss seethed.

“If you think I can’t take out a piece of shit trying to hurt Sylvan while holding a bag of apples, tomatoes, and hopefully some fresh cheese, you really underestimate me. Besides, I wouldn’t have to worry about you killing me; Ollie would if anything happened to one of his men.” I wouldn’t kill him. I couldn’t. He was a brother to me. I would make his life a living hell for the rest of his days though. Whatever Jordan would do to him would seem like a fucking party compared to what I would put him through.

“If I had someone I could trust to take over this business, I would hand it over. That way, you’d be their problem and not mine!”

“There’s still time to do that.”

Sheldon must have realized he’d gone too far because he rolled his lips inward and took two measurable steps back until he ran into the kitchen counter. The shopping bags were clutched to his chest like a shield.

“Sir, when do we leave?” I asked to try to get us back on track.

When Jordan turned to face me, Sheldon slowly went into the kitchen and lowered to the floor, out of sight. I wanted to laugh. It was right there, bubbling up my throat. Somehow, I held it in.

“Half an hour. I’m also sending Kayli with you. She’s been itching for something to do. With Lawson leading the investigation into the person after Emeric, she asked me to give her work since his is boring and she can’t help. I swear to all that is good, every fucking one of you makes me lose a little more of my sanity daily.”

“Sorry, sir. We’ll be ready to go when Vail and Sylvan are.” It was better to end this conversation before it got any worse.

Jordan nodded and stared Sheldon down as he took his exit. Sheldon didn’t stand again until the door closed behind Jordan.

“I’m still taking these bags,” he said.

“There are days when I wonder what you’ll say next to piss him off and others when I sit back and enjoy the ride as it plays out in front of me.”

“The ride is always worth it though.” He winked.

“I have no idea why Forest loves you so much.”

“You don’t need to. All that matters is he does, and he’s never leaving me because I’ll follow him wherever he goes, whether he wants me to or not.”

I was about to call him a stalker, but then I realized I would probably do the same thing for the men I was with, and I hadn’t been with them long.

“Jordan should add new interview questions when he brings guards on,” I said. “How possessive are you over the things you love, people or treasured items? Would you stalk your loved one if need be, or simply felt like it? Do you know what boundaries are? How do you like your coffee?”

“What’s with the coffee question?”

“Gotta keep them on their toes. We don’t need anyone suspicious working with us.”

He nodded. “I see. You can tell a lot about a person by what hot beverage they drink and how it’s prepared.” Honestly, I didn’t give it that much thought. I felt like throwing in a question that didn’t go with the rest. Sheldon ran with it and acted as if it were perfectly normal.

“Do you really need anything at the farmers’ market?” I asked.

“No, but I’ll end up seeing something I want to buy and won’t have a bag to put it in. This way I’m prepared. I could always put some knives in here for fun. Then if I don’t buy anything, the bag still has a purpose.”

“I often wonder what an outsider would think if they heard our conversations.”

“Ask Arden. He’s heard all kinds of shit from me. Sometimes, I like to challenge myself to see how long it will take for his eyes to bug out. It used to be easy to do. Now that he’s been here for a while helping us, he’s becoming desensitized to what we do. I see it as a challenge. One I readily accept.”

“And yet we found people who want to be in relationships with us. You realize the odds of that, right? We’re not Jordan with a ton of money, guards protecting us, and multiple businesses. We’re just the guards. No one looks at us for long, out of fear we might hurt them.”

Sheldon grinned. “I like how you’re starting to list the fun parts of the job. Keep it up. I have my own to add, like when I’m brought in to calm a person down, only to kill them with one of my poisons. They think I’m nice and have their back since I talk to them the way I do. Lies, all of it. I’m the killer.”

My phone vibrated, a text from Vail letting me know he was ready. The conversation I had with Sheldon would have to continue another time. “Grab your bags,” I told Sheldon. “Time to go.”

We exited my apartment to find Vail and Sylvan waiting in the hallway.