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“Let’s go. I’m hungry.”
“That’s nothing new,” Seth said.
She laughed. “True.”
They placed their orders at the counter and sat by the window in one of the booths. Autumn sat down opposite Rami. A second later, someone tapped her on her shoulder. When she looked up, she realized her mistake. Seth stood beside the booth on her side, waiting patiently for her to scoot over. She’d chosen this side, thinking keeping her distance from Rami was better. He was flirty, and she didn’t mind that at all. She just didn’t want to give him any ideas.
Now, she was going to be forced to sit next to the man she’d had a dirty dream about the night before.
Autumn hesitated for only a second, but it was long enough for his mouth to lift. Oh, the butthead. He knew she got antsy around him, and he was pushing it. Knowing that and wanting to prove him wrong, she scooted over.
“How long have you been living in Hawaii?” Rami asked.
“This time or before when I lived in the cult?”
For a second, he said nothing, his eyes widening. People always danced around the topic of her past. She didn’t advertise it, but she didn’t hide it either.
“Uhh.”
She snorted. “I moved back to the islands about three years ago. I always planned on doing it, and when the job with TFH came open, I knew it was the perfect job for me where I wanted to live. Ian and Sam weren’t happy, but they’ve learned not to get into my business.”
“Ian and Sam?” Seth asked. She fought a shiver. He had one of those deep baritone voices and this slow way of talking. He drew each syllable out, giving each sound special attention.
“Sam is Ian’s father. He adopted me after I left Joyous Wave.”
She could almost see the wheels turning in his head.
“So, Ian’s like your brother,” Rami commented.
“Heismy brother.”
“And you’re why he moved here?” Seth asked.
She shrugged. “Combination of me living here and Dillon Security offering him a boatload of money.” She stopped talking when the waitress showed up with their food, topping off their coffees. “Also, he’s kind of a nosey Nellie.”
Rami laughed. “I would love to see him when you call him that.”
“How do you know I call him that to his face?”
“I have sisters. That tone,” he pointed at her with his fork. “You definitely called him that to his face.”
She laughed, then dug into her food, enjoying the moco loco she ordered. Her favorite recipe was her own, but if she ate out, she loved Liliha’s. They had an old-school griddle where they cooked the burgers. So good.
“You seemed to be fighting last night,” Seth commented as he ate his egg-white omelet. Really. At a diner. Someone needed to teach the man how to live.
“Yeah, well, we argue a lot. He’s just pissed he can’t control me, so it’s nothing new. He wasn’t happy I did an interview with Jin Phillips.”
“Oh,” Rami said. “About TFH?”
“No. About my time in the cult.”
“Why wouldn’t he want you to talk about that?” Seth asked.
She shrugged, knowing exactly why Ian didn’t want her to put a target on herself. “He’s worried I’ll bring out the crazies. There are stillTrue Believers. And, since the pandemic, true crime docs are all the rage, especially cult ones. He’s worried they’ll come knocking on my door.”
Seth nodded as if understanding.
“So, you two go running on your days off. Lame.”
