Page 8 of The Killer Card

“Para noda,” Clara agrees.

“Buenos Dias, senoritas.” Elias sweeps a hand through his blonde locks. I’ve always found it oddly endearing that he dyes his hair but allows his beard to remain prematurely gray. Inside, another cabinet bangs and his smile falters. “Still?”

“They’ve moved on to her cooking,” I inform him, pulling a hiss from between his teeth.

Elias leans on the window sill, squinting through the screen at the shadowy figures of his fiancée and son. “Princesa,” he calls. “Why don’t you just run into town and grab some of those sandwiches we tried yesterday? Cristian will drive you.”

“We’ll come too!” Clara offers.

“And the girls will go too,” he adds a bit louder. “I was going to grab coffee there anyway. You can just get something for everyone.”

“Thank God.” I set my mug aside. “Because this shit sucks.”

“It comes with the cabin,” Clara explains. “He’s already had management on the phone twice.” I raise a brow. “Lack of firewood,” she adds.

“Poppy?” Elias calls again when his pleas are greeted with silence.

The slider around the other side of the house is thrown open and Nelly comes around the corner in a huff. “Fine. There aren’t enough eggs anyway.”

Elias meets her at the rail, kissing her cheek. “I’ll run out this afternoon,” he promises. Cristian joins us, shoving his feet into a pair of annoyingly bright sneakers. “I’ll send you the address,” his dad tells him. “It’s not too far, maybe ten minutes.”

“I’d drive an hour to not have to eat burnt bacon,” Cristian declares, earning a glare from Nelly.

Elias kisses her head. “Ignore him, Princesa. I like my bacon crispy.”

“Deja la embustería,” Cristian scoffs.

Elias twists Nelly’s ponytail around his finger, giving his son a too wide smile. “Deja la, que se va a encojoner.”

“Lo que sea por la novia,” Clara chimes in.

Nelly growls, pushing past Elias to grab my hand, pulling me down the porch steps to the car. “You can all stop talking about me now! Come on, Cris, I’m hungry.”

“Obvio,” Cristian mutters.

“Go,” Elias chuckles. “Bring me back a coffee and a sausage, egg, and cheese please.”

“Should we bring back something for—”

“Yeah,” Cristian cuts Nelly off as he climbs into the SUV. “I’ll handle it.”

Clara climbs in after me and, ignoring the suddenly awkward tension. Instead, I turn to ask her, “Where’s your other half this morning?”

Cristian and Clara exchange a long look in the rearview mirror before Nelly- oblivious to their silent conversation- turns around in her seat with a beaming smile.

“He’s picking Graham up from the airport.”

Clara’s face meets her palm and Cristian sighs deep enough to rustle the trees. But I remain perfectly placid. After all, Cristian did tell me he would be getting in this morning. He’d stayed behind to shut down El Rincón. It makes sense that Rowan would just go get him rather than have him rent a whole other vehicle.

“Of course.” I force a smile. “Where’s he staying? With you?” I ask Clara, maybe a bit too hopeful.

Her blue eyes soften. “No, he’s—”

“With us!” Nelly bounces in her seat. “Oh! That reminds me!” She’s turned back to her phone before she can see my smile crumble. “I need to tell Eli to get the booze when he goes to the store later. Graham promised he’d make drinks with dinner tonight. I want him to make those chocolate shots he’s so good at—”

“Hey, P,” Cristian interrupts. “I have no idea where I’m going. Could you maybe focus, please?”

“He sent you the place. Just connect your phone to the car—”