Drink Me

51. GOLD DIGGER

GOLD DIGGER

Screw Jimmy Hoffa's whereabouts or Jack the Ripper's identity and the hell with the Bermuda Triangle too; the real mystery was E and her unwillingness to be clear about her intentions.

Why had she kissed him? Why had she shown up at his hotel or visited him at the hospital? And why didn't she want Smith to know? Did she regret their moment of intimacy? Was it all just another game to her?

The woman was confusing and misleading to say the least but here he was again, filling his mind with distracting questions as he almost crossed the intersection on a red light.

Thankfully the street was empty and Riley had stopped just past the white line, blaming the mistake on the arsenic still in his system. It was a lame excuse, but he preferred lying to himself than admitting that Alice was once again the centre of his obsessive thoughts. Eventually, he managed to pull into Caroline's driveway without any further infractions.

The woman had asked to see him after work and Riley hoped she had some news about the person who'd tried to kill him or any juicy information in general. He surely needed some good news.

When he rang the bell Maria opened the door, her smile kind as she welcomed him inside and left to call Caroline.

Riley wandered into the living room where Edward was lying on the sofa, tucked under a blanket reading a book, The Hobbit.

"Hey, Eddy, how are you, man?" Riley asked, sitting on the armchair next to the boy.

Edward closed his book and welcomed Riley with a warm smile. "I'm doing very good," he said. "Although mum won't let me do anything fun..." he added with disappointment.

Riley's eyebrow knotted to mirror the boy's frustration.

"Well, she wants to be sure you're a hundred percent well. She cares about you," he explained, looking into those eyes that were Aidan's.

"I guess," Edward replied. "Aidan said you were in the hospital too?"

"Yes, I was," Riley admitted. "And I didn't even get any Jell-O, what's with that?" he added with wide eyes, causing Edward to chuckle.

"Did they pierce you with a thousand needles too?" the boy asked again, his grin now vanished from his face.

Riley nodded. "Yup, they sure did."

Edward's face fell a little. "I hate needles," he admitted in a whisper. "I know I should be brave but they really scare me."

Riley took in the boy's discouraged face, realising how much he cared about him although he had only recently found out he was family.

He leaned closer. "I hate needles too," he murmured. "And I was told you were very brave. I mean, I only had a bad tummy but you, buddy, you're a strong man!"

At that, the boy smiled, delighted by Riley's words and the man tousled his hair, matching his grin.

"Mr Murphy, Mrs Perry is ready to see you," Maria declared walking into the living room.

Riley stood and waved goodbye to Edward but as he made his way out of the room, the boy called after him. Riley stopped in his tracks and turned to the kid whose face was pensive, almost unsure of what he was about to say.

"Riley, are you dating my mum?" he asked eventually.

Oh boy.

Riley took a few steps back to the sofa. "No, Eddy. Why do you ask?"