What Haunts Me by Margaret Millmore Page B

away when my uninvited guest started pounding on the door as well as leaning on the bell. I realized, unhappily, that it had to be Billy; Justine would never be that rude.
    I checked the peephole, confirmed the identity of my unwanted visitor, and yanked the door open. “Damn-it woman! What is your problem? I'm trying to sleep!”
    She shouldered past me and went to the living room without a word. I followed her in and watched her pick up my whiskey glass and sniff its contents. I'd fallen asleep after one sip, so it was mostly full. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “It's almost noon, so you need to be up anyway. Don't ya think it's a bit early for this?” she said as she waved the glass in my direction.
    I snatched the glass from her and headed to the kitchen, and she followed. While I made coffee, I could feel her eyes on my back. I only had on my wrinkled khakis from the night before and suddenly felt conscious of my naked upper body. Don't get me wrong, I was a strapping young man, and thought I looked pretty good shirtless. But I could actually feel her staring and it wasn't a pleasant sensation. When I turned to look at her, she had a satisfied grin on her face that said she was well aware of how uncomfortable she was making me. I left the room to find a t-shirt, and when I returned she was pouring two cups of coffee. I added cream and sugar to mine and went back to the living room.
    She followed again with her own cup in hand, but didn't sit. Instead she began to walk around the room, looking at the books on the bookshelf, scrutinizing my artwork and furnishings, and saying absolutely nothing. When I couldn't take anymore, I said, “What do you want Billy? Is Justine all right?”
    “She's fine, just a bit tired. Last night took a lot out of her.”
    It had taken a lot out of me too, which was why I wanted her to leave so I could go back to sleep. “Okay, then answer my first question,” I snapped.
    She had been looking out the window and now she turned to me and scowled. “Are you always such an ass?”
    I scowled back and said, “Glass houses Billy, ever hear that saying?”
    She laughed cynically and said, “You grew up in a nice household with loving parents. I, on the other hand, did not, and have earned the right to be a bitch. I'm good at it; don't try and take that away from me.”
    I should have been surprised that she knew anything about my childhood, but I wasn't. I guessed that Justine must have filled her in. But I did find her comment amusing and a bit disarming, so I laughed and leaned back comfortably on the sofa while motioning her to the nearest chair, which she ignored.
    “There's a lot we didn't cover last night, and you're on Vokkel's radar now, so you need to know some things.” She paused and angled her head slightly. “How did you connect with him anyway?”
    I narrowed my eyes and asked in less than a polite tone, “You mind if I take a shower before we get into all of this?”
    She shrugged dismissively and said, “Sure, I'll just riffle through your belongings while I wait.” Her amusement turned her eyes just a bit brighter and I sighed resignedly.
    “Fine, don't break anything,” I said as I left the room.
    My shower was quick and cold. I wanted to jump start my brain with a little temperature shock, and I also didn't want to leave Billy alone for too long, as I had no doubt that she'd do just what she said. Once I was dry and properly attired in jeans, a fresh t-shirt, and tennis shoes, I headed to the living room to find out what the little vixen had been up to. She wasn't there, but the clanking of pots and pans and the delightful scent of bacon was. I followed the sounds and smells to find her in the kitchen making breakfast. Maybe she wasn't that bad after all.
    I leaned against the door-jam with my arms folded across my chest and watched her for a minute. She wore skinny jeans, with tall black boots and a fitted sweater. She had a pretty good figure and I was caught