[If he were in a better mood, he might make the attempt to appreciate her humor on the matter. Did she not realize that he was keenly aware of the writing on the wall, and that he had pondered his options just murdering the boy over and over? Or worse, mutilate him? He wondered if she had any idea that her previous little sparks of interest just disappeared?]

I'm aware of your dalliances with him. You make little, if any, secret of it.

[He kept himself 'busy' at the stovetop longer than strictly necessary, needing something to occupy his hands that wasn't a cigar or a drink.]

He arrived back and, as usual, meddled in affairs not his own.

[Why yes, it was all Ekko's fault. He considered and then immediately discounted the notion that it was some deep mutual attraction. No, that was something he couldn't allow himself to accept; it meant he was another step closer to losing her.]