Chapter 36

“We’re dining with Justin Lawrence, not the fuckin’ Prince of Persia. Besides, half of his guests are people you actually kinda like.”

“False.” I finish my shoe and straighten out, folding my arms and scowling at… nothing. At the carpet, maybe. “I don’t like anybody. Your logic is flawed.”

“You like me.” He exhales a gentle breath, like he knows it calms me. Like he’s aware just how calming the sound is to my nervous system. The only time I ever get to hear it with this exact cadence is when we lie in bed together, and we’re on the verge of sleep. “Get up, Minka. Leave our bedroom. Walk to Justin’s before you’re late.”

Narrowing my eyes, I search our room for a sneaky little camera. “Are you watching me?”

“No.”

“Then how could you know exactly where I am?”

“Because I know you, and even if you’re loud and enthusiastically unenthusiastic about dinner at the mayor’s, you still knew it was coming, which is why you made sure to leave the office today on time. You kick and scream and pretend you want nothing to do with that man, but just like Steve, he parents you, and the little girl inside you craves that love and attention the way Sophia Solomon craves sugar. Steve is the good cop, the sweet hugs, the sly winks, the ‘you can have dessert for dinner’ parent.”

I scoff.

“Justin’s the mean cop, the ‘you’ll obey your curfew, young lady’, eat your greens, go to bed at a reasonable hour, disciplinarian parent. They’re so fucking different, it’s laughable, but their similarities are that they both want what’s best for you, and you were the kid who grew up kinda alone. You don’t dislike Justin, babe, you’re just going through your teenage rebellion phase,finally, and he won’t let you get away with your bullshit. Steve’s who you go to when you wanna act like a brat and have someone tell you it’s okay.”

“False.” I snatch up my phone and push away from the bed, taking our call off speaker and stomping across our room. Because it’s not false at all. “Steve’s colluding with Justin, just so you know, because he and Mary made sure to select a bottle of wine so I couldn’t keep using empty hands as an excuse not to go.Andthey prepared dinner… but only enough for the two of them.” I swing my door open and scowl at Harrison’s smug grin. “Shut up.”

“Me?” Archer questions. “You’re telling me to shut up?”

“No, I’m telling my shadow to shut up, because I already dismissed him for today, and now he’s doing this weird thing with his face.” I turn and continue along the hall. “I was counting on you being here, Archer. Like…” I lower my voice and start down the stairs. “The thought of going to that house already makes me sweat. But goingalone?”

“Fletch already picked Mia up and took her home so they could getchanged. He said he’ll be there on time, so if you’re feeling so put out by it all, stand at Justin’s front door and wait for them. You can walk in together.”

“Don’t think I won’t,” I grumble. “Where’s Cato, anyway? He could?—”

“Walk with you? Good idea.”

“Actually, I meant he could goforme, then he could tell them I caught a nasty case of Ebola, and the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution forbids me from leaving my isolation chamber.” I come around the last landing and stare straight into Mary’s eyes. She must’ve gone to finishing school or something, I swear, because she has this air of sophistication they never taught me throughout all my antisocial years huddled inside my parents’ living room. She has this way of carrying herself, of straightening her spine and making me feel like a scolded child with just a look.

Groaning, I finish my descent and accept the bottle of wine clasped firmly in her hand, then with a fast, insincere, “thanks,” I cut left and push through the front door. From icy air to the slap of a warm August evening.Bleh. “Why are you running late?”

“Because we’re just finishing up with Josey’s ex-boyfriend.”

“If you have time to call me, that means you’re done. If you’re done, you should’ve just gotten in your car and come home. Now this phone call is pushing you back an extra five minutes, which means I’m heading toward a dinner I don’t wanna go to, and you don’t even have the good manners to escort me in.” I emerge on the other side of the small wrought-iron gates shielding our front door and look out at the massive driveway where a handful of cars already sit.

As those same two guards from earlier look me up and down, I glance over my shoulder and find my third.Theodore Harrison.Theman who knew he wasn’t done with work for the day.Exhaling a tired sigh, I consider my options: trudge straight across our lawn, climb the fence, maybe topple clumsily into Justin’s yard, or walk the length of our driveway and risk twisting my ankle throughout my angry little stride.

“This way, Doctor Mayet.” Harrison moves ahead of me and opens the back door to a shiny black SUV. “I can drive you.”

“Next door?” I grumble. And yet, I lower my shoulders and climb onto the luxurious leather seat. “Archer, I’m drivingnext door. That is so incredibly lazy and dumb.”

“I told you to walk,” he chuckles. “Now you look foolish. Also, Banks is finishing up with the ex now. As soon as he shuts his fuckin’ mouth and gets a wriggle on, I can drop him off at the station. Then I’m on my way to you.”

Scowling, I set the wine on the seat beside my thigh, and as Harrison closes my door, I fix my seatbelt and ignore the fact we’re driving…next door.So fucking ridiculous. “Why are you waiting for Drake? In fact, why is Fletch already done for the day, but you aren’t?”

“Because Fabian’s trying to teach me a lesson.” He releases an unhappy growl.Finally! Join me on this journey of rage.“He says he’s sick of me and Banks arguing all the time, so he’s locking us together and forcing us to work the case. If we don’t sort our shit out soon, he’s gonna make thingswayworse.”

“Okay, well…” I glance out the tinted windows and study the horizon now that the sun is finally lowering. “He’s actually pretty nice… ya know…” I scratch the back of my neck. “If you talk to him without cussing him out and stuff.”

“He’s a fuckin’ asshole. Why are we talking about me anyway? I was calling to make sureyoushow up at the mayor’s dinner table.”

I roll my eyes. “Not a helpful segue, Detective. Any updates on Josey’s case?”

Ihearhim shrug. “Haven’t found who did it yet, but we’re steadily making our way through who didn’t. If we keep this up, we might rule out the entire human population in three to five business years. Maybe then Fabian will acknowledge that Banks and I are not a good fit. If Fletch and I were working it, we’d be done by now.”

“Doesn’t speak well of your skills, Detective Malone.” I focus on teasing my husband andnoton the fact that Harrison brings us out of our driveway, onto the road, and then into the next driveway a mere few seconds later. “If you and Banks can’t find a killer, but you and Fletch can, perhaps that means Fletch is the one doing all the work?”