Christmas Griffin - Zoe Chant Page 0,80

strand of hair behind her air. “Now try again.”

“Fine.” After all, she’d already checked the—

Delphine caught herself. “I’ve already checked the bedroom, and the bed’s made, so if this turns out to be the terrible idea I think it is, you can lie down in there until your headache goes away.”

“That’s not going to be a problem. Though I can think of another use for the bed.” He looked so pleased with himself that she tsked at him.

“I was thinking that, yes, I do have a job that I need to get back to, but… Mr. Petrakis’s good-karma kick seems to still be holding strong, so he might think that letting me have unlimited time off while he gets fitted for his halo is a good idea, and even if he doesn’t to start with I could probably talk him around to thinking it was his idea in the first place…”

“Just make sure I’m out of earshot when you do that part.”

She peers up at him, searching his face for the hitch. “You’re okay with me talking about misleading someone else?”

“At least you’re being honest about it.” He gives her a crooked smile. “And I should be honest with you, too. You’re not the only one who’s been thinking. I’m leaving the force.”

“What?”

She stepped back, to get a better view of his face and try to decide if he was joking. He couldn’t be lying, but—joking, surely. “After everything you’ve said about how your gift makes you the perfect detective?”

“At the cost of my health, and my griffin’s health.” He ran one hand down his face. “I thought I was doing fine. I told myself I was enough times it’s a miracle I didn’t bench myself from the moment I woke up each day.” He winced and she rushed forwards to place a hand on his temple. “Maybe I did. Maybe it all mixed up together, being around people when they’re busy lying to save their skins or scapegoat someone else’s, lying to myself…” He shook his head, then leaned into her caress. “It used to work. Do the job for eleven months and three weeks, then a few days off and I’d be back with a spring in my step and none the worse for wear. Then I needed a week, then I told myself I didn’t need any more than a week and kept that up for a few years and see where it got me.”

His face twisted. If it was a smile, it was a wry one. Delphine ran her fingertips along his forehead. “Nowhere good?” she suggested.

“Until you. And I was so far gone I almost let you go. No. I almost drove you away. I won’t let anything like that come between us again. And thanks to you, I’ve found another way to use my gift to help people. Without putting myself at risk.” He took her hand and his voice softened. “People who are frightened, or in danger, are always going to lie to themselves. Sometimes it’s the only thing that lets them keep going.”

Delphine frowned, trying to unravel what he was on the verge of telling her. “Like with the dragonling, Cole?”

“Search and rescue.” He sounded gruff. He was embarrassed, Delphine realized, or—not quite, but close. Like he was waiting for her reaction before he decided this was a good idea or not. She’d been on the other side of that particular equation so many times that her heart squeezed for him. “I talked to Jackson about it. He and the hellhounds do some, but it’s not any of their primary jobs. And apart from being able to shift and fly, or shift and run, they’re limited in what they can do. Even the hellhounds wouldn’t have been able to scent Cole’s route after the snowstorm. My griffin can fly, smell and look for trails… and tell when someone’s trying to tell themselves that they’re not in trouble.”

“And if they want to keep lying about what they were up to once you’ve brought them back into the warm, you can always disappear into the night, instead of sticking around to interrogate them and choke yourself on paperwork.” Warmth filled her. “I think it’s a great idea.”

“You do?”

“You tell me.”

He gave her a look that was half-proud and more than half over the border into smug. “You do.”

She couldn’t stop herself from prying into details. “Here? I mean, you’re planning to stay in Pine Valley?”

“For the time being. If you need to be somewhere