his fingers. “JP is a yes. Irene says we are a go.” I tilted my head, a light bulb flicking on in my brain. “James Patrick?”
“The man we’re going to see tonight?” Abe asked—elation curving around each word.
“You’re goddamn right we are,” I replied. Slammed the note on the dresser and drummed my fingers on it. “It would be a curious thing indeed if the man responsible for auctioning off these papers was going to have a hand in getting them stolen.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” he said. “We’ve worked a few cases tying thefts back to auction houses. I can’t parse who ‘Irene’ is or what she’s giving a go. If we have a fancy party tonight, good thing our team arrives in twenty minutes. We need to get Codex up to speed on everything, plan for tonight, and pin down the best strategy for being Humphrey’s guests while avoiding Eudora, and any Dresden guards, as best we can.”
He looped a tie around his neck with practiced motions. I hooked my finger into his belt loop and dragged him in front of me, joining my legs around his waist.
“Let me,” I said, starting to tie his tie. Abe Royal went still as a statue. When I finally allowed myself to peer up at him, the naked affection in his face stilled my fingers.
“This is very domestic,” he said softly.
“I’ll be nagging you to organize our basement in no time,” I said. He leaned in, kissed my forehead. I resumed my motions yet glued my eyes to his. A sense of peace infused my very being—one I’d never felt before.
“I hope you like being grilled by a team of highly trained professionals,” he said.
“I know a thing or two about withstanding pressure,” I smirked. “I’ll be okay.”
“They’ll ask if we’re…” He paused. My fingers paused too.
“What?” I knew what. I just couldn’t discern his feelings yet, or my own.
“They will tease us endlessly about our romantic situation. And our obvious gap in ages.”
“Obvious?” I grinned.
“What’s a decade, after all?” he said softly.
“Ah,” I said. “How would you describe this situation, Mr. Royal?”
A smile tugged at his lips. “You go first.”
I gave his tie a well-timed yank and his smile grew devilish. “We are enjoying each other’s company right now.”
“I agree,” he said, palms smoothing along my thighs. We proceeded to both wait each other out—see who might break and crack open the well of deeper emotions. But Abe was silent, which silenced me.
If he left me—or when he left me?
“Sounds like we’re on the same page,” I said. More of a suggestion than a statement. He responded by taking my hand and holding it to the center of his body.
“It won’t be only the two of us anymore, working this case,” Abe said. “So I wanted to talk to you before Codex arrived, while its just you and me.”
I swallowed hard, noted the twisting sensation in my belly. “Go for it.”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what you told me last night. You are not your parents, Sloane.” He stared at our hands, joined together. “And you were only a child.”
My throat was unbearably dry as I exhaled, raggedly. Surprised. “I didn’t… I didn’t escape from them until I was seventeen. Teenagers can make decisions about what’s right and wrong.”
His grip on my wrist tightened. “Sloane.”
I felt the urge to hunch, to curl inward, to hide. “What?”
He dipped his head until he captured my gaze. “Teenagers are children still. Especially if your parents indoctrinate you, force you, demand you help them in order for you to receive… what? What did they give you in return for helping them do jobs?”
“Certainly not love,” I said quickly. Regretted it. He didn’t press. “They fed me. Most times. We had places we stayed. Apartments, motels, that kind of thing. They let me go to school.”
“Usually children receive those things because they are children.”
I looked away. Fiddled with the tie I’d just straightened. “I worry.”
Those two words were like shoving a boulder out of the way using only my pinkie fingers.
“About what?” he asked.
“I want to live on the right side of the law. I want to punish people like my parents. Protect other people from criminals, thieves, bad guys. People that manipulate. Like Bernard.” I chewed on my lip, shifted on the dresser. “I still worry. Because the reason I’m good at being a detective is because I was raised to lie. I was raised to be charming. I was raised to seek