them out loud in front of his boss and ruin his second chance.
The phone rang, and Mr. Ling left him alone with Dakota to answer it.
“Who is Dirty Harry?” Dakota asked.
“It’s a movie franchise starring Clint Eastwood. Mr. Ling just performed some of the iconic lines from it.”
“Never heard of him,” SWG said.
“Scott Eastwood’s dad,” Jonah explained.
Awareness sparked in Dakota’s blue eyes. “Oh, I know him.”
“He looks just like his dad,” Jonah said.
“Where’s your gun and badge?” Dakota questioned.
“He’s not that kind of cop,” Mr. Ling said as he rejoined them. He tapped his temples, and Dakota looked even more confused. “Uses brain to catch bad guys instead of a gun.”
Jonah could happily go the rest of his life without holding a gun, let alone shooting one.
“I’m a criminal intelligence analyst,” Jonah explained. “I have to take all the same training and certifications as the field agents, but my position doesn’t require me to carry a gun.”
“Brain is a weapon,” Mr. Ling said emphatically.
“So, you’re like a cyber cop?” Dakota asked.
Jonah wasn’t in the mood to correct the kid’s assumptions, so he said, “Something like that.”
“How’d you get the scar?” Dakota asked. What the fuck was this? Twenty questions?
“Knife fight in a bar last year.”
“Cool,” the kid said nervously.
“Nonsense,” Mr. Ling said. “Big joker, this one. He got the scar in war. He’s a hero. Always be nice to him.”
Hero.
Jonah mentally cringed but tried not to show his contempt in front of Mr. Ling, who thought he was bestowing an honor on Jonah. “I’m a survivor, but that doesn’t make me a hero,” Jonah said. When Mr. Ling went to answer the phone again, Jonah snagged Dakota by his polo and jerked him forward. “Don’t you dare do anything to hurt the Lings. Don’t steal from them. Don’t show up for your shifts late or call in sick. Never make Mrs. Ling cry. If you do, I will come back here and show you how deadly a person can be without a gun. Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir,” Dakota replied, nodding like one of those bobblehead dolls.
“I’ll be watching,” he said before releasing SWG’s shirt and leaving the store.
The first thing Jonah did when he reached his office was run a background check on Dakota, who was surprisingly clean. He didn’t like the Bugles blocker working for the Lings, but he had to trust their judgment.
Outside his office door, Jonah heard the familiar sounds of Avery’s arrival. His accelerated pulse matched the resurging gusts inside him. This was the moment Jonah anticipated and dreaded the most each workday. Avery would open the door and enter, bringing the brightest ray of sunshine with him. It would pierce Jonah’s gloomy universe, making it that much darker when Avery exited his office.
And, like last night’s storm, it wasn’t a matter of if he left. One of these days, Avery would leave for good, taking his warmth and brilliance with him.
Jonah hated clichés, but he was the moth to Avery Bradford’s flame. Over the past eight months, he flew closer and closer, longing to feel Avery’s heat against his skin just once.
Once was all it would take to reduce him to a pile of ash. Still, the lure became harder and harder to resist each day.
What have you done to me, Aunt Ellie?
A question he asked himself every day since his aunt, Ellen Rigby, the newly appointed police commissioner, had convinced him, and later the deputy director, that Jonah needed Avery’s assistance. She said he was brilliant with computers and was eager to use his skills for the greater good, so they’d hired the guy sight unseen. No interview. No resumé. That was the kind of influence Aunt Ellie had over him, or maybe it was the caramel macarons her wife had baked for Jonah that had softened him toward her big idea.
Or was it a big mistake?
Jonah’s door opened a few minutes later, and Avery breezed inside. He didn’t have to glance at his intern to know he held two mugs. One would hold the nectar of the gods, coffee, and one would contain a liquid Avery called tea. Based on the stench, Jonah surmised the brewing method required leaves, dried flowers, and sweaty gym socks. “You won’t believe the latest gossip,” Avery said excitedly.
“I’m sure I won’t care,” Jonah replied drolly, not taking his eyes off his computer screen displaying Dakota’s driver’s license picture.
“Okay,” Avery said coolly, placing Jonah’s mug on his desk. “Please tell me you’re not screening potential boyfriends.”
Jonah jerked his