watch him all day!”
“Yeah,” Grace said, “I know what you mean. Once I watched Josh blow snot bubbles for over an hour.”
Josh did a slow horrified pan to Grace, who gave him an unrepentant grin. Keep him from getting too sentimental—Grace was good at that.
“I disown you as my friend,” Josh said, eyes round.
“You can’t.” Grace stretched out his arms and spun a lazy pirouette. “It’s in the contract. So was Jenkins working for Kadjic, or what?”
Now Nick was staring at him with round eyes. “You think Jenkins was working for Kadjic? Which one?”
“Sergei, and we don’t think that,” Josh snapped, eyes narrowing. He shook off his sadness—and his irritation with Grace like Grace knew he would—and turned to Nick to clarify. “I think he and Kadjic wanted the same thing. Whether or not he was working with Kadjic or for an opposing party remains to be seen.”
“What was the thing?” Nick asked, and Grace felt his features melt into blankness at the same time he watched Josh’s do the exact same thing.
Nick looked from Grace to Josh and raised both eyebrows.
“Guys. Not even a hint? It’s me!”
“And you have a baby,” Josh said. “And Jenkins ended up dead. This is bad shit, Nick. Don’t go poking around until we have a chance to tell you where the snakes are.”
Nick stared at them, eyes narrowed. “You guys are what? Sixteen?”
“I’m almost twenty-two,” Grace said with a straight face.
“In ten months,” Josh agreed, and Nick let out a sigh.
“Okay, guys, how’s this? I’ll look into who had Jenkins in their pocket. You two give me any pertinent info that will help me find the guys weaseling tech. Whose tech, by the way?”
“Lucius Broadstone’s,” Josh answered, so easily Grace knew he had no worries about Nick betraying their new friend or whatever. Gah, sometimes Josh trusted so easily! Grace wondered how he did it.
Nick’s face went carefully blank. “That’s too bad,” he said sincerely. “Lucius is one of the good guys.”
Josh inspected his manicure. “Give it up, Nick. We know about Caraway House.”
“I don’t,” Grace said, suddenly perking up. “Is it like Cassowary House, where shitty birds tear apart your car?”
Josh manfully contained a smirk. “No, but thanks for playing. It’s a place for—”
Nick held out his hand. “Don’t say it here,” he murmured. “There’s a reason it’s secret.”
Josh nodded, as though suddenly remembering himself. “Anyway, Lucius is one of the good guys. And we’re looking into where the tech has been funneled, with his help. We know the delivery system—”
“Which is…?” Nick held out his hands and made a “gimme” gesture.
“Secret,” Josh said without batting an eyelash.
“But it’s so cool,” Grace told him, doing another pirouette. “You only wish you knew our secret.”
Nick gave Grace a narrow gaze. “You two still aren’t an item, right?” he asked, as though making sure.
“No,” Josh said. “He’s sleeping with a mercenary right now. It’s the healthiest relationship he’s ever had. Don’t hate.”
Nick did a slow blink. “A mercenary? Who does he work for?”
“At the moment? Himself. He likes us, though, so we’re sort of a team. Anyway, he’s a badass. He’ll keep Grace safe.”
“He even has superhero clothes,” Grace said, remembering the long leather duster. The shorter one held sentimental value, Grace had to admit. It was like Hunter had been a prince and Grace had been his other prince and Hunter hadn’t wanted him to get his feet hurt.
Nick did another slow blink. “I’m not even going to ask,” he said. “But I will help you. I’ll get you the information on Jenkins, and you tell me who to arrest when they’re in Chicago. Do we have a deal?”
Josh stuck his hand out, and a manly handshake ensued. He turned to Grace and bobbed his head, and together they headed for the front of the station, where Hunter was probably waiting impatiently.
“Thanks,” Josh said as they half jogged through the hallways, past the offices where detectives lingered over their paperwork and cups of sludge, and past the receptionist desk where the desk sergeant worked hard to keep her cool as someone obviously coming down from a high begged to speak to a cop because she had information.
“But they’ll want to talk to me, I know,” the woman said, almost desperately, and the desk sergeant handed her a voucher with a patient air.
“This is a rehab clinic, honey. The officers you’re requesting are out right now, and you’re going to need help before then. Please—”
Grace couldn’t help but stare at the woman, wondering if