My Cruel Salvation (Fallen Saint # 3) - J. Kenner Page 0,37

here? You texted that he’s staying the night, too, but where is he?”

“On his way,” Devlin says. “He promised.”

I grimace, not entirely sure he’ll keep that promise. “He lives in Tracy’s building,” I point out. “Easy enough for him to change his mind and simply go crash in his own unit.”

“Then we’ll go there,” Brandy says firmly. “He shouldn’t be alone.”

“No, he shouldn’t,” Devlin said. “But he gave me his word. Let’s give him a few more minutes before we call to check on him.”

“Will he be allowed to work the case?” Brandy asks. “For that matter, should he?”

“He will,” I tell her. “I asked the Chief about that. We both think it’ll help him with closure. I hope we’re right.”

“Good,” she says. “And he can stay here as long as he wants. We can put him in your room. Honestly, I’ll be glad for the company. Not trying to guilt you, but I miss having you around.”

The house is a two-story with three bedrooms, the master taking up the entire upstairs. Brandy has a sweet deal in that she essentially has the place to herself in exchange for minimal rent and basic housekeeping tasks. The owner—who she calls Mr. Big Shot—is away except for a few weeks out of every year, so when I got the Laguna Cortez assignment, I’d bunked in the guest room, and it was almost like we were college roomies again.

Technically, I haven’t moved out, but I spend most nights at Devlin’s. Eventually, of course, I expect to move in with Devlin. But what with him killing my uncle, running away, and then turning into an entirely different person, we missed out on a lot of basic dating moments. And the truth is, I want that. Meeting for coffee. Going to the movies. Staying over at each other’s places.

Silly, maybe, but it’s important to me, and I’m lucky enough to be in love with a man who understands that.

“I miss you, too,” I say. “And Devlin and I are going to stay here, to.” We hadn’t talked about it, but Devlin nods. “So Lamar can take the master,” I add.

Brandy makes a face. “I’ve never let anyone use the master. I suppose I could—Big Shot never said not to—but it feels weird. And, honestly, it’s fine. If Lamar’s here, it’s all good. Go on to Devlin’s, and you two can bound around naked without worrying about getting caught.”

Devlin squeezes my hip. “See? I told you we should be bounding. She never takes advantage of opportunities,” he adds to Brandy, making her laugh. “But despite the allure of chasing Ellie naked around the house, we are staying here for the time being. Give Lamar the master suite. You have the run of the place, right? So I can’t imagine your boss would mind. And, honestly, I’ll feel better having both of you in my sight.”

“You’re sure?”

He nods. “Absolutely.”

“Okay. But you two take upstairs. It’s got a king bed, and it just feels more fair.”

“And Lamar can have my room,” I say. “Done.”

“Slumber party,” Brandy says with a grin. The humor fades quickly, though, and she draws a deep breath. “God. Poor Lamar.” She blinks. “Poor Tracy.” A tear escapes, and she grimaces. “Sorry. It just sort of hits me, you know?”

“I know,” I say. “Me, too.”

“I’m am truly sorry about all of this,” Devlin says.

“Sorry? We’ve already established that it’s not your fault. And you two are the ones he’s targeting.”

“But he started with Tracy,” Devlin says gravely. He reaches over and takes her hand. “Not Ellie, who he knew would truly wreck me.” He closes his eyes, draws a breath, then goes on. “He might be working his way down a list. It’s a long shot—Lamar and I both think he won’t run the risk of getting caught by taking his time that way—but I want you to stay diligent.”

“I don’t know what—” Her eyes dart to me and then back to Devlin. “Oh.”

“Like I said, I’m sorry.”

“Be diligent about setting the alarm,” I say.

“And they’re assigning an officer to watch the house.”

Her brow furrows. “How worried do I need to be?”

Devlin takes one of her hands. “Not worried. Diligent. Okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, right.” She nods, reassuring herself. “Just precautions.”

“We’re working on neutralizing the threat,” he says, and Brandy snickers.

Devlin and I exchange glances. “Not the reaction I was expecting,” Devlin says.

“It’s just that I feel better hearing you say that. Sounds very in command and serious.”

“In that case, I’ll batten down the hatches, too,” he