and back to Rafe again. “Mind telling me what the hell he’s doing here?”
“The cop brother,” Rafe mumbled behind her. “Yep. This night’s just getting better and better. Lisa, I’m gonna leave you to argue about me while I put all this stuff in the car.” He moved past them with two boxes in his hands.
Shane took a step toward him. Lisa moved between the two men and waited until Rafe disappeared out the front door before looking back at Shane.
“Okay, don’t get pissed.”
“Don’t get pissed?” he asked with wide eyes. “The guy’s a criminal. One you asked me to check out. You’d better start talking. And fast.”
She bit her lip.
“Lis?” His hands moved to his hips.
Lisa tugged him into the guestroom and closed the door. “It’s kind of hard to explain.”
“Do it anyway.”
The tone of his voice said he wasn’t putting up with her excuses. She knew that tone far too well. On a long breath, she told him about the Furies, about meeting Rafe and their eventual partnership.
“Holy shit.” Shane dropped onto the end of the bed. “Are you out of your ever-lovin’ mind?”
“Apparently. But thanks for pointing that out.”
“You can’t trust this guy.”
“Do I look stupid?”
“At the moment, yeah,” he said on a pathetic laugh.
“Okay, look. He’s my best shot at getting Alecto back. And if I want to find Tisiphone, he’s my best shot right now at that, too. And I think he might know where Magaera is. So, yeah, I’m going along with it. Whether you like it or not.”
“How do you know you’re even safe with the guy?”
It was that cop instinct of his kicking in, questioning everything. Distrusting everyone. He’d seen too much in his life working the streets and at some point had stopped believing people were innately good deep down inside. She had her own belief issues, but Shane’s ran much deeper.
And knowing that softened her. “It’s a gut feeling.”
“Aw, shit.” He rolled his eyes.
There went her sympathy. “Just shut up and listen. Yes, he’s a thief, but he’s not violent. He’s had plenty of opportunities to stick it to me, if you will, and he hasn’t. No, I don’t trust him. But I’m not afraid of him either.”
“So you’re going to go along with this?”
“For now.”
“And what if you don’t find the Furies?”
She heard the skeptical tone. He didn’t believe they actually existed. She knew otherwise. “I will.”
He closed his eyes, opened them. “Lisa, at some point you have to let this obsession go.”
Her back bristled. She wasn’t going to let him talk her out of this. And she wasn’t going down that road with him again, either. “I will. When I find them.”
She stepped toward the door.
His hand stopped her. “Hold on,” he said softer, turning her toward him. “You got a place to stay to night?”
She couldn’t stay mad at him when she knew he was genuinely worried. “Yes. We have hotel reservations.”
“Screw that.” He fished a key out of his pocket and handed it to her. “You’re staying at my place to night.”
“Shane, we already—”
He held up a warning hand. “Don’t say no. It’s not a question. If you’re gonna go through with this crazy idea, you’re gonna stay at my place where I can get a read on this guy before you take off again.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, that look doesn’t work with me, Lis. Now listen. I’m on duty to night. I only came over here for a few minutes to see you. I should be home sometime after midnight. Be sure you’re there. And don’t make any plans to run out tomorrow morning before I get up. We’ve got more talking to do.”
She frowned and reluctantly took the key. There was no sense arguing with him. She knew when he meant business. “Fine. One night.”
“For as long as you’re in Chicago,” he corrected.
She pulled open the door.
“Lis?”
“Fine,” she huffed, walking toward the front door, knowing he wouldn’t quit until he got his way. The man was exasperating. No wonder he was still single. “For as long as I’m in Chicago.”
Which sure as hell wouldn’t be long, if she had anything to say about it.
Rafe was in the hallway talking to her mother when she and Shane emerged from the bedroom. He glanced at her, curious, his gaze flicking to what she knew was Shane’s rigid don’t-mess-with-me face behind her. Her mother smiled, oblivious to the raging testosterone pumping through her entryway.
Lisa blew out a frustrated breath. The only bright spot in this whole gigantic