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“Because I like the sound of it. I think it suits me. You’re more a Raff, definitely. My Raff.”
“That’s Lieutenant Raff.”
“As you like.”
“You’re trying to calm me down so I don’t bust up the elevator.”
“It’s a by-product of calming myself. I don’t often have an urge to strike a woman—it’s just against my nature. But I had a powerful one up there.”
“When I mentally punched her, blood exploded out of her nose.”
“Well then, that will have to do us both. And yet...” He brought her fingers to his lips. “We’ll go home and work into all hours trying to find the breathtakingly rude bitch’s husband.”
“He has to be a dick. Nobody would stay married to that unless he was a dick. But yeah, we’ll work on it.”
He kept her hand in his as they crossed the lobby. “Maybe he faked an abduction to escape her.”
“It would be hard to blame him, except he’s a dick.”
She contacted Mira as Roarke drove home, let her know she’d notified Mandy Mira.
“How did she take it?”
“She claims it’s bullshit you and Mr. Mira cooked up, insulted me, Roarke, both of you, and intends to contact the governor and Whitney to report me. I told her to kiss my ass.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Hey, no. I don’t want you to—”
“I’ll take care of it, Eve. I insist. Expect an apology.”
“I don’t want her to—”
“Don’t argue with me on this.”
Eve started to do just that, but saw the fatigue, the strain. “Okay, fine. How’s Mr. Mira?”
“He’s all right. No worrying symptoms. I’ll keep an eye on him tonight, but I truly believe he’s fine. Worried about Edward, of course.”
“Let him know we’re working on it, and I’ll be in touch if and when.”
She clicked off before Mira could thank her again, and considered investigative approaches as they turned through the gates, and toward home.
Lights gleamed welcome in the dozens and dozens of windows, glowing against the dignified stone, even in the fanciful turrets.
She considered coming home to such a wonder after an endless day her personal miracle.
They got out opposite sides of the car, circled around.
“How long did it take you to design the house—the whole elegant fortress with a touch of castle?”
“Oh, I spent years building it in my head as a boy. Every time I went to bed hungry or bruised, it got bigger.”
Since his childhood had been as much a nightmare as her own, it surprised her he’d restrained himself to just huge.
“I pulled it in a bit,” he said, taking her hand again as they approached the door. “Eliminated the guard towers, the moat, and accepted that the catapults of my fancy had no practical purpose.”
“I don’t know. Catapults would be pretty frosty.”
