“Maybe I heard this,” I said. I made Jun stop at the stairs and pointed to the back balcony doors.
Jun pulled me to stand behind him and approached the door. He used his knuckles to press down on the handle, and the door easily swung open. “Should it be locked?”
“Yup.”
I grabbed the back of his shirt and peered around him. The balcony was empty, save for a lone rocking chair. During the day, it offered a gorgeous view of the garden, but at night there were only the spooky shapes of towering palm trees swaying in the cool air.
“Come on,” Jun said, his tone firm and not at all afraid. “Let’s go to the gift shop and phone the police.”
I SATon the register counter, legs dangling over the side. I kept my head down and focused on a yoga breathing exercise—which was about as far into yoga as I’d ever gotten. The mat might be cushy, but a sleep attack in the middle of a downward-facing dog still hurt.
“Aubrey.”
I glanced up. Jun was holding out a coffee cup he must have found on my desk. “Hard liquor?” I asked.
His mouth quirked. “Water. You’re still pale.”
I murmured a thank-you and took the mug, realizing belatedly the rather erotic artwork it featured.
Jun leaned back against the counter beside me, crossing his arms. “Tako to ama.”
“Huh?”
He nodded at the mug. “That woodblock art. It’s calledTako to ama.”
I loved octopuses. Maybe that’s weird? I thought they were just the coolest sea creatures ever. I wished I could go scuba diving and see one under the waves, but—narcolepsy. Not safe. So I collected octopus-related items instead. And the mug in question depicted Japanese artwork from the 1800s—a young woman diver having a sexual encounter with two octopuses.
“You’re familiar with this?”
“Sure. Hokusai was a brilliant artist. He createdThe Great Wave.”
I turned the cup around absently. “I have to hide this whenever any of the board members come by for a visit.”
Jun turned his head, staring at the front door. “I suppose cunnilingus and cephalopods aren’t for everyone.”
I snorted and choked on a mouthful of water before spitting half of it out.
Jun laughed.
I smacked my chest several times, coughing after I managed to swallow what was left. “Don’t do that!”
He looked at me, smiled, and stroked my back gently. “Feel better?”
“No, but I’ll live.” I set the mug beside me. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Telling you to chill, when you turned out to be right. Nothing like this has ever happened before.”
Jun put his hand on my neck and dragged his fingers through the ends of my hair. “I don’t want to be overbearing.” He met my gaze. “I care about you. And—” He sighed. “I’ve seen a lot. That’s all.”
“I get it.” And I’d be an ass if I didn’t cut Jun a bit of slack. He dealt day in and day out with people who murdered, kidnapped, smuggled drugs and other humans—I think he deserved to be protective, even if it annoyed me in the moment.
Two police cruisers rolled up to the gift shop, their blue and red lights illuminating the street and making the shop look like a rave party. Jun left me on the counter, unlocked the door, and greeted two uniformed officers and one in plain clothes. Big surprise, that was my buddy Tillman. At least Jun was still carrying his badge, which he promptly showed the officers, although he was quick to add he was on vacation and just happened to be here. Maybe Tillman would take this a bit more seriously if he thought a Fed would make some phone calls if they were unsatisfied.
I bet Jun would do it too. Sexy badass that he was.
“Agent Tanaka,” Tillman repeated. He squared his shoulders, but no matter how big he tried to appear, he still had to tilt his head to look up at Jun. “I responded to Mr. Grant’s call earlier today about a skeleton found on the property. So if that—”
