Rory bit his lip and pointed to the office. Kenzie pushed past him and began rummaging through the desk, and Rory froze in place as a terrible thought struck.
What if Kenzie opened the box again?
“A little more direction than that, if you please,” Kenzie called over his shoulder.
Rory’s breaths had turned rapid and shallow as a cold sweat broke over his skin. He considered another lie, but the office was tiny. Kenzie would find it eventually, even without his help. “File cabinet, b-bottom drawer,” he made himself say. “Key’s under the—the desk.”
He could run. Heshouldrun, put some distance between his frayed mind and that horrible ring. But Rory couldn’t make his body move, could only stand by helplessly as Kenzie crouched, then fished the briefcase out of the drawer a moment later. The case looked so completely normal as it dangled uncaringly in Kenzie’s large hand.
“If Mrs. Brodigan isn’t hurt, why did you call and bite my head off?”
What an annoyingly good question. Rory tried to think over his pounding heart, flailing for a lie Kenzie might buy. “I thought—uh—I thought a ring in a locked case must be—stolen. That you’d involved Mrs. B. in a felony.”
“Stolen,” Kenzie repeated doubtfully. “You said your shopdoesn’t appraise weapons.” He held up the briefcase. “You called this a piece of hell.”
“I thought it was stolen,” Rory said stubbornly, as he averted his eyes from the briefcase and stared at the ceiling instead. “But obviously a ritzy fella like you isn’t gonna steal, so—”
“People can always surprise you.” Kenzie rattled the briefcase carelessly. “This was kept closed?”
“It’s locked, isn’t it?” Rory’s knuckles were white as he clenched his fists tight.Please don’t open it again please please please—
“Oh, would you relax?” Kenzie suddenly snapped as he strode out of the office without opening the briefcase. “You deserve to be contrite, but all the cringing makes me feel like a monster.”
He hadn’t opened the case.Rory’s tensed muscles went loose with relief. He slumped against the bookshelf, knees weak, heart still racing. “Are you?” he managed to say.
“Not the kind that hits children. Christ, are you even eighteen?”
First cracks about his height, now his age? “Yes,” said Rory. “Much older.”
“Really.” Kenzie leaned back against the cash register counter. “And how much ismuch older?”
Twentysuddenly didn’t seem to fit the bill. “Twenty…um…six?” Kenzie would believe that, right?
“Twenty-six.” Kenzie blatantly looked him over again. Was Rory imaging it, or had those cool blue eyes grown more interested? “And you’ve worked for your dear auntie Leena how long?”
“Four years.” That part was true, at least.
Kenzie studied him some more, as if weighing his options, and then he seemed to come to an abrupt decision. “In that case, you can apologize to me over drinks.”
Rory couldnothave heard that right. “But—”
“You do owe me an apology, don’t you?”
“Well, I—I mean—drinks like…sodas?”
“No.” The corner of Kenzie’s mouth turned up. Geez, he had nice lips, soft and pink, not chapped like Rory’s. “Surely an ancient man like yourself remembers the golden days before Prohibition.”
Rory had never had a sip of alcohol in his life. He’d also never shared a table with a man even half as good-looking as Arthur Kenzie. He was like something out of a dream: broad shoulders, pricey clothes, nothing making him human except the black stubble dotting his jaw, like his morning shave was already wearing off.
Rory nervously licked his lips. He needed to stop staring before Kenzie noticed.
“You sure?” he couldn’t help but ask. “It kind of still feels like I’m in trouble.”
“Because you are.” Kenzie inclined his head to the door. “My cab is waiting. Are you in?”
Rory hesitated. He should say no. He should sayhellno. Drinking was illegal. Kenzie was still angry. Rory should leave, should wander the freezing streets and dodge the gangs, not come back to the shop until Kenzie was gone and then bolt himself in to stay awake in the frigid cold all night, afraid to sleep, afraid the visions were coming back—
“I’ll lock up,” he said, and tried to pretend that Kenzie’s smile didn’t make him think of a wolf.
