“I’m sure he’s okay. He’s probably just lying low until it’s safe.”
She sniffled. “You’re probably right. Will you tell me if you hear from him?”
“Of course. You’ll do the same?”
She made some sound of agreement.
“I have to go. I’m going to search the area again. I’ll let you know if I find him.”
“Good luck, Eva.”
She mumbled something that sounded like thanks and hung up.
“I don’t know if I believe her,” he said after a moment of silence. “I’ve seen her lie hundreds of times. She good at it, almost as good as you. I don’t know if I can trust her.”
“I’ll follow your lead. Tell me what you want to do.”
“Well, I want a shower then I want to change. Then… I don’t know.”
He was sitting up on the couch now, not a bullet hole to be seen. Talking to him while he sat there half-naked was more than a little challenging.
“Okay, you know where the bathroom is, extra towels are on the rack above the toilet, and I have some unscented soap under the sink in case my usual body wash is too girly for you.”
His lip twitched into a smile.
“Thanks, V. I’ll be quick.”
I keptmyself firmly planted on the couch for fifteen minutes. The water was still running and I was trying to drown it out with the sound of my TV. But I couldn’t focus. Not with him on the other side of the wall—naked, showering. My mind was replaying that god-forsaken dream, from nearly a month ago. I was starting to think I’d never know peace again.
It was so tempting. After his confession in my office earlier today, I was almost positive he wouldn’t mind if I peeked. But he got shot today. He needed to rest. He didn’t need me trying to jump him.
Or maybe he did.
I was standing in front of my bathroom door before I knew what I was thinking. He’d left it cracked open; god he was insufferable. He knew. Heknew.
I could see him in the mirror. His back was to the faucet, shadows hovering around him as he massaged the shampoo into his scalp. I could see a smirk growing on his face from here. Shit, he knew I was watching. Of course he did, his shadows were spies.
Fucking narcs.
“Enjoying the view?”
“You said you’d be quick, I just wanted to make sure you didn’t drown in here or anything.”
“How exactly does one drown in a shower?”
He put his head under the faucet and ran his hands through his hair to help the water rinse out the shampoo. I knew I should be saying something, but I was too busy watching the droplets cascading over his skin, his shadows weaving around him like they were trying to hypnotize me. If that was what they were going for, it was working.
“If you’re going to stand there and ogle me, I could use some help. There’s this spot on my shoulder I can never reach.”
My eyes snapped to his. He was watching me like he was trying to gauge my reaction.
“I… Did you… Was it… I said that?—”
“Take off your shirt.”
His voice was low, demanding, and goddamn it I would do anything he told me to. I stepped into the bathroom and pealed my shirt over my head, standing in nothing but my underwear. He sucked in a breath, eyes locked on the dragon tattoo on my chest, before whispering,
“It was real.”
