Page 49 of The Flame Game

“Well, you are.”

“Kettle,” I accused.

“But I’m a very happy kettle, my beautiful pot.”

I rolled my eyes and focused on the spreadsheets, wondering what other secrets they hid.

Quinn made up for lost time through a mix of driving a little too fast for my comfort and refusing to stop until we reached the hotel, resulting in us arriving right on time. As promised, dinner was ready shortly after our arrival, and rather than worry about rabies, gorgon dust, and Audrey McGee’s long-lived treachery and betrayal, I spent the rest of the night with my husband.

The evening was quiet, and I wondered what storm lurked in our future.

When morning came, I woke first, tiptoeing around the hotel room to let Quinn sleep, a rarity thanks to his genetics. I tidied and packed, and when I ran out of things to do, I ordered breakfast for both of us and resumed my work chasing after information on Audrey’s activities with Chief Morrison.

As a public figure, people took pictures of police chiefs often, especially when they went out into public unexpectedly. While my husband’s looks made him a common target of photographers, Chief Morrison oversaw the protection of the rich, which offered him a certain amount of prestige.

With Audrey’s receipts as a guide, I scoured the internet for evidence of the woman’s wrongdoings. As I expected, Chief Morrison was popular with newspapers in the Hamptons, leaving me to wade through hundreds of pictures of the asshole. Restricting my search by date helped, and after an hour of searching, I began uncovering photos of him with Audrey in the background.

Not only was Audrey in the photos, so was the idiot cadet I’d squished like a grape for threatening my husband.

Then, like some omen determined to ruin my day, I found a picture of Audrey with the person I’d recognized at the demonstration. That got me on the move, and I bounced onto the bed to wake my husband.

With startling speed, he caught me in his arms and dragged me down onto the mattress. “Wicked woman, sneaking out of my bed while I slept. I should discipline you for not cuddling me awake.”

Damn it. I didn’t want to work when he talked like that. “I love you, but I found something important.”

That woke him up, although he didn’t release me. “On a scale of one to ten, can it wait an hour?”

“I’d worry about it the entire hour,” I admitted.

“All right, my beautiful. I’m up, I’m up. What did you find?”

Someone knocked at the door, and I wiggled free of his hold. “Breakfast!”

He chuckled while I hurried to retrieve our food, carting the trays to the coffee table, doubting I’d ordered enough. I tipped the gentleman, thanked him, closed the door, locked it, and fell upon my food like a starved beast.

“It’s like watching a shark, but instead of blood, you’re attracted to maple syrup.”

“And it’s not even the real stuff.”

“How is that not criminal?”

“I will eat your pancakes,” I warned.

“Like hell you’ll eat my pancakes, you wicked woman.” The threat of losing his breakfast to my gluttony got him out of bed, and he wrapped in his robe before joining me on the couch. “What did you find?”

“Remember that guy I wanted to run the facial scan on?”

“I do.”

“I found a picture of him with Audrey, that cadet I squished, and Chief Morrison. I did a search and checked by dates, matching them to when she went to the Hamptons. I found enough pictures of her with Morrison to generally confirm she was seeing him. I think I even found a picture of them in the coffee shop together.”

“You’re right. She has really horrible taste in men.”

“Well, she had the right idea with you, but she was too stupid to figure out what to do with you when she had you. I’m smart. I know exactly what I should be doing with you. I do wish we’d brought our pets.”

“Actually, I think I’ll have them fetched for us—or at least Sunny. We might need her.”

Crap. “I don’t want to be shot with more ambrosia, Quinn.”