Page 67 of D for Dead

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‘So where is Robin tonight?’ Angell asked through a mouthful of pizza.

‘What was that?’ Although he’d gotten the gist of it, Joel shook his head. ‘I can’t tell what you’re saying with all that bread stuffed in your mouth.’

She scowled at him, this time finishing her mouthful before speaking. ‘I asked where Robin was.’

‘Robin?’

‘Yeah, I figure you’d want to be Batman. Your ego couldn’t handle being Robin.’

They’d settled into an uneasy truce following the earlier incident on her couch, Angell having grudgingly allowed him to stay and share her pizza.

She’d nearly kissed him. They both knew that. He also knew it pissed her off.

He wasn’t honestly sure how it made him feel.

It irritated the hell out of him she was dating a douche like Alan. He’d forgotten how feisty she was, how much he enjoyed sparring with her, and he was still attracted to her.

She hadn’t changed a whole lot. Maybe there was the odd line on her face, but she still wore her dark hair long and her feline eyes sparked when she was angry. She was definitely more confident, sexier.

Six years ago they had both rushed in without thinking about it. Joel didn’t do relationships and, even if he did, how the hell was it supposed to work when they lived on opposite sides of the country? And so he had made sure it stayed short and sweet.

Why was now any different?

‘If we’re talking about Rivers then he’d never handle being Batman,’ he told her, pushing the problem out of his mind. ‘To be honest, he makes a pretty lame Robin too.’

‘So you ditched him to come annoy me?’

‘I didn’t ditch him, Angell. I don’t hang out with him period.’ When she raised her eyebrows, he pulled a face. ‘What? I’m not his babysitter for crying out loud. Besides, he’s got the whole rich kid thing going on. His daddy is well connected and hooks him up with a lot of freebies to benefits and big sports games. He mentioned something about driving up to Portland to watch the Trail Blazers.’

‘He’s a rich kid, eh?’

‘How else do you think he got into the Bureau? It wasn’t because he passed his field agent training with flying colours.’

Joel had heard rumours Rivers should have flunked out at Quantico. His daddy, Chuck Rivers, was pals with the assistant director and had called in a favour. Declan wanted to be an FBI field agent so Declan would be an FBI field agent, no matter what strings needed to be pulled.

The politics of it stank, and now Joel was stuck looking after him.

‘Trust me, we’re safer if he keeps himself occupied with ball games and stays away from the case.’

‘He didn’t do bad work today,’ Angell pointed out, dropping a crust back in the pizza box. She’d ordered extra-large and between them they’d eaten it all.

Joel wondered how the hell she had planned on putting away the whole pizza herself. But then the woman did have the appetite of a pig.

‘Yeah, he did okay today,’ he admitted grudgingly. ‘Still doesn’t excuse all the other times he’s been a complete fuck up. I don’t trust him to have my back in the field.’

‘Not like Max.’

‘No, not like Max at all.’ Joel shoved the last mouthful of pizza into his mouth, wiped his hands on a serviette and threw it in the box. ‘So, Angell, what say you and I go for a drink?’

His suggestion had her frowning.

‘No, Hickok. I thought I made myself clear. I’m in a relationship. I’m not going for a drink with you.’

‘Chill out. I’m not asking you out on a date. I said let’s go for a drink.’

‘Theoretically, they are the same thing. Besides, I remember the last time we went for a drink you got yourself punched in the face and it ended up being my fault.’