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"Maybe."

After he left and the twins were sent to start homework, I found myself on the back porch with Katherine while the others finished cleaning up inside. She'd stolen a beer from the fridge, and took small sips while staring at the darkening sky.

"You liked playing," I observed.

"As soon as the game came out, I bought a PlayStation. I played for days." Even in the dim light I could see her blushing.

She glanced at me. "You planning to watch Quantum Strike now?"

"Already started downloading it while you were playing."

"It's terrible. Fun, but terrible. The plot's held together with make-up and stunts, and my character wears completely impractical outfits for combat."

"But you learned real tactics for it."

"Method acting." She took another sip of beer. "Plus I've always been competitive. If I'm going to play a superhero, I want to actually be capable of the things she does. Within reason."

The back door opened. Angelica stuck her head out. "We're heading back to the hotel. You ready?"

Katherine stood, handed me the half-finished beer. "Thank you. For the walk. For pulling me out of the chaos. For not treating me like I'm made of glass."

"You're not made of glass. Glass doesn't survive fifteen years in Hollywood."

She smiled, that real one again. "Goodnight, Code."

"Goodnight, Katherine."

She followed Angelica inside. I heard goodbyes, Bonnie insisting they take leftover lasagna, the kids begging Katherine to come back and play more games tomorrow.

I stayed on the porch, finishing the beer she'd abandoned. Through the window, I watched her hug the twins goodbye. They'd already adopted her, like they'd adopted me. The Drakos family had that effect, pulling people into their orbit whether they planned it or not.

My phone buzzed. A text from Roan at Onyx.

ROAN: Got a meeting set up with you and Hart Laramie tomorrow.

I typed back a thanks, then double checked that Quantum Strike was available on my phone.

I thought about Katherine's face when she'd talked about Passing Through Jordan. The passion there, the purpose. Someone was trying to take that from her, and they'd been planning it for months. Patient. Methodical. Personal.

I got up from the porch and made my way inside. Time to hit the sack and watch a movie. I tried to tell myself it was necessary for the case, but I’d never been good at lying to myself.