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“Who’s that?” asked Ali.
“That’s Buck’s sister, Flynn,” answered Stella. “Come on, let’s go inside.”
The front door opened before we got to it, and Decker stepped out. I opened my mouth to ask how he’d gotten in but thought better of it.
“Don’t worry,” he said, clapping my back. “I made sure you and Stella weren’t here before I went in.”
While we waited for Cope, Ali, and Irish to join us, I followed Stella into the bedroom.
“I’m just grabbing my laptop,” she said when she saw me behind her.
Once we were over the threshold, I put my arm around her. “I’m just grabbing another kiss.”
“You’re insatiable.”
“Does it bother you?” I asked when she kissed me just as hard as I had her.
“It’s just one of the things I love about you.”
“Oh! Excuse me,” I heard a familiar voice say from the hallway. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I was just looking for the restroom.”
“Other side of the hall,” I said to Ali without releasing my grip on the woman in my arms.
“I’m adding incorrigible to the list too,” said Stella, taking my hand and leading me out of the bedroom.
“Uh, did you forget something?”
She turned back, smiled, and reached up to kiss me.
“Thanks for the kiss,” I said, pulling her laptop out from behind my back. “But I meant this.”
Ali came out of the bathroom then and glared at me. Now wasn’t the time, but soon, I needed to put that woman in her place. What was between Stella and me was none of her damn business.
“Shall we get started?” asked Cope, motioning for the rest of us to take a seat.
Decker caught my eye and winked. He stood and cleared his throat. “Before we do that, you should know that Stella is the lead on this mission. Anything related to the execution of it, has to be approved by her.”
Cope’s eyes opened wide. “Is Stella contracting for the Invincibles now?”
“That’s right, and if this goes as well as I’m hoping and she’s interested, we may offer her a permanent partnership. Her exceptional investigative skills are certainly worth adding to the team.”
I didn’t know if Deck was playing Cope, which was more than likely, but I had to contain my laughter at how effectively it was working.
“Take a seat, Copeland,” I muttered before turning to Stella, who was looking between Deck and me with wide eyes. “Go ahead whenever you’re ready.”
“One place for us to begin is with the emails Barb sent to me over the course of several years. At first glance, they appear like nothing, but both Buck and I believe they hold carefully constructed and hard-to-decipher clues.”
“Like the message I sent you about La Chapelle-Saint-Maurice,” I said to Cope.
Irish’s head snapped up. “You didn’t mention that to me.”
“I apologize. I wasn’t sure it meant anything.”
“Where’s the email?”
“I’m forwarding it to you now, Irish,” Stella said, leaning over her laptop. She bit her bottom lip and took a deep breath. “I apologize if any of this is redundant, but I think it’s important we are all up to speed before moving forward. It might be best if we went back to the beginning.”
Ali opened her laptop. “Review is good. Let’s do it.”
