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Linus gestured for Kev to give him the chair, but Kev held out his palm and made a flirty request for the Horn first. Once Linus handed it over, Kev stood up, but Linus didn’t move aside right away. Instead, he made Kev, who was blushing madly, brush past him chest-to-chest before taking his seat, and laughed softly at the way Kev scurried toward the bed.
I made a silent vow that I was going to break every one of Linus’s tiny fingers so the man would never be able to play with his Horn again.
Kev ducked his head shyly and took a spot on the bed where the light was dim and Linus would be less likely to see what he was doing.
“I can’t believe you have a Silver Cloven Horn!” Kev said excitedly. “You never said. So sexy! I sort of imagined you with one that’s smoky black. Or maybe deep red. But this is even better. I mean, at least it’s not green or blue!” Kev’s laughter sounded forced to anyone who knew him, but Linus didn’t. “I always say you can’t trust a man with a green Horn. They’ll turn on you every time.”
Riggs glanced at my green Horn, which I’d left lying on the table, and then at me. He didn’t ask for an explanation, and I didn’t offer any.
Linus seemed to be ignoring Kev entirely, which was probably Kev’s goal with his relentless chatter. He was turning on his awkwardness full blast and expecting it to repel the asshole at the desk, like it had so many people. I wanted to clap for him. I wanted to cry for him.
I wanted him to hurry the fuck up.
“C’mon, c’mon,” I murmured.
Kev snuck a Wi-Fi-enabled transfer dongle out of his pocket and slipped it into the side of the Horn before tapping away at the Horn as if pretending to play it. “So, were you still interested in being allies in the tournament? Now that we completed the duchess quest and you leveled up, I don’t see any reason why we can’t! Oh, but remind me that I need to transfer you an Apple Butter Booster before the games start tomorrow. My boyfriend deserves allll the boosters. I’m a very loyal sort of person that way,” he chirped happily. “Meanwhile, those who cross me will find their homesteads—and I mean any and all of their homesteads—pillaged entirely, their villagers relocated, and their fields salted. If they think burning a kelp forest was bad, they should buckle their tattooed asses up and fucking tremble, because they have no idea how truly vicious I can be when I’m motivated.” He gave a light little laugh that might have suggested he was joking.
He wasn’t.
The suite went silent, and when I glanced up from the monitor, I saw multiple pairs of eyes watching me warily. Even Laurel gave me a sympathetic grimace.
“Huxley,” Champ asked conversationally. “What the fuck did you do?”
“Could we focus on the op, please?” I demanded. “A man’s life is on the line here, people.”
The female agent in front of me perked up, drawing everyone’s attention. “Data incoming.”
Laurel and two other agents raced over to get a better view. Normally, the data would be 100 percent my wheelhouse, but at that moment, I couldn’t move my eyes away from the source of the danger… and the most precious person in my life, who was sitting right behind him.
Linus was typing quickly, probably searching Kev’s computer to see if there was any other Horn-related data on it. He was quickly disappointed.
“How much data have you had to secure on this machine?” he asked over his shoulder. “Any other, ah… examples you could show me for my article?”
“Nope. Just that list of usernames. That’s all they gave me so far,” Kev said without thinking, not realizing his answer took away Linus’s need to continue focusing on the laptop.
“Glk!” I said in Laurel’s direction. I’d meant to say something like, “Get someone in there, he’s looking,” but it came out as a choked cry.
She was already in action, grabbing her radio. “Go!” she told the distraction team. Immediately, a strong knocking could be heard on Linus’s door.
Kev still had the transfer dongle in the device. Thankfully, Linus stood up while keeping his attention focused on the door and didn’t notice. Unfortunately, before he moved away from the desk, he took a weapon from the drawer.
“Fuck,” Champ said. “We need to go in.”
Laurel shook her head. “No warrant yet. Stand down.”
“Tough shit,” Champ barked. “We got the data. That’s my guy in there, and I’m not gonna wait around while an armed suspect decides whether to—”
“Wait, look!” I cried, pointing at the monitor. “He’s signaling us.”
Kev kept his chin pointed down at the game, trying to pretend he hadn’t spotted Linus’s gun. And against his thigh, where Linus wouldn’t notice, my brave, intelligent man held out his hand with all five fingers splayed in a “wait” gesture.
