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“And you want my daughter specifically?”
“Well… notspecifically. I could reach out to a few of my contacts back in New York, but I read about what happened to Jennifer and her experimental treatment. I guess I see enough similarities here to want a consult on my antidote.”
“Agree to come to my thing, and I’ll make your consult happen.”
“Excuse me?” I blink once. Twice. “What?”
Former district attorney Justin Lawrence sniggers at my words. “I said, agree to provide a united front to the city by attending my function, and I’ll call my daughter just as soon as you and I hang up.”
“And what’s stopping me from agreeing, getting the consult, then just not showing up to thething?”
“Integrity,” he murmurs. “A spine. So, your decision, Doctor?”
“Fine.” I push up to stand when my cell phone vibrates on my desk. “Make the call. I’ll come to your thing.”
“Nice doing business with you, Chief. I’ll send her your way just as soon as I can.”
“Good. Great. Thanks.”
I hang up without saying goodbye, then I hit accept on my cell and bring that to my ear. Stepping around my desk, I wave for Aubree to follow through the door.
“This is Mayet.”
“Minnnka.” Archer’s voice slices straight to my gut and sets my nerves on fire.
I’m determined to put on a professional front, an unruffled countenance. If I’m going to end this with the cleanest break possible, then I have to be calm and detached.
“You’re not at your apartment?” he asks.
“I’m at my office. I have nothing else to give you on Lana yet, but I’m working on it. When I have answers, I’ll give them to you.” Stopping in front of the elevator, I hit the down button and step in when the doors open. On my right, Aubree hits level two. “I’ll email you when I have my findings, Detective Malone.”
“Did you eat?” I hear his footsteps echo. His breath comes fractionally faster than normal because he’s on the move. “Minka? Did you eat?”
“Don’t take care of me,” I snap. “In fact, I’d like to keep our communications strictly professional from here on out. I suspect you’ll want to see your victim at some point this morning, so if you call ahead, I’ll have one of my techs take you down and answer your questions.”
The elevator dings before the second floor. The doors open and reveal an unsmiling Archer, while beside him, Fletcher struggles to contain his mirth.
“Oh good.” Archer steps onto the elevator and pushes between me and Aubree, who jumps away with a squeak like his arm touching hers burns. “You’re heading down now.”
Archer leans past me, brushing against me with slow, deliberate movements, then he hits the button for the second floor. “Lucky coincidence,” his hot breath hits my neck and sends goosebumps sprinting along my arms, “because we’d like to see our vic now.” Killing our call and stepping back into place behind me, Archer’s aftershave fills the elevator and makes me dizzy when I attempt to hold my breath instead of inhale his scent.
His body heat caresses my back. His very essence is like a living thing that wraps me up and keeps me warm. But he doesn’t touch me, instead leaning against the rear wall of the elevator. He doesn’t reach out and press his fingers to my neck like I thought he might.
And that loss, I realize right in this moment, hurts more than I expected.
More than Miranda’s smug grin last night.
“Can we invoke the rules of the Neutral Cube of Truth-Telling and Fantasy-Living?” Aubree peeks across at me from the corner of her eyes. “Please? Because I think there’s some stuff that needs to be said, and being inside a neutral cube of—”
“No.”
As soon as the elevator stops on the second floor and the doors open, I push out into the small, lobby-like area and continue toward the negative temperature refrigerators that use up probably eighty-five percent of my electricity budget.
“Aubree, you go get your guy out.” I stop in place and wave her forward. “I’m gonna call Flynn down to help the detectives. I have other calls to make, so—”
“Stop pretending I don’t exist.” When Aubree steps through the door, and a smiling Fletcher swaggers in to follow, Archer grabs the sleeve of my coat and pulls me around. “Stop pretending I’m a stranger in the street.”
I choke out a laugh that is perilously close to becoming a sob. “You are a stranger, Archer. I hardly know you, yet you insist on making this something it’s not.”
