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My anger fizzles. I stare at my big duffel bag, at the familiar green and silver with the rainbow threads wrapped around the handle and the tiny blue-haired troll doll dangling from the zipper.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“No, I didn’t, but I did it anyway. You’re welcome.”
I stride over, grab the suitcase, and drag it back into the room. “Thanks.”
“The place looks clear, by the way,” he calls as I shut the bedroom door, lock it, and start going through what he grabbed. More toiletries, more clothes, lots of practical stuff. Even a few work outfits, which I’m insanely grateful for. “Nobody was watching it.”
I lay out an outfit. Slacks and a conservative blouse. “How do you know?” I call back.
“I checked.” His voice is right outside of the door, but he doesn’t try the knob. “Believe it or not, I do this a lot.”
I pause for a second, wondering if he can barge in here, and decide to take the risk. I remove the robe and start getting dressed. “What about the rest of the apartment? Any clues left behind?”
“Nothing and I checked for that too. It looks like whoever broke in went to town and threw everything around, but that felt a little too…” He trails off.
“A little too what?”
“Obvious. Like that’s what they wanted us to think, or at least that’s what they want the cops to think if you got them involved. Like it’s clearly a robbery gone awry or something.”
“But they didn’t take anything worthwhile.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Once my clothes are on and I feel halfway decent, I walk over and open the door. He’s leaning against the wall to my right and looks me up and down. “You’re in your armor.”
“I wish I had real armor. Then at least I’d feel safe around you.”
He laughs as I brush past him and go get some more coffee. I managed to grab some sleep, but not much sleep, and now I’m dragging.
“Let’s not pretend like you feel nervous with me around, my frigid princess.”
“Do not bring up last night.”
“Why? You invited me into your bed. You feel safe with me.”
“I feel like it was a mistake to let my guard down.”
“You kissed me.”
I turn on him as my anger flares. “You kissed me, and I was too tired and stupid to stop you.”
“You moaned, princess.” He’s grinning at me. The bastard knows exactly what he’s doing right now and I’m falling into his trap but I can’t help it.
“Just because I have an involuntary intake of breath—”
“My god, you must be the best lawyer in the world if you just came up with that insanity. Involuntary intake of breath?”
“It was a physical reaction. Absolutely no moaning occurred last night.”
He barks a laugh, looking delighted and mystified. “You moaned, princess. You whimpered!”
“I absolutely did not whimper. Again, that was an involuntary—”
“Yes, I get it, involuntary intake of breath. Shit, Nicolas is all but free already if you bring this energy to his case.”
I ball my hands into fists and glare at him down. I can’t let him think this is all some big joke. “Angelo, last night was a mistake. I was tired and not in a good place. I shouldn’t have invited you to sleep in bed with me and it won’t happen again.”
“I never thought it would.”
“Good. We can agree on that then.”
“But you are staying here for a while. No, I don’t want to hear it. You may think you need to protect yourself from involuntary intakes of breath whenever I’m around, but trust me, whoever flipped your apartment is much worse than me.”
I brush his stupid joke aside and let that sink in. “I’ll stay in the hotel, but I’m getting my own room.”
“No. You’re staying right here where I can see you.” The intensity of his stare makes my spine buzz. “I get you think I’m a lousy asshole, and that’s fine. But princess, I am absolutely not letting you out of my sight until whoever fucked with your apartment is behind bars for a long time.”
“Fine.” I put my hands on my hips. “Anything else?”
“One more thing.” He gets himself some coffee. “We’re meeting with the manager in an hour.”
“Excuse me?”
“The manager at Two Lane Inn. He was there during the murder and we’re going to talk to him.” He checks his watch. “I was told he starts work at noon.”
“I’m sorry, you were told? By whom?”
“The very nice girl that answered the phone when I called. Oh, don’t give me that look, I’m sure she’s not as pretty as you.”
I roll my eyes. “You can’t do that. You can’t set up interviews and make calls without my input.”
He puts a hand over his heart. “My word, I didn’t know I was crossing some invisible barrier. Next time I’ll wake you up from your deep slumber to get permission.”
