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“I never once said I couldn’t cook,” Lake said sternly, shoving a steaming spatula in my face, before rolling her eyes and going back to whatever she was moving around in a pan that smelled so good my mouth was watering. “Every time I mentioned getting something to eat, a stampede of sexy, muscled men had meals ready for me.” She bit back her smile and my growl and continued. “It would have been rude to refuse.”
I wanted to argue, but she was completely on point with how quickly every man in that house had been to take care of her. She’d turned a team of highly trained guards into personal chefs. “I guess it helps that your detail was large enough that someone was always in the kitchen.”
“Yup, that was the reason,” Lake laughed and rolled her eyes.
“You’re a pain in the ass,” I grumbled, pulling her back against me as I kissed the top of her head.
“Not normally, but if that’s your thing,” she shrugged and gave an adorable snort. “You’re hot enough for me to give it a try.”
The chuckle from the doorway startled both of us from our intimate moment, and Lake launched the spatula across the room in reflex, covering Kasey’s t-shirt in grease and ground beef. Her hands shot to her mouth in shock and I nearly lost my balance as my head fell back and I laughed.
“This shirt is vintage,” he bit out in a tone so chilled that Lake took a step back pressing her back against my chest. He wasn’t looking at her though. No, Kasey was flicking pieces of meat from his oil splattered shirt.
“I swear I will find you another,” She paused to read the words arched around the cartoon man, “Captain Plant t-shirt.”
I was once again lost to laughter as Kasey snarled, “Captain Planet!”
“Alright, enough. Kasey it's a shirt, get over it and tell me what the hell you’re doing walking in here without even a knock.” I stepped around Lake at the stove as she removed the pan from the heat and leaned a hip against the island.
“I drew the short straw for breaking up the honeymoon,” He said, still upset about his ruined clothes. Kasey had an obsession with his t-shirts. Not in the way that a normal person would obsess, like making sure they were clean and wrinkle free. No, he had a deep need to own every random graphic tee that referenced something in pop culture, even if it was decades passed as seen on him just then.
His words sank in, and I had to remind myself that I couldn’t keep Lake locked up in the building with me forever even if we’d spent the last several days not even leaving the apartment. There was someone after her and the sooner we took care of him, the sooner she could get back to-
Back to what? Back to traveling all over just to make gossip pages the next day? Back to spending little more than a night in her own bed before she was gone again? Even if she did decide to stay in the damn country for more than a weekend, she’d be in New York. Hardly the worst in terms of long distance, but anywhere other than in my bed and my life seemed too far.
“We could really use you, man. It’s tough work with just me and Fitz.”
“Why isn’t Cabot working the case?” I instantly felt myself slipping back into work mode.
“Oh he is, but you know he’s about as helpful as a bull in a china shop.”
“Be nice,” Lake warned as she continued with cooking, moving around the kitchen like she’d lived here for years. Seeing her so comfortable in my space did something to my heart that I didn’t want to focus on just yet.
“I’ll meet you in your office in ten,” I said, turning my attention back to Kasey. He gave a two finger salute and spun on his heel, mumbling about his ruined shirt as he left.
I turned back to Lake but she rolled her eyes at me and shooed me off, down the hall to change from the sweats and t-shirt that had become my new uniform while locked up here with her, when we were clothed at all that is.
I was buttoning the cuff of my shirt, exiting the room, when Lake popped around the corner from the kitchen with a plastic container in hand. She held it up with a triumphant smile and looking through the clear lid, my mouth watered instantly. Three tacos were settled in a row in the container, all fixed up to perfection.
“Take it on one condition,” she said through a wry smile.
“Whatever it is, I’m in. Just give me the tacos.”
“You’re not allowed to share with Jack, and you have to loudly comment on how good they are as you eat them in front of him.” She pressed the container into my hands, and when I made no move besides raising a questioning eyebrow, she gave a long, suffering sigh and threw her hands up. “He spent nearly the entire time we were in the Hamptons scaring me every time I turned a damn corner. He always apologized, but it was in the middle of laughter, so I doubt the sincerity.” She passed over a bag containing a smaller container and a fork. “Spanish rice. Payback’s a bitch.”
“Who is this woman?” I asked to the room at large, earning me a playful punch to the arm. But the question still tugged at me.
Lake had seemed to blossom since she told her father off and decided to make her own choice to stay. I wasn’t enough of an asshole to assume that it was the mind blowing sex that had her spirits up, but I also knew she was avoiding the seriousness of the situation she was in. She didn’t ignore it completely or pretend it wasn’t happening to her. She didn’t check out when the stress was overwhelming her…
Then again, she hadn’t really experienced anything stressful since that day. I had no idea how she might react once there was information on her two missing friends. Two friends she didn’t mention, but I still caught her glancing at selfies taken over the years with them, saved to her phone. She never cried when looking at them, but a grim resignation crossed her face before she’d turn her phone off and turn her attention to me. Not that I would ever complain about her attention. I hadn’t felt this well used since my early twenties, and my mind hadn’t been this clear since… well since telling her about Remy.
As much as I wanted to watch her dance around the kitchen as she cleaned up the dinner mess, I had to get back to work. Giving her a quick smile, I left the apartment, arms full of food, feeling like I was leaving home for the first time in my life.
“Tacos!” Kasey hollered the second I entered the room as he rushed toward me, arms outstretched, ready to pluck the containers from my hands.
I pulled back and gave him a look that said I would kick his ass if he took another step. He stopped, gave the container a longing look and turned back to his desk in defeat. Cabot sat on the couch in the corner, rolling his eyes, and Fitz hurried into the room after me, almost knocking my loot from my arms. He looked up from his phone and frowned.
“Do I know you?” he asked pointedly.
