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The hall is freezing, and keeping the door open is akin to burning money. So, dragging her under my arm, I push the door shut again and flip the locks to keep everyone where they are.
I keep everyone elseout. And I keep herin.
“Your fragility scares the shit out of me, Minka.” I lead her through the kitchen and around my couch, then I push her down till she hits the cushions with athud.
I spin in search of a blanket, and when I find none in the living room, I dart into the hall and don’t stop until I arrive in my bedroom.
The beautiful Chloe sleeps on my bed, wrecked after a long day and biding her time until I pack it in for the night and come join her. Lazily, her eyes slit open as I snag the blanket from my bed, then with nothing more than a pursing of her lips, she closes her eyes again and goes back to sleep.
She’s not nearly as clingy as I expected she would be.
Moving by the closet before leaving my room, I select a pair of thick socks, then I head back into the living room to find Minka standing again, her body half-turned toward the door.
“Archer, I’m gonna—”
“Sit.” I grab her again and push her down. Then I drop the blanket onto her lap and work quickly, tucking it in at the sides until she’s cocooned in.
Lowering into a crouch, I reach under the blanket and pull her sneakers off. One, then the other. I don’t bother untying her laces, I just pop them free and let them fall wherever they want. Then, unballing the extra pair of socks, I slide them onto her feet, and grin when her passivity turns to a growl of impatience.
“Stop babying me, Archer.”
“Stop giving me reasons to,Minnnka.” After fixing her blanket and tucking her feet in, I finally push up to stand, then I sit on the coffee table across from her and look into her seductive eyes. “You scare me.”
“I demand to be treated like a normal grown woman. I’ve made my boundaries clear on several occasions.”
“Hyper-independence isn’t healthy. Did you know that?”
She narrows her eyes to threatening slits. “What?”
Chuckling, I reach across to my soda and crack the top open.
I need a caffeine fix, and I’m not gentlemanly enough to get another for the guest I dragged into my apartment.
So much for telling them to go away.
“Are you okay?”
She continues to study me through narrowed eyes. “Yes. I’m fine.”
“Your blue lips?”
“It’s January,” she snarls. “It’s what happens. Your responses are the issue here. Not me.”
I bring my drink to my lips and take a moment to study her. She’s a blob now, wrapped in a thick blanket and rendered damn near unable to move. But the blanket doesn’t stop me from seeing her neck. The tops of her shoulders. The delicate skin leading up to a small heart tattoo. “I’m happy to see your face. Though, I’m surprised. You haven’t stopped by in weeks.”
“I’m a busy woman. Did you catch anything new about our vics today?”
“Yeah. Sol’s deli does a mean sandwich. And your thing about the pussy dude being our killer grew stronger. Second vic, who is actually the first, if we follow the timeline, was a mom too. She had a little boy, just like Kiera.”
It takes a moment for my words to filter in. For Minka to process them. But then grief passes through her eyes. Understanding. Maybe a little rage too. “Where’s Fletcher?”
“We’re off-duty. He’s probably banging some chick right now.”
When Minka’s lips flatten and I swear,I swear, she’s about to mention me and my banging habits, I chuckle and add, “We also caught another tip on an ongoing investigation. Fletch said he’d follow up on it before packing in for the day.”
“Oh?” A single sharp brow wings up. “What other case are you working on?”
“Vigilante.” I find pleasure in how we’re slowly but viciously drawing closer. “The chief basically told us to leave Dowel’s case alone, since no one really cares that he’s dead.”
