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“I’ll follow you up,” he snarls, his teeth bared. “If that’s what you want, I’ll come too. We can talk. Figure this mess out. Find a compromise and quit with the merry-go-round we’re on. But you’renotgoing to bring some dude into my place and act like it doesn’t bother me.”
“I’ll take him somewhere else, then.” She steps back, stopping only when the heels of her high-tops touch Xavier’s shiny shoes. “It’s called being friendly, Malone. It’s called being a decent person. What you’re doing…” She waves her hand up and down in front of my brother-in-law. “Is being mean and greedy. Catch up, Timothy. I’ve moved on.” She grabs Xavier’s sleeve and clicks her tongue for an almost fire-breathing Malone. “It’s time you consider moving on, too. This isn’t healthy. This lusting for someone who doesn’t want you back. I learnedmylesson. Now it’s time you—”
Surging forward, Tim sweeps Aubree up and throws her over his shoulder.
It’s all entirely too theatrical. Too dramatic, the way she pounds her closed fists against his back, and how her colorful shoes swing through the air and miss Cato’s face by a single hair. Maybe that’s why, in a bar filled with cops, no one attempts to save the woman who’s being carried away against her wishes.
Of course, as her best friend, it’s my job to fight for her. To stop the madness and let her bang the cute lab tech if that’s what she wants.
But I know better. I know what she wants most of all.
Whoshe wants.
And it’s not the newest George Stanley staff member.
“Put me down!” she screeches. “Tim! You asshole, I said put me down.”
Tim ignores her request, and carries her out of the bar by way of the stairs leading up to his apartment, and when they’re out of sight, Cato swings around and faces us.
“Well… that was fun. Did you solve a crime today?”
“Nope.” I take the glass from his hand and sniff its contents before the boy-man has a chance to react. “Is this alcohol?”
“What the hell?” He steals his glass back, spilling liquid so it coats my thumb and wrist. Like a petulant child, he drinks his juice, and scowls. “Don’t touch my things. Unless you want to touch my—”
“Don’t.” Archer swings out and smacks his baby brother’s ear so everyone hears the clap. Then he sets my bag on an empty stool, and perches his ass on the next.
Slinging his arm around my stomach, he tugs me back, and when Daisy, Tim’s only staff member, slides a second beer to where we are, Fletch sidles up beside us and takes it.
“Cheers.” Archer presses a kiss to the side of my neck, then takes a sip of beer. “Do we let the Tim and Aubree thing play out, or should we save her?”
“Uncle Tim is so funny!” Mia cackles, like this is all a game to her. “He acts so grumpy.”
“Uh-huh. It’s all an act,” I mumble. “For sure.”
“Umm…” Xavier, all alone now that Aubree is gone, drops his hands in his pockets and rocks on his heels. “Just so we’re all clear, I’m not looking to date my coworkers.”
“Good.” I accept a soda when Daisy sets it on the bar with thethudof glass against wood. “We don’t encourage that kind of drama. Aubree’s fine, by the way,” I tilt my shoulder in the direction she disappeared. “Unhappy,” I allow. “Her ego is a little bruised. But she’s safe. He won’t hurt her.”
“If you say so. He’s kinda scary, huh? Got that ‘I’d kill a man with my bare hands and not feel bad about it’ vibe going on.”
Fletch chokes on his drink. “Something like that.” He uses his arm to wipe the mess that dribbled onto his chin. “You can go if you want, Campbell—Aubs isn’t coming downstairs for a while. Or you can stay here. Whatever. This is a family-friendly place, and we’re off the clock, which means it’s family time. If you want things to be work-only, I suggest you turn yourself around and get going. But if you’re looking to dig your heels in and really get to know your team…”
“I’m only staying for a minute, though,” I cut in, before Fletch can invite the guy to Sunday brunch. “Then I’m going to my apartment and having a shower.”
Cato’s eyes light up, and already, his toes point toward the door.
Mercilessly, I add, “You’re not invited.”
Instantly, his expression drops.
“I want an hour alone,” I continue. “An hour where my life feels normal, and we don’t have a houseguest. Which is fair,” I press on when he opens his mouth to speak. “Considering you’re intent on staying forever. I’m being as gracious as I can be under the circumstances.”
I sit back and find comfort in Archer’s lap. His chest hugging my body. His shoulder, the perfect place to rest my head. His heart pounds against mine so we’re almost in sync. But best of all, his lips touch my neck and bring me home. Helps me find my most relaxed state, as his fingers draw patterns on my hipbones, and his breath warms my skin.
If I have to be in a busy place, surrounded by too many people and too much noise, the one thing I ask is that I be wrapped in Archer Malone’s arms.
“I hear you were running a high-profile case today,” Campbell questions. His hands remain in his pockets, but he loosens a little of the rigidity in his shoulders and settles into what I guess he thinks will be his new normal: George Stanley during the day, Tim’s Bar at night. “It’s all over the news.”
