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Sonya thought she knew him well enough now to recognize the tone.
“It’s yours.”
“No, no way. This piece has got to be worth—”
“A custom doghouse?”
“Shit. Damn it. Done.”
She surprised him by throwing her arms around him and giving him a noisy kiss.
He shot Trey a smug look. “You’re doomed now, pal. You know what happens when I kiss a woman.”
“She kissed you,” Trey pointed out.
“I can fix that.” But he turned back to the desk. “It’ll be interesting getting this out of here.”
As they worked their way through, the bell began to ring.
“There she goes,” Sonya muttered.
Trey walked over, put his hand on the bell, stilled it. Under his hand, it began to vibrate.
“You’re just pissing her off.” But Cleo crossed over, put a hand over his. “Insistent. And cold, right?”
“Yeah, getting colder.”
He removed his hand and the bell swung wildly.
“We could take it off the board.”
“I thought of that.” Joining them, Sonya shook her head. “But it’s kind of an early warning system. Plus, ignoring it’s like flipping her off.”
“Any of the others do that?” Owen asked.
“Not that I’ve noticed. Cleo, look at this desk. The slant top. That’s mahogany, too, isn’t it? You should take this.”
“I already have a desk.”
“For work, for art. You should set up an office. We have all these rooms. And the more of them we really use? It just feels like sticking a thumb in her eye.”
“When you put it that way.”
“It’s looking like we’re just the muscle,” Owen commented, then pointed. “What about down there?”
Sonya looked at the basement door. “I don’t go down there. Ever.”
“Can’t skip the basement.”
He went to the door, and it creaked just as Sonya imagined it would when he opened it. He hit the switch. “Lights work,” he said, and started down the steep, narrow stairs.
“We’ll do a quick sweep,” Trey said. “You can stay here.”
“I’m not staying here.” Cleo looked at Sonya when Trey went down. “Are we staying here like helpless damsels?”
“Oh hell. You go first.”
The stark lights only added to the gloomy shadows and corners. The concrete floor showed a dull, unhappy gray. It held another labyrinth of rooms, low-ceilinged, bare walled.
