“Lock ourselves in and wait the Malones out?” He slides the pad of his thumb along the line of my jaw, studying me with adoring contemplation. “We’ll take it hour by hour. It’s possible we may want to venture out by noon.”
“Noon, December twenty-third, two-thousand thirty-two?” One song ends, and another begins. Same beat, same tempo, similar love-centered lyrics. “You underestimate my ability to stay cooped up in one space without having to interact with other human beings.”
Sophia slams into my side, knocking the oxygen from my lungs and scaring my pulse into a thousand beats a minute.
“Sophia! What the hell?—”
“Tell me, Chief! Who wants me dead?”
MINKA
“Who wants me dead?” Soph’s dark brown eyes burn against the side of my face. She dances with her husband—sort of—draping her arms over his shoulders while his glare scours the room above my head. “Who has my name on their murder board? Tell me now, or forever experience my wrath.”
“Oh, for God’s sake.” I tip my head forward and bash it against Archer’s chest. “Let me dance in peace, I beg you.”
“Just tell me what you know, and I’ll leave you be. Is it Preston?” She grabs my hair and tugs me back. “He’s one of our newer hires, and he’s always got this glint in his eyes.”
I lift a single, questioning brow. “A glint?”
“Yes! Like he’s always thinking of something funny. Like he’s always got a joke. It’s not possible that someone can bethathappythatoften. Is it Preston?”
“Doubtful.” I brush her hand away and plaster my body to my husband’s. “Pretty sure it’s not Preston.”
“Knowing who it’snotmeans you know who itis.” Soph takes a step forward, too, mirroring my pose and laying her cheek on Jay’s chest so we dance eye to eye. “Is it him?” She makes a show of jutting her chin forward, gesturing past me.
With a noisy sigh and all the strength I can summon, I turn my face and catch an eyeful of the mayor’s adult daughter dancing with her husband.
“Jen’s degree makes her a perfect candidate for scientific research that could change the world. The chick has a massive brain inside that pretty head, and we all know it. Her opportunities are endless, but she splits her time between me and this project she’s been working on. Corey loves her, which means he wants what’s best for her, right?”
I don’t sigh again. I won’t. But I lean against an impossibly patient Archer and drag my head back around. “One would assume a loving husband wants the best for his wife.”
“Exactly! But he knows she won’t leave me for as long as I live.” She wrinkles her nose. “Is it him?”
“Soph—”
“I’d hate to lose him, considering our years of teamwork and his flying skills. But if it’s between my life and his?—”
I choke out an exhausted laugh. “You’d turn on your own crew so easily?”
“Please don’t kill him,” Archer rumbles. “This discussion makes the crime premeditated. I’ll be compelled to testify against you in court.”
“I don’t see the insides of courtrooms, Detective.” Her eyes flicker back to mine. “Is it him or not? I don’t wanna hit wrong and make an enemy of the Lawrence family.”
“It’s not him.” I drop my arms and wrap them around Archer’s ribs instead of his shoulders. “I promise.”
“So you know who it is.” She shoots her gaze around the room, searching for her next target. “Doubt it’s the other Rosa. He’s solid, and technically, he’s married to my sister. His loyalty to her probably keeps his murderous urges under control.”
“The things we do for our spouses,” Archer drawls. “Life sure would be easier if our beloved simply didn’thavemurderous urges.”
“You get what you get, Detective. And you don’t get upset.” She continues her scan of the room. “I know I considered Riley in the past, but he’s looking forward to this new leg we have in pre-production. It’s not set for use until Christmas, and the hippie said I was dead in October, right?”
“Right.” She’s exhausting, but I’ve had more taxing conversations with less Archer to rest against, so I snuggle into his chest and enjoy the constant, strong beat of his heart. There’s no anxiety now. Not even a nervous thrum. And that’swithSophia Solomon so close.I suppose he’s finally come to accept her annoying presence in my life. “Probably not Riley.”
Suspicious, she inches away from Jay and stares up into his eyes.Silence. Probing. Skepticism. But then she shakes her head and settles again. “Nah. Not him.”
Jay purses his lips.
“Ya know, this could all go away if you simply stopped being obnoxious toward Aubree.” I lift my shoulders in a barely there, hardly moving shrug. “But what do I know?”
