“Just because he’s here doesn’t mean he’s being propped up.” Soph brings her gaze back to her sister. “Don’t let it worry you, okay? Cordoza cares for you, and Agosti no longer has claws. If anything, I suspect Cordoza brought him along as nothing more than a caged pet to be humiliated and placed on display.”
Archer snarls in the back of his throat. “Cordoza’s old enough and smart enough to know better. Pets are to stay home, lest they defecate on the dance floor.”
“Pleasant mental imagery.” I rest against his chest once more, lay my ear over his pounding heart, and consider how much longer we have to stay. “Can the Solomons go away yet? I wanna dance with my husband, and talking about ugly middle-aged men with receding hairlines is dragging me down.”
“Rude.” But Soph slips out of Jay’s hold and circles behind my back. She grabs her sister by the hand before leading her and the men away.
“Can we leave yet?” I finger Archer’s tie, fussing with the silky fabric to distract myself from the eyes I feel on the back of my head. “Aubree and Tim are married. The cake has been served. You and I danced, even. That’s enough, right?”
“Yeah.”
He says one thing, but his shifting eyes over the top of my head, his heated gaze moving from Felix and Christabelle, to Micah, to Tim, to Cato, say something else entirely.
“You’re worried about them?” I fold backwards and draw his facedown. “You’re scared of me being out of your sight for even a second, so much so that you tracked me down and fucked away your frustrations. But you’re scared for them, too?”
“Wary.” He gently tugs himself free of my grip. “Prepared to step in before anyone starts anything.”
“Do youexpectanyone to start anything? This isn’t a typical New York event, right? Tim isn’t your father, and Aubree has nothing to do with any of them.”
He massages my back, digging his fingers into tense muscles like he knew they were giving me trouble. But he doesn’t break focus on the guards surrounding the room.
Felix’s and Cordoza’s.
Checkmate.
Resigned, I wrap my arms around his waist and move in closer. “So I guess we’re staying till they leave, huh? I’m with you, Archer. Wherever. For however long it takes.”
He breathes a sigh of relief and presses a kiss to the top of my head. “Thank you.”
ARCHER
“Iguess I expected you to carry your stress at the beginning of the day.” Fletch wanders closer, winking at Minka and smirking that way he does when he knows it annoys me. “Can’t believe you’re getting more tense as the night goes on.”
“Shit always gets worse when the sun goes down.” I tug an empty chair out on my left and wait for him to sit down. “Things go bump in the night, Charlie Fletcher. You didn’t know that?”
“I do. I just prefer to avoid thinking about these things if I can help it.” He lazily reaches halfway across the table, snagging a three-quarters full carafe of water and an unused glass, then settling back again, he pours most of the way to the top. “Already had three beers. Probably should switch to water now, right?”
“Three beers over four hours?” Minka crosses her legs beneath the table, yards of heavy gown draping over what I know to be a bandaged knee underneath. “Considering your weight, I’d say you’re technically still safe to drive. Do you feel intoxicated?”
“Nope. But I’m thirsty as fuck.” He sets the carafe down and snatches up the glass, drinking half in three long, noisy gulps that end with anahhhh. “Chugging alcohol is gonna get me in trouble, and those first three beers went downsmooth.This is me making responsible choices, Delicious.”
“Then have at it.” She picks up a fork not yet cleared by the waitstaff and turns it between her fingers. “What time is it?”
“A little past eleven. Way past my daughter’s bedtime. But every time Isuggest we go, she says no.” He sets the water down and twists in his chair, staring at the duo on the dance floor. “She’s Cinderella, and she’s not done with this night.”
“You’re supposed to be the king of that castle,” I tease. “The boss. The authority.”
In my peripherals, Cordoza stands from his table and heads toward the doors leading into the hall, three guards quickly moving on his heels.
“You’re the dad, aren’t you?” I drag my focus back around. Anything to stop Minka from worrying. Analyzing. Overthinking on my behalf. “You say bed, she’s supposed to say,Yes, sir.”
“Yeah, right.” Smirking, he turns his glass on the table and creates a water circle against the crisp table linen. “She hasn’t had a chance to hang out with Sera this much in ages, and she’s wearing such a pretty dress. She’s not giving this day up for anybody.” He tips his chin toward the dance floor. “You and Banks kissed and made up yet?”
I follow his gaze and stop on the irritating Detective Drake Banks draped over his future-medical-examiner girlfriend. For just a moment, while he’s looking at her, he seems like a decent dude. But like hefeelsmy stare, he peers this way and sours.
“Guess not.” Fletch laughs. “It’s ironic how much shit he gives you for the family you come from, but when Felix walks past, he says nothing.”
“Makes him a pussy. He’s got too much time on his hands and nothing to do with it except bitch about me. He has no partner, which means Lieutenant Fabian assigns him no cases, so he’s bored and lonely.” I lift my chin, just to piss him off. “He hates that the highlight of his day is whatever sloppy seconds work we toss his way.”
