Jordyn: 3 happens to be my lucky number.
I try to hide my grin, but since I’m alone, I let it out.
Me: I can bring dinner or we can order in.
Jordyn: How about we go crazy and cook?
Me: That would be crazy since neither of us can cook.
Jordyn: Haha…that’s true. But can you grill a steak?
Me: Sure.
Jordyn: We’re all set then. You bring the protein and I’ll get the sides.
Me: ??
Jordyn: It’s a date then.
Text bubbles follow.
Jordyn: Not a date date. I didn’t mean that. Just a figure of speech.
Me: I know.
But preparing a meal together does sound intimate and domestic, belying the sex-only rule. I’m not concerned, though. Jordyn and I know what we’re doing.
Me: You’re good. See you tonight.
Max walks in and drops into the chair across from me. “Anything doing?” he asks, glancing at the monitors marked Sinclair Surveillance.
“Nothing suspicious. But then again, Freddy Bates knows the cameras are there. Anything on Hunt?” I ask.
“He stops off at Starbucks before work every morning, picks up lunch from Pescato’s, a trendy deli, and shops at Whole Foods. Far as I can tell, his worst offense is being a yuppie. Want me to keep tailing him?”
“Not for now. What about the slashed tire and window?”
“My contact at the 534 thinks it’s teen vandalism. There’s been a string of them.”
“Yeah, maybe,” I say, unconvinced.
He peers at me with the keen eyes of a former cop. “What’s up, Stiles?”
“What’s up with what?”
He shifts his bulk in the chair and twirls one end of his handlebar mustache. “I get that Ms. Sinclair is connected to a major client. But you’re spending a lot of time and resources on a slashed tire, broken window, and presentation mishap.”
“Got something you want to say to me? Then say it.”
“I just said it.”
Quills of anger spike in defense. “You want off this? I can give it to Hilton.”
“I do whatever work you assign me and never complain. It’s not about that. You are the most strategic and unaffected person I know. Nothing gets to you. But since this case, you’ve been different—personally invested. And I’m wondering if something about it is making you see potential danger where there doesn’t appear to be any.”
I rein in my temper. Max doesn’t know about my past. He doesn’t know how badly I failed Lilah. If the roles were reversed, I’d be asking him the same question. “I’m following a hunch. And until I’m satisfied that Jordyn Sinclair isn’t in harm’s way, I’m going to do my best for her.”
* * *
