"I saw it on your face," he said. "We're not using you as bait."
"Who better?" I asked. "I can pretend to be naïve and subservient. Get his attention and then unleash Chef Stabby on him." I mimed driving a knife right into his jugular.
"Chef Stabby?" Boner looked up from his phone and grinned. "I like that. It suits you, love."
My face heated. I hadn't meant to say that out loud, but now I had, I liked it even more.
"I like it too," Archer said. "Heart-Renderer and Chef Stabby."
"Sounds like you both went to trade school," Boner said.
"I didn’t," Archer said. "I'm a playwright. But my father was a roofer. I used to help him."
I looked at him in surprise. I hadn't known that.
"That explains why you can creep around places," I said.
"I'm used to crawling around in ceilings and places like that," he said. "They're a good place to hide if you want to spy on someone. Small and hot, but convenient."
"Like Harlow's pussy," Boner said. "Small and hot."
"And convenient," I said dryly.
Boner leaned over to wind an arm around my shoulders and pull me to him. "That's not why I like you, or your pussy." He planted a kiss on the side of my mouth.
"Thanks, I think. Do you need any help planning for tomorrow night? I could cater for your little soirée."
Tomorrow was supposed to be my day off, but if it helped us catch Eros, I'd happily work.
"I suppose we could do with some…finger food," Boner said teasingly. "Shame Archer disposed of Fairfield's fingers. Although, it's not too late to find someone else to take his place."
"That's disgusting." Cass glanced up from shutting down his laptop. He hesitated. "You are joking, right? You wouldn't feed someone else actual, human body parts." He looked from me to Boner and back again.
My tongue slid across my lips.
"Harlow?" Cass' face paled.
"Sometimes I have to…" I started tentatively.
His skin turned from pale to green-tinged. "You wouldn't… You didn't… God, those meatballs."
I reached my hand out toward him. "Cass, I?—"
He shook his head, shot to his feet and bolted for the restroom.
I lowered my hand. "Shit."
"Cannibalism is frowned on in most parts of the world, but it's not as rare as you might think," Archer remarked. "Sometimes it was done out of desperation and other times it was ritual."
"You don't seem bothered by it," Boner pointed out.
"While it's not something I plan to take part in, I'm also not sentimental about humans and their meat. Especially when they're monsters." Archer shrugged.
"You don't want toknowinglybe accountable, but you approve of the monster mash, got it," Boner said with a smile, followed by a concerned glanced towards the restroom.
"One of us should check on him," I said.
I didn't think he'd want to talk to me right now. Or ever again.
