He didn’t even know how to answer that. He could muddle through it, but did he want to go to the department store again? Absolutely not. Oliver deflated. “Yeah, it’s fine. I might stay in the store’s dining room for that trip. I’m sure Teresa doesn’t want me intruding upon all of your father-daughter time.”
Felipe reached across the table to pat Oliver’s hand and give it a comforting squeeze. “I know going on all these outings hasn’t been easy for you, but I hope you know how much I appreciate what you’re doing for me, Oliver. If it gets to be too much, let me know, and we’ll figure something out.”
Nodding, Oliver flashed him a tired smile. “I will.”
“Speaking of that, I ran into Gwen before. She wanted to know if we were still meeting for breakfast in the dining room tomorrow. I told her yes, as far as I knew, but we don’t have to if your nerves are feeling frayed.”
Oliver raked a hand through his hair and pushed a hunk of carrot around his plate. He had forgotten about that. The worst part was hewantedto have breakfast with Gwen. Between all the extra outings and their current workloads, they had scarcely spent more than half an hour together during the past week. He missed talking to her. He just didn’t want to sit in the cacophonous dining room to do it, but the library was out of the question as there was no food allowed and the laboratory smelled like bleach and corpse. Breakfast wouldn’t last that long, and soon enough their schedules would be back to normal. He could deal with the dining room for one day. For Gwen, he would do anything.
“No, it’s fine,” Oliver said, hoping that if he repeated it enough times, it would be true.
Chapter Four
An Unwelcome Guest
“So where does Mr. Judd’smother live?” Oliver asked as he and Felipe took the back stairs down to the dining room.
“His file said he lived with her in the Bowery, not too far from the Lower East Side. With any luck, she’s still alive and in the same place. From the address, it’s probably a tenement. I know they’re not your favorite to visit, but I figure we’ll go after breakfast and get it over with, if that’s all right with you. That way we can chase down any leads we get and buy lunch while we’re there.”
“I won’t say no to a knish or bagel, as long as I can stay in the steamer.”
“Deal,” Felipe replied, giving Oliver’s hand a quick squeeze.
The moment they hit the final landing, Oliver could already hear the scrape of utensils and people talking in the foyer and dining room. Oliver braced himself, but his ability to think straight was already cracking with every clink and clatter. Why were there so many people out and about on a Tuesday? At the bottom of the steps, Oliver kept walking as if to go down to the laboratory but stopped only a few treads down, out of sight from anyone else who might come into the stairwell. Gripping the railing with white knuckles, Oliver drew in a long, slow breath.Breakfast with Gwen, the crowded tenement, lunch, then back to the lab. He would hate every second of it, but he could manage it for one day. Oliver kept his eyes on the familiar hallway below as Felipe drifted beside him. He could feel the other man’s gaze on his back, quietly waiting.
“I’ll be fine. I just need a second.”
“May I?” When Oliver nodded, Felipe rubbed his upper arms in long, firm strokes. “We can still skip breakfast.”
“I wouldn’t do that to Gwen, even if she would understand.” The reassuring pressure uncoiled the knot in Oliver’s chest enough that he could relax his shoulders a fraction. His gaze drifted to the foyer. If he didn’t go in soon, he would completely lose his nerve. “Let’s go. Hopefully, we can find a table in a quieter corner.”
The first floor already bustled with investigators coming and going from the Paranormal Society despite the early hour. Bennett Reynard, Gwen’s friend from the library, and his companion, Theo Bisclavret, crossed the lobby and headed up the stairs together as two of the sybils slid past them, chatting with their heads close. Their boss, Head Inspector Williams, stood near the front door, his grey brows furrowed into a deep scowl as he listened to a petite woman Oliver recognized as one of the healers. Oliver kept his gaze on the floor as he made for the dining room. The last thing he needed was the head inspector singling him out when he was already wound up.
Oliver jerked back with a yelp when a hand clamped around his bicep and hauled him away from the dining room’s entrance. Raising his panic-stricken gaze, he released a huffed sigh when he realized it was Gwen. He probably hadn’t heard her calling him; it wouldn’t be the first time. As she let go of his arm and herded him to the far side of the foyer, Oliver’s eyes traveled over her outfit. Her black hair had been braided in the front but hung off the back of her head in shiny curls. It was different than her usual hairstyle, but he liked it. It looked especially nice with how her bright orange and blue dress accented her deep brown skin. Sometimes Oliver envied how easily Gwen and Felipe managed to put together outfits and colors that suited their tastes yet still looked good on them.
“You look nice,” he said softly, but at the tight look Gwen shot Felipe, Oliver worried he had somehow missed something more important than his name. “What’s wrong?”
