“Come on, now.” Stormy walked over and rubbed his hands along my shoulders, massaging the aching muscles. “You’re not a quitter.”
“I’m hungover and going to jail today.”
Mark stalked over, shoved Stormy out of the way, and slapped me across the face. It was Mark, so the hit didn’t hurtat all, but it did surprise me, and the Pepsi fell to the floor. He blinked at me so fast his reddish eyelashes became a blur, and then he stepped back. “I….”
Stormy covered his mouth with both hands, but his eyes were still laughing.
“What the fuck?”
“You need to pull yourself together. You can’t fall apart now!” Mark’s voice slipped higher and louder until he was nearly shouting.
“Ow!” I held a hand to my cheek, but the inside of my skull gave a vicious thump. “Ow,” I groaned, and rested my other hand on the top of my thick skull, but a brass band had set up shop in there and played a wicked-fast, painful rhythm.
Mark shook his head. “You made an ass of yourself last night. That’s going to be the upchuck heard round the world.”
“Damn it.”
Stormy glared at Mark. “I think you probably had a right to that, but I’m the only one slapping sense into him from here on out.”
Mark nodded as he stepped back. “Sorry, sir.”
“Thanks for defending me, sugar pants.”
“Mark, slap him again,” Stormy said with an eye roll.
Mark’s hand twitched at his side like he might want to listen, and I shuffled out of striking distance. I was surprised when Mark turned a cold, assessing stare on Stormy and gave him a once-over from head to toe. “You’re not how I thought you’d be.”
Stormy winked at Mark, and he ducked his head. “And what do you know about guyslike me?”
Mark glanced my way and then stepped toward Stormy. I was surprised when he beckoned Stormy closer and whispered something in his ear that had Stormy snickering all over again. The flash of something unpleasant slithered through my gut.
Stormy finally caught his breath. “You thought you were being mean. Look how cute you are trying to defend him! You’re like a beagle.”
Mark was pink again. Had he always blushed this easily? I’d never taken much notice of him at work, didn’t know, and that made me feel a little bad. I relied on him a lot and barely gave him the time of day.
“Stop flirting with my assistant and help me think.”
A heavy banging on the door froze all three of us, and when I made no move to answer it, Stormy strutted over, his ass amazing as ever in the pair of clingy workout pants that just did not do a single bad thing to his body. I wasn’t sure how I could look like a sloppy mess outside of a suit, and he was amazing in anything he wore.
Stormy flung the door open. “Oh! Schnookums! The cops are here. What a present. It’s not even our anniversary, you shouldn’t have. I love cuffs,” he gushed and reached toward someone at the door. He let out an outraged yelp that had me rushing to his side, and when I got there, he was cradling his hand like it had been smacked.
Detective Agosti was out there with his usual warm smile and a passel of gloomy-faced friends.
“I can honestly say I did not expect to see you here after I froze his accounts.” Agosti stared at Stormy curiously, as if he’d actually shocked him. He had an irritatingly refreshed bounce in his step as he paced closer.
“I told you he was my boyfriend.”
“Hmm…. You did. Well, I have a warrant. Let’s go, boys,” he said as he shoved the piece of paper into my face and elbowed me aside. I stood there trying to read the paper, knowing nothing about procedure in this type of situation and feeling overwhelmed.
Before the cops could get even two feet into the room, Stormy yelled, “I’m sorry, but his lawyer will have to see this first! River Demchenko doesn’t play that way. You will wait or there will be hell to pay!”
There were groans and glares in my direction from all of the cops, except Agosti, who only ever seemed perfectly content. “That’s interesting,” he said cheerfully.
“Who now?” I asked.
Stormy only laughed.
6
