"You know I don't like surprises," I told him.
"You're going to like this one," he said.
When I was fully dressed, he took my hand and led me out the door.
"We’re not going to the apartment below this, are we?" I asked.
Boner had joked about our enemy being there, but I hadn't expected that to be literal.
"No, only old Mrs. Carboni lives there. And a couple of cats," Archer said. "She's harmless."
"They probably say that about me," I said dryly. "Except the part about having cats."
"Do you want a cat?" he asked, leading me down and out of the building.
"When would I have time to look after one?" I asked. I barely had enough time to look after myself these days, much less a pet.
"We'd all help if you wanted one," he said. "Statistically, it's much more difficult for a black cat to get adopted. One of those would be a perfect fit for you."
"Black like my heart," I told him.
He stopped mid-step and pulled me around to face him. "Your heart is anything but black." He pressed his mouth to mine, soft and reassuring.
“There are a bunch of souls in hell that would disagree with you," I said, but I kissed him back.
Reluctantly he drew away and resumed walking, his fingers laced in mine.
"It's not far," he said. "Just around the corner."
"Do the others know about this?" I asked.
"No, I decided to keep this between us," he said. "I missed doing this alone with you." He squeezed my hand.
"Is that the only reason?" I asked. "It doesn't have anything to do with you not trusting them. Do you think one of them snuck ahead and killed Lionel Gammage before we got there?"
"We were all together for that," he said. "None of them could have snuck ahead. They could have called ahead to someone else though." He chewed on that thought for a moment.
"So you don't trust them." I didn't know how I felt about that. I had feelings for all four of them. That didn't automatically mean they had to like each other. I mean, it would help if they did, but the situation was complicated at best.
"I trust you and myself," he said. "Iwantto trust them." He put the slightest emphasis on the word. "I know you do."
"Yeah, I do," I said, brushing hair back off my face. "But I've misplaced my trust before."
"Your trust in me isn't misplaced," he assured me. "I’d never do anything to hurt you or betray you. I know I'm not the most…normal person. People think I'm strange."
He exhaled out his nose. "I don't give a shit what they think. I only care what you think."
"I don't think you're strange," I told him. "You're unique. I like that about you. It makes you special."
"I don't think anyone's ever called me special in a nice way before," he said. "Here." He handed me a mask and put one over his own face. I gave him a smile before disappearing behind the hard, black plastic.
We walked on for a while before he stopped in front of a store. It was quiet at this time of night. Or morning, to be exact.
I looked inside my heart fluttering with nerves. "There's got to be all sorts of cameras."
"There are," he agreed. "I was down here earlier checking the place out."
"Then what?" The idea of being caught on camera put me on edge. We didn't take risks like that.
