Kit resurfaced to stare.
Bishop didn’t laugh. He was obviously close, though. “You told me not to kiss you unless I meant it.”
Absurd. Typical. Bishop took forever to reach decisions, weighing his options and assessing the risks. But once he decided, he acted instantly.
Kit liked being worth the risk.
Darius returned from the kitchen and pressed a mug of coffee into his hands. “Breakfast’s on the table.”
“Sit down and eat, babe,” James said. “We can add Bishop to the fuck chart later.”
Bishop froze. “There’s a fuck chart?”
“No,” Darius refuted immediately.
“I still think it’s a good idea,” Holden said. He released Kit from his grasp, but instead of accepting his freedom, Kit grabbed Holden’s arm.
“I hate all of you,” Kit declared, and dragged Holden to an empty armchair. Food could wait until after he finished his coffee and cuddled with Holden.
As chill as Holden tried to be, adding Bishop to the household was a huge change. Holden needed reassurance.
Focusing on other people’s emotional needs was easier than Kit’s own.
But Kit couldn’t avoid reality for long. While he dawdled over coffee and breakfast, drifting back and forth from the dining room to Holden’s lap, the others became absorbed in reports. Messages. Searches.
Frustration.
“My team checked in. Nothing on our camera network,” James said, his earlier teasing sharpened away. “We lost the prison contract ages ago, because I refused to give a discount to cops—that’s on me, sorry. But I have enough cameras in the surrounding area. They should show upsomewhere.”
“Nothing at Apricot Station?” Bishop asked. “What criteria are you using?”
James rubbed his eyes. “Wide net from the time of their escape. Approximate height and build, no assumptions about hair or clothing. I think Apricot Station’s a bad lead. Toss-up on malice or stupidity.”
“Probably both, knowing SCPD,” Darius added.
James pointed at Bishop. “If you can get anything else from them, that would still help. I need something to narrow down the search.”
“I’ll try Paula again.” Bishop grimaced. “Might need to meet her in person.”
Holden shifted his arm around Kit. Long fingers slipped under the baggy shirt, tracing possessive patterns over Kit’s hip.
Kit didn’t like any of this. But it was strangely reassuring that the others weren’t being too careful with him. They weren’t walking on eggshells or lowering their voices.
Somehow, this morning felt like a step towards being okay.
Bishop stopped before exiting the car. “Did James give you any secret instructions I should know about?”
Carla flipped down the mirror to inspect her lip gloss. “If anything dangerous happens, leave your worthless ass first, warn you second.” Satisfied, she flipped the mirror back up. “Don’t worry. My standard for ‘dangerous’ is higher than yours.”
Grinning, Bishop slid from the car. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll try not to take too long.”
“Take all day,” Carla said, reclining her seat. “This is my day off—the overtime is delicious.”
Closing the car door, Bishop took a deep breath. A sense of strangeness followed him up the well-swept steps to Paula’s house.
Bishop wasn’t used to nervousness. He shouldn’t be nervous talking to sources or unraveling deadly conspiracies.
But Archie was back. So was the Viper.
