“I’ll make an exception for you.” Bishop let go of Kit’s chin, patted his shoulder. A nice, soothing gesture, even as his face made a complicated what-the-fuck expression. “I don’t think investigation is necessary, though. Looks like he’s calling you.”
Swearing under his breath, Kit scrambled to answer. “Hello, this is your boyfriend speaking.”
“My precious, adorable little boyfriend,” James purred. “Are you jealous?”
Kit shifted in the chair. “I’m not jealous. Also, I’m with Bishop. If this is anything important, you should text me like a normal person. Phone calls are weird.”
“No, put it on speaker,” Bishop said, grinning. “This is riveting.”
“Fucking voyeur,” Kit muttered. But hit a button. “You’re on speaker, my beloved and faithful boyfriend who surely isn’t planning to sexily kidnap someone else.”
There was a long silence, both on the phone and in the office. The only movement was the steam wafting from the pastel coffee mug.
Then Bishop snorted laughter.
James said, sounding stunned, “You know kidnappings usually aren’t sexy, right? This is definitely the unsexy kind.”
Right, sure. That was how the kidnappings all started. But Kit would allow James a chance to explain, because first, communication was important in a healthy relationship.
And second, Kit was aware he was being unreasonable.
He couldn’t help it. Liking people was unreasonable. Trusting people was unreasonable. Kit indulged his most irrational impulses with James, Darius, Holden, and even Bishop, because he felt safe with them. They were all kind of fucked up, and that was okay.
“Her name is Melissa Vespers,” James said over the phone. “She’s not my type, and more importantly, she’s going to give me information about the Rat King. Whether she wants to tell me or not.”
Kit exhaled, feeling strangely reassured. The certainty in James’s voice was addictive. There was an undercurrent of joy to the hatred.
James wasn’t lost, like that day he got drunk on his sister’s birthday. The next step was clear before him.
“I suppose that’s all right,” Kit said lightly, because he wasn’t about to dig deep into James’s emotions. Not with Bishop listening. “I just wanted to check in.”
“Check in all you want.” James’s grin was clear in his voice. “I like you jealous. Hey, maybe we can get matching chips in our necks, so we canbothtrack each—”
“Okay,” Bishop cut in. He nudged the coffee towards Kit. “Some of us actually work when we say we’re at work. Save the phone sex for after hours.” Bishop glanced aside, brow creasing. His next words weren’t as lighthearted. “You should come over and talk tonight. I’d feel better if you had backup for this one.”
During the hesitation, Kit sipped the hot, oversweet coffee twice, then set it down.
“I’d feel better with backup for this one too,” James said eventually. “I’m going to loop Darius in if he’s free.”
Bishop’s subtle relaxation was the only sign that he’d been tense in the first place. “Great. I’ll order pizza.”
“Perfect, see you tonight.” The grin returned to James’s voice. “Now, I should get some work done, because some of us actually work. But first I need to clarify something with Kit.”
Kit picked at a frayed hole in his jeans. “Clarify away.”
“So, you’re allowed to get kidnapped by Darius and Holden and Bishop,” James pointed out. “But I’m not allowed to kidnap anyone else?”
“It’s okay if it isn’t sexy,” Kit said—then remembered Bishop was there. His face heated. “Uh. But yeah, that pretty much sums it up.”
James sighed happily, the sound sinking directly into Kit’s hindbrain. “You’re my favorite little hypocrite. Bye, love you.”
He hung up, thwarting Kit’s attempt to hang up on him first.
Kit set the phone aside, picked up the current binder, and flipped to the next page to scan. “Well, back to work,” he said, avoiding eye contact.
Bishop chuckled and returned to his chair. The desk between them felt very small. “You might not believe this, but you’ve been good for James.”
“Of course I believe it,” Kit said loftily.
