“Hmm.” He ran his hands down my arms and briefly clasped my wrists before releasing me, his fingers running over my Claddagh ring as he did—the one he’d given me for Christmas with the heart pointing to my wrist, showing that I was taken. “Any news on the Jeep?”
I swallowed. “Ricky called and said he was able to get the SUV to his garage, but that’s all I know.” I’d just had the darn thing fixed a month ago.
“You can drive my truck. The team has been called to LA for a few days.” He ran a calloused thumb along my jawline, the touch gentle. “Just to finish reporting on our last case and discuss operations going forward with our new home base. Nothing dangerous.”
This time, anyway. I did like how he reassured me that he’d be safe for now. We’d gotten together hot and fast in situations that included gunfire, explosions, and heavily hair-sprayed potato guns. Did we know how to live in calm times together? Calm for us, anyway? “I just have hearings this week and nothing all that stress-inducing.”
“You’re a witness in an armed robbery.”
“Yeah, about that,” I started. “Nick mentioned that the Cupids donated a bunch of the stolen jewelry to the animal shelter.”
Aiden cocked his head. “That’s odd, right? I wonder who their suspect is?” He turned as Nick and Detective Pierce strode down the stairs, Nick wearing a frown and Pierce filtering through a stack of files while easily navigating the steps.
Impressive. I always needed to watch where I was going. Reading and walking, especially down stairs, would probably kill me.
Pierce looked up, his blond hair ruffled. “Thanks for coming in. I’ll take Nick first and then you. Shouldn’t ruin your Saturday night much.” He pivoted and turned away from the reception desk. “The lineup room is down this hallway, and we’re all ready to go.” He jerked his head in that direction, and both he and Nick headed that way.
“Interesting,” I mused, watching them go. “I’ve never been down that hall.” I customarily spent my time at the police station either in Pierce’s office or one of the interrogation rooms on the second floor. Sometimes I watched an interrogation from the small room beyond the one-way glass, which was always kind of fun.
“I have.” Aiden grinned.
Yeah. He’d spent some time undercover as a criminal and had no doubt lined up. “It’ll be my first lineup.” Would it be like on television? I tried to remember what the three Cupids had looked like, but with their masks, it’d be difficult to really identify them. What had they said?
“You’ll do fine.” He drew me to one of the rather comfortable damask guest chairs to sit. “I finished installing the updates on the cabin’s security system earlier today. We can go over all of it tomorrow before I leave.”
I snorted. “We lack a garage, a deck, and two working bedrooms, but we have a top-of-the-line security system.” At least we had a great primary bedroom and a kitchen. “I’m safe now, Aiden. Jareth Davey is dead.” Davey had kidnapped me as a child and then harassed me for years, but nobody could catch him. He’d finally made his move before Christmas. We’d grappled, with me ending up on top of him, punching down, and him reaching around me with the gun at my back. He’d fired, shooting through my shoulder and hitting himself in the heart. My stalker had died instantly.
Karma was a real force.
“I know he’s dead.” Aiden plunked an arm over my shoulders and settled back. “But we both have somewhat dangerous cases sometimes, and security is crucial.”
I leaned into him, wishing there was a sofa in the place so we didn’t have to sit in different chairs. “My cases are no longer dangerous. Honest. Nothing is even close right now.”
“Huh.” For a sound of disagreement, it was still content.
We sat that way for a while until Nick and Pierce returned, no expression on their faces.
I stood along with Aiden. “Did you identify him?”
Pierce held up a hand. “No talking about it.”
Nick zipped up his coat. “I’ll grab coffees while you two conduct another lineup, and then we can meet and discuss everything.” He eyed Aiden. “You sticking around?”
“Yeah. I’ll take a latte, no flavor,” Aiden said.
I wrinkled my nose. “Chai tea with almond milk and extra chai.”
Pierce gestured for me to follow him. “I’ll take the special, but no whipped cream. Make that oat milk, would you?”
“Jesus.” Nick shoved his hands into his pockets and strode toward the door.
Aiden squeezed my shoulder. “I’ll be here. Just do your best.”
Taking a deep breath, I turned to follow Pierce. How hard could this be?
We passedseveral offices until we reached a green metal door at the end of the hall. Drips of snow had melted across the worn tiles, and I was careful not to slip. Pierce held the door open for me, and I stepped inside the observation room. It was similar to the ones upstairs but wider.
Clearing my throat, I looked around. “I’ve never done this before.”
