"I know. We were just talking about that last night, how happy—" I caught myself mid-sentence. Damn it. "I mean, I was thinking—"
"It's okay." A huge grin spread across Serenity's face. "We know."
My eyes narrowed. "Know what?"
Even as I said it, I knew the deflection was pointless. Stone's expression said it all—amused, knowing, completely unsurprised.
"You and Julia." Serenity raised a brow. "It's totally obvious."
“Yeah, you two aren't as subtle as you think. Monitoring your security is my job, so...”
“Shit.”
“And while we're at it—” Stone's expression hardened, all traces of humor gone. “You can't expect me to provide the best security when you're keeping secrets and sneaking around with your new girlfriend.”
“I don’t know if I’d call her my girlfriend.”
“Quentin.” It was Serenity’s turn to raise her brow. “A rose is a rose. And by any name it smells as sweet.”
“Okay, I’m guilty.” I buzzed Julia and asked her to join us.
Julia hurried right in, greeted Stone and Serenity, and smiled at me. “What can I help with?”
“The secret is out.” I pointed to an empty chair. “Have a seat.”
“What secret?” Julia asked, her eyes wide.
“The two of you.” Serenity beamed. “It’s so cute. You guys make such a great couple. I’ve wanted to say something, butdidn’t want to ruin Quentin’s delusion that you two were being sneaky.”
Julia flushed red.
“Yeah, everybody knows.” Stone stood, rolling his shoulders. “Now, if we're done with the relationship counseling, I've got bullets to find.”
“Bullets?” Julia asked.
“The plan is to see if we can find a slug from the exchange with the assassin. If Serenity can get a vision from one of the rounds, it might help us identify him.”
“I see.” Julia paused and then seemed to remember something. “What about the pastries? Did you hear back?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “Dino just confirmed. Poison.”
“Oh my gosh.” Julia’s brows dipped. “How could that happen?”
“It was the cherries.” Serenity's eyes lit up. “Each zeppole had a maraschino cherry on top. When I picked up the pastry at the office, that's when I got the vision—but I was holding the whole thing, the dough, the filling, everything all at once.” She turned to me, excited. “I never touched just the cherries.”
Her expression shifted, an idea clearly forming. “Wait. Does Dino still have that pastry box?”
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
“If the poison's been neutralized or removed, I could touch each cherry individually. Get more specific readings." She gestured as she explained. "The killer wouldn't have known which zeppole you'd pick, right? So logically, they'd all be poisoned. When I touched the whole pastry before, the vision was general—danger, death, all mixed together. But if I can touch each cherry separately..." She paused. "I might be able to see more details. Maybe even get a clear image of who did this."
Serenity gave a nervous laugh. "Good thing I don't pick the cherry off first like I do with milkshakes. If I'd eaten that cherry before the vision hit? I'd be dead."
“Okay. Give me a second.” I dialed Dino and he picked up on the second ring.
“You in love with me, Quentin?” he asked. “We just talked a couple minutes ago.”
“I need you to secure that box of zeppole and bring it to the office.”
