“We live next door to each other, Aves,” Celine chuckles, stuffing a framed photo of her and her dad into the box. It doesn’t escape my notice that at some point, Zav has doodled himself and taped it to the photo so he’s included. “It’s not like I’m disappearing off the face of the Earth.”
“I know,” I sigh and plop down in her desk chair, helping her pack away her pens and pencils. “How’d you get Zav to let you do this alone?”
There’s no way he didn’t put up a fight. That vampire is glued to her side like a needy puppy.
“I didn’t,” she huffs. “He’s outside sitting in the car.” Shaking her head, she feigns annoyance, but I see the twinkle of amusement in her eye.
She’s so in love with that psycho it makes me sick … and a little jealous.
“In the car, huh?” I turn my head to see crimson hair and eyes level with the front window of the precinct.
Celine simply ignores him and wipes her desk down. Other detectives and officers stop by to say their goodbyes. Between her dad’s legacy, her work ethic, and her fighting spirit, Celine will be missed.
“How is your dad doing?” I ask carefully, knowing it’s a sore subject.
Celine sighs and leans a hip against the side of her desk. A wistful look enters her eyes.
“Okay. I took Zav to meet him the other day.” She smiles sadly. “Thankfully, it was a good day, and they got along well. Zav can be charming when he wants to be, and he told him all about how well he takes care of Midnight.”
I pat her leg in silent support.
Even I haven’t met Celine’s dad, so it goes to show how much she trusts Zavier to be that vulnerable.
“Midnight still giving you a tough time?” I muse and toss a piece of chocolate I confiscated from Celine’s desk into my mouth. Caramel. Yum.
Celine levels me with a disgruntled expression which answers that. Or else she’s pissed I stole her chocolate, but that’s not really like her.
“The cat loves to terrorize me, and yet he’ll sit on Zav like he’s his own personal throne. If I have to hear the words ‘cat scarf’ uttered one more time …” She trails off and I laugh.
“What’s the plan after closing this chapter of your life?” I tilt my head in question. We haven’t had a chance to talk too much about her future plans with the job change. Another girls’ night might be in our future soon with the rate things keep changing.
“Take it easy for a while. Up until now, I haven’t had much opportunity to travel, so that would be nice.” Celine runs a hand over the top of her slick ponytail, smoothing the already perfect strands down. “Maybe I’ll find a new hobby. The possibilities are endless, I suppose, but I don’t want to jump into another profession too quickly.” She shrugs and I nod. “I need time to heal and find myself again.”
“Speaking of hobbies,” I whisper. “Is Zav still doing you know what?” I mention his gory past time.
“You think I could get him to stop?” Celine mutters dryly. “I asked him to be more discreet with it, and the man had the gall to look appalled and say I couldn’t silence his art.” She throws up quotations with her fingers and deepens her voice like his. “He still does it, but I’ve told him to at least rein it in when it comes to guys who talk to me. I still can’t believe he threw Cory out a window.”
“Have things gotten any better with Valen?” She turns the topic of conversation to me. I should’ve known this was coming since I avoid any talk about my roommate at all costs. “What about the witch thing?”
I picture the silent but strong vampire of my own. Last night’s bath felt like a step in the right direction.
“Nothing more on the witch front as of now, but I’m looking into it. As for Valen, the man has a fine ass, that’s for sure.” I envision the sculpted butt I couldn’t resist peeking at when he got into the tub. I knew he’d caught me, but all it did was send a shiver of anticipation down my spine.
“When did you see his butt?” she shouts, and everyone around us looks our way.
Shooting a wide grin their way, I playfully slap her, and we giggle.
After that, we finish cleaning up her desk and Celine goes around saying a final goodbye to everyone. Sheshares a firm handshake with Captain Barnes, who thanks both her and her father for their service to the city of Chicago. I swear I see a sheen to his eyes when she walks away but know the burly man would never admit it.
“Ready to go?” Zav asks, strolling up when he can’t take it anymore.
He wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her into his side before burying his nose in her neck. She swats at him when he gives a small nip, but he doesn’t let go.
“Wow, you made it a full thirty minutes before you came in. I’m so proud of you,” Celine replies sarcastically.
“Oh, sweetie, I can come as fast or as slow as you want me to,” Zavier says with a rakish grin.
“Vomit.” I fake gag, and he sticks his tongue out at me. “Some of us have actual work to do, so unless you want the waterworks to start, get gone.” I shoo them out the door but not before giving both a hug.
