“I’ve spent all night worried you were dead,” Mason added. “The least I can get are a few details. Maybe a description of the guy whofinallyturned your immovable head. I’ve always wondered what your type would be.”
Emerson Walker’s my type, duh.Dash rolled his eyes. “He’s tall. Handsome. Smells good.”
A few seconds passed before Mason asked, “Seriously? That’s all I get?”
Dash shook his head, picturing Emerson in his head. He fought a smile, turning his face from Mason to hide it. “Almost as tall as you. Lots of muscles. Brown hair with a hint of reddish gold to it. Amber eyes.” Dash paused, picturing Emerson in his mind’s eye. “Little creases on either side of those eyes when he smiles. And I noticed last night that he has freckles.”
“Noticed last night?Is this someone you already know?”
Dash froze, realizing he’d slipped in front of the wrong person.
“Itissomeone you know,” Mason said, eyes narrowing. “Reddish hair. Amber eyes. Almost as tall as me and muscled.” He crossed his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes. A few seconds passed before he said, “Sounds an awful lot like Emerson Walker.”
Dash did his best not to react.
“You didn’t!”
Dash pushed past Mason and picked up the broken pieces of the bowl. He walked into the kitchen, discarded them in the trash, and grabbed the roll of paper towels off the counter. Doing anything was better than feeling the full force of Mason’s disapproval. When he returned to the hall, he peeled off a few sheets.
“Let me help,” Mason said, grabbing the roll.
“I’ve got it,”Dash snapped, yanking it away.
Mason went down on his haunches beside Dash, staring as the cereal and milk were cleaned up. “If it wasn’t Emerson, who was it?”
“No one,” Dash said. He marched over to the garbage can and dragged it into the hallway.
“Does ‘no one’ have a name?”
“I don’t recall,” Dash lied.
“It was Emerson, wasn’t it?”
Dash sighed.
“Oh, gods, Dash… what did you sleep withhimfor?”
Exasperated, Dash flung the pile of dirty towels into the trash. “If it wasn’t for Emerson, I wouldn’t have gotten in the front door. I misheard the password, and the bouncer went on the attack, which might’ve triggered a lockdown. Emerson intervened and got me inside. Once we were in, I walked away and got to work, as I promised.”
“Walked away… but clearly walked back.”
“As I was wrapping up and getting ready to leave, the Guard showed up—and honestly, I don’t know if I’d have gotten away if it hadn’t been for Emerson showing me a secret way out.”
“And you decided to reward him for that help?”
Dash narrowed his eyes. “That’s really none of your business.”
“Isn’t it? The last time you came face-to-face with that guy, you had to turn over a case to me—because you couldn’t handlethe reaction you had to him. Remember that? The reaction that scared you so fucking much? The one you said meant you couldn’t goanywherenear Emerson Walker ever again? I believe that’s what you said but correct me if I’m wrong.”
“The reaction wasn’t there last night.”
Mason searched his face a moment. “What changed?”
“I have no idea,” Dash said. “I wish I did.”
“No reaction… but you still slept with him,” Mason said.
“Again… what business is it of yours?”
