Atticus knew exactly which night he was referring to.And no, he hadn’t complained because fucking was fucking, and done right, it was a damn good time all around.He would not deny that the best sex he’d had up to this point in his life had been with Slade and Carson.
“Doesn’t mean I’m willin’ to sacrifice everything else for an orgasm.”
“Ah.I get it now.”
“No, you don’t.Where have you been, Carson?You come around when the lights are off.The rest of the time, you’re comin’ up with excuses why you can’t hang out.”
“I didn’t realize I was doin’ that.”
Atticus wasn’t going to argue.Carson sounded distracted and more than a little disinterested.Oddly enough, he’d noticed that had been the case ever since Carson and Slade had made up—or at least tried to.Before then, Carson had been fully engaged, acting as though he was interested.Since then… Atticus couldn’t really describe it, but he worried that the chase was what Carson was really after.And once he caught his partner, he got bored.
“It doesn’t matter right now.I need to focus on this case.”
“When’re you comin’ back?”
“I don’t know.A few days, I figure.”
“Well, I’ll check in with Slade, let him know I talked to you.Try to unruffle his feathers.”
“Good luck with that.”
After he disconnected, Atticus remained where he was, staring at his phone.Something told him that whatever conversation Carson had with Slade was not going to go over well.And if Atticus wasn’t there to force them to be civilized, there was a good chance they would make the same decision he did.That it was just getting to be too difficult.
Simon arrived at the hotel a littleafter five.He’d gotten a late start, not wanting to leave Violet with her father missing.She was actually the one to urge him to go, claiming he’d been waiting for this interview for a long time.
She wasn’t wrong.
Still, he felt guilty about leaving her, so he’d opted to fly up since it took considerably less time.Especially with his TSA PreCheck and no luggage to deal with.This way, he could go back tonight rather than stay at the hotel.Which was why he didn’t bother checking in; instead, he texted Archer to get his room number.
By the time he was in the elevator to the top floor, he felt a little more like himself.More focused, at least.He wanted to get this interview out of the way because he had waited for it for so long.There were questions he needed answers to, and insights he hoped to glean from a conversation with Maximillian Adorite.Once that was done, he could get home to his fiancée, where he belonged.
Funny that.Before Violet, Simon’s entire existence had revolved around stories.Other people’s stories.Now, he was eager and excited to get started on one of his own.
Once he reached the last room on the top floor of the hotel, he rapped his knuckles on the wood.A moment later, Atticus opened the door, stepping back instantly to let him in.
“Hey,” Archer greeted from his spot on a chair in what passed for a living room, he figured.
“Hey.”
“How was the trip?”
“Quick and oddly quiet.”
Archer chuckled.“You don’t get much of that these days, huh?”
“No.And I’m certainly not complaining.”Simon looked at Atticus, who was getting situated on the couch.“How’s it going?”
Atticus looked up.“Good.”
Not one for small talk, clearly.
“What’re y’all working on?”
“Listing out some action items,” Archer answered.“Figure we’ll cover as many bases as we can while we’re up here.”
Simon nodded, setting his leather bag on the two-person dinette table.“I was able to do some digging on Meredith Prescott last night.I think I might know where she is.”
Something shifted in the air.He wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but he felt it as though it were tangible.When he glanced over, he noticed Archer and Atticus were looking at each other.
