“Like hell you are.” Tia and Janet were two chaotic sides to the same coin. “You’ve been at this for how long? You’re chasing dead ends.”
She wasn’t wrong. Just when we thought we were getting closer, the culprit turned out to be a decoy. Cypher and Redford were nothing more than patsies. I leaned back in my chair while Booker tried to placate Tia. Cypher we found through good ol’ fashioned detective work. Or had we? We found Redford in almost the same manner. Orion would say there was no such thing as coincidences. I hated to admit it, but he might have a point.
“She’s right.” My statement stopped them mid-sentence. “Have we been played?”
Tia’s eyes rolled back. “World’s greatest detective, you’re not. I could have told you that.”
“Where was that photo taken?” I asked.
Tia snarled again. In the interview room, she had been scared, borderline terrified. She had time to regroup, and the Tia I knew from the waiting room had returned with a vengeance. Perhaps it was the setting, or knowing I backeddown with Booker here, but given the chance, I think she’d take a swing.
I waited for her to unleash a stream of curses.
“Centurion Tower.” SMACK. She put enough force into the blow that it landed somewhere between a slap and a punch. “Asshole.”
She stepped out of reach. Tia might have mustered some bravado, but I scared her, and that wouldn’t fade anytime soon. I deserved nothing less.
I was surprised when she reached into her pocket and produced a crumpled card. She tossed it on the table. I waited for another slap, but Tia stomped toward the door.
“Pull your heads out of your asses.” She paused at the door, the bell jingling overhead. “Fix this, or I’ll do it for you.”
What did Booker think about our exchange? After this morning, he only asked if I had discovered anything useful. I discovered plenty, but nothing that made any sense. This is why Orion had a board with photographs and documents linked by red string. The pieces were there, but they didn’t always make sense.
I opened the card.
An invitation to Centurion Tower. It was a chance for the influencers of Vanguard to see inside what would someday be the home base of Vanguard’s greatest defenders. Carmen LaToya understood how to create a public relations splash. The particulars weren’t interesting. Atthe bottom, embossed in black, was the three-pointed Trident.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a clue.”
“To who’s in charge?”
Running a finger over the stamp, I could feel the grooves of the embossing. What were the chances that assassins with tattoos were involved with Centurion Tower? It seemed illogical, but I could already hear Orion whispering in my ear, “Welcome to my world.”
There were no such things as coincidences.
“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “What were you saying?”
“We might need to?—”
“From earlier.”
“Oh. That.” I caught his eyes dropping to the table. After this morning, I thought I’d be the one shying away from difficult conversations. What did Booker have to confess that chewed him up inside? He opened his mouth as if he were going to speak before biting back the words. I recognized the nervous twitching while trying to wrestle with demons. “It’s just?—”
“Mushroom extravaganza.” Becky, perfect timing as usual. She held a pan with a steaming pizza covered in mushrooms. “Who was that lady? I thought she was going to kick your ass.”
“Becky!” barked her father from the kitchen.
“I’m pretty sure she could take you,” she whispered in my direction. “Good thing your boyfriend is here.”
My eyes lit up at the comment. Booker smirked as she slid the pizza between us. We slept together once. Did that mean we had a label between us? Becky had dropped a bomb, and at the same time, I didn’t hate the sound of it. Were we heading in that direction? Our dates were interlinked with our jobs, and I couldn’t imagine he’d stay after we solved Synergy’s villain problem. It almost made me want to drag my feet.
“So cute,” Becky muttered as she walked away.
Whatever Booker wanted to confess, fate stopped him twice. I couldn’t handle seeing those green eyes drop again. “How far are you into Frankenstein?”
He smiled, and that’s the only thing that mattered right now. Whatever was going on with us, with the investigation, it could wait. Instead, we’d eat pizza and talk about books. Our secrets could wait.
