I got to my feet, a little wobbly, still getting my bearings. I wasn’t a napper. Sleeping during the day always left me disoriented, wishing I could just go back to bed. But it was too early for that. I wouldn’t sleep tonight if I didn’t get myself moving now.
“What’d you get for dinner?” I asked.
“Barbecue,” he said. “I was going to do sushi, but I didn’t know if you ate fish.”
“I eat anything,” I said. “Except lima beans. Not a fan of lima beans.”
“Me either.” Eli’s face twisted. “They taste like sand.”
“Ugh, right? Did you get tortured with succotash when you were a kid? I swear my mom bought ten-pound frozen bags of it.”
“Yuck.” The smile that spread across Eli’s face was unexpectedly wistful before it vanished, and he gave a sharp shake of his head. “My mom also loved the succotash,” he said.
“I could go through the rest of my life,” I said, “never eating that again. I’m good with corn, just not the lima beans.”
“Good, because there’s corn on the cob somewhere in here,” he said, lifting his chin at the white paper bag on the counter. “I also got you this.” He set a sleek black laptop beside the white paper bag, placing the neatly secured power cable on top.
“What do you mean you got me this?” I asked, saying the last word slowly as I reached out to run a finger down the side of the expensive machine on the counter. I didn’t have to ask how much it was. I recognized the make, if not the specific model, and it was better than the one that had blown up.
“I can take you out to buy a different one if you want, butthis was in inventory, hadn’t been assigned yet, and we got it at a bulk price. It’s cheaper in the end than what you’d pay retail for something that isn’t as good. Cooper was fine selling it to you. The bill’s due when you have access to your bank account again. Emmett and Maddox said you’re good for it.” He grinned.
Clearly, they’d already had their fingers in my background and my accounts. I didn’t know whether to be relieved or annoyed. “They can see what’s in my accounts, but not who shut them down?”
Eli’s lips twisted in a scowl. “That part’s a little more complicated. They can see that your accounts are frozen for suspected fraud, but that’s less likely a hack and more probably a false report. Digging it out and reversing it takes time, and they’re on it. They both feel confident they’ll get your funds freed up. But not today or tomorrow, so we’ll send you a bill.”
I nodded. I wasn’t going to argue. I needed to replace that laptop, though I thought about practicalities. “I’ll need the police report to file for insurance,” I said.
“Hold off on that. You’ll need to go back to the station at some point. We’ll get the report then.”
I nodded again. It wasn’t like the payment from my insurance company would be overnight. And even if it was, where would I put the check? Now didn’t seem like the time to start opening new bank accounts.
“Okay, dinner, and then what?” I asked.
“Dinner, and then you watch a little TV and go back to bed,” Eli said.
“And what are you doing?” I’d noticed a dark duffel bag by the front door.
“Staying in the other bedroom for now,” he said.
“To keep an eye on me, or to keep me safe?” It came outsounding flirty. Not my intention, but something about Eli made me want to poke at him.
He just shrugged, the smile on his face the kind I suspected he gave to clients who were irritating him.
“Uh-huh,” I said. “And while I’m sleeping, what will you be doing?”
“Nothing you need to know about.”
That was all the answer I needed. While I was sleeping, Eli would be investigating without me.
I helped him unpack the bag of barbecue, deciding to let it go for now. Eli had in his head that I was going to be like a pet he could tuck away in the safe house and let out for investigatory experiences he could control while he was running the show. That wasn’t how this was going to work, but I wasn’t going to waste time arguing.
We unpacked dinner companionably, setting it out on the table. Eli slid me an unsweetened iced tea. “You said you didn’t usually drink soda, so I got you this instead.”
“That’s great. Thank you.” I took a sip, happily noting that he’d added a squeeze of lemon. Half the iced tea was gone before I realized how thirsty I was.
“What did you get done on the case while I was sleeping?” I tried again, but Eli just shrugged a shoulder.
“Not a lot. Touched base with Maddox. He’s the one on our team who’s working with the hackers at Sinclair.”
