They aren’t burned, but they don’t look great either. They’ve shriveled into sad little wrinkled links in the pan, definitely not edible anymore. I turn the heat all the way off and take the pan off the burner, putting it aside to cool.

When I turn back to Charlie, she’s snickering at me.

“It’s your fault,” I scold her teasingly. “You distracted me.”

“Well,” she says with a little satisfied smirk. “It was worth it.”

“It was,” I agree, kissing her on the forehead as I move past her to the fridge, looking for something else to make instead of the desiccated sausage.

I’m just opening a fresh package of sausage when my phone buzzes with our Blade and Arrow tone. We all use the same sound so we always know right away that one of the team is texting. My hands are all dirty, so I gesture at Charlie and she holds it out to me so I can see the screen.

Her eyes widen as she catches a glimpse of the message, but I can’t tell from her expression if it’s something good or bad.

Then I read the message from Cole.

We have an update on Charlie’s case. Meet in the conference room in 30.

Charlie has a death grip on my hand as we walk into the conference room.

She’s pale and all the lines of stress are back, etched into her forehead and bracketing her mouth. Her eyes keep jumping to mine, worried and searching for reassurance. The happy Charlie of an hour ago is gone, replaced by this scared and anxious one.

I hate it. I want to take her back to the apartment and kiss her until she’s smiling again. Until her eyes are a steely gray, dark with desire. I want to smooth all those lines out and give her back rubs and buy her gifts and do whatever it takes to make her happy again.

“It’s not necessarily bad news,” I say as I pull out her chair for her.

As she sinks into the large leather chair, she swivels toward me. Her features cast in shadow, eyes defeated, she whispers, “It usually is.”

Fuck. When I find out who did this to Charlie…

Once I’m seated, I move my chair as close to hers as possible and take her hand again. Her fingers convulse around mine, cold and shaking.

I catch Leo’s eye across the table and he arches an eyebrow at me. Then his gaze drops to Charlie’s hand in mine, a tiny smile appearing. Charlie doesn’t notice; she’s staring at the glossy wood in front of her, but I give Leo a quick nod in return.

Nothing spoken, but a message sent just the same. Okay, you were right. She’s not just a friend.

Leo clears his throat, drawing Charlie’s attention. Once she looks up at him, he asks gently, “How are you doing? Settling in alright? Is Rylan driving you crazy with those old video games yet?”

Her mouth curves up slightly. Softly, she tells him, “I'm okay. I met Georgia yesterday. She’s just as beautiful as you said she is.”

Leo beams back at her. “If you want to come up to our apartment and play some real games—Scrabble, Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit—you’re welcome any time.”

Cole’s at the end of the table, watching the exchange. After a moment, he gets up and walks over to Charlie. He holds his hand out to her, giving her a small smile and saying kindly, “Hi Charlie. I know we haven't officially met, but I’m Cole Mitchell. Founder of Blade and Arrow Security.”

Charlie takes his hand, staring at him silently. Then she stands and throws her arms around him, hugging him hard. “Thank you,” she says, her voice thick with emotion. As she steps away, her cheeks are flushed. “Thank you for starting this company. And thank you for agreeing to help me. I can’t say how much it means.”

“Ah, Charlie. We’re all happy to help.” Cole looks a little nonplussed, but he smiles through it. “And I hope you’ll feel even better about things after this meeting.”

Settling back into her chair, she reaches for my hand again while casting a confused look at Cole. “It’s not bad news?”

Cole eyeballs Charlie and me, his eyes lingering on our joined hands. He gives me a tiny chin lift, and as he walks back to his seat, I hear him humming the chorus to Another One Bites the Dust under his breath.

“Is he humming?” Charlie whispers to me, startled, her eyebrows arching up.

“It’s nothing.” I glare at Cole and he gives me a little who me shrug. While Leo coughs into his hand, I say pointedly, “Cole can be odd like that sometimes.”

“Sorry, Charlie.” Cole rests his elbows on the table, leaning forward. “It’s not bad news. I should have made that clear as soon as you came in. And I apologize for the delay. We’re just waiting for Beth to join us from Texas, since she helped with the investigation.”

Leo looks up from his laptop. “She’s just signing in now.” Grabbing the small remote from the center of the table, he turns on the large screen mounted to the wall. At first, it’s just an empty virtual waiting room, but a moment later, Beth’s face fills the screen. She’s smiling slightly, but with a serious set to her features, and she gives us a little wave.