Page 55 of Cruel Love

“How do we know he’s not going to run downstairs and call the police?” she asks.

“Call the police?” I repeat. “And send them here? Where I keep all the evidence to every heist I’ve ever pulled? Come on.”

Fox stands up. “I’ll go with him.”

“Uh, no,” Lilah says. “He’s on your team.”

“Love, we’re all on the same team here,” Archer says.

“Lilah, cool it,” Dante says, still steady as a rock.

She inhales to argue with him, but Archer stands up in front of her.

“I’ll go with him,” he says. “Will that make you feel better?”

She squints, but she backs off. “Yeah, okay.”

Archer smirks and walks toward me while rubbing his palms together. “Team Sparky, together again,” he says. “This should be fun.”

I chuckle. “I don’t know, man. The last time we teamed up, you started banging the target like a week later. You’re not gonna fall in love with Milo, are you?”

His head tilts. “Is he pretty?”

“Archer,” Lilah growls.

He spins around and holds up his hands. “No worries, love. We’ll be back before you know it.”

I look at Fox and he gives me a nod. “Back soon,” I say.

Archer and I step out into the hallway and I pause to input my code.

“Sorry about Lilah, mate,” he says. “I get the feeling she doesn’t like you all that much.”

“That’s okay,” I say, flashing a smile. “Caleb doesn’t like you either.”

He frowns. “What? Really?”

I start down the hallway toward the stairs. “Really.”

“Why doesn’t Caleb like me?” he asks. “Women love me. I’ve got the accent, the wavey, blond hair, the chiseled jawline…”

“And all of that is supposed to impress Caleb Fawn how?”

He blinks. “I see your point.”

We pick up our pace down the stairs, politely passing a few nameless neighbors as we go. I hold open the door at the bottom and Archer steps outside onto the busy Boston street.

“And besides,” I say. “Why do you care if she doesn’t like you? You and Lilah seem pretty committed.”

“We do?”

“I mean, I’m no expert on relationships, but hooking up in airplane bathrooms seems pretty high on the commitment ladder.”

He winces. “Was it that obvious?”

“Little bit.”

“Balls,” he murmurs. “To answer your question, there’s no crime in wanting to be well-liked. Especially by beautiful women.”

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