Page 21 of Set Fire to This Cardhouse

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Toby makes himself grin back and lingers for another beat, even though he carefully avoids looking at Mike. “Okay, see you guys later.”

With that, he does turn around, only to have Liu call, “Wait up, Toby! Just quickly need to discuss something with you.”

Toby will never make it out of this lobby. He is destined to die here—starve, probably, as the water fountain next to the reception desk should keep him sufficiently hydrated to draw out the process. “Sure,” he mumbles, halting his steps.

A glance back shows Liu’s boss mask firmly in place as he addresses Mike. “You’ll be fine? I assume someone will be by to grant you regular access and show you around?”

“Nathalie from HR will pick him up any moment,” Jesy inserts.

“Good. Mike, please drop by my office once you’re settled and we’ll have coffee and discuss your placement with us.”

“Great, thank you.” Mike’s smile sketches tiny crow’s-feet at the corners of his eyes. Toby breathes, looks away, and is glad when Liu finally catches up and they continue through the access control, unhurried. They don’t talk until the elevator doors close with a soft ping, just the two of them going up.

“Is there a problem?” Liu’s voice has lost its professional edge, but his tone is serious. Toby really does need to invest in less perceptive friends.

“A problem?” He crosses his arms. “What problem?”

“That’s my question.”

“Be more specific.”

Liu gives him a long, patient look. “You’re itching your elbow.”

Damn. It’s a nervous tell that Toby’s got mostly under control these days. He drops his arms just as the elevator glides to a smooth stop on his floor. Escape: so close.

“Toby.” Liu gets in the way of Toby’s graceless exit when he blocks the doors. In the mirrored wall, his frown is starkly reflected. “I need to know if there’s a particular reason I shouldn’t send Mike with you to France next week.”

“There is no problem.” And Toby will convince himself if he just repeats it often enough. The lasagna weighs heavy in his stomach. “I mean, don’t get me wrong—the guy’s a menace, likes his weapons and inflammables way too much if you ask me, hasn’t found a gun he didn’t want to fondle.” Mike expertly handing a rifle, fingers sure on the barrel: that way lies madness. “But.” Toby pulls his mind back from the brink. “He’s a good agent. Very good. Fast and skilled, committed. We complement each other well, so no, there’s no reason you shouldn’t send us to France.”

Why?

Why is Toby doing this to himself? He’s been offered an out on a fucking silver platter, and instead he’s talking himself into the corner that will force him into close and repeated contact with Mike.

“Right.” Liu draws the word out, inviting Toby to expand. No, thank you. After a few moments have passed in silence, Liu nods to himself, and grins. It turns him from someone who could be on the cover of a successful classical album—one of those accomplished Chinese pianists, black-and-white portrait, soft focus—into a boyish rogue. “Glad to hear it. I’d hate finding another pair to party on a yacht.”

“Free drinks?” Toby asks.

“Almost guaranteed. But” —Liu finally steps aside to let Toby pass— “unfortunately, Mike will be the only one putting in an official attendance.”

“How is that fair?”

“It isn’t.” Liu shrugs. “I bet he’s a more enthusiastic swimmer than you, though. SEALs will be SEALs.”

He might have a point there. With a wry look, Toby shuffles past Liu and exits onto his floor, sparing a moment to hope that Mike’s office will be located elsewhere. He can’t avoid Mike forever, and that’s fine; he isn’t planning to.

It’s just until he gets his head sorted out. A couple of days, max.

***

Jesy’s message is short and looks like it was spelled in a hurry—that, or she’s linguistically challenged: ‘sry runnig l8 half hr sent m’

M. M?

Malin, Mary, Martin. Mike.

Mike?

Mike indeed: he enters the locker room right as Toby is about to send a single question mark Jesy’s way, clad in scruffy sweatpants and a loose T-shirt, carrying Jesy’s racquet.

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