Page 38 of A Bloom in Winter

Apex waved his hand around like he was batting at bees. “The goddamn noise. Jesus, the tapping, the clicking, the—”

“You live alone, don’t you.”

“Yes. And you’re reminding me why—turn thatfuckinglamp off and step away from the desk before I shoot you.”

Although no doubt the guy’d find something else to flick around with: A wall-mounted switch. That door over there. Maybe the fucker would go poor-man’s-Neil-Peart on the coffee table with that spoon.

Mayhem’s pensive look was not a good sign. “Tell me who she is.”

“Oh, come on—”

Click.The lamp turned off.Click. The lamp turned on—

“You know,” Apex pointed out, “they’re going to name a medical procedure after you if you keep that up. And it’s going to involve removing a light fixture from someone’s asshole.”

“Tell me.”Click. “I got nothing better to do—”

“You need to ask her. What the fuck does it have to do with me?”

P.S., wasn’t that the theme of his frickin’ life since he’d entered this zip code.

At least the male stopped with the lamp. “Look, I’ve always been fair with you. I just want to know why she’s here.”

As Mayhem went totally still, like not-even-breathing still, Apex let himself fall back on his ass. And before he could string a proper give-it-up together, the male cut in.

“I overheard her arguing on her phone.” Mayhem pointed to the floor, like it wasn’t obvious where he’d been. “Downstairs.”

“Stalking doesnotneed to be added to your résumé of skills and training.”

“I was heading for the stairs to come find you.”

Apex shook his head. “She’s not for you.”

“I didn’t say I was interested in her.”

“Really. So why’re you asking me about—”

“I only want to know who wants her to leave here.”

“FYI, she speaks the same language you do. I’mnotthe person you need to be asking these questions.”

“I don’t want to seem invasive.”

“Going behind her back and pumping me for details is the very definition of that.” Apex picked up one of the cameras and thought about how fond he was of inanimate objects that just didtheir job without drama. “We’re here to set up this system and get the fuck out. That’s it.”

Well, that was true for Mayhem—and goddamn, he wished he had the guy’s techie skills. If he himself knew that much about computers, he could have avoided this claptrap altogether.

Mayhem glanced out of the archway he’d come through. “She was scared. The scent of fear was so strong, I smelled it out in the fucking hallway.” The male looked back. “And no, I don’t believe the housekeeper bullshit. You were surprised to see her. You’d have known she was up here, if you were coming to do this job and she was the staff. Also, there’s no food in the house. The beds weren’t made—and they would have been if she’d been in charge. I know you know the truth, and if I’m going to protect her, I want to be prepared.”

“No one’s asking you to do that, Mayhem.”

“Well, I’m volunteering because no one else is doing it.” Those eyes narrowed with a calculation that was a surprise. “You’re only in charge of taking care of her father.”

In the silence that followed, Apex got to his feet with a curse. He hadn’t expected things to get brass-tacks real, not with Mayhem. And that laissez-faire attitude, even more than the male’s IT abilities, was the real reason he’d picked the former prisoner.

Mayhem never cared about anything.

“Do you trust me,” Apex said softly.

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