Page 32 of The Last Shadow

I nod against his chest. “I could eat.”

We order some delivery, and I spend an hour with Damien inside his office, eating breakfast and making up for the events of last night. He still doesn’t tell me what the call last night was about, but I don’t push it, now isn’t the time, instead I enjoy having breakfast with my husband.

Everything else can wait until later.

“You spoil me,” I tell him and pat my full belly. “Thank you for breakfast.”

“I’ll spend the rest of my life spoiling you, Francesca. I wish I had time to make up with you properly.”

I laugh but it sounds more like a giggle even to my own ears. “I do too, but that’s what tonight is for. Tonight, at the penthouse, Damien. Just me and you.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” His mouth finds mine again and I swear that every single kiss he lays on me pulls me under. By the time he pulls back, there’s a fine sheen of sweat on my forehead and my back. “Until tonight, Mrs. Wolfe.”

I shiver. “Yeah, until tonight.”

Damien walks me to the door but his phone rings when he pulls it open. “Have a good day at work, Francesca.”

“I will. Stay safe.” I watch him for another long minute, admiring his beauty when he answers the phone, easily slipping into boss mode. Feeling proud of my man and satisfied with how we left things, I leave the office and nearly slam into Jess on my way to the elevator.

“Mrs. Wolfe. Is everything all right?” Her smile is professional, the same one I bet she uses with everyone who comes through this office.

“Yes. Just a small disagreement between newlyweds.”

“It happens,” she offers with a sympathetic look in her eyes. The look darkens and she steps inside the elevator with me, standing so close I can smell her expensive perfume. “I shouldn’t have ambushed you at the wedding the way I did,” she begins. “But if you want to know the truth, the real truth about everything, I suggest you ask your partner. Jay.”

“Jay? What’s this got to do with Jay?”

She nods. “Ask him. He has a lot of answers that might surprise you. Starting with your home,” she says before she hits the button and steps off the elevator. “Good luck.”

Good luck?Who the hell drops a bomb like that and then saysgood luckas if I’m going to audition to be an extra onLaw & Order? My mind is racing by the time my feet hit the marble floors of the lobby and it’s so loud I can’t think of anything else when I reach my car.

I think of all the recent incidents with Jay that I was willing to brush off, but further examination paints them as suspicious. His mysterious appointments are at the top of the list, but also vanishing during the questioning of Laurel Kinney. None of it makes sense and it didn’t make sense at the time, but Jay is like family, and I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

And let’s not forget that he was at my house when it burned down.

That’s a thought too far but I have a full head of steam worked up by the time I enter the precinct. I’m not in the mood to bullshit with my coworkers the way I usually do because once again, I’m on a mission, this time I need to find my partner, my surrogate father and find out what the fuck he’s hiding from me.

“Frankie.” His face lights up the way it always does when he sees me. “What’s up?” He notices my dark expression immediately and gets to his feet inside the war room. “Is it Damien?”

I shake my head and watch Jay carefully. He looks genuinely worried about me or Damien. I’m not sure but I need the truth. I can’t afford to just wait and see. “Damien is fine,” I sigh and take my seat, folding my hands on top of the desk. “I need to ask you something.”

“Sure kid. Shoot.”

“How did you know about the fire at my house?”

His brows dip. “It came across on the radio and I rushed there after recognizing your address.”

That makes sense. “Why were you listening to the radio?” Neither of us was on shift that night. “I mean, I figured you’d be cuddled up with Cassandra.”

He shrugs. “Even a stud like me needs a night off, Frankie. What’s this about?”

I let out a frustrated sigh and keep my gaze on Jay, studying his face. “This is about lies, Jay. About me figuring out who else is keeping vital information from me.” I lean forward and arch one of my brows. “What are you hiding Jay?”

“Shit, Frankie, we all have secrets.”

That much is true. I have my own secrets that I keep for various reasons, but those secrets don’t overlap into my regular life. “Okay, what secrets are you keeping from me that I need to know about?”

He studies me, doing that quick darting back and forth thing that suspects often wear in an interrogation when they’re trying to figure out what we know. “Who’s in your head?”

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