Page 54 of Sinful Reality

“Thanos? Like… Marvel?”

Her nose wrinkles. “Huh?”

“Nothing,” I chuckle. “You called a coroner for animals?”

“Non-human animals,” she clarifies, “since technically, humans are animals, too. I made a new contact and sent over pictures from the dig. All you need to know is that Danika Smith has officially been found, and once your investigation is complete, we can help the family make arrangements for final services. I’ll have Fifi put together a pack for?—”

“You mean Callen?”

Frowning, her eyes flicker between mine. “What?”

“Callen is your new Fifi. Fifi works for the mayor now.”

“Ugh.” She sinks deeper into the couch and groans. “She’s such an asshole for doing that to me.”

Yes, because her career choices are based purely on annoying you.

“You’ll get Callen to put together a pack for the family,” I continue for her. “Which is probably not her job, since I very much doubt it was Fifi’s.”

“Shut up. Whatever. Did you get my emails with the list ofexperiencesthe moms and daughters went to?” She tightens her leg and arm and drags herself closer, resting her cheek on the soft gap where my chest and shoulder meet. “Pax sent it this morning. He was pissy because hardly any crossed over.”

“I saw the email.” I stroke her wrist with the tip of my finger and smile when goosebumps sprint along her skin. “Haven’t looked at the list yet. See anything interesting?”

“Not really.” She juts her chin forward and pouts. “But my brain isn’t braining right now, so I’m gonna look again tomorrow and hope forbetter luck. He sent a bunch of CCTV footage, too. Diane’s case is more than two decades old now, so video from back then is grainy as hell, and there’s not a lot. But as the years go on and technology advances, the footage gets clearer.”

“So your plans for tonight are to break out the popcorn and watch thousands of hours of security footage?”

“I’ll fast forward. Maybe write a description of the people I see. It’s possible the same person will pop up more than once.”

“Detective Gilbert made you his gopher. That’s gotta be weeks of work, and you wanna find a single grain of sand hidden in an entire ocean.” I flash a teasing grin when her eyes narrow to threatening slits. “Stupid me. I thought helikedyou.”

“You’re being a jerk.”

“Me? I’m not the one who tricked the great Chief Medical Examiner Mayet into doing the grunt work of a dumb-shit rookie. He punked you, Minnnka. You’ve got egg on your face.”

“That’s such a dumb phrase. Why is there egg? Who put it there? Why egg and not, say, noodles? Or butter or bread or bacon, even? Who decided egg was the go-to for that totally nonsensical phrase?”

“Dunno. But you sound like you’re on the mend.” I pull back and steal my arm before she can grab on and force me to snuggle all evening. She’s awake, which means she’s gonna eat.Eggs on toast, perhaps. “I’m making us some dinner. You wanna watch footage tonight while we eat or save it for tomorrow when your brain is back on?”

She flops to the couch when I vacate my spot, groaning and snagging a cushion to cuddle into. “You wanna be a punk with me, Archer?” Her voice is sweet and thick, sleepy and vulnerable. “You’d watch the footage with me, wouldn’t you? Even if I was dumb to accept the job.”

“What kind of husband would I be if I left you to look stupid on your own?” Grinning, I circle the couch and make my way to the fridge to see what we have. “We’ll watch an hour tonight, then I’m calling it. Any more than that and our eyes glaze over, anyway.” I take the carton of eggs from beside the Factor packs, then the butter, before shutting the door and heading to the stove. “You catch any new updates fromPaxwhile I was out?”

“First of all.” She pushes up on the couch and peeks over the backwith cranky eyes. “I hate it when you say Pax like that.Pax, Pax, Pax.AndMin.Your mockery makes me want to smash something.”

And her anger makes me want to lay a juicy kiss right there on her sour face.

She sets her arms on the top of the couch, then rests her chin on her arms. “No new updates. Which isn’t a surprise, really. We’ve done this seventeen times already, and not once have they gotten close to solving it. I’m not even sure why I expect a different outcome this time.”

“Becausewe’reworking it together. Me and you.” I glance across and hold her eyes. “And because the girls deserve better. He gave you nothing today?”

“He was on the phone with the lab a lot. DNA technology has advanced, too, just like the video. He thinks he might’ve caught something with the samples I took from Alana, since she’s the only one who carried his child.”

“And, of course, the break comes fromyourwork.” Pride bubbles in my belly for the woman I chose to spend my life with. But I bring my focus back to my task, snagging a pan from the cupboard and setting it on the stove. “These girls have haunted you for decades. I’m not surprisedyourefforts will get this over the line.”

“Don’t get too excited,” she grumbles. “Nothing has happened yet. It just so happensmycase had extra data to work with.”

“Potato,” I murmur. “Potahto. What did hemaybefind today with the lab?”

---