Page 24 of Ghosted in Arkadia
“Anything good?” I ask, my interest peaking as my mind focuses back on Ghost.
“Shit ton of info, actually,” James laughs darkly before taking a long sip from his coffee. “Might be enough to bring down Roman.”
I raise an eyebrow, unsure if I believe something like that is possible.
“If we can ever make sense of it all,” James mutters.
There it is. I knew taking down Roman wouldn’t be as simple as a bunch of computers falling into our lap. There is always something with the Romans.
“I’m headed back down to help the techies. I think Captain pulled most of the patrol units because of the weather.” James winks before I can groan.
Office days usually mean paperwork, and I hate paperwork.
Killian is relaxing in his seat at his desk, mirrored glasses on as usual. It doesn’t matter the lighting or time of day, they are always on. He smirks as I go to my chair like he can hear my thoughts. His smirk suggests that he only wears them because he knows it annoys me.
Rex is already lying beside my desk, halfway back to sleep. The dog has always loved rainy days.
I take a seat in my chair; it feels stiff. Unused for far too long. I bounce slightly, trying to force it into a state of comfort.
“You good, princess?” Killian asks, still wearing the smirk from earlier.
“Yeah. It’s just this damn chair.” I stand up to push the bar to the side and attempt to adjust the height. A sense of panic creeps in the more I fiddle with the seat, trying yet failing to get it into the right position. “Damn it.”
“Here,” Killian says, suddenly standing beside me with his chair in tow.
I hadn’t realized he had moved.
“Take mine. I’ll work yours in.” He pushes his chair toward me.
Cathy’s old chair.
All fight leaves me. “Thanks,” I breathe, touching Cathy’s chair and feeling somehow closer to her. It doesn’t smell like her perfume anymore, but the lingering smell of Killian’s cologne is somehow comforting.
“Anytime, princess. We’re partners. We’ve got each other’s backs.” Killian picks up my chair and takes it to his desk. He doesn’t seem to have any difficulty getting it into the proper position or resuming his relaxed state.
The day marches forward, but it appears the storm has come to stay. Weather forecasts predict three more days of rain, and the chill in the air suggests that fall has arrived in full force. I spend the day actively avoiding work while teaching Killian how to do the same, which primarily consists of pretending to look busy whenever Captain comes out for lunch and his regularly scheduled bathroom breaks.
I even wrote the schedule on a sticky note for Killian to reference.
He did well, other than almost allowing Captain to catch him reading the note directly in front of him.
At least Killian is good at shifting conversations.
Rex wags his tail, shooting through the door the moment we get home, but he looks over to the doggie door and whines.
“I can’t control the weather, and you don’t know how to piss in a toilet. You’re gonna have to go out there, eventually.”
The shepherd turns his brown eyes to me, and I imagine the words fitting into place inside his mind. At least, in the primitive way dogs understand things. Then Rex turns and heads straight for the couch.
Apparently, deciding he could hold it a little longer.
“Hope for a break in the rain, I guess,” I say, resigning him to his fate while I grab a frozen dinner. The next time I go to the store, I’ll have to get ingredients for an actual meal.
Looking at the bottle of vodka, I frown, only having enough left for one more drink. I thought I had at least half a bottle left yesterday. My brain fights to remember yesterday outside the thoughts of Ghost that have spiked my libido at random intervals throughout the day. I had added more with Rex’s loud chewing, but I didn’t think it was much.
I’ll have to make a trip to the store tomorrow.
The warm scent of my microwave meal fills the air as I stand at the island, watching Rex sprawled out on the couch. He occasionally throws a lazy glance out the window, seemingly disinterested in the world beyond the backyard.
