Page 56 of In Too Deep

Was that what they were now? A team? “Teammates don't lie to each other.”

“I’m sorry.” His face was soft, vulnerable, like he was showing her his underbelly knowing full well she could slice if she wanted to. “It won’t happen again. I promise.”

“You’ve said that to me twice now. Third time’s the charm?” She crossed her arms over her chest and then dropped them when his eyes lowered.

“I was wrong to keep it from you before. If you like, as soon as I can actually bend my knees, I’ll grovel on them for you.”

Rose coughed lightly, her cheeks turning slightly pink as she tried not to picture a very naked Blake doing just that. “I’ll hold you to that,” she said, and surprise and delight seemed to fight for dominance on his face until he gave in and smirked. “But this is your last warning, David.” He blinked at the use of his first name, and she kept her face cold and blank. “If you lie to me one more time, I won’t ever trust you again.”

Blake’s blue eyes held hers, and when he licked his lips she didn’t look away. “I promise.”

“Okay.” She breathed out and closed her eyes, finding him still watching her when she opened them again. “Now what? Do we like, get tees made or something?”

He snorted and she grinned, though it faded quickly as she spotted tell-tale blue lights flashing through the foggy glass next to the front door. “Looks like they’re here,” Blake said, and she nodded.

“Can I get you anything?” She wanted to be busy. As tired as she was, it was the bone-deep kind that couldn’t be cured with sleep. The kind that let you know that something had to give otherwise you would break. This had to be over soon. It just had to. “Soup?”

Blake groaned. “I’ve had enough soup to last me a lifetime.”

“It’s literally been two days, yet they call me dramatic.”

“Two days of your cooking feels like–” He gave her wide eyes and coughed. “Um, heaven.”

“Yeah, that’s where I thought you were going with that,” she said while he nodded earnestly and she tried not to laugh.

“I think there should be leftovers in the freezer,” Blake murmured, limping over and rummaging through a drawer.

“Oh, now he tells me,” she complained to Bailey, and he sneezed in agreement. “I found your hoard, by the way.”

Blake froze with his head in the freezer. “My what?”

“Tell me, Blake…”

He looked up, eyes darting from side to side as he cleared his throat, and his nervousness made her curious about what, exactly, he thought she’d found. “Yes?”

“Do you know how to use the washer?”

A hint of a blush slowly crawled over his cheeks, and she bit back a grin. “Of course I do.”

“Oh? So you were just, what, saving all those piles for later?”

“Yeah,” he said, tugging at the unbuttoned collar of his shirt. “I, um–”

Rose couldn’t hold it in any longer, bursting out laughing at the uncomfortable look on his face, cackling louder when he blushed even more. “I know your secret now,” she said breathlessly, and he scowled.

“You don’t know nearly as much as you think, princess.” There was a silky note in his voice that had her heart pounding, and she shot him a glare.

“Keep it in your pants, Blake.”

“With sincere regret, DuLoe.”

Grinning at each other over the kitchen island, for a second everything felt lighter, like their lives hadn’t gone to absolute shit recently. Then her phone vibrated in her hand, and she sighed. “What is it, Jones?”

“A letter just arrived for you at the front gate. One of Mr Blake’s guys is bringing it to you now. Call me back once you’ve opened it. I’m still out in the field.”

“Why am I the one opening it?” Rose protested, but the beep of the call ending was all that answered her. “These guys are absolute jokes,” she muttered. Had they not heard of the chain of evidence? Wouldn’t it mess up any prints on the letter if she were to open it without them dusting it first? It was like they weren’t even trying to catch this guy. What if she opened the letter and it had poison in it? Rose winced. She wouldn’t be able to sue them from beyond the grave.

Blake raised an eyebrow as she walked through the hall and opened the front door, leaving it open as the security guard handed her the envelope. It was heavy, expensive paper just like the others, and the fear she felt was so strong it almost seemed ridiculous that it was because of the innocuous looking square in her hand.

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