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He studies me, shoulders tight beneath his shirt. “I wanted to make sure you got home safe. I know you don’t need me to. I know you’ve taken care of yourself for years, and I had absolutely no right to invade your privacy. If you decide this went too far, I understand.”

I follow every micro-feature of him. One eyebrow rises. “Au contraire, my loose Cannon.”

He blinks. Then a startled laugh bursts out of him. “That is terrible. How long have you been saving that?”

“A while.”

His amusement fades as he searches me. “You’re really not furious?”

“I’m deciding.”

“That’s disconcerting.”

I stare him dead in the eye. “You still haven’t seen me naked, right?”

“No.” He hasn’t stopped watching me. “Trust me, I’ve imagined it.”

Heat creeps into my cheeks, and I step closer. “Good. Because I want the first time to be in person.”

His eyes close briefly. “Fuck, Jules. I spent the last thirty seconds thinking you might never speak to me again.”

“And now?”

“Now, I’m having several competing emotional experiences.”

I laugh and take his hand. “We buried a body together, Gage. We bonded over roadkill, shovels, prime numbers, three-and-a-half-star eggs, Henrietta, and not haunted porcelain dolls. Cameras aren’t normal.”

“They aren’t,” he admits.

“But tonight, I’m pretty damn glad they were there. That doesn’t mean you’re off the hook.”

The tension all over him finally loosens. “Understood. I’ll make myself available for sentencing.” Damn. He pulls out his phone.

“What are you doing?”

“Calling a detective I know.”

I roll my eyes. “Of course you know a detective.”

“I cater fundraisers sometimes.”

“That explains almost nothing.”

“Pastries open more doors than you’d think.” He winks, then crouches beside my landlord to check his pulse. His mouth turns down with disappointment.

“Well?” I ask.

“Alive.”

“You sound devastated.”

“I’m coping.” He rises. “Did your button camera catch everything?”

“All of it.”

“Backed up?” I turn my nose up, and he raises a palm. “Right. Stupid question. I’ll make sure the detective gets whatever you want him to have.”

Before either of us can say anything else, the front door opens.