Page 77 of Lure

“I’m fine,” I frowned. “Am I being too quiet?”

“No.” A smile softened her expression. “You were just frowning and Goblin keeps checking on you.”

“Oh.” I shook off the malaise and paused to give Goblin a good scratch. “Sorry—to both of you—I was just thinking plans, routes, and train schedules.”

“Really exciting stuff,” she said with a slow nod and just a hint of teasing.

“It can be, especially since I have the best partner in crime.”

“Goblin is the MVP.” She delivered the line without an ounce of irony and I had to chuckle.

“That’s difficult to argue.” Since she seemed to want to play, I said, “You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Ha.” Her derisive snort dissolved into a hint of a smirk while her eyes danced with humor. “I’m practically perfect.”

“Oh, yeah?” It was my turn to scoff. “Practically meansvirtually, you know.”

“It also meansalmost.” The retort was a good one. The breeze was a bit muggy, but the sun felt good and so did the walk. Goblin also seemed a lot happier.

“Almost perfect, then?” I tested the sound of it with a slow nod. “That works.” She laughed and when I offered her an arm, she threaded hers through mine.

The train ride was a lot more entertaining than the flight. Lunchbox brought out the cards since our seats had a table. Grace turned out to be a cutthroat poker player. We were going to lose our shirts if we kept playing this way.

It would be near nightfall local time when we reached the rental, and we would be a long day away from when our planes landed. Despite her yawns, Grace skipped taking a nap even when we offered. “Better for the body clock if I just reset to whatever time zone I’m in. That means lots of hydration, exercise, eat light—too much heavy food makes me wanna nap.”

“You travel a lot,” Lunchbox said as he reshuffled the cards.

“You could say that. I’ve done several time zone hops in a few weeks. It just helps to make myself stick it out, then sleep when it’s nighttime. Doesn’t mean I don’t get jet lag, but it works for me.”

“That makes sense. I trained my body clock a long time ago to sleep on command.” At her incredulous look, I shrugged. “When you might have just a limited time for sleep, you take it where you can get it. That means if I have an hour, I sleep for that hour. It’s a mindset.”

“What he said,” Lunchbox said with a wave toward me. “So… you want to play another round?”

“I don’t know,” she teased, eyebrows raised. “You’re both out of snacks to bet.”

“Guess we need to up the stakes…”

“Or we could buy more,” she said as the cart and steward came up the aisle.

“Or, you’re right, wecouldbuy more,” Lunchbox said with a grin at me and I laughed. “M&Ms?”

“Oh yeah,” she said with a nod. “Chocolate is definitely a win.”

It was wellafter dark before we got to the house itself. The place Voodoo lined up was a little ritzier than I would have gone for. It was also alotwarmer here. At the end of the drive, Lunchbox entered the code into a box and the fancy, curved pair of wrought-iron gates swung open in near silence. They looked more like they were designed for art and not security.

I just shook my head. Once up at the house, Lunchbox did a full interior sweep before we took care of offloading our suitcases. We both nudged Grace away when she tried to help. “Take Goblin for a walk around?”

“Trying to get rid of me?” The arch comment made me snort.

“Not a chance in hell. Go on. Both of you take a walk. It’ll be good for you.”

A flash of her earlier smile returned and she called Goblin. When I motioned to him, he trotted off to follow her. I wasn’t the only one watching her go.

Lunchbox paused then glanced at me. “You good?”

“Not according to my mother.” Then I hauled another of the suitcases out. “You already find a good spot for me to work?”

“Yeah, downstairs dining room. It’s central, you have good eye lines on the doors and we can secure them.”

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