Page 26 of Lure

The dog had his head tucked against her lap, eyes half-closed in bliss. I could respect the hustle. Alphabet eyed the box on my shoulder.

“I forgot he sent us that.” A snort of laughter escaped him. “Such a dick move.”

“Eh,” Voodoo said. “He likes froo-froo coffee. Despite the bullshit he’ll put up with and drink.”

“So do you,” I reminded Voodoo. He loved a good coffeehouse. If we had time and there was one near a job, he’d make a point of checking out their offerings. Probably cause he grew up in the PNW where everyone had coffee in their blood.

I grinned at my own joke, even as I tracked the flickering smile that touched Grace’s lips as she glanced between us. The uncertainty there cut at me. The fiery, feisty nature she’d had on display in New York seemed conspicuous in its absence. The combination of darkness in her crystal blue eyes and the ashen hue in her face was even far more disturbing than the lack of attitude.

This was the same woman who’d picked up the universal remote and thrown it at Bones’ head just as she’d thrown everything she could reach in her own living room at the attackers in her place. That woman had been so vital, alive, and ferocious. Voodoo shoulder-checked me after I set the box down.

It yanked my attention off Gracie and onto him. I raised my brows. “Problem?” I pitched my voice low, trusting he was close enough to hear me.

“Was going to ask you the same thing,” Voodoo said, pinning me with a hard look. “Stop staring at her.”

I frowned, then cut a glance to where Grace had turned her attention back to Goblin. Alphabet leaned forward, arms folded on the table and it looked like he was talking to her. Despite the distraction, she still looked like hell.

“I’m worried about her,” I admitted, then pivoted to tear open the box. We needed to set it up to make her coffee. “I don’t like how she seems at the moment.”

“She’s been this way for a while.” Voodoo shook his head and there was no mistaking the element of caution in his voice. “You haven’t spent as much time with her.”

No shit. I spared him a look and my irritation had to have shown because he raised his hands.

“I get it, the call to take her was Bones and mine. We did it to make sure we cleared any bag and tags from her.”

Aware, I just met his gaze steadily and kept my own mouth shut. I didn’t need the lecture or the defensive explanations. Bones had made some questionable choices of late and we were addressing those. That said, Voodoo had been in charge of getting her here safely and she’d been hurt on his watch.

She’d been hurt on Alphabet’s watch too, a nasty little voice reminded me. I slapped some duct tape over that mouth. Alphabet was already beating himself up. So yes, she’d been hurt on their watches, but they’d all gotten her out of there and kept her in one piece.

That was something, so I fisted my irritation and bottled it.

“I’ll set this up,” Voodoo offered. “And get the coffee going. You do the omelets?”

Equitable exchange. “Thanks.” When I turned this time, I found Grace watching us. She didn’t jerk her gaze away when it collided with mine, but she did lift her chin. “Hungry?” I searched her expression, then added, “I hope? I’ve got stuff for omelets and I can do an egg white omelet if you want.”

Personally, I thought that was a waste of food cause it tasted deadly dull, but it wasn’t aboutme. She needed more calories and maybe some color in her cheeks. I kept my gaze fixed on her eyes and not on her throat. The livid color of the bruising there just pissed me off all over again.

“What do you have for the omelets?” The question carried a lot of hesitation. Too much, in my opinion.

“He can make anything,” Alphabet answered in a droll tone that carried far more of his humor than had been present earlier. “So make him work for it. Don’t ask him what he has, just tell him what you want.”

Amusement unfolded within me as Alphabet practically made it a dare. Would she do it? Rather than comment, I tilted my head and eyed Grace.

Lips compressed, she regarded me with a renewed directness that had been missing earlier. Goblin was still planted at her side, head on her lap as she kept petting him. The good boy was looking after both of them.

“Go ahead,” I encouraged her. “Challenge me.”

A real smile softened her expression. “Ham, spinach, tart cherries or grapes if you have them, and cheddar cheese?”

“You got it. You want the whole egg or just the egg white?” I thought I’d managed to ask the question without a grimace but her sudden laugh decried that attempt.

“The whole egg is fine. Three eggs might be a lot, so just two?”

“Well if three is too many, one of us can finish it for you.” Voodoo’s offer came with the sound of coffee beans being poured. “Now, what kind of latte would you like, Firecracker?”

“Flat White?” The hope in the query was a kick to the junk. She really didn’t get that it was okay to ask. I turned to face the stove and the prep counter. But of course she didn’t, we’d basically taken her into custody and she went where we did.

Yeah, definitely needed to address that shit.

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