Page 23 of Barristers & Bones

Luna

On Friday morning, Roman knocked on the apartment door fifteen minutes before eight.

Swinging the door open, I glared up at him. “You’re early, and youstilldon’t need to pick me up. In fact, you go on. I’ll drive today, then I can leave early. It’s Friday after all.”

He grinned and walked inside. “Good morning to you too, Sunshine. It’s refreshing that you’re always pugnacious and always on time.”

I gave him a flat stare. “I know what pugnacious means, and my name is Luna, so Sunshine doesn’t really fit.”

“Then Moonshine will work.”

“Never mind. Sunshine is fine.”

“I like Moonshine. And no.”

I sighed. “There’s that word again. I just need to put on my shoes and get my bag.”

He walked over to the couch where one of my books lay on the arm and picked it up. “You’re reading a how-to book about building a raised garden.”

“It relaxes me.”

“Have you ever had a garden?”

I searched around for my phone. “No, but I’d like to someday. I’ve never done or seen most of the things I read about–that’s why I read.”

He stared at me. “Does your brain ever shut down?”

“Maybe when I’m sleeping.”

Shaking his head, he studied me as if searching for something. “Probably not even then.”

Roman spent most of the morning on his phone, so I pulled out my never-ending homework, put on my noise-canceling headphones, spread out my highlighters, and studied. A few hours later, Ivan tapped my shoulder. I squeaked loudly, sending a few highlighters skidding off the desk.

“Holy shit! Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

He folded his arms and grinned. “I said your name–twice. I’ve been watching you for a few minutes.”

I pulled my headphones off. “That’s not creepy at all. What’s going on?”

“Lunch is on its way. We bring it in on Fridays.”

“Okay. Sounds good.” I picked the highlighters up and straightened them.

“Your concentration is a bit scary. Why do you have so many markers you never use?”

My shoulders hunched. “I don’t know.”

“You have a near photographic memory.”

“How do you… Oh, the background check. I don’t have a photographic memory. My reading comprehension is just high, that’s all.” The background check annoyed me, but I knew they were fairly common. “What else did you learn about me?” I grabbed a cinnamon bear from the open package on my desk and chomped its head off.

Ivan smirked as he watched me chew. “You grew up in the Phoenix area, and your father is a federal judge there. You have stellar grades, a partial scholarship, and no criminal background.”

“Pretty boring stuff.” But my stomach tightened, and I chewed slowly. His smirk had a mean glint.

“Yep. Except you accused your father of taking bribes when you were younger, and your parents disowned you.”

“I’m not sure how that’s relevant to anything.” A wave of anxiety hit me, thinking about that time in my life.

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