Page 60 of Law

“Oh, um, I’ll have to take a rain check, I’m afraid. I have an appointment with Raleigh right now.”

Gabi blinked at her. “You do? Does he know you’re coming in?”

Lovie stole another glance at her Viking. She was beginning to believe what he’d been saying. Gabi was a bit of a nut. “He does. But I’ll catch you for coffee next time.”

Gabi gave her another bright smile. She might be a bit eccentric, but Gabi was very sweet. “If you’re still here, we can grab lunch. I always go to That’s Italian for lunch on Mondays. Monday’s special is their Bottomless Spaghetti Bowl. It’s so good. It’s a date then! That’s Italian for lunch. I’m off to get my caffeine fix. If I don’t go and get back, my early morning coffee break will run into my late morning cinnamon roll break. When they overlap, Raleigh gets cranky. So, any who… toodles!”

And then she was gone.

Law scowled. “Did she even tell Raleigh that we were here?”

Lovie shrugged. “I don’t think so, but I bet we can just go back.”

They walked down a short hallway to the last door on the right and knocked on Raleigh’s open door. They found him on the phone, but he waved them in and motioned for them to take a seat.

When he finished his call, he stepped into the hall and looked up and down. Returning to his office, he asked, “Did you see Gabi when you got here?”

“You could say that,” Law replied.

Raleigh frowned. “I’m surprised she didn’t walk you back to my office.”

Not wanting to get anyone in trouble, Lovie chimed in before Law could rat out a fellow Musketiara. “Oh, it’s no problem. We caught her on the way out to…to run an errand, right, Daddy?”

Raleigh’s frown deepened to a scowl. “I see. And did this errand have anything to do with sugar and caffeine?”

“I don’t suppose we’ll know that for sure until she gets back,” Lovie hedged. When she started working here, keeping Gabi out of trouble might be a full-time job. “She should be back soon.”

Raleigh mumbled something about hoping she brought extra cushions for her chair.

“I have a class at the diving shop today. I’ll be in town, but I won’t be able to stay here with Lovie. I haven’t nailed down howsignificant a threat the General poses to her yet, so I’m going to need you to keep an eye out and call me if there’s trouble.”

Raleigh nodded. “I can do that. We keep the door locked, so anyone without a key would have a difficult time getting inside the building.”

“The door wasn’t locked when we got here,” Law said. His voice was monotone, but that didn’t make it any less menacing.

“Of course, it wasn’t. Sorry about that. I’ll discuss workplace safety with Gabi as soon as she gets back.”

Law snorted, which Lovie found unhelpful, and muttered, “Good luck with that.”

“I suppose she mentioned we’ve figured out a way for Lovie to work for the firm that allows her plenty of flexibility in hours and remote access, so she doesn’t have to drive in.”

“She told us,” Lovie said. “Do you mind if I take a day to think about it?”

Raleigh shook his head. “Not at all. Take your time. But since you’re here, I thought you might want to start going through the boxes of files the Society’s lawyer sent over.”

That sounded great to Lovie, so she nodded. “I already have lunch plans with Gabi.”

Raleigh grinned. “Bottomless Spaghetti Bowls atThat’s Italian, right? She’s a bit of a creature of habit.”

Law glanced at the time on his phone. “I have to run. My class lasts all day, but I’ll be back to pick you up at four.”

That felt like a long time away. She wasn’t sure how she could find enough to do to fill the hours, other than sorting through all the boxes Raleigh had, searching for the needle in the haystack.

She couldn’t shake the feeling she’d missed something when she created the list of documents, she saw the day her Viking rescued her from the compound. Hopefully, if she had, she’d remember what it was soon.

***

By lunchtime, Lovie had a headache. If she never saw another document again, it would be too soon. She was glad she’d agreed to go eat lunch with Gabi.

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