Page 45 of Sinful Seduction
I snag Minka’s hand and pull her to a stop, dragging her out of the way of moving hospital traffic and a bed on wheels that’ll mow her down if she doesn’t move. Switching ears, I press my phone to the other and spy Fletch slowing just ten feet up the hall, his honeycomb eyes swinging back to mine.
We’ve got things to do. People to see. But Felix won’t be brushed aside.
“Archer?”
“Yes, he was home while Minka and I were working. Power cut out to the city, and Steve was already struggling when we left, so Minka told Cato to keep an eye on the situation.”
“She called it,” he breathes. “She knew he was going down.”
“She worried he would. Now she’s mad she was right.” I lean into her space and kiss her cheek, because she knows I’m talking about her. “Turns out Steve dropped just a minute or so before we got home. Thankfully,Cato was with him when he did. He was checking on the old man at the exact moment his heart gave out.”
“He probably would have died if not for Cato.” Minka snatches my phone and presses it to her ear. “Oxygen stopped flowing to his heart, which means it stopped flowing to his brain. If he had been alone, he likely wouldn’t have made it, and even if he did, he’d probably be in a vegetative state. Cato’s a hero.”
“My baby brother?” Felix’s voice trembles with emotion. His breath shakes along the line. “He’s a good kid. You doing okay, Doctor Cutie? Heard you had a hell of a day, too.”
“I’m fine.” She’s too formal, too uncomfortable on the wrong side of sympathy. Her brows pinch tight, a deep line digging between both. “Just another day at the office. Christabelle healing?”
“Hmm.” Pleasure rolls along his throat and tickles the air on our side of the country. “She’s doing amazing. Making milk like a pro, handling the baby like she’s been doing it her whole life, and she looks pretty the whole fuckin’ time. Zora’s still got that rash on her butt I told you about, but Mary gave us cream that seems to be helping. No thanks to you.”
“No thanks to me!? I was busy! I had a hell of a day, remember?”
He chuckles, taunting and content. “I was kidding. We’ll see you in a few days. You ready to hold your baby niece again? She’s been asking for you.”
“She’s a month old,” Minka drawls. “She’s not asking for anyone except her mother. And no, I’m good. I don’t hold babies.”
“You already held Zora. In fact, you were the first person on the entire planet who did.” He sits back in his chair, lazily crossing one leg over the other. I can’tsee, obviously. But I know. Just like I know his fingers twitch with the memory of holding a cigarette. An old habit he still thinks about. “There’s some kind of magic that happens when a baby is born, Delicious. She was held inside her mother, and then she was held by you. That creates a special bond.”
“That implies almost every baby in the world has a special bond with the doctor or nurse who delivered them.” She purses her lips and meets my eyes. “I’m not buying what you’re selling, Malone. We’re working now, so I’m hanging up?—”
“Wait.” He shoves up in his chair, the heavy frame grunting under his weight. “Minka? You still there?”
She sighs. “Mmhmm.”
“Thanks for helping him yesterday. Cato,” he clarifies. “He might nothave said so out loud, but he would’ve been freaking, and you’re his touchstone, whether you like it or not.”
She scoffs.
“I appreciate you delivering my baby. I appreciate you loving Arch. And I appreciate you looking out for Cato. It’s not often I meet someone who matters so much. Where we come from, we don’t rely on anyone except our own.”
“Sure thing. You done?”
“Uh…” He drags the word out, humming and obnoxious. Then, “Yup. I’m done. See you on Friday. We’re staying at your apartment.”
“You absolutely are no?—”
I snag the phone and bring it to my ear. “You can stay at the house. The apartment is already too fuckin’ small, and the heat is killing us.”
“So you’ll stay at the house too,” he counters. “Excellent plan. Check in on Cato and make sure he’s doing okay. I’ll call him in a bit, too.”
“Yep.” I pull the phone away and kill our call before he can make my day worse, then slipping the device into my pocket and meeting Minka’s eyes, I flash a wide smile. “He means well.”
“We’re not cramming eight people into our apartment again, Archer. No way. I’m too damn tired and sweaty to deal with that nonsense on the eve ofmoredress fittings.”
I grab her hand and tug her away from the wall. “We’ll discuss the details later. We’re on a deadline, and our crime scene is cold at this point. If we don’t figure something out soon, we’ll have to tell the lieutenant we fumbled the hell out of this case.”
“I have no clue why you don’t just move into the house already.” Fletch shakes his head. “You have a whole ass mansion up on the hills with all the space you need, an appropriate heating and cooling system, a pool just off the back door, and enough floors, you could have a dozen guests and not even notice them there.”
“You wanna move in instead?” Minka takes my hand, tangling our fingers together. “The house technically belongs to Malone, but I’m married to him, which means I get a say, right? I henceforth transfer my portion of ownership to you, Charlie Fletcher. Do with it what you will.”
