COOPER LAMB stared up at something he’d never thought he’d see: the ceiling of Veena Lion’s bedroom.
He’d certainly hoped to gaze at it at some point. But Veena was mercurial. There was no way to confidently predict what she’d do at any given moment. For example, this: Veena leading him down the narrow hallway to her dark bedroom. Taking him by the shoulders. Leveling her gaze at him, her eyes almost glowing in the dark, so close he could feel her warm breath on his neck.
And then Veena shoving him backward until he bounced onto the surface of her bed, which was covered in stacks of clean laundry.
Veena spun around and dropped backward too, bouncing him—and the tumbled stacks of laundry—a second time.
“Was it good for you?” Cooper asked, deadpan, as they lay next to each other.
“The case,” Veena reminded him.
“We should move in together,” Cooper said.
“We’ve had this conversation on a number of occasions, remember? We determined there was no way we could be with each other all the time.”
“Right, right. Because one of us would end up trying to hide the other’s corpse and attempt to get away with the perfect, untraceable murder—”
“Even though we both know there is no such thing as the perfect murder.”
“Well, that’s only when we are investigating them,” Cooper countered. “If one of us is dead, and the other is determined not to get caught, then I think that person would have a strong chance of getting away with it.”
Veena sighed. “See, this conversation right now is why we could never live together. I’m literally dizzy.”
“Good, because now that you’re weak and swooning, it’s my turn to ask a question.”
Lupe naturally chose this moment to jump onto Veena’s bed. He selected a location near her head and curled himself into a ball. It had been a long, cold night for him, much of it spent outside in a cold car or inside a stranger’s apartment. Veena’s home, however, was one of Lupe’s favorite places. He adored her and everything associated with her.
“Hi, loopy Lupe,” Veena whispered, giving him scritches behind his ears. “Such a good boy.”
“So, um, back to my question. It’s serious. A matter of life and death.”
Veena rolled over and gave Cooper affectionate scritches behind his ears too. “Aw, is someone jealous?”
“Not in the least. But my belly could use some rubbing.”
“You said something about a serious question?”
Cooper hesitated. He never let his guard down completely with anyone. Not with his ex, certainly, not even when she was his wife, which might have been the root of their problems. And not with his children, because they deserved a steady, stable presence and he was a grown-ass man; they didn’t need to know when he was worried or stressed.
With Veena, however, it was different. Sure, they joked and sparred and flirted. He drove her more than a little nuts. But a rock-solid trust had developed between them over the years, probably because they were variations of the same animal. He loved that she took off her sunglasses for him. So what the hell, right?
“There’s a strong chance that someone will try to kill us if we keep going with this investigation,” Cooper said.
Veena narrowed her eyes. “What makes you think that?”
“People keep warning me away. Even Victor is telling me to watch my step, which is an astounding display of emotion for him.”
“Since when does Cooper Lamb listen to warnings?”
“Since the warnings are coming from witnesses and suspects involved in this case. Even Maya the nanny told me to watch my back. And when a childcare provider is telling you to be careful…”
“So do you want to stop?” Veena traced a thumb along Cooper’s jawline.
“Hell no. I just wanted to let you know that I would still respect you if you decided to stop.”
“Well, I’m not stopping until we find the truth.”
“Even if it kills us?”
Veena removed her hand from Cooper’s face. She extended her pinkie and waited until Cooper got the hint and wrapped his pinkie finger around hers.
“Pinkie-swear that if one of us gets killed,” Veena said, “the other won’t rest until the killer is brought to justice.”
“Pinkie-swear,” Cooper said, gently shaking her pinkie twice. “But what if they get both of us?”