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I noticed he edged backwards though, closer to Dex, giving me and Black more space. I could feel somehow that he’d heard Black, too, that he was trying to breathe deeper, to calm his mind and light.

He looked at me, and I saw an almost apologetic look on his face.

I gave him another of those weird smiles.

“So whatdowe know?” Kiko asked. “What do we do now?”

Compared to the others, she sounded calm. Rational.

Calm as fuck.

Whywas she so calm?

“It’s a case, right?” Kiko looked at me, then at Jem, then at Nick. Her eyes rested finally on Black. “He wants us to solve a case? Right? We can do that. Right, boss?” She looked hopefully at Black. “That’s what we do. Right? We solve things. We fix problems. We are professionals. We areprofessionals.”

I felt Dex, Kiko, Black, and Nick abruptly relax.

I have no idea how I felt any of it apart from Black, but I swore I saw and felt it on all of them. When I glanced over at Nick, he was taking Dalejem’s hand and arm in his. He did it gently, almost like a question, and there was something about it that was so sweet, I smiled at both of them, abruptly fighting tears.

They were adorable.

I was so happy for Nick.

He’d found his special person.

I was still watching when Nick sank his fangs into Jem’s arm. Closing his eyes, he drank deeply. I saw something come over his face as he did it.

Whatever that something was, it was so intimate, so intense, I looked away.

When I looked at Jem, his eyes had fogged, even as his expression grew more open.

“Jesus,” Black snapped at them. “Don’t do that here! Don’t you think we all want to do that? It’s my wedding night, for fuck’s sake! Don’t fucking do that here! I can’t stand it! We have to solve the crime! We have to getoutof here!”

Jem and Nick looked over at him in surprise.

They looked like someone had just walked in on them doing something obscene in a room where they’d thought the door was locked.

Kiko let out an involuntary laugh.

It sounded almost like a giggle.

I looked at Dex and saw him staring at that metal box he’d found. I could tell he really wanted to press that button again.

“Are there any more… things?” I said, motioning around. “Buttons? Signs? Wall markers? He said everything we need is in here. We should look around. Right?”

Everyone stared at me.

I saw them think about my words.

Then, without another sound from anyone…

…we all dispersed.

* * *

Black and I went into the living room.

I’m pretty sure Dex, Kiko, and Jax went into the kitchen and dining room area.