Page 71 of Shades of Henry

“Not that,” Henry whispered back, his nose bumping up against Lance’s jaw. He showed Lance his phone screen, and Lance saw that he’d sent the brightly lit pictures of the pill bottles to a Det. Sean K, as well as to Jackson Rivers.

A text appeared from Rivers:Great. Where are you now?

Henry’s honest reply surprised him.Stuck in the closet with Lance. She showed up.

Texting K-ski. STAY PUT.

Will do.

Henry kept the phone out, but he cast Lance a meaningful look over his shoulder, and Lance rolled his eyes. Then the outer door to the office slammed shut, and they could hear Summer Frasier tearing through the room, muttering to herself. The pounding on the computer was easy enough to discern, as well as her cry of frustration when it was locked.

She went through the drawers in the desk, cursing. “Dammit, Robbie—where would you put that shit?” and then they could hear cabinets opening and shutting with force.

They both knew where this was going. Lance bumped Henry and gave him a worried glare, and Henry nodded, holding out his palm. “Stay. Put,” he mouthed and then, oh God, he opened the door and slid out of the closet.

Lance gaped in the sudden darkness, his mouth opening and closing in surprise.

What. The. Hell.

And outside, Summer Frasier apparently had the same thought.

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Oh! Hey, see the hands up here?” Henry’s voice had a note of surprise, nothing more. “You were pretty quick with that thing, there, Summer. I think maybe you should put it away.”

Put it away? Lance closed his mouth completely, breathed through his nose, and tried not to panic. Put what away?

“Who in the fuck are you!”

“Oh, honey, I’ll tell you who I am if you stop waving that thing around. I mean, it’s not very big, but you’re a medical professional. You’ve seen what even a small one can do, right? How’d you get that thing through the gates, by the way? I mean, I had to go through metal detectors—just me and my cell phone here.”

And he knew. He totally knew what “that thing” was that she should put away.

Oh dear God. This “loose end,” this “nurse with some extra evidence” was waving a gun around in Henry’s face.

Lance’s stomach dropped, and he had to work to stay standing.

Henry had just told him to stay put and had walked out there to face a desperate woman with a gun? Oh God… Lance was seriously going to be sick.

He swallowed down his nausea and held his breath so he could hear.

“I came up through the executive entrance,” she sniffed. “Robbie gave me a pass, so I could….” Her voice dropped. “So I could visit when he needed me.”

And oh, she didn’t sound happy about that.

“Ah,” Henry said softly. “I wondered about that. I mean, he wasn’t very nice to you. I wasn’t sure if it was an affair or something else.”

“It’s none of your goddamned business!” Summer shrieked. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“I’m here for the same reason you are,” Henry said. “To find the evidence against you. Except I’ve already found it and sent a picture to the police. Don’t get upset, but they’re on their way over.”

Lance blinked hard and thought seriously about killing his brand-new boyfriend. He’d saidwhat?

“Don’t get upset?” Summer’s voice hit an octave Lance wasn’t even sure dogs could hear. “What in the hell—”

“Look, Summer,” Henry said, his voice low and soothing. “I need you to answer a question for me. Be honest. How did you think this was going to turn out?”

“Wha—what?”