Mayhem & Mistletoe, стр. 43

“I’m pretty sure you got your way this morning.”

He smiled at the memory. “Yes, you’re a wonderful little homemaker.”

His tone made me cringe. “I’m actually here for a reason.”

“I figured.” He leaned back in his chair. “What do you want me to do?”

“You have connections.”

“Maybe. It depends what you want me to do.”

“I want to see how many names you can connect to that halfway house.” There was no point holding back now.

“Why?”

“Because if I can get a list of names, people who have lived in that house the last two years say, then maybe I can track the deceased backward.”

He perked up at the suggestion. “I hadn’t thought of that, but it’s a good idea. But two years could yield a lot of names.”

“I know, but I figure it’s better to be safe. I don’t want to miss a possibility.”

“I can set up a search for that. It’s easy enough to run an address and see who has received mail there. Anything else?”

“That’s all for now. I appreciate your time.”

He moved fast, his arm shooting out and grabbing the front of my shirt so he could pull me down for a kiss. “I appreciate your time.” He was smiling when he released me. “Where are you going? And where is your little sidekick?”

The second question filled me with annoyance. “She’s not my sidekick. By the way, do you know what she did?”

His eyes widened. “No, but I’m guessing you’re going to tell me.”

I barreled forward. “She had the entire newsroom hanging on her every word this morning as she told the thrilling tale of how she swooped in and rescued me last night.”

Eliot merely blinked.

“That’s not what happened,” I hissed. “I had it under control.”

“I don’t know who you’re trying to fool when you say that, but you can stop wasting those words on me. She did save you, and I’m grateful. I’m not sure I could’ve fought that guy off.”

“I was going to fight him off myself.”

“You and what army?”

I pointed to my foot. “I’ve kicked so many crotches I’m now a master. I was never in any danger.”

“Tell that to my indigestion.” He shook his head. “Is that how you got out of including her? Did you tell Fish you were going to kick her in the crotch?”

“I told him I was likely to make her cry.”

“So what? You make people cry all the time. It’s one of the things I love best about you.”

“Yes, but I also told him that Duncan and Marvin would likely be willing to dry those tears with their penises, which was a whole new mess of trouble. He suddenly agreed it was best that she hang with Marvin for the day.”

That earned a barking laugh. “You never cease to amaze me, Trouble. Never.”

“I’m good at what I do,” I agreed, sliding toward the door. “If you could come up with that list of names, I’d greatly appreciate it.”

“I’ll set the search to run,” he promised, his eyebrows drawing together “You still haven’t told me where you’re going.”

Crap. I was hoping to sneak out without having to own up to my plans. Now there was no choice but to tell him. “I’m going to the yoga studio.”

His frown deepened. My cousin Lexie was the proud owner of a yoga studio in Roseville, one she opened with money I gave her after receiving a reward I didn’t feel I was owed. Eliot wasn’t a fan of Lexie, though they’d been getting along better in recent months. Still, he never thought it was a good idea for us to hang out. “Why are you going to the studio? Do you need to work out some stress or something? If so, I can think of better ways.”

“It’s not about working out stress. It’s about insight into a world I’m not all that familiar with.”

He didn’t say anything for a long moment, but I recognized the second he realized what I had planned. “You’re going to ask her about the drug trade in that area.”

Lexie had a penchant for dating dealers and considered herself a resident of Detroit – at least in spirit – so I couldn’t give him points for his deduction.

“I’m going to see if she knows anything about that house,” I admitted. “I’m not going back or anything ... at least right now.”

“I hate to admit it, but that’s probably a good idea. If there’s some sort of serious drug trade happening at that house, she’ll likely know about it.”

“If not, she might’ve heard rumors or know somebody else who could provide answers.”

“Just ... don’t let her talk you into doing anything weird.”

“What have I ever done with Lexie that could be construed as weird?”

“I believe the time I was hit by the car counts. You were with her ... and that was all sorts of weird.”

“I thought that was a fairly normal evening for us.”

“Which is why I hate it when you two go on adventures.”

“No adventures today,” I promised. “Today it’s just a fact-finding mission.”

“If that changes, let me know.”

I stilled with my hand on the doorknob. “You’re not going to try and talk me out of digging deeper into this drug stuff?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re you and I don’t want to dictate to you. I simply want to be included.”

I nodded. “I’ll let you know when I have a plan of attack.”

“That would be greatly appreciated.”

LEXIE’S STUDIO WAS BETWEEN CLASSES. She stood behind the counter at the front of the store mixing a smoothie.

One look at my smile had her balking. “Oh, you’ve got your trouble face on. I hate your trouble face.”

“You’ve been arrested, like, six times,” I reminded her. “How is my trouble face worse than any of the trouble you’ve actually managed to find?”

“It just is.” She upended the concoction and dumped the contents into a glass before shoving it toward the other side of the counter.

I was already wrinkling my nose when I leaned over to study it. “That looks like green goo.”

“Kiwi and strawberries.”

“It looks like