“Listen, I don’t want to keep you, but I just needed to . . . uh . . . apologize.”

He regrets what he did. I know he does. A sharp pain stabs me in the heart. Ouch.

“Apologize?” My tone is completely casual. “For what?”

“For the other night.” His expression is darker than I’d like. Yuck, it hurts.

“Don’t be silly; there’s nothing to apologize for.” I wave my hand between us and scrunch up my face, acting like he’s crazy.

“I was out of line, and I shouldn’t have done what I did.”

“The lobster was a little over the top, but I forgive you. Can I get going now? I’m anxious to do this drive-by thing with Toni. I think she and I are going to get along great.” I leave my folders on the table and start walking toward the door. I’m going to save my tears of regret for later tonight when I’m drinking wine alone.

“I’m not talking about the lobster.”

“Lobster, wine, a kiss good-bye—whatever. It’s all the same to me.” I get through the door and shut it behind me before he can see my face crumple.

By the time I’m at the door with the digital lock, I’m almost able to hold it together. I’ve been through this before, where a guy messes around with me and then regrets it later. I guess I can be irresistible sometimes, and this is the price I pay. Dammit. I really kind of liked him too.

The door opens before I can start to panic about the code I don’t know.

Dev is standing there, startled by seeing me. “You’re not going to shoot me again, are you?”

“Not unless you’re about to hit me with a stick.” I gesture at the door lock. “Am I allowed to know the code?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry about that. I guess you need this one and the one outside the door here. You’ll also need one to open the big door outside, the gun safe, and the camera locker.”

I dig around in my purse, looking for a pen.

“Can’t write ’em down. You have to memorize ’em.” He points to the pad. “This one is my door, because I’m the one who collects the swords you see in this room. So the code for this door is Dev 1. Letters are on the number keys.” He shuts the door and gestures at the pad. “Go ahead and give it a shot.”

I push in the keys, and the door clicks.

He claps me on the back, throwing me forward. “Well done, Bo Peep. The other side of the door is Thibault’s domain. The code for the main warehouse room is T-B-O-1. Get it?”

I nod. We go outside and shut the door behind us. “Try it,” Dev orders.

I type in T-B-O-1, and the lock clicks.

“You’re on a roll, baby.” Dev opens the door but lets it shut. He points from up where we are to a keypad down near the big door that lets the cars in. “Keypad over there belongs to Toni. Why? I don’t know. The code is T-O-N-1. You can close up when you leave. The rest of us have automatic openers. You won’t get one until you’re out of your probationary period.”

“What about the gun safe and those other places?” I ask as we go downstairs.

“Toni can give you those. I have to beat it out of here.”

“Someone waiting on a stick to the forehead out there?” I laugh at my own lame joke.

“Yeah, my son. My mom could only watch him for two hours today, so I’ve gotta get over there and take him back.”

I pause, surprised at his answer. “You have a son? How old?”

“He’s four, and a handful and a half.” He grins with pride. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

A lightbulb pops on in my head. So that’s what he meant when he was complaining to Ozzie that he has responsibilities. As I recall, Ozzie wasn’t very understanding about that excuse. Surely he knows Dev meant his son . . .

“Good luck out there.” Dev holds up a hand, and I try to high-five him, but miss.

He punches me lightly on the upper arm twice. “Two for missing. Try again.”

I do better this time, and he winks. “You’ll get there.” He’s jogging across the floor before I can respond.

“Don’t make me taze you again!”

He laughs as he climbs into his car, and I smile all the way across the room to where Toni is waiting with a scowl on her face.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Whenever you’re done playing grabass, I can show you the lockers you’ll need access to.”

I’m too stunned to answer. I thought we were going to be friends. I guess I thought wrong. Poo. I hate chick drama, especially at work.

She points to the gun safe I noticed on my last trip here. “These are the weapons we use from time to time. I don’t always carry, but when I do, I get my piece from in here. The code is C-O-L-T-4-5.”

“Original.” I’m too cranky to play nice now. Why was she so rude to me? Was she only being nice before because everyone was watching? That’s going to suck if that’s the case. I’m about to be stuck in a car with her for I don’t know how long. Too long, probably.

She pulls the door open to reveal more weapons than I’ve ever seen in one place, outside of an action flick.

“Wow. That’s a lot of firepower.”

She points, giving me a tour. “Handguns there; rifles and shotguns there. That one’s not exactly legal, so don’t get that one out without talking to Ozzie first.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t be taking any of these out ever.”

“Sure you will. Everyone here gets firearm training. We do refresher shooting once a month after we’re certified.”

“Certified?”

“Certified marksmen. Ozzie insists on it. He doesn’t want any of us shooting the wrong guy.”

Most of the energy is missing from my voice. “That’s nice. I guess.”

“Grenades there . . . they’re not live until that pin is pulled out, but I don’t recommend you touch them.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” My eyes roll up into my head. These people are crazy. Why am I here again? Oh yeah. The money.

“Bullets there. The boxes are labeled, so make sure you grab the right box for the right gun.”

“Yeah, okay.” This is a complete joke. As if I’d know what the right bullet for a gun would be. Ha. Not gonna happen. The only thing I’m shooting is a camera.

“Knives, nunchucks, singlesticks there, brass knuckles in that small drawer.” She turns partway to face me. “Any questions?”

“Yeah. Where are the rocket launchers?”

“We keep those in a separate location.”

She leaves me standing there with my mouth hanging open like an idiot, talking as she walks. I have no idea if she was serious or not.

“Other gear is in these lockers over here.” She throws the doors of one open. “Gas masks, Kevlar vests, gloves, helmets, boots.” She closes that door and opens another. “Camping gear for stakeouts that aren’t in the city.” That door closes, and she moves over to a locked closet. “And inside here is your domain. Lucky already changed the code on it.” She gestures at the lock and smiles deviously. “Guess what it is.”

I walk up slowly, eyeing the stupid lock, wondering what the big joke is. “How many digits?”

“Four.”

I sigh heavily. Her face is giving everything away. I press on the alpha keys, one at a time: P-E-E-P. The lock clicks open, and Toni’s smile falls away.

“Ha-ha, very funny.” I pull the door open, gasping when I see the contents.

“You like?” she asks. She’s back to smiling again.

“I like a lot.” I reach in and pick up a camera I’ve wanted to own for the last five years but haven’t been able to afford. “Holy mother of camera gods . . .”

“Yeah. Ozzie doesn’t skimp. He says we’re only as effective as our tools.”

I smile, thinking about Dev. “What’s up with Dev’s car, then?”

“The Phoenix?” she grins. “You can put like ten dead bodies in the trunk. We’ve used it a ton since he bought it last year.”

I almost drop the camera.