Page 55 of Joker

“Not your business,” I say. “Not your entertainment. Learn the difference.”

The grin drops right off his face.

Good.

Shadow’s eyes narrow a fraction, reading more than he says as usual. Blaze, to his credit, at least has the decency to look a little ashamed.

“My bad,” he mutters.

Raven, because apparently she is incapable of letting other people carry tension for too long without trying to smooth it, says quietly, “It’s okay.”

I turn my head just enough to look at her. No, it isn’t. She shouldn’t have to say that. The fact that she feels like she should almost makes me swear out loud.

Shadow catches the exchange and straightens off the doorframe. “We’re heading out back in ten,” he says to me, changing the subject like he knows exactly why he should. “Logan wants everybody there.”

“Got it.”

Blaze grabs a mug, pours coffee, and wisely keeps his mouth shut after that.

For about ten whole seconds.

Then Lexi drops her spoon on the floor. I bend automatically to pick it up at the exact same time Raven starts to move, and we both stop when our hands brush.

Not dramatically. Not some sparks-across-the-room bullshit. Just skin.

Brief. Unexpected. Enough.

Raven stills.

I still too.

Then Lexi, entirely oblivious to the fact that she just detonated the air in the kitchen, says, “Oops.”

Blaze makes a strangled sound into his coffee.

I don’t even look at him. I grab the spoon, rinse it in the sink, hand Lexi a clean one from the drawer, and go back to my mug like my pulse didn’t just kick once for no damn reason.

Shadow’s mouth twitches.

I hate all of them.

Raven looks determinedly at her cereal bowl like she wasn’t affected either, but there’s a little extra color high on her cheeks now. Not much. Just enough to be noticeable if you’re paying attention.

Unfortunately, I am paying attention. To everything. Always.

Lexi finishes about half her cereal before she gives up and starts playing with Bunny’s ears instead. Raven tries to encourage two more bites. Lexi negotiates for one and a half. I watch the whole thing like an idiot, leaning against the counter with coffee in hand while Shadow and Blaze mutter to each other about the day’s work like this isn’t the strangest fucking morning I’ve had in a while.

By the time Raven gets Lexi wiped down with the napkins I grabbed earlier, I have somehow learned the following without meaning to…

Raven takes hazelnut creamer. Lexi prefers the purple cereal and will reject all imposters. Bunny sits on the table when she eats but never farther away than arm’s reach. Raven says “baby” when she’s tired and “Lexi” when she means business.

And I am absolutely in too deep if my brain is already sorting through this kind of information before seven in the morning.

Temporary, I remind myself. This is temporary.

That’s the agreement. The whole point. She’s here because Grinder called in a debt. She and Lexi need a place to land, and Bartsville is that place for now. Then some other solution gets worked out. Some safer setup. Some more permanent arrangement that has nothing to do with me.

I know that. I do. The problem is my body already knows I’m lying.