Page 69 of Criminally Yours

“Fine. Stal needed a good cover story for his neighbours in Cornwall, who call him Jonah. It had to be something to convince them that you two needed to be left alone, but nothing suspicious. He’s not slept much because of Jenny, and he’s watched a lot of late-night television, which includedSay Yes to the Dress, the wedding dress show. And your mum was next to him, giving him ideas, so when his neighbour?—”

“Stop rambling,” Strike demanded.

“So there’s this thing that if you think about it doesn’t?—”

“Bear,” he snapped.

“He told them you and Millie are honeymooners. You just got married.”

“What?” Millie stuttered, imagining the level of intimacy she’d need to feign in public to convince strangers they were in their honeymoon period.

“We’ll let you go,” Bear replied. “Sorry.”

Strike rubbed his face as he stared at Millie. He was resetting to robot mode. “We’ll make something work, and I’ll call Cam and check he’s okay.”

Strike hung up the phone and stared at her. “I’m kind of freaked out, too. Talk to me.”

“Nothing. It’s just... My head is really fucking messy, and I’ve only just started to be comfortable around you. What if I freak out like I did in the lake and blow our cover?”

She scratched at her arms. Strike gripped her shoulder. “Stop that. It hurts you. Use your fidget tool or swear at me.” He hesitated, probably giving her space to respond. But she didn’t know what to say. “We won’t have to pretend much. We’re barely leaving the house, and when we do, we’ll avoid people for safety. But this will stop people from getting in our faces. I promise not to make you uncomfortable.”

Strike’s phone rang again, but he continued to glance at her.

“You should get that,” she stuttered. “It might be important.”

She’d hidden her sexual side for so long, only able to be intimate with those on an app that she could shut down when it got too much.

Could she really pretend to be a honeymooner with a person she’d once loved? A part of her craved that, and more, with Strike, but there was so much terror there as well.

“Hey, Strike, I’m at the London office. Luke is with me,” Cam said through the speaker, cutting through her thoughts. “Am I on speakerphone? Can Millie hear?”

“Yes,” Millie bleated. She gripped her burner tighter. Was this about her phone?

Strike side-eyed her, but she refused to meet his gaze.

“Fantastic. I spoke to my sister, Ava, this morning. I told her she was doing well and asked general questions about her rather than telling her what to do. She shared lots. It was the best chat we’d had in ages. Thank you for your advice.”

Millie shoved her glasses up her nose as she said, “I’m glad it helped. Keep chatting to her like that. The more you do, the more she’ll tell you.”

“Is that what you do with your family?”

“God, no. They’re so overprotective. But I’m one of those typical counsellors. I’m great at dishing out advice and helpingothers, but I’m shit when it comes to me. I’m riddled with issues I won’t deal with,” she said, faking a smile.

She could feel Strike’s eyes on her as she typed her family’s numbers from the piece of paper she’d written them on into her new phone.

“What are your issues?” he asked.

“You’ll crash if you keep staring at me.”

She side-eyed him until he looked back at the road.

“Hey, boss,” Luke said. “I wanted to update you about Millie’s phone. It’s messy. It’s not an easy fix.”

Millie let out a breath. She needed to give the video to the police and get away from Strike, but she hated the idea of him learning about the app. She had no reason to be ashamed, yet it still crept across her skin like ants in a line across warm concrete.

“Keep at it,” Strike replied. “We want access to that video. I need Millie safe, and that’s the best way at the moment.”

“I won’t sleep until it’s sorted.”