Page 193 of Rising Heat

Is this a hostage situation?

I laugh under my breath and turn the screen toward Mack.

He reads the screen, and for the first time since yesterday, the tension in his face finally eases.

“Tell her to come.”

Tyler

Come over?

Darcy

Oh, you guys are down BAD, huh?

Another message follows before either of us has time to answer.

Darcy

Be there soon.

Mack exhales and drags a hand over the back of his neck.

“Good,” he mutters.

The knock comes about ten minutes later, and I grab the doorknob before the second one even lands. Darcy stands there in green cargo pants and a white T-shirt, her hair piled into one of those messy-looking buns with a few loose strands brushing her cheeks.

“Hey…”

She trails off as she takes us in. My whole body unclenches at the sound.

I lean one shoulder against the frame and look at her for a second longer than I probably mean to. Behind me, Mack shifts somewhere near the kitchen, and Darcy’s eyes flick past me toward the sound before coming back to me again.

“You guys look…” She tilts her head slightly. “…like you either had a long day or committed a minor crime.”

I huff a laugh.

“Little of both.”

“We didn’t get caught,” Mack says from behind me.

That gets a small smile out of her.

“Good. I don’t bail people out on the first offense.”

She steps inside, stopping close enough that the front of her shoulder bumps mine. Her hand slides down my arm as she slips past me, a quick squeeze to my forearm before she lets go, then she’s already beside Mack, her hand landing against the middle of his back as she looks up at him.

“Hey, beautiful.”

She swallows once before turning toward the fridge, reaching up to tuck the loose strand back into her bun.

“When’s the last time either of you ate actual food?”

“We ate last night,” I say automatically.

“That was nearly twenty-four hours ago.”

“—You have condiments and beer. Not like you guys at all.”