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sandwich seems to ask me for advice. As if I’d know how to entice the pair of you!”
    “Oh, yeah. That.” At least he had the decency to look ashamed. “I didn’t know people were harassing you because of us. This is exactly what Mason was talking about. I had no business dragging you into our mess.”
    “Even if that’s where I want to be?”
    “I’m sorry, little one. I asked Rhonda to come over so you won’t be alone.”
    She didn’t deign to acknowledge him. Though she enjoyed hanging out with her next-door neighbor on occasion, no one could replace Ty. The shadowy form of his retreating body hovered on the threshold for a heartbeat. He whispered one final parting shot over his shoulder. “Some secrets aren’t mine to tell.”
    Then he slipped from the room.
    “Tyler! What the hell does that mean? Wait!” She scrambled to disengage from the tangled sheets then rushed down the stairs with uncoordinated limbs but she was too late.
    He’d already disappeared.
     
    Tyler huddled into his charcoal wool jacket to avoid the chill as he slunk across the frosted lawn to the backdoor of the apartment he shared with Mason. Above it, a single hundred-watt bulb made an ineffective beacon welcoming him home in the early morning glow. The dread pumping through his nervous system rivaled any he’d experienced as a teenager praying he’d evade MomDAR after a late-night excursion. Only, this time, his roommate inspired the apprehension instead of the debauchery that had earned the repercussions.
    He estimated his chance of making it inside undetected to be about as abysmal as the chance of wiping the memory of burying himself in Lacey’s virgin pussy from his mind. But, son of a bitch, even a lifetime of torment—knowing exactly what he was missing—would be worth the taste of rapture he’d stolen.
    Now he had to pay for it.
    Tyler paused to consider the merits of jimmying a window before he abandoned hope and squared his shoulders in preparation for the come-to-Jesus ass chewing he deserved. The metal stairs creaked by design as he ascended. They’d worked hard to make this place their own as much as possible for a no-frills rental unit. No one could slip in with them unaware. They’d seen too much shit during their time on the force to be less than vigilant at home.
    He cringed when an image of the crime scene including Rob’s mutilated body as a gruesome centerpiece flashed, unbidden, into his mind. Fuck Mason. Fuck his iron willpower. Ty’d needed Lacey as much as she’d needed him last night. Her soft innocence paired with fiery desire had cauterized the gaping wound in his heart, at least temporarily.
    The award he and Mason had received for exemplary service rattled on its prominent shelf as the door slammed behind him. He’d just unlaced his shoes when movement from the scarred leather sofa caught his attention. Legs splayed, shirtless despite the chill, Mason poured a stream of amber liquid into the glass nestled between his bunched thighs.
    Ty licked his lips. “I’m impressed. Whiskey before breakfast. We haven’t done that in years.”
    “Haven’t been to bed yet.” Mason’s pupils had dilated from sitting in the dim room. The ebony centers overshadowed his cerulean eyes, making them appear ominous despite his calm tone. “That makes it a nightcap.”
    The measured speech didn’t fool Tyler. A telltale muscle jumped along the right side of Mason’s neck and his knuckles whitened around the bottle of Jack before he set it, with overabundant precision, on the end table they’d scored off a buddy who’d moved in with his fiancée. It had been too “bachelor pad” for her tastes, which made it perfect for their eclectic refuge of hand-me-downs.
    “You worked the case all night despite the captain’s orders? You have a gut feeling on this one, don’t you?”
    Mason didn’t answer the rhetorical questions. Instead, he fired a fierce stare in Ty’s direction. Goddamn, would he ever