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to live my life,” she said defensively.
    Zeus shot Lynx a warning look.
    “Why does a nonprofit gallery need security?” Terry continued.
    “We don’t really. There are three floors of offices in the building. The gallery occupies half of the third floor. On the other side of the hall are a suite of law offices. They practice environmental law for the most part. On the second floor is an architectural firm and a nonprofit. First floor is a notary, a pediatrician’s office, a dentist’s office, and a florist shop. I think security is there to mostly monitor access to the building. They aren’t like real security; they don’t carry guns or do rounds or anything. There’s usually just one or two people working on the morning and evening shifts.”
    “Was the guy you identified in the warehouse working yesterday morning?” Terry asked.
    “He was there for the morning shift. He opened the door for me.”
    “Was that unusual?”
    “Not really. Aaron liked to play like he ran the building. He liked to flirt sometimes, but it usually came off as kind of corny. He was a little interpersonally challenged. His conversations always seemed forced, unnatural, but not just with me. It was like he was practicing homework some life coach or therapist had given him. For the most part, though, he seemed harmless.”
    “Until he and his friends break into your house, beat you, and kidnap you,” Zeus added.
    “Tell us about when you left work,” Terry said.
    “I ride my bike to work. I live by the lake and work in the uptown area, so I was home around fifteen minutes after leaving the job. My studio apartment is located in the back on the first floor of a four-unit building. After I got settled, I went to the kitchen and ate my leftover Chinese food. After I ate, I was putting my dishes in the sink when there was a knock on my back door. My back door leads from the kitchen to the communal patio garden in the backyard. I thought it was my friend Randy who usually stops by in the evening.”
    Zeus made a mental note: Do bodily harm to Randy if I need to make a point about who Sabrina currently belongs to.
    “I opened the door and blam, a fist to the face. I remember fighting, but it was two of them. The last thing I remember before I went unconscious was hoping Randy was okay.” She looked down at Zeus. “Then I woke up with this big beast standing there about to rape me.”
    Zeus went back to sharpening his blade when they all looked at him. Disbelief, disgust, anger. He usually wouldn’t care about their reactions, but he didn’t rape women and felt the need to clarify for Sabrina’s sake. Plus, there was no way in hell the woman was going to consider letting him fuck her if she thought he was a rapist.
    “I wasn’t about to rape you. Was adjusting myself. I got hard looking at you and the way I was positioned in my jeans was getting uncomfortable, so I reached in and—”
    “Really don’t need to hear anymore,” she said.
    “As long as you know I wasn’t about to rape you. I don’t rape.”
    “Well, that’s something.”
    “But we’ll have sex before I—”
    “Jesus, Zeus,” Coen said. “Can you be sane for one minute? You don’t tell a woman you’re going to—”
    “But I am.”
    “You were unconscious for the entire trip from Oakland to Point Richmond?” Almaya interrupted.
    “You can feel the lump on the back of my head if you need proof.”
    Zeus paused again. He didn’t like that they were aggravating her with all their questions. He put the stone and cloth on the floor, his grip tightening on the hilt of his blade.
    “Keep it together, Zeus. No one’s harming Sabrina. We’re all just having a conversation,” Terry said calmly.
    Zeus didn’t give a shit about what Terry said. He felt the slight press of Sabrina’s leg against his arm and shoulder. Not an accident, she did it on purpose. A lover’s caress. A promise of something more when the time was right. He picked up his tools and