Page 115 of Priest

That eased something in her face. Not all of it, but enough.

Not too long later, my phone buzzed against the table.

Ghost: Checked the windows you sent. Bike’s there. But he stays in camera blind spots. Hard to get a clear look.

My mouth flattened as I read it.

Ghost: Could be coincidence. Could be smart.

I stared at the screen for a second longer than I should have, letting the words settle while my head started turning over every possible angle. Blue watched me from across the table, her hands still around her drink.

“Well?”

“Ghost saw him,” I said, setting the phone down but keeping my fingers on it. “Nothing concrete. Could be a guy visiting someone who knows where cameras don’t catch well.”

That wasn’t a lie. It just wasn’t reassuring either. The lack of colors helped. A man in a cut would have pushed this into a different kind of problem, one with teeth already showing, but no cut meant the threat stayed shapeless for now.

I set the phone face down. “If he shows up again, you call me. Immediately.”

She nodded.

After dinner, she started stacking containers.

“I’ll get it,” I said.

“You brought it.”

“And?”

“And that makes you a guest.”

“I don’t remember asking to be a guest.”

She narrowed her eyes at me but handed me the plates anyway. We worked side by side at the sink, shoulders brushing. It felt domestic in a way that should’ve unsettled me.

It didn’t.

When we finished, she moved toward the couch with a soft sigh, lowering herself carefully.

“You’re feet swelling?” I asked.

“A little.”

I sat at her feet without asking permission and lifted her calves gently into my lap. She didn’t argue. Just watched me through her lashes while I worked my thumbs into the tension there.

“You’re getting good at that,” she murmured.

“I’m good at most things.”

She snorted. “Modest too.”

Her skin was warm under my hands, slightly tight from being on her feet too long. I worked slowly, careful with the pressure, letting the quiet settle around us until it felt easy instead of fragile. The words sat in my throat for a while before I finally let them out.

“I grabbed a room at the motel down the road.”

She stilled slightly beneath my hands.

“For now,” I added, keeping my thumbs moving over the arch of her foot so it didn’t feel like a demand. “Figured I’d see how you felt before assuming anything.”