Mine

“No, but he’s smart. He knows after the paint incident you were going to go underground, which is a good case for why he wouldn’t have done it. Besides, I’ve never seen Baptiste shoot without the intention of killing.”

“Yeah. This stalker is playing games. That means this wouldn’t be Meridian’s style either.”

Meridian was on the edge of being a serial killer that I might have to put down. He enjoyed killing too much. The fact that no one had died yet made Meridian innocent.

“Okay.” I nodded. “I’ll check back with you later.”

“Have fun in China.”

“I will.” I hung up and left the balcony.

No news is good news for now.

The day continued with no problem. For once since I’d been with Zola in New York, she was finally able to rest. She lay stretched out on the couch in the living room, engrossed in some fantasy romance where a legendary sorcerer battled a dark lord who’d kept the love of his life captive. For some reason, she asked me to order braised duck, roasted potatoes, and brussels sprouts.

Her empty plate sat next to her.

I’d finished earlier and was ready for dessert. “Did you break into that apple pie yet?”

“No. The couple hasn’t had their happy ending.”

Okay. That explains the food order.

I shook my head. “You still do that?”

She shrugged. “It’s a tradition.”

“What are you eating for mysteries these days?”

“Steak or lamb.”

“Science fiction novels?”

“Bacon.”

“Good, girl.” I leaned my head to the side. “What about fantasy?”

“I’m trying to be healthier, so I go vegan for fantasy. Since this book is fantasy romance, but heavy on the romance…I went with duck.”

“That’s wrong, Zola. What did fantasy ever do to you to deserve the vegan treatment?”

“Vegan food is still good.”

“I doubt it.”

She stuck out her tongue and returned to reading.

I went back to going over files and finding this bastard. I had a couple of angles to look through today.

But it was hard to pay attention with my beautiful woman next to me. In between sighs and breaks, she would catch me up and summarize the story. It had been a long time since I’d had the time to read. While she fell into her book, I’d been scouring the internet looking for the freak that was bothering her.

So, it was nice to get updates.

I pulled up the recent news coverage on the sperm bank burglary. Not many people had reported on it. The ones that did approached the whole situation as a joke, wondering what a person would do with hundreds of men’s sperm. I scanned the article. There’d been no suspects, fingerprints, nor camera footage. For now, the cops were just twirling their dicks and eating doughnuts.

I’ll have to get the police in on this. I should’ve done it earlier. I’ve been slipping on the job when it comes to Zola.

Two hours passed.

I’d finished my research on the computer and had waited long enough for pie. “What happened to Galeo? Has he found her yet?”

“Galeo is fine. He just went into a cave hidden under—”

“The dwarf’s layer.”

“Yes.” She looked up. “How did you know that?”

“The dwarves seemed shifty when he first met them.”

Zola flipped the page of her book. “Galeo thought the dwarves were shifty too. He went to a feast with them, pretended to be drunk, and passed out. Once they fell asleep, he searched their cave and found a book that has all these spells.”

“The book could be the key to finding Raven.”

She giggled. “Yes.”

“Why are you laughing?”

Grinning, she shook her head. “No reason.”

I fake pouted. “I’m getting some pie.”

“I told you that you could.”

“I wanted to wait for you.”

She blushed. “Because you’re so romantic.”

I rose from the couch. “You just let me know, if Galeo finds Raven.”

“I doubt he’ll find her this book. It’s close to the ending.”

“Oh no. That’s bullshit.”

Zola glanced at me. “What’s bullshit?”

“That Galeo won’t find Raven until the next book.”

“The main plotline isn’t their love. Galeo is supposed to save the world.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “He can’t save the world without finding Raven.”

“Why not?”

“Raven is his strength.”

“I like that. I never considered it that way.” Zola smiled, placed her bookmark on the page, and closed the book. “This isn’t as heavy with romance as I thought. It’s supposed to be a happy ending by now.”

“There’s always romance in every book. Most people like to fall in love.”

“And you?”

“What?”

“Do you like to fall in love?”

I walked off to the kitchen. “You know that’s a complicated answer for me.”

“So…” She rose and followed me into the kitchen. “So, you never been in love? In all these years that you weren’t talking to me…was there some woman or—”

“No.”

“Any big love affairs or—”

“No.” I opened the fridge and pulled out the pie. “And what about you?”

She widened her eyes. “Love?”

“Yes.”

She swallowed. “No…not me either.”

I placed the pie on the counter and studied her. “But you’ve dated?”