Chapter 30

Between breaths, he said, “Your heart wasn’t into our play, was it?”

“I’m sorry. My mind is elsewhere. I can’t get this arson case out of my head.”

We smelled of sex, which consisted of perspiration and mixed colognes. The morning steeped with a hot and thick humidity, which added to our strong aromas.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, holding me next to him, fingering one of my pert nipples.

I did, but honestly didn’t know what to tell him. Beating a dead horse just happened to be out of the question. So was boring him with facts to the case that he had already heard a dozen or more times.

“I can’t get a grip of the fires and murder. It’s all a twisting puzzle that I can’t unravel.”

He turned on his side, kissed me, and pulled away. “In due time, you will find out who the arsonist is. Don’t get stressed over it, lover.”

“Lover?” I questioned. “You never said that to me before.”

“Does the truth hurt, Axle?”

I nodded. “It does, but in a good way.”