Chapter 21

Now they were here. Secondhand science fiction paperbacks and a stray pizza-box and the big window gathered in close, listening without judgment.

His apartment wasn’t large—one bedroom, but he had that sprawling city view, and rent that’d been astonishingly good for the location, but then again he’d promised to help with any freezing or icing issues in the building—and wasn’t exactly messy, though he hadn’t cleaned, either. He’d not expected to have anyone over; he figured stacks of mail and a magazine or two were acceptable, and at least the dirty dishes were in the dishwasher. He shut the door, kicked off his shoes, turned to look at Raine.

Who looked a little lost but visibly determined to face any consequences with habitual armor and spikes: still wearing his coat, clearly trying for normality and unsure how to get there. “There’s not even any organization to those bookshelves. Not alphabetical, not by size or shape or genre. How do you find anything?”