Egan shook his head. “All good.” Then he turned to me, lifting my hand and kissing it. “You are lovely woman for my friend. Thank you for advice.”
He left, and Damien shut and locked the door. He turned, holding out his arms. “Come here, Raven.”
I flung myself into his hard embrace, the worry and stress of the day fading away.
“You’re here,” I breathed.
“I’m here, Raven,” he murmured back. “Right here.”
“How?” I asked into his neck.
He pulled back, cupped my face, and kissed me gently. He took my hand and tugged me to the table. “The pizza place close to my building was having trouble last year. Constantly being robbed. Egan and I set up a sting and caught them. We suspected an inside job, and we were right. Idiot was even depositing the money in a bank account, so we got the owner all his money back. Frank was, is, very grateful. On occasion, we borrow his pizza delivery car. Egan said you were feeling pretty low, so I got us a pizza, brought it here. Egan will drive the car back and head home. Anyone looking will see a pizza guy go in and a pizza guy come out. Hiding in plain sight.”
I reached for his hand. “I felt terrible about this morning.”
He chuckled. “I knew it wasn’t real, Raven.”
“Still, saying those words. It felt awful.”
He leaned close and kissed me. “You’re almost forgiven.”
“Almost?”
He lifted one eyebrow, regarding me with a serious expression.
“Oh, the old policemen and the mall security cop thing?”
“Low blow, Ms. Raven.”
“Egan didn’t like it either,” I said, trying not to laugh at his stern expression.
“Shannon, your driver, found it amusing.”
“I didn’t know you employed women.”
“Of course I do. I have several on staff. A couple have even been in the school with you. Women make great security detail. They are capable, smart, agile, and, frankly, lethal if needed. And to be honest, unexpected, which throws people off.”
“Huh,” I replied. “Are any of them ex-Hidden Justice?”
“No, but there are women operatives there as well.”
“Well, I guess you learn something new every day.”
He winked as he opened the lid of the pizza box. “Leo was listening. He was shocked at your behavior. Shocked.”
I began to laugh. “Does that mean I need to bake some cookies?”
“Yes.” He grinned. “But pizza first. Frank makes a great pie.”
“Okay.”
He looked around, noticing the new window and the cleanliness. “Egan says you scrubbed all day.”
“I clean when I’m upset.”
“No need to be upset, but the place is spotless. Did you do anything else but clean?”
“I talked to Egan. Oh, and Deb called and asked if we’d do dinner with her and Stewart on Monday. He has a reservation at Rustic Alley.”