“Are we really going to have this argument again? Come on, Mason. It’s probably nothing. You said so yourself.”
“You're infuriating,” I muttered as I stomped out of the room.
“See you in the car,” she called after me.
We pulled up outside City Hall about an hour later. Claire had stiffened into a statue when we were still ten blocks away and hadn't moved since. Her skin had a tinge of green, making me concerned she may get sick.
Frost crept along the edges of the window. She stared out of it, completely silent and unmoving.
I reached over and grabbed her hand, happy she wore gloves but disappointed in the barrier between her skin and mine.
“Don't worry, baby. We've got this. The place is closed until the third.”
“Happy New Year,” she mumbled as she stared out the window for another minute. Finally, she swallowed and looked over at me. “Yeah, of course, everything will be fine. Though this is possibly another dead end, it's just a lot to process.”
“I know, but you wanted to come, baby. If you let me, I could have taken care of this for you.”
She tipped her jaw up in a display of stubbornness. “You still have access to the camera feed?”
I gripped her chin and turned her to face me. “Yes, it's been running since Mila brought us here, and the place has been empty.”
She sucked her full lower lip into her mouth as she thought. “The dip in the footage was only on the library side, so City Hall is definitely still secure?”
“Yes. Plus, Vick and Hector's men swept both buildings just before we got here. No one’s inside.”
“Okay, I guess it’s better than sitting on our hands and waiting for Vick to blow up again.”
I laughed without humor. Victor was high on my shit list after his outburst, “This is the best we’ve got until something kicks loose.”
“Okay, let’s get this over with.”
I took her face between both hands and kissed her. Her tongue sweetly played with mine as I ravaged her mouth, deepening the kiss until I nearly forgot our surroundings. She giggled, breaking the spell enough to get me to loosen my grip.
“Let’s fuckafter, Mason.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
We got out of the car and quickly met up with Victor, Carlos, and Dio. Carlos and Dio were in better sorts today. They regarded Vick with moderate friendliness as we approached. The two men dressed nicely, as they always did, but there was a rumpled air. A few creases along their collars and a gauntness to their eyes suggested they were up late.
I looked toward Vick in question expecting him to pick up on what I was. Instead, he didn't even notice my gaze as he twitched toward the buildings where he hoped to find some new evidence on Mila.
“Let's go,” I told them, and we turned toward the library. Carlos and Dio were much quieter now that Claire was standing nearby, distrusting her because she knew the code the last time we were here. However, it was still better today. They didn't like us and likely held a grudge about the death of Hector's brother-in-law, but they weren't twitching toward their guns every other step.
Victor and I took up a defensive position around Claire, with him in the front and myself in the back. The glacial wind gusted around us, and my gaze darted around nervously to ensure we weren't being watched or followed. The more things escalated, the more I feared open spaces and the whizzing bullets that sometimes accompany them.
I had no reason to be so anxious, but something uncomfortable ticked in the back of my thoughts. We entered the library quickly and perhaps less carefully than I would have liked. Claire made a scathing remark about my copying her key. I didn't have the heart to tell her how long I'd had that key.
Vick's desperation to get to Mila was making him reckless and creating more of a gap between him and Claire than I would have liked. Dio noticed my unease and signaled to Carlos to close in around us, tightening the defensive position around her. I knew they disapproved of her coming, something she was blissfully unaware of, but I was relieved to learn they wished her no harm.
We made our way to the basement, and Victor had the sense to pull back when he finally noticed the additional caution we were all moving with. There was no reason not to believe the cameras or the sweep they'd done, but I was vigilant with Claire in front of me.
The door leading to the basement sat slightly ajar. Even with Claire's hack job on the doorknob, we'd managed to close it, “I'm certain we closed that last time we were here. Did one of you leave it open?” I looked toward Dio and Carlos as Victor pushed the door back and headed inside.
“Victor barrelled through this place. He didn't close anything,” Dio answered.
“It's clear, boss,” Vick said in his defense just before he descended the stairs, barely even checking his surroundings.
The opulent hall on the library side wasn't even lit until I flipped the switch. “How can you be sure it's clear, Victor, when the lights are out?”