"You look delicious," Kincaid mouthed, very clearly, and Ava flushed and-
Charlie cleared his throat.
Kincaid jerked his hand away from her bottom as though burned. "What is it?" he murmured, crossing to Charlie's side.
Moonlight gilded the sharp lines of Charlie's face. "I can smell blood. And the door's not locked."
As if to prove his point, he turned the handle and the door opened with what seemed a terribly loud creak.
Kincaid drew his pistol and pressed his back against the side of the door. "Keep an eye on Ava."
Then he was gone, edging inside with the pistol held low in front of him.
Ava swallowed. The faintest hint of copper hit her nose, making her nostrils flare and her mouth flood with saliva. That was definitely blood. "What's happening? What's going on?"
She could barely see Kincaid.
"He'll be all right," Charlie replied, correctly interpreting her nerves.
And when she looked at him, she realized he'd noticed the way Kincaid had been touching her in the shadows. Heat burned up her cheeks. "It's not like that. He's just- We're just-"
"It's none of my business." Charlie winked at her.
Ava relaxed at his side. The young man was barely in his twenties, and yet the look in his eyes could be so mature at times. "I wish everybody thought the same way. They treat me like a child."
"Maybe it's because there's a darkness in all of those who work for Malloryn, and yet none of it stains your soul. We can all see it," Charlie said quietly. "It makes you something to treasure, Ava. It makes you someone to protect. The light within you brings hope to a dark world, and reminds people like me, Gemma, and Byrnes-even Kincaid-there is something worth fighting for."
"You're far too young to think yourself full of darkness."
Charlie smiled, but there was little warmth in it. "Age is a relative thing. I've seen children who grew up on the streets who have the eyes of old men or women." He paused. "And we all have ghosts riding our shoulders, whispering in our dreams."
For the first time since she'd joined the Company, she actually felt like she belonged. "Thank you, Charlie."
The shadows lifted from his expression. "For what?"
"For not making judgment upon what's happening between Kincaid and me. For treating me like someone who has a right to her own choices."
This time the smile was real. "Well, I've had time to get used to the idea. I'm fairly certain something happened between the two of you that night we all went out drinking at the Garden of Eden."
A very perceptive man. One who knew how to keep secrets.
She smiled.
And then Kincaid appeared out of the shadows within, looking large and menacing in black. "It's clear."
Charlie followed her inside, and she was aware she had two dangerous men guarding her-one in front, and one behind-and for the first time in over a month she didn't feel the lesser for it. The truth was, she wasn't a capable fighter, nor was she prone to a clear head in frightening situations. She was just Ava, laboratory expert, repository of utterly useless and esoteric facts, and someone who could trip over her own feet if she were distracted enough.
"What do you think happened?" Ava whispered as they entered the back of the shop and found themselves in the same room they'd been in earlier that day.
There was no blood. No sign of anything untoward.
But she could smell it.
And other things.
Ava wrinkled her nose up, but Charlie beat her to it. "Smells like someone shit themselves."
"Someone died," she said, suddenly certain. "And the body voided itself."
"I can't smell a bloody thing," Kincaid muttered.
"Be grateful you're human," she replied, running a finger along the counter and then rubbing forefinger and thumb together. Just as she suspected. "Can we shine a small light over here? The counter's been cleaned since this afternoon."
Which meant someone was trying to hide something.
And if someone had died, then someone had cleaned up afterwards. She'd been to enough crime scenes to know that.
Charlie shook something, and a luminescent green glow filled the room. A phosphorescent glimmer ball. He held it over the counter.
"This place was messy today," she said. "Winthrop had books and maps shoved everywhere, and there was dust upon the counter, and baskets of herbs beneath it."
All of them still there. Her senses started tingling. Poor Major Winthrop. She had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.