Fantastical (Fantasyland #3)(70)
Author: Kristen Ashley

“He led me to what you call a police station.”

I blinked. Then I breathed, “What?”

“He led me to what you call a police station,” Tor repeated.

What on earth?

“Why?”

“From observing through the doors when he went in, it appears he is known there so my guess would be, he goes there often.”

My voice got high when I asked, “He’s a cop?”

“A what?”

“A police officer. An officer of the law. A –”

“Do these men carry gold emblems?” Tor interrupted to enquire.

“You mean a badge?” I asked back.

“Perhaps. He carried such as this on his belt.”

“Yes, a badge and yes, cops carry badges.”

“Then yes,” Tor stated, “it would seem this man is a… cop.”

Holy crap!

I whirled to sitting and stared into the darkness.

This, I reckoned, was not good.

Tor sat up and called, “Cora?”

I focused on his shadow. “I don’t think this is good, Tor.”

“I would say there’s no thinking about it, my love,” he replied and I stared at him.

Great.

“Why would you say that?”

“Is this poker illegal?” he asked.

“Um… no, if it’s done in a casino, of which there are some around here. But, yes, if the games are illegal.”

“Then Cora is attending illegal games,” Tor declared and I blinked.

Then I cried, “How could she even find illegal games? And, how did she even learn how to play poker? She was here less than two months! I wouldn’t even know where to begin to find an illegal poker game and I never understood poker. And… and… not only how but… why?”

His arms came out and he pulled me to him, saying, “The Cora of my world is what she is, and she does what she does, and very little of it is good. We cannot waste our energy trying to understand how or why because the answer to the first is superfluous and even if we knew the answer to the second, we would not comprehend it. What we need to expend our energy on is what kind of danger she has placed you in.”

Okay, it must be said, sometimes Tor being sensible and logical was a good thing.

“Right,” I agreed.

“Share your thoughts,” he demanded and I relaxed into him.

“Well,” I started, processing them in my head. “The best case scenario is that he’s a dirty cop and he’s in on whatever she’s in on, they’re playing at it together. This would be good since I won’t be going to any games, I’m making it clear he’s out of the picture and he’ll have to find another sugar mama who can count cards.”

“Go on,” Tor urged when I stopped.

“The worst case scenario, and the one I’m thinking it is, is that he’s undercover and he’s either investigating her activities or using her as an in to bring down some illegal gambling racket.”

“This would be bad,” Tor muttered.

He had that right.

“But I would like to know why you think it’s the worst case scenario,” Tor stated.

I moved so I could see his face (kind of) and explained, “Well, you said she was cold. He even said she was cold. And you said that, um… she was not much to write home about in the bed frolicking department.”

I felt his body shake with laughter and heard his voice shake with it when he confirmed, “Indeed, she’s not much to write home about in the bed frolicking department.”

I slapped his arm. “Tor, this is serious!”

“Yes,” he agreed, his voice still shaking, “talk on.”

I sucked in an annoyed breath and then I told him, “We have no way of knowing, since she’s so different from me, what he’s like. I was only around him a few minutes but he seemed, I don’t know, sweet.”

His arms tensed around me and I quickly forged ahead.

“Anyway, she is who she is so my guess would be, she thinks she’s playing him. He said she was a wildcat. If she was a wildcat and he was into her, and he’s even a little bit like you, then no way that a few missed phone calls and Cora not opening the door would mean he’d give up and tell her to pack his clothes in a suitcase and put them out in the hall. That’s saying it’s over and he’s fine with that. If she’s giving it to him like he likes it and he’s into her, he’s not going to give up that easy. Unless she’s not giving it to him like he likes it, he’s pretending he likes it as a means to an end, she’s giving him the heave ho and he’s sensing trouble which, as a cop he would do, so he’s cutting his losses and taking off.”

“This would make sense,” Tor replied.

“Yes,” I agreed.

“This would also mean trouble,” he remarked and my head tilted.

“Trouble?”

“Love, we have no way of knowing how much time he invested in this… situation. What I know from experience is that it is highly unlikely Cora of my world could play that kind of game, especially if she took him to her bed, and be convincing. Perhaps to a normal man but not one who is trained to scrutinize human behavior and is on the alert for the sake of his own safety and the success of his endeavors. I don’t think, after he devoted time and energy to his inquiry at the same time enduring her… limited charms… that he would be willing to cut his losses, as you put it.”

This made sense but I didn’t get it.

“I don’t get it.”

“He won’t be conceding. He’ll be watching you.”

Oh shit.

“Which means,” Tor carried on, “if we aren’t careful, me.”

Oh shit!

“Tor,” I whispered.

“Therefore, we must be careful,” Tor concluded.

“What if he’s already watching and he’s seen you?” I asked.

“Considering the uncomfortable feeling seeing another me gave me, and I knew he existed, I would surmise that we would know if this was the case already.”

I sucked in breath. Then I nodded.

“So what do we do?” I enquired.

“I don’t know. I need to think on it.”

I stared at his shadowed face. Then I nodded again.

He started righting both of us in the bed. “But to think clearly, I need sleep.”

I gently pulled away from his efforts to right me in bed.

He might need sleep but he wasn’t going to get it. At least, not for awhile.