Free Kill Fee by Owen Laukkanen

Windermere stole another glance at him, though. Caught the shit-eating smirk on his face.

28
    S tevens let himself in through the front door and bent down to untie his shoes as Triceratops, JJ’s big German shepherd, padded in from the living room, tail wagging, his big eyes inquisitive. The dog nuzzledStevens, coating his face with slobber, and Stevens kicked off his shoes and pushed the dog gently away. “Okay, okay,” he said. “Where is everyone?”
    The dog looked at him. Stevens stood in the hallway and listened. He could hear explosions upstairs: JJ killing his video game monsters. Otherwise, the house was silent.
    Stevens hung up his coat and walked into the living room, the dog padding softly behind. His wife groaned and sat up on the couch as he entered. “Agent Stevens,” she said, yawning. “Where’ve you been?”
    Stevens sank into the couch beside her. “Duluth,” he said.
    Nancy Stevens frowned. “But of course.”
    “Caught a case,” he told her. “A murder. Ran into Donna McNaughton. She works violent crimes now.”
    Nancy sat up. “Doesn’t work them too well, I guess,” she said, “if they had to drag your butt all the way up there.”
    “Favor for Tim Lesley.” Stevens hesitated. “It ties into that shooting this weekend, Spenser Pyatt, downtown.”
    “How so?”
    Stevens explained it. Pyatt, Cody, Windermere. When he was finished, Nancy sighed. “So you’re working with the FBI again.”
    “Not exactly,” he said. “In fact, probably not. I’m working the family angle. Windermere’s catching the killer.”
    “Huh.” Nancy looked up at Stevens. “Did you ask for this assignment?”
    Stevens shook his head. “Of course not. It’s just Lesley wants eyes on the FBI side of things, I guess so he can bring something back to Mickey Pyatt. He knows Windermere’s on the case.”
    “And you’re friends with Windermere.”
    “Exactly.” He grinned. “I’m kind of a spy.”
    His wife leaned against him. Stevens put his arm around her, and she craned her neck up and kissed him. “I always liked spies,” she said.
    “That so?”
    Nancy kissed him again. Then she pulled back. “So long as James Bond comes back to me in the end.”
    “Every time.” Stevens pulled her close again. “Don’t you worry about that.”
    He kissed her, deeper this time, felt her body rise to meet his. Then the dog stiffened beside them and the front door slammed open. Stevens pulled back from his wife just in time to see his teenage daughter appear in the doorway.
    “Gross.” Andrea Stevens looked from her father to her mother and back again. “You guys were making out, weren’t you?”
    Nancy giggled. “Maybe.”
    “Gross.”
Andrea groaned and disappeared down the hall. “Get a room.”
    Stevens stood, pulling Nancy up beside him. Held her close and kissed her again. “I’d say she’s onto something,” he said, grinning. “Wouldn’t you?”

29
    S tevens woke up early Wednesday morning. He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and planning his day, until Nancy shifted beside him and groaned, rubbing her eyes. “Morning already?”
    Stevens sat up and admired her, her tousled hair and her sleepy eyes. She was beautiful even now, the woman of his dreams, and though he’d grown used to waking up beside her, there were mornings, still, when he felt like a lottery winner.
    Nancy cocked her head at him. “What are you looking at?”
    “You.” He leaned over and kissed her. “That a problem?”
    His wife squirmed away. “Ugh,” she said. “Morning breath.” Sheheld back a moment, teasing him. Then she leaned in and kissed him again.
    “You like it,” he said.
    “I do not. But I’ll suffer.”
    “A martyr. How noble.”
    She kissed him harder, slid her hand beneath the sheets. “You going to lie there and crack wise all morning, Agent Stevens, or do you have something better to do?”
    Stevens grinned at her. “Something much better,” he said, reaching for the drawstring on