Free Touching Silver by Jamie Craig

his desk. “So you’re one of the most powerful gang lords in the city. Why would you kidnap seven girls to treat them like princesses and keep them in a house in Twenty-Nine Palms?”
    “Maybe he’s starting his own little harem. He already thinks he’s God. Maybe he wants to be David Koresh too.”
    “You know, I wish I could take that off the table as a possibility. But I can’t, even though Rico didn’t seem to think he was hurting the girls. Right now I don’t think anything could surprise me about this case.” She fished her phone out of her pocket. She just needed something to do with her hands. “Do you want me to help you out with the sweep?”
    For the first time since she’d walked in, Isaac brightened. “You’re not chasing around on other interviews today?”
    “I have an appointment later tonight, but we should be done by then.” It wasn’t that she didn’t have anything better to do than help Isaac, but maybe if he trusted her a bit more, he would finally tell her about the Silver Maiden. “And we still haven’t really had a chance to exchange information.”
    Isaac smiled as he stood up. She rose as well, all too aware of how he towered over her when she was seated. He was broad too. He filled out his suit very, very nicely.
    “We’ll be able to grab some lunch afterward. How do you feel about ribs?”
    “You know, I think a girl could gain ten pounds if she spent a week with you. What do you have planned for dinner? All you-can-eat-pasta?”
    He held the door open for her, inviting her to exit first. “Trick is to make sure you work it all off. You can eat anything you want then.”
    Olivia studied his face. Was he flirting with her or extolling the virtues of exercise? He might have been joking—she was beginning to appreciate his sense of humor—or he might have been making some sort of insinuation, or he might have been simply informing her of his daily regimen.
    But his intentions didn’t matter. The real question is: Do I want him to be flirting with me ?
    The answer should have been no. But she’d had glimpses of Isaac when he felt truly comfortable with somebody. His relationship with Nathan was clearly very close and regardless of what he might say, it was obvious he even cared about Remy the way he might care for an incorrigible little sister or younger cousin. And she kind of liked what she saw.
    He once again announced he would drive. She couldn’t have concentrated on navigating Los Angeles to find his apartment anyway. They kept their conversation to a minimum in the car. It would need to be swept too.
    “I guess you saw them to the airport without further incident?” she asked, once they stood outside his apartment door.
    “If you count having a front row seat to them making out not an incident.” He pushed the door open and stepped inside, immediately flipping on the light.
    To say the apartment took her by surprise would be an understatement. The living room Olivia walked into was warm and inviting, walls painted a pale taupe, the curtains and plush couch a deep reddish-brown. An oriental rug covered the middle of the floor space, with a carved square coffee table separating the sofa from the oak entertainment center on the far wall. Plants thrived in strategic corners and, as she followed him in, she watched him head to a large aquarium tucked along the wall behind the door.
    “You can just drop your stuff right there by the door,” Isaac said. He gestured to the console table at her side. Her eyes widened at the rustic detailing of the obviously very expensive piece of furniture.
    “So is the reason you drive the Toyota because you’ve spent so much on your apartment?”
    He grinned. “No, it’s because every time I start getting serious about replacing it, somebody else shoots at me or bleeds in the back seat.” He crouched and opened a small cupboard beneath the tank. “Let me get Sonny and Cher fed, then I’ll make some coffee.”
    After carefully