“Do you?” Lisa snapped. Bennett’s expression darkened, and Lisa hung her head for a moment. “Okay, you’re right,” she said, raising her eyes. “I don’t know her, and what I just said was way out of line. But I’ve known you for twelve years, Bennett, and in all that time, your schedule has never wavered. You come to work every night. You prowl the streets for criminals every night, and when you need to get your…to burn off some energy, you go to Max’s and do it with one of your own kind.”

“So mortals are off-limits? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Not all of them,” Lisa said in a breath, her eyes meeting Bennett’s. “Are you in love with her?”

Bennett slowly shook her head. “What she and I have has nothing to do with love, Lisa. Nothing at all.”

***

Max looked up when he heard the door open, and his face lit up. “The best thing I ever did in my entire bloody life was giving you control over the galleries.”

Pride shone in Bennett’s smile, and she dropped into a chair. “You heard then?”

“Lisa sent over the tally for Rapture yesterday. Do you realize you brought in almost seven figures in pure profit?”

“It was a good night.”

Max got up to get himself a drink. He worked the cork from a bottle of 2016 Opus One cabernet, and after pouring a healthy amount in two Steuben crystal goblets, he handed one to Bennett. “It was an exceptional night,” he said, gently tapping his glass against Bennett’s. “You are positively brilliant with art.”

Bennett’s mind had been on Lisa since seeing her earlier, and suddenly, every laugh line Bennett owned presented itself. “What can I say? I know a good penis when I see it.”

Since Max was heading back to his chair, Bennett was saved from the mouthful of cabernet that sprayed from his mouth. The wall wasn’t as lucky, nor was the credenza or the crystal decanters lined up along its surface or an eighteenth-century Aubusson tapestry hanging above the liquor.

“Bloody hell, woman,” Max said, fumbling to pull the handkerchief from the pocket of his burgundy smoking jacket. “Since when do you admire penises?”

“I don’t,” Bennett said, snorting. “Lisa always uses the word because she knows it bothers me, and I guess I was just thinking about her.”

“Why? Is there something wrong?” Max said, tossing his wine-speckled handkerchief aside.

“She doesn’t seem to like a…a friendship I’ve formed, and it’s caused some friction between us.”

“What kind of friendship?” Max said, taking his place behind his desk.

Bennett took a slow breath, taking a taste of her wine as she did. “The physical kind…with a mortal.”

“A mortal?” Max said, sitting forward in his chair. “That’s a surprise.”

“Is it?”