She snorted. “Come on, let’s sit on the stairs. I’m afraid you’re going to fall over.”

It was then he realized he’d been leaning dangerously off-kilter, the aluminum replacement cane too damn short. Joining her on the stairs, he sipped at the coffee, wondering why the hell she was here, but way too polite—and intelligent—to ask her outright. His partner was fierce. But also kind, deep down. He didn’t like making her angry, but mostly because he really liked her and didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

“That’s your I-don’t-know-what’s-happening face,” she remarked, her lips quirking up in a grin.

He chuckled. “So put me out of my misery?”

“I will. First, how are you?”

“Tired. We didn’t get here till almost two this morning. Otherwise . . .” He let the thought trail off with a shrug. “Same old, same old. Going to PT, wishing my leg would hurry up and heal.”

She gave him a brisk nod, sparing him the niceties. That was Erin, to the point, cutting out all of the bullshit that they both knew wouldn’t help. “I wanted to give you a heads-up on a few things.” Leaning against the wall from her perch on the stair above him, she tilted her head meaningfully. “I am not here.”

“You are not here,” Rafe agreed, fighting a smile. “I’m dreaming and this coffee is really just a metaphysical symbol of a crutch. A dream-cane.”

She snorted again. “Shut up. Look, I know you haven’t been idle these past weeks. Maybe the first few, because you were hurt pretty damn bad.”

Her eyes flickered with sadness and not a small amount of guilt. Erin had been with him at the scene when they’d rescued Mercy from the killer. She’d suffered a few broken ribs and one “slightly punctured lung,” as she’d put it. She’d only returned to work the week before.

“You kept me from getting hurt even worse than I did,” Rafe told her soberly. No jokes now. “You have nothing to feel guilty about.”

She shot him an impatient look, but her cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment and her gaze dropped to her hands for the briefest of moments. “I said, shut up. I heard some stuff that I think you should know.”

He sat up a little straighter. “Okay. I’m awake now.”

She laughed quietly. “And shutting up? Never mind, you’re a Sokolov. Full shut-up mode is impossible for you guys. Anyway, there was a robbery about two hours ago. Costume store in Orangevale. No alarm went off because the assistant manager on duty fell asleep in the storeroom last night while taking inventory and forgot to set it.” She shrugged. “College kid, working full-time and taking a full load of classes.”

“Industrious,” Rafe said cautiously.

Sadness flickered in Erin’s dark eyes once again. “Not anymore. Now she’s dead. Guy broke her neck with his bare hands.”

“Oh my God. Poor kid.” His eyes narrowed. “What did he steal?”

“Disguises. Kid had 911 on her cell, but her killer was gone before they got there. Must have just missed him. Store cameras got a good angle.” Erin held out her phone and Rafe bit back a gasp.