Chapter 29 – Fire and Banter
Days turned into late nights of investigation. Ethan and Damien's dynamic slowly shifted from insults to inside jokes.
"Remind me why I'm letting you use my office?" Ethan asked one evening.
"Because I'm brilliant," Damien replied. "And because your Wi-Fi is better."
Ethan shook his head, half-smiling. "You're impossible."
"And you're uptight. We balance each other out."
When Clara entered with coffee, she found them arguing about pizza toppings like teenagers. For a moment, the tension that had haunted them since the kidnapping melted away.
She leaned against the doorway, smiling. "I can't tell if you two are partners or a comedy act."
"Both," Damien said proudly.
Ethan muttered, "Don't listen to him."
Clara's laughter filled the room — a sound Ethan hadn't realized he'd missed.