Jack led the way to the library, not quite sure if he was enjoying his extended time with Kieran. It wasn't like he was miserable, but he'd been hoping to have his library time to himself. He wouldn't be showing Kieran his nice little corner tucked away in the stacks, that was for sure.

He slowed his pace as they drew closer to the library's parking lot. For as small as the 70s styled building was, it loomed with the promise of having to endure even more quality time with another person. Just when Jack thought he'd be able to do the whole dating thing, the reality of his quirks came to bite him on the ass.

He barely flinched when Kieran touched his shoulder, and he felt a small sense of pride. He looked up and smiled. "So this is it. It's not a big branch, but they have a good selection, and the librarian can hunt down anything in ILL."

"I'll be sure to have a look later," said Kieran. "Lunch was lovely, my sweet, but I must be getting back before Lindsey gets it in her head to make herself useful."

"Oh?" There was too much relief in his voice. "That's too bad." Jack shrank as Kieran's smile took on a knowing smirk. "I had fun. I mean it. I'm just…"

"A tired introvert?"

"Exactly. Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for." Kieran leaned down and kissed Jack lightly. "Feel free to call me or drop in anytime. My schedule is flexible."

"Yeah, I'll… do that," Jack said with little conviction. "I guess you can call or text me? I usually screen my calls and kinda don't always answer anyways, so text might be better?"

"Perhaps I'll text you tonight. You can reply whenever you're ready."

"Okay. Great," he said, doing his best to sound thankful. Judging by the raised brow Kieran sported, he'd failed miserably. He didn't like his personality being fully on display. He liked it even less that Kieran seemingly understood and was being accommodating. "I'll… Yeah. Bye?"

"I'll see you later."

Jack hurried into the library and made a beeline to his corner, nodding at the head librarian along the way. He did a quick sweep of the stacks then pulled out his phone and tapped the pig icon.

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"Fairchild."

"Hey, do you have anything on either Kieran or some lady named Colette Benoit being a fence?" he asked as he pulled out his laptop and cord. It wasn't self-sabotage if his new boyfriend was a wanted man.

"A fence? What brought this on?" asked Sam.

"Just the way he said they both deal in antiques?" Now that Jack said it out loud, he could see how he probably sounded paranoid. At least Sam was used to it and only called him out when he bordered on irrational. "And she doesn't like Kieran."

"Benoit… Caucasian, black hair, blue eyes, five-seven, one hundred—"

"Yeah, yeah. Really pretty." Jack's stomach flipped over the fact that Sam immediately recalled Colette Benoit.

"She's the main reason the security for the women's shelter on Fountain is so tight. I think they named the roof garden after her. She mostly deals in estate sales and auctions. Could be a competition thing."

Maybe not a fence, but potentially something much worse. He'd feel a lot better if he knew he'd dodged a bullet. "She said I could do better than Kieran. And then she threatened him. That's not a good sign, is it? Not if she's backing a shelter."

"I'm still leaning towards competition. Probably not too happy your boyfriend set up shop here. Especially if he knows his stuff and knows what to grab from estate sales for cheap and flip for at least double the amount. Besides, she's pretty vocal if someone she doesn't like shows up. We…" Sam broke off with a heavy sigh before continuing with a softer tone. "Yeah, she was the first complaint we got against Farragut."

"Oh." Jack took a steadying breath. It was just a name, and it was in the past. "So she hasn't… Kieran's clean in her books?"

"No phone calls from concerned citizens."

"Okay. Good."

Jack had to admit it made sense. More sense than a pair of competing criminals. Benoit wasn't at all pleased about whatever "message" Kieran had left. And "everyone" had to be their little antiquing community. Just how cutthroat and territorial did those people get? A small laugh escaped him at the thought of a little old man in a sweater vest wielding a large sword.

"What's that giggle for?"

"Just thinking about people wearing tweed and having turf wars."

"You'd be surprised."

Jack perked up at the implications. "Are there mugshots?"

"In the archives, and I'm not digging them out for you. Submit a formal request like a normal person. And good luck finding what you're looking for without a name or date range."

"Maybe Kieran can hook me up."

"You never know."

Jack settled back in his seat, feeling a little better about his dating prospects. "What's a good pet name that isn't Mister Spooky Stranger Danger?"

"Practically anything."

image [https://i.imgur.com/eZY0YUq.png]