“Hey, did you hear what we found out about the guy you stiffed last night?” she called after him. “I sent you a text, but maybe you didn’t get it.”
Dom stopped, but didn’t turn around.
“We tracked his buddies to a shithole of a house on the Eastside. I thought it was all McMansions over there, but this guy lived in a pigsty. It’s a wonder the neighbors didn’t call the cops because of the stench. I nearly lost my midnight snack when I smelled it. Jackson said you’d want to take care of the dude yourself, but I didn’t want to risk losing him—” well, that and she wasn’t sure what his San Diego plans were “—so I wasted the asshole.” She climbed back on the treadmill. “We searched the place, not expecting to turn up much, but we came up with some stuff that was off the hook.”
Jackson snapped the phone shut as Dom finally turned. “You got that right.” He pulled out a triangular sandwich half from somewhere. Wearing a black ball cap, a ripped gym T-shirt, and a pair of black sweatpants rolled down at the waist, he adjusted his crotch and sauntered over. Streaks of pale gold and light brown highlights mingled with his natural brown hair, which curled onto his shoulders. For a gym rat, he sure spent a lot of time on his hair. When he turned, a flash of color on his arm caught her attention.
“Nice ink.”
Jackson’s muscular biceps were the size of a human male’s quads and one sported a colorful new snake design that began on his forearm, wrapped around the inside of his elbow and ended with the head strategically placed on the largest part of his guns. Hell, he was looking pretty fine. Too bad he had the attention span of a gnat when it came to anything that didn’tinvolve sex. She loved the guy like a brother—well, not really. Maybe more like a friend with occasional benefits when neither of them had regular hook-ups.
“You like it?” Jackson said.
“Flex those bad boys on over here.”
He made a show of it, grabbing his wrist and tucking his arm in tight like a bodybuilder. The snake’s head appeared to strike as he pumped his muscle, but the stupid sandwich in his other hand sort of detracted from the picture.
“Nice, Jacks. Verra nice.”
“Thanks. You’re looking good, too.” He raked his eyes over her body and she noticed his gaze resting for a moment longer on her ass. She sucked in her stomach a little farther and knew she looked pretty damn good in these boy shorts.
“Hey, Dom, how’s it going, man?”
Dom raised a hand but didn’t look up. “Thanks for last night.”
“With that chick’s bike? No problem.” Jackson patted his chest as if he had pockets there, then his hips. “I’ve got her keys somewhere.”
Lily cleared her throat, pretending to be offended that Dom hadn’t thanked her, as well.
“You, too, Lil. Had me confused with all that talk about BJs...and stuff.” He took the keys from Jackson and gave them a long look.
“BJs? What did I miss?” Jackson stuffed the sandwich into his mouth in one bite.
“That’s the problem, Jacks. Not a damn thing.” She lengthened her stride slightly as she got into sync. Man, she wished someone would turn that music down, but Dom was understandably operating on a hair trigger this morning and she didn’t feel like pushing it. What was it about men and 80s music these past couple decades? She just didn’t get the allure.
“You know I’m always game.” Jackson flashed her a smile that would give an orthodontist a hard-on, then he turned back to Dom. “Hey, I thought you’d be in San Diego by now.”
When Dom didn’t answer, Lily wanted to speak up quietly, but the music was so damn loud she practically had to yell. “He was heading to the airport when he got word Mackenzie was in trouble.”
“Bummer, dude. How’s Miss Hello Kitty doing anyway?” Jackson turned sideways to admire himself in the full-length gym mirrors and took hold of his crotch as if checking out the profile of his package. He didn’t see Dom’s narrowed eyes or slightly flared nostrils, and certainly not his balled fists. “Got her holed up somewhere and fully satisfied? I figured you’d be gone another couple of nights with the likes of her, since you missed your flight. Why aren’t you with her? What’s up with that?” Jackson’s hand lingered on his junk a moment too long.
Lily gave Jackson a throat-choking sign, but he didn’t look over. This wasn’t going to be pretty if he kept flapping his gums.
“Not as daring in the sack as she is on that bike, huh?”
Oh, hell. Jackson could be so stupid sometimes. Before Lily could step in to prevent what she knew was coming, Dom had Jackson flat on the ground, standing over him with a foot on his neck. “You better shut that goddamn hole in your head.”
Jackson choked, gripped Dom’s shoe and tried to pry it off his throat. “Jesus, Dom.”
Lily slowed the treadmill to a jog as Dom’s face twisted with fury. Usually, he didn’t give a rat’s ass about anything, just did his job like a robot—a fucking intense robot—biding his time until he could transfer out of here. But now that his long-awaited transfer had finally gone through, he didn’t seem eager to leave. How interesting.
“If you say another disrespectful word about her or if I even sense you’re thinking of her in a way that’s a fraction less thanhonorable, I’ll have you regretting you were born male. You got it?”
Jackson gave him the thumbs-up sign, and Dom stepped away. Coughing, Jackson rolled onto his hands and knees, hanging his head between his shoulder blades for a moment before he pushed himself up, the snake bulging on his biceps. “Sorry, man. I forgot how sensitive you are about her. I was just messin’ with you.” He repositioned the cocky tilt of his hat and rubbed his throat.
Lily slowed the treadmill to a walk. “Jacks, those loose lips are gonna cost you one of these days. That, and your dick.”
“Yeah, thanks. It is lethal.”
