“She wrote a statement. Nothing incriminating. No references to the club or the murders, only emphasized that Dallas wasn’t ready for her brand of justice and she’s looking onward. Whatever that means,” Shanna explained.
The front door opened forcefully, banging off the door stop as Dev barreled through. His hair stood on end, his face still carrying the remnants of sleep. His jeans hung low on his hips. “When did you fuckin’ leave?” he asked accusingly, glaring directly at Cash.
Decorum and privacy weren’t anything that held meaning to Dev. Instead of answering, Cash nodded toward the monitor. “The Dallas DA quit last night. It’s all over the news this morning.”
“No shit?” Dev asked, coming to stand in the small circle in front of the monitor. “Good fuckin’ riddance. She’s a cunt. What excuse did she give?”
“Dev,” Shanna said with a roll of her eyes. “It’s such an offensive word.”
“Which makes it perfect for her. She’s one offensive bitch,” he barked out, rubbing the sleep from one eye. “What’d she say?”
“That she was looking onward. Implied to bigger and better,” Joe mocked.
“Can I add to the list of conditions I have for workin’ with you, that that bitch never gets another job, ever again?” Cash eyed Dev who dropped both fists to his hips, seemingly serious.
Shanna answered for him when she slapped Dev’s arm. “You’re a dumb shit,” she said laughing. Thankfully, Dev’s grin grew to the size of Texas.
Just like yesterday and last night, he found no real signs of grieving in either sibling. They both had the same tired lines around their eyes and mouth, but other than that, there were no outward signs of sadness for the loss of a parent.
“A guy can hope,” Dev muttered, his charming smile eased away any lingering tension. He came to stand about a foot or so away from Cash. His palm covered his mouth as he spoke. “Did it freak you out that the girls were in bed with me? They were scared. Abi had a bad dream about my old man. They both wanted in bed with me, so I tucked ’em in next to me. I didn’t even think how you might feel about it.”
=♥=
“Why’re you covering your mouth, dip shit?” Shanna asked Dev.
Shanna’s remark drew Cash’s attention to her, causing Dev to have to use his other hand to grip his guy’s jaw, drawing his focus back to where it belonged. On him.
“Better question, why can’t y’all ever do this in private? Not every conversation you have needs to be done with an audience.” Joe crossed his arms over his chest, speaking with none of his regular anxiety.
Dev dropped his brows into a hard V. Why was everyone coming at him first thing in the morning?
With all the stares still focused on him, he first addressed Shanna’s question. “I didn’t brush my teeth if it’s any of your business, which you should mind yours and get out of mine. I barely got my fuckin’ jeans on before I came through the door, so be glad for that.” Then his direct stare landed on Joe. “What’s it matter? You record everything I do. You don’t wanna hear it, skedaddle. Nobody’s asking you to stay.”
With a quick shake of the head, Joe gave an exaggerated look of confusion. “This is my apartment. Where do I go?”
Cash had amusement in his eyes and tone. “He has a point. And no, I wasn’t freaked out. You’re a good father. I was hungry and ready to start my day. I’ve gotten quite a bit done while you slept the morning away.” All the while, Dev continued to hold his hand over his mouth until Cash took Dev’s forearm and moved it away. “Your breath’s always good in the morning. You’re fine.”
“Prove it,” Dev teased with a challenging arch of the brow. “Kiss me good morning.”
“Oh my God. Y’all are like a really dysfunctional rom-com,” Joe muttered. Cash didn’t hesitate to lean in and kiss Dev’s puckered lips like he did every morning.
His heart proclaimed they were like a sexy, number one box office opening weekend rom-com.
“Did you talk to Lily?” Shanna asked, interrupting his moment of mental devotion.
In the middle of descending for the kiss, Cash left Dev hanging, turning Shanna’s way. Instead of a practiced pop shot falling out of his mouth, he stuck his middle finger in her face as Cash turned away.
Business before pleasure… He’d regret the missed lip play they usually shared in the morning.
“I did speak to Lily. We’re business as usual until I hear different. Yesterday was an…unfortunate blip in the road.” Cash glanced between the brother and sister pair. “I say it like that because neither one of you seems too broken up over what happened.”
“Oh hell no. Bitch needed to die,” Dev barked and threw his hands in the air to drive the point home. Shanna had better impulse control and kept her lips zipped, giving a nod that Dev took as a second to his words.
Cash, though, continued to tread carefully, watching his words, taking a physical step back. Dev didn’t expect anything less, his guy was a gentleman that way.
“All right, we still have a theft that’s unaccounted for. We need to find where the money has gone. After church this morning, I’ll head to the bike shop and scour through the place. Of course, it’s still closed until after the investigation comes to an end.” Cash took another step away from Dev to turn more fully to the entire group. “I’d like Shanna to accompany me to the bike shop then to your father’s home. I realize it may be tough for you…”
“I’ll go,” she shot out, cutting Cash off. Her arms crossed over her chest. Dev decided a while ago that her pose must be the standard good-guy stance because all three of them now stood that way. “We’ll do it together. It wouldn’t be safe if any of the brothers caught you there alone. I promise the club’s watching the shop and most likely my father’s house too.”
