“No, Ma, that was Smitty.”
“Lord, I hope you didn’t off him in front of the Vega. I’ve heard they’ll turn in their own grandmothers rather than go against the code.” She leaned in and snapped on the interior light. “I just wanted a gander at the guy who’s going to drag you through the mud and leave you broken on the other side. Yeah, I see the attraction. He’s got that bruised, bad-boy look. Bedroom eyes, and the kind of mouth that makes a woman think of staying in bed ‘til noon.”
“Ma,” Violet whined. Hmm, maybe her mother’s libido wasn’t dead after all.
Her ma shifted those discerning eyes to her. “You didn’t listen to me about Bren, so I doubt you will on this one since he’s a helluva lot more appealing. But remember how you felt after the fallout on that one. There will be no pity this time either. The best we’ll do is not to say, told you so. Then again, I can’t guarantee it.”
“I understand. Now, if you’re done, we’ve got a murderer to catch so we can avenge Arlo’s death.” Much more important than getting this embarrassing lecture.
Kade leaned forward. “Ma’am, I’m not going to hurt your daughter. We’re friends, that’s all.”
She gave them a skeptical look. “Yeah, I can see just how friendly you two are.” She jabbed her finger in his direction. “Know this: I will hurt you.” She patted the window and stepped back, watching as Violet pulled away.
Violet shook her head. “Sorry, that’s how my family operates. Threaten first, assume next, and listen later.”
“They’re protective of you. Nothing wrong with that.”
“There is something wrong with it. When they thought Bren broke my heart, do you think they comforted me? Hugged me or even patted me on the back and said, Gee, that’s a shame. Here, have a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. No, my brothers beat the hell out of Bren and sent me pictures on my phone. Cold comfort.”
“And if I hurt you, they’d probably send you a picture every time they cut off an appendage.” He gave her a wry smile.
“Yeah, exactly.” She pulled onto the road.
“At least you have family. They may be dysfunctional, but they care about you. I have the Guard. Talk about cold comfort.”
“And your sister. You have her, too.”
He kept his gaze straight ahead. “I do have Mia. She’s a good kid, but extremely emotional. Her way of comforting is to freak out.”
“I have a lot of family while you have respect.” She let out a sigh. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my family. Arlo and I weren’t close, not since his addictions took over. But losing him, especially like that…” She shot him a look, her grief reminding her of those minutes she let herself express her feelings. “Well, you know. Damn you for sneaking up on me during a private moment.”
“I’m sorry.” Those words settled into the silence, and then he said in a soft voice, “You were crying alone.”
“No, I wasn’t. You were there.”
“I mean, you thought you were alone. Does cold comfort apply to grief as well?”
“Our family will kill if someone hurts one of our own, but we…don’t know how to hold one another or cry together. My brothers give me a hard time, tell me to buck up and be angry, not cry like a baby.”
“I can relate to that.”
Great, something else they had in common. They were supposed to be vastly different; so different, in fact, that there shouldn’t be one smidgen of chemistry between them. They should have anti-chemistry.
A few minutes later, they were passing the clearly delineated border between the Slades and the Stramaglias. The latter had a fancy concrete wall along the front, with a fence continuing between the two properties. She found a place to tuck the car out of sight from the road.
Thinking about hanging out in the dark with Kade, with only the moonlight filtering down between the trees, she said, “We should separate so we can cover more area.”
“Definitely. But how will I let you know if I spot someone?”
“Whistle. You know how to do that, don’t you, Kade?” she said in throaty, come-hither voice. “Just put your lips together and…blow.”
Kade rocked his head back, an agonized expression on his face. “If you can refrain from references to putting your lips together and blowing, especially in that blatantly sexy way, my… shall we say… current predicament would appreciate it..”
“I suppose this hasn’t been fair to you, has it? I’m sorry. In my defense, I didn’t ask you to fondle me.”
He shot her an arrogant smile. “Oh, yeah, you did. Not with those lips but with your hips pressing against mine?—”
She pressed her fingers over his mouth, horrified by the truth of that statement. “That was my Dragon, taking over. Let’s just say it’s been a while since it’s been…fed.”
