“You’ve lost your job, you’ve got nowhere to be. We’re here until I say so.”
“Uh-ohhh,” Kit murmured under his breath, eyes glinting, dragging the sound out like honey. “You and me together? How cozy. We can play catch-up while Tony works.”
Red folded his arms, fixing him with a look that could’ve curdled concrete. “I’m working.”
“Protecting me,” Kit countered easily, stepping a little closer, tone edging on a dare. “If you don’t keep an eye on me, something might happen to me.”
Red’s jaw tightened. “That’s not how this works.”
“Sure it is. You protect. I stay close. It’s practically teamwork.” Kit’s grin widened. “Or would you rather I wandered off? Maybe get into trouble?”
Red exhaled slowly through his nose. The boy was testing him—pushing, probing, trying to find the exact point where his patience gave out. Every word, every smirk was a taunt, waiting for Red to combust. His whole body language screamed, “Try me.”
“You think this is a game,” Red said, stepping into Kit’s space. “It’s not.”
Kit didn’t back down. If anything, his smile softened, something quieter flickering behind the mischief. “Didn’t say it was. Just easier to breathe when you’re not glaring holes in me.”
That caught Red off guard for half a second, just long enough for Kit to see it. The air between them thickened, charged with everything neither of them should be thinking.
Red forced a step back, breaking the tension. “Stay inside, Kit. I’m not asking again.”
Kit watched him back away, that infuriating little smile still ghosting across his lips. “Didn’t sound like asking the first time,” he murmured. “I’m going to watch TV.”
Red ignored him. Mostly.
But as Kit walked off toward the back room where the TV was, every nerve in Red’s body was still humming with the sound of Kit’s voice and that dangerous, teasingohhhthat promised this was only the beginning.
“Is there something I’m missing?” Tony asked, his tone low with a hint of danger.
Red forced himself to focus on Tony and not the butt wiggle Kit was giving him.
“Wait.” Red tapped his earpiece. “Demon out of sight. Keep an eye on the windows.” On a scale of one to trust, Kit ranked somewhere around minus fifty.
He received a muffled, “Understood.”
Then he focused on Tony. “What do you mean?”
“You and Kit.”
Red knew what he was asking but chose to ignore it. “He’s my client, I’m his bodyguard. I’m trying to set boundaries. He’s pushing them to see if I’ll break.”
Tony relaxed a fraction. “You see that?”
Red rolled his eyes. “I’ve known Kit since he was in elementary school.” He winced at the thought, the age gap stretching out between them. “You’re both as bad as each other.”
“I guess so.” Tony barked out a laugh. “I knew I could trust you with him. He’s Demon. What am I?”
Not wanting to go down this path again, Red said, “You don’t want to know, I need to talk to my team, then I’ll spend the day trying to educate both of you on not making my job more complicated than it needs to be.”
Tony waved his hand. “I’ve got work to do.”
“Then do what I say, and I’ll stay out of your way,” Red snapped.
He just wanted to do his job and go home, where he wasn’t tempted by a gorgeous chaotic glitter demon and his overprotective brother. Tony grunted which he guessed meant was the end of their conversation.
Tony vanished toward his office and Red contemplated his next move. He took his time making a fresh pot of coffee, then tapped his earpiece. “How many cups?”
“Cheers, Red. Five please,” Jace said.
