Page 6 of Last Man Standing

“Yep.” I step around the car as Lincoln stomps down the porch steps and moves onto the crackling snow. “Talk to you later.”

“K.”

I end our call and slip the device into my pocket. Tipping my chin toward the house, I let my smirk fly free. “Your sister’s lying. You know that, right?”

And if you don’t, you’re not nearly as good at your job as your reputation states.

“Yeah, I know she’s lying.” He scrubs a hand over his face. She’s been here for all of five minutes, and he’s already exhausted. “She’s not talking yet, but she’s easy to read. She’ll confess soon enough. In the meantime—” He drops his hand and transforms from tired, older brother to straight-up fucking homicidal. “Stay the hell away from her.”

Smirking, I poke a thumb back at myself. “Me?”

“You. Don’t look at her. Don’t flirt with her. Don’t fucking smile at her. Your reputation precedes you in more ways than one, and your MO is to basically fuck anything with a hole and a heartbeat. I’m warning you now, stay⁠—”

“You have a hole and a heartbeat.”

His mouth drops open in stunned silence.

Ironic, really.

“I didn’t fuck you yet, Castro. But it’s been a minute since I last had a hole and a heartbeat to exploit, so if you’re offering to lie head down, ass up, I suppose I could pretend you’re a chick long enough to get the job done.”

His face burns a furious red. “Stay away from her. Stay away from Nova. In fact, get in your truck and stay away from us all. We don’t need you.”

“Nah.” I fold my arms across my chest. “I just cleared a little vacation time with my employers, and the view here is just so…” The scenery outside? No, that’s not what I’m looking at. “Pretty.”

“I’ll slit your throat and end this nightmare,” he snarls. “I didn’t wanna know you before September, and I sure as shit don’t wanna know you now. You’re here because you took a bullet for Nova that one time, but no one is shooting at her anymore, which means my desire to keep you around no longer exists.”

“You’re saying a lot of words for a dude who offered to be my bottom just a minute ago.” I push away from the car and add the dozens of markers—pens, Sharpies, pencils, all strewn across the front passenger seat—to my mental files. “I’m gonna need you to stop speaking now, so I can go inside and get to know your baby sister.”

“Jameson!” He grabs my shoulder and wrenches me back around, strong enough to make my feet skid in the snow and put a crick in my neck. “This isn’t a game to me! She’s not a plaything for you to screw around with.”

“Why so serious, bruh? She’s a legal adult. I’m a legal adult. She knows how to pop off at a man, considering all that huffing and puffing I saw in the kitchen.” I bounce his hand off my shoulder and lean a little closer to leer at the overprotective big brother. “I figure, if she doesn’t want me to pay attention to her, she’ll say so. It’s not the 1950s anymore, Castro. She doesn’t need you guarding her door.”

“I said no!”

“Bitch, I didn’t ask.” With a dismissive scoff, I turn on my heels and stalk back toward the house, up the porch steps, and through the front door. My phone vibrates in my pocket with incoming texts, and the chatter inside the house stops the instant I cross the threshold.

Scarlett Castro is exactly the type of woman my cock grows hard for. She’s here, she’s a liar, and she’s got enough of an attitude problem to make the next few days enjoyable.

There’s not much I’d trade time with my family for. But sparring with her? With the woman with eyes bluer than a summer sky, and two giant dimples that flash brighter than neon lights at night?

Yeah. I’ll invest a little time tormenting her.

She’ll give up her secrets, or she’ll run away and never show her face again.

Either outcome works for me.

Game on.

3

SCARLETT

GAME OFF

Ishould’ve known my brother would see through my façade. I should’ve known he’d suspect my motives the instant our eyes met.

His literal, actual job is to glean secrets from unwilling speakers, to convince even the most experienced liars to divulge all they’re hiding.