Page 48 of Spring Break Fling

“No cops,” he said firmly.

“What? Why not?”

“Because I fucking said so, that’s why,” he bit out.

The anger in his tone stopped me in my tracks. For a split second, fear prickled at the edges of my mind. But then something shifted in his expression. His face softened as he ran a hand through his hair, visibly trying to calm himself. “Shit. I’m sorry, Hannah. I didn’t mean… I’m sorry.”

The tension that had been mounting was still there, but his apology meant everything in this moment, and I knew he wasn’t angry with me. He was angry at the situation and I couldn’t blame him. His shop, which I was pretty sure was part of him, had been torn to shreds. Something about the anarchy told me this wasn’t just about the missing cash in the register. Someone wanted to pull this place apart from the inside out.

I lifted my chin. “What do you need? If we’re not calling the cops, what do we do?”

His laugh was bitter, humorless. “We don’t do anything. This isn’t your mess, Hannah.”

“Nikko—”

“Don’t,” he cut me off, his voice gentler this time but still resolute. “You shouldn’t even be here.” Before I could argue, he pulled out his phone. “I’ll order you an Uber. I can’t get you back to your hotel.”

I hated how efficient he was about it, like he’d already decided that I couldn’t be part of whatever came next.

“I’m not in a hurry,” I said. “I don’t mind waiting.”

“You need to go,” he said. “Ride will be here in six minutes.”

I looked around the shop. I didn’t see anything damaged. Whoever broke in, obviously knew exactly what they wanted. They went right for the money. I had a feeling the equipment was valuable. Clearly, the thief didn’t want to mess with trying to sell it.

“Are you okay?” I asked him.

“I’m fine.”

Sure he was.

Did he have enemies? Was he rolling through a list of possible suspects in his mind? That was concerning. Flirting with the bad boy thing was one thing. Actually hanging around someone that was bad and had enemies was a very different matter altogether.

The Uber arrived quicker than I wanted. I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that leaving him here alone was a mistake. As the car waited out front, I reached out impulsively and grabbed his hand.

“Be careful,” I said.

For a moment, he just looked at me, his usual swagger replaced with something quieter, something real. It was like he was seeing me for the first time—not as the polished corporate girl playing her games, but as… well, I wasn’t sure what.

“You don’t have to worry about me, Hannah,” he said, his voice low and rough. Then, a flicker of his usual smirk. “You’re not getting out of date number three because of this. I’m going to deal with this.”

“I don’t want to get out of it.” I shocked myself with my sincere confession. But it was true.

His expression softened, and for a second, the world felt smaller—just the two of us.

“Come on, I’ll walk you out,” he said. “Need to make sure this is the actual Uber. Can’t be sending you off with a stranger.”

“Thanks.”

He opened the back door for me. I was very reluctant to leave him. It felt wrong. He was standing alone in a crime scene. The bad guy could still be around.

He gave me a small smile, one that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’ll be fine,” he said. “They’re not coming back. They got what they wanted.”

It was like he was reading my mind. “Okay.”

“I’ll be in touch,” he said with a wink.

I got in the car. Nikko shut the door and tapped the roof of the car.