Page 9 of Cole

He looked like he hadn’t slept enough and had made up for it with too many energy drinks. He was seventeen, teetering on the cusp of becoming a man, and had all the stability of a land mine.

“Why are you here? It’s past your bedtime,” I told him. I made my voice gruff and uninterested. I’d learned with Finn that if he thought I was being soft with him, he’d hound me for things I wasn’t ready to let him do. Business that I didn’t want him involved in. My determination to keep the kid out of danger had only made him more desperate to seek it out. That was some real fucking karma.

“I was just thinking that I could be of some help on Saturday. I could run back up, or maybe do the handoff.” Finn shot me his most mature look.

“No,” I said sharply.

“Come on, Cole.”

“I said no, Finn.”

He hesitated, and I noticed him glancing back at the girl, which irritated me even more.

“Okay, maybe the handoff would be too much, but I meant I could do whatever you need. I could handle the delivery. I know the spot.”

“What? How do you know about the spot?” I frowned.

“I know you wanted it covered, so I just figured I would check it out…” Finn trailed off, realizing his mistake in bringing it up.

“Finn, you are not going anywhere near that shipment.”

He looked like he wanted to argue, but then his eyes drifted back to the blond at the bar. She was still alone, but had somehow shifted one barstool closer to us, without me noticing.

“Who is that?” I asked, my temper flaring.

“I don’t know. She said her name’s Belle, but she might be lying. Either way, she’s hot,” Finn answered with a derpy smile on his face. “I heard her tell Travis that she thought you were gay.”

Gage let out a rough guffaw of laughter at that. Even Maddox allowed himself a small smile.

I ground my teeth and took a breath before responding. “She can think whatever she wants, she’s trouble,” I responded flatly. “And too old for you.”

His grin widened. “That is my favorite kind of woman.”

I stared at her while she was turned away in conversation with Ronnie. Her posture had shifted. She was looser now, less on edge. Like she was getting comfortable, which didn’t sit right with me. She should see this place and everyone in it as a threat. No one in this place was safe.

Her bag fell from her lap, and she slipped off the tall barstool to grab it. She bent at the waist, and reached down, a move that sent her skirt sliding up her endless legs. Fucking hell. Was she trying to put on a show, or was she just that naive?

“So, what if I was just there as some sort of backup?” Finn asked. A flash of neon blue and pink flashed between her legs as she snagged her bag, and then she was straightening up. Whoever had been watching had just seen her fucking panties. Which was no doubt every single man without an old lady in this place. And what kind of fucking panties were those? Plain cotton boy shorts? Nothing about this girl added up.

And she had told Travis she thought I was gay? Hell, there was nothing wrong with being straight, gay, or whatever anyone wanted, but the thought that this woman had ruled me out of the running pissed me off. It made me want to prove her wrong, which wasn’t a good idea. Not good at all.

“Fine,” I said, no longer comprehending what Finn was saying.

If I listened hard, I could almost make out Ronnie’s droll tones. The blond had made it back onto her stool and I couldn’t help thinking about those incongruous panties hiding under her miniskirt. Where did I know her from? It was like a fucking itch I couldn’t reach.

“Seriously? Cole, I promise I won’t let you down,” Finn said excitedly.

Before I could stop him, he was bouncing back toward the blond, more spring in his step than I had ever seen before.

I turned back to my drink, trying not to notice how he dropped onto the stool next to her, and how she laughed when he returned.

I looked back at Gage and Maddox to find them staring at me with their eyebrows raised.

“Did you really just agree to that?” Maddox asked.

“Agree to what?”

“Dude,” Gage said, chuckling. “You’re distracted. Time to get laid. It’s that time of year. We all know you live like a monk, but once a year was already pushing it for blowing off steam; don’t try and break your record.”