Page 5 of Vicious Temptation

“You know I will.”

I pop the candy into my mouth, freeing my hands before pulling her into a hug.

“I’m proud of you, AJ.”

She wraps her arms around me and squeezes tighter.

“I love you, Rem.”

“Love you, too.”

Just like that, she grabs her bag and climbs out of the car, turning around to blow me a kiss before heading toward her bike.

The Camaro from earlier rolls up beside her as she pulls on her helmet.

I don’t wait to find out what they want. Shoving my door open, I cross the distance in a few quick strides and place myself between AJ and the car.

“Can I help you?”

The guy in the passenger seat lets his gaze drag from my face to my boots before making the slow trip back up, pausing briefly on the Glock riding my hip.

Losing the race apparently bruised more than his car, and now he needs to prove something.

Alessandra doesn’t need me to protect her. The girl has an itchy trigger finger and a rotating moral compass, but I’ll be damned if I let these assholes get close enough to find that out.

“Just came by to say...” He exhales a stream of smoke. “Nice driving.”

AJ nudges my shoulder as she steps up beside me. I rest a hand against her forearm, silently telling her to stay put.

“You should try using the steering wheel next time instead of my bumper.”

The corner of his mouth lifts around his cigarette.

“Fair.” He flicks it onto the pavement. “Catch you next time.”

They take off before anything else can be said, leaving me with an uneasy feeling I can’t quite explain. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, and they’re just your regular assholes. But we’ve been through too much to let our guard down, even all these years later.

“What was that about? You know them?”

I shake my head, still watching the street where their taillights disappeared.

“No. Never seen them at Furia before today.”

“KXZ-4187,” she says.

“You caught the plate.”

I look at her, impressed but not even a little surprised.

“Of course.” She shrugs. “You did too.”

I cup her face and plant an exaggerated kiss on her forehead, making her laugh. AJ will be okay.

“Get home. Text me when you get there.”

She blows me one last kiss before climbing onto her bike and heading down the opposite street from the Camaro.

Then it’s just me.