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“Too much? Where’s the rest of it?” he grumbles.
She swishes her dark hair over her shoulder and chuckles. “Well, I’m heading out. I just texted you the address. Don’t wait up!” she says in a sugary sweet voice. She moves to her tiptoes to plant a kiss on my cheek and heads out the door, shutting it behind her with a triumphant grin.
Jordy stares at me. “You’re ok with her wearing that?”
“I don’t get a say in that anymore. But you know that’s not her style. Did you see how big her bag was? I’d bet my fortune she has a change of clothes in there. She’s just fucking with us.”
He closes his eyes and sighs before standing. I follow him next door to his apartment, locking Skye’s door behind me.
He grabs his firearm off the kitchen counter. After loading the magazine, he secures the holster to his hip before nestling the gun inside it. Grabbing his jacket, he turns to me, shrugging into the sleeves. His phone rings and he answers it. “Hola Mama.”
Mrs. Ramirez is both the sweetest and the scariest woman on the planet. She rules her family with an iron fist and high expectations for her three sons. Jordy is the youngest, so she babies him. But I’d never admit that out loud. She makes the best enchiladas I’ve ever tasted and often sends some home with Jordy for me. We must protect her at all costs.
He speaks in rapid Spanish. I’m not fluent but I catch a few words. His eyes hit the ceiling, and he tells her he’s busy and asks if he can call her back later. With a sigh, he promises to come over for dinner on Sunday before he hangs up.
“You good man? You need a night off? I can have Mark take care of it,” I say. He seems more agitated than normal. It’s not like him to not notice Skye’s bag earlier. He’s like Mark, the head of my security. They both notice every detail of their surroundings. Pretty sure they could do it in their sleep at this point.
He shakes his head. “I’m good. I’ll send you an update in a few hours.”
“Thank you.”
He grunts and we head out. “I heard about the woman you rescued. Has she called you yet?” he asks as we make our way down the stairwell.
My friends are a bunch of gossip queens. “No.”
He smirks. “She will. Hero mode is your purest form. There’s no way she didn’t swoon over that shit.”
I laugh. “That’s not why I did it.”
“Exactly.”
I roll my eyes, much like Skye did earlier, and he laughs. “I would tell you to keep me updated, but I’m sure Jackson will be all over the group chat. He’s such a gossip queen.”
We both laugh and bump fists before we part and head towards our vehicles.
Two hours later, I receive a text from Jordy. It’s a picture of Skye at a house party sitting on the front porch with her latest douche canoe. She’s wearing skinny jeans and a loose off the shoulder blouse. I smirk and shake my head.
The next morning, I walk into Devil Dogs Gym and head straight for the office I share with Brando. My heart pounds when I see someone with reddish hair across the gym. I sigh when it’s clear that it’s not Liv. I’ve been downplaying it because I don’t want to get too excited, but something inside of me woke up when our eyes first met in the alleyway. Five days later, I still can’t get her off of my mind. Is she ok? Did they find the asshole who mugged her? Why hasn’t she called?
It’s not a simple thing to face your own mortality. I would know. My concern for her was obvious, but I also can’t deny my physical reaction to her. It made me feel like a complete asshole, but I couldn’t help checking her out. Her hair is a gorgeous shade of red. The smattering of freckles on her cheekbones are endearing as hell. It was dark, but I could tell her eyes were a pretty hazel color. I couldn’t stop looking at her. When it was time to leave, I stuck around. A sane man would have hightailed it out of there after meeting her brother. He was the epitome of natural calm leadership, and he wore it well. I had an immediate healthy respect for him. Plus, he was gigantic. He might even be bigger than Brando.
I watched him comfort her when I gave my statement to the other officer and could tell they were close. It reminded me of me and my sister. I knew this man would do everything in his considerable power to keep her safe.
So even against my better judgment, I hovered near her when he stepped away and I took my chances. At least I’d have a beautiful woman to look at while her brother snapped my neck.
An unusual wave of awkwardness overtook me while I stood there, contemplating my next move. Asking for her number would have been inappropriate and would cause said neck snapping. So I handed her my business card, offered her a lesson at the gym, and left it up to her. The lesson would benefit her, but I also hoped it would give her incentive to reach out to me. I didn’t want that to be our last interaction.
Now I feel like a damn teenager contemplating every reason she hasn’t contacted me yet as I wander around, distracted by the thought of her smile and her tropical scent. I swear I can still smell pineapples.
Brando looks up from his desk when I walk into the moderate-sized office we share. “She call yet?”
“No.” I try to keep my voice neutral. They’re relentless.
“She will.” He sounds so sure, but that’s Brando. He means every single word that comes out of his mouth with complete confidence. Now that I think about it, it’s a trait we all share. Except for me with Liv, for some annoying reason.
I shrug like it’s not a big deal. If I keep telling myself that, it will make it true. I can’t be strung out over a woman. I have to take care of my sister. Not to mention the gym and everything else in my crazy life.
He rolls his eyes at me. Jackson strolls in like he owns the place a few minutes later. He doesn’t, but he also suffers from a solid case of overconfidence. He’s in good company here.
