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Cole’s face scrunches, replying with a head jolt. “What?”
“Yeah.” I chuckle. “And I have a good feeling it won’t be the last time I see Luna Moon.”
“You’ve gotta shut this shit down.” Brett points at me like I don’t know who he’s talking to. “I’m serious, Lix. No fucking around. She could cause all kinds of trouble for us, Willa, and all the Julias who rely on our services. Ya hear me?”
“Yeah. I got it, big bro.” I nod.
He stands and heads toward the door. “You take care of this.”
I follow him with my eyes. “I will,” I say with a confident dip of my head, watching him leave my flat.
He’s right. I need to figure out what Chosen wants, and for some reason, I don’t think it’s the escort story. The way she looked at me. It’s as if she hates me. Her kiss didn’t portray that hate, though. I’m sure she hated that as well.
I walk over to the recliner and drop my ass in it.
“So,” Cole says, sitting back on the sofa, “she kissed you?”
“Yeah.” I chortle, amused over the whole ordeal. “I think I threw her off her game when I revealed her true identity. She panicked and didn’t know what to do. Hey”—I shift gears in the conversation—“what’s going on with Mom’s lawyer? Did she get any further with Mom’s friend, Lucy, ah—”
“Deetman.” Cole finishes for me. “No. She’s not talking. Mom must’ve gotten to her. I don’t know if we’ll get her out of jail without something more.”
“But Deetman can prove Mom had plans to leave the asshole. The tickets and shit. She was trying to leave him. That information must help. It shows it wasn’t premeditated. She didn’t plot to kill him, right? Can’t the lawyer use it to get Mom out any earlier?”
“I don’t know.” He scratches his head. “Brett’s working on it.” He picks up the book on my coffee table. “How to make a guitar?” He holds it up. “You thinking about playing an instrument? Get in touch with your inner rock star?”
“No.” I snatch the book from his hands and grab the others scattered on the table. I stack them, along with the one on how to become a journalist, on the bookshelf.
“Then why read all that shit? Unsolved murders, how to build a bird cage, how the brain works, hell, you even had one about all the presidents’ pets. If you want to know about something, that’s what the internet is for.”
“I like to read.” I shrug and plop back into the recliner. “Some people, when they read, only comprehend what they’re interested in. Not me. I get it all.” Not to mention, trying to land the internet in a boys’ home, on the streets, or in juvie was near impossible. So to occupy my squirrely young brain, I read anything available. Libraries were always accessible. Books were easy to get my hands on.
It stuck.
If something interests me, I usually try to find a book about it. It soothes me. Grounds me.
“You’re nuts.” He chuckles and stands. “Hey, don’t be pissed at Harper.”
“I’m not. Seriously. She’s good for you, Cole.”
“Yeah.” He nods, waving me off as he heads for the door.
I lean back into the recliner and place my hands behind my head, watching him leave as the door closes. My squirrely brain starts to chase Chosen Ashley.
She’s one thing I don’t think any book could educate me on. Unclear about what she wants, I don’t think it’s the escort story. That woman is after something, but unlike most women I encounter, I don’t think it has anything to do with what’s in my pants. No matter how badly she may want it. She’s not taking the bait.
Chapter 4
“When are you going to stop obsessing over that boy?” Selina walks into the kitchen, setting her coffee cup on the counter.
I tilt my head and peer at her from the corner of my eye. I’ll never get used to seeing her in her police uniform.
“I met him last night, and you didn’t tell me.”
“What?” She laughs, gripping her wide belt weighed down by her cop paraphernalia. “About the dreamy bedroom eyes. The broad shoulders and muscular arms. Or that dimple in the corner of his left cheek.” She chuckles again. “I know.” She drops her head, baring observant dark brown eyes on me. “There’s something about that kid.”
“Yeah.” I huff, recalling the mixed bag of emotions Lix put me through last night. “You could’ve warned me.”
“I wasn’t sure if you’d have the same response as any other female. I mean, he’s not gorgeous in the traditional way. And he’s far too young for me, but…” She wags a finger.
