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“Look, you’re very sweet, but if you promise him you’ll do something with him and it doesn’t work out, he’ll be devastated.”
“I would never?—”
“Not intentionally,” she cut in. “Look, I don’t even know you.”
“That’s the point of hanging out—to get to know each other.”
“Yes, but it’s not the same. I have a son involved. I can’t hang out without my son getting ideas in his head. I need to get to know you first.”
“Skylar, I like you. I’m not saying I want to marry you or move in. I just want to get to know you.”
“And I…I appreciate that. I need some time.”
Ooh, rejection. It was a bitter taste in any man’s mouth.
“Hey, I’m not trying to push in,” he said, gripping her bicep in a gentle way. Man, this guy had all the moves. “I get it. You don’t want him to get his hopes up. I promise not to say anything to him. If I want to do something with you, I’ll talk about it with you in private.”
“Thank you.” The relief on her face wasn’t exactly what I’d been hoping for.
I dropped the wrench on the ground when I thought about what just ran through my head. I shouldn’t be hoping for anything. I was just her neighbor, someone that didn’t have any place in her life. There wasn’t a damn thing about her that should be affecting me on such a personal level. If anything, she was just part of the job. She was connected to Rico, and that’s what I needed to focus on.
I was so wrapped up in my personal revelations that I nearly missed him leaning in for a kiss. She turned her cheek at the last minute and all he got was a peck to the left of her lips.
Not that it mattered. She was only my neighbor.
I heard his boots headed my way and tried to ignore him. I knew this song and dance all too well. Hell, I’d done it a million times before. He thought he could intimidate me, make me stay away from her. Not that I had any intention of spending time with her or talking to her.
“Hey, man.”
I glanced up, quirking an eyebrow at him. “Yeah?”
“You’re new in town.”
He had that sort of right. “In a way.”
His eyes skimmed over my body, taking in the tattoos peeking from under my shirt. “I looked you up. You were in Beaumont for murdering a cop.”
I slowly stood, wiping my hands on the rag I had slung over my shoulder. “Your point?”
His eyes flicked over his shoulder to Skylar’s house. “Do you know her?”
“Whatever the fuck you want to say, just fucking say it.”
“Okay,” he said, stepping forward to try and intimidate me. “Stay the fuck away from them. They don’t need your shit in their lives.”
“And why would I go near them?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. This guy was sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. But I admired the hell out of him for protecting them in his own way. He wouldn’t be here at night, though. That’s when it would be most dangerous.
“Look, I don’t like you on principle. You shot a cop?—”
“A fucking dirty as hell cop,” I corrected.
His jaw twitched in anger. Yeah, it was always hard to admit that one of your own was crooked. I knew. It happened more than anyone wanted to admit. Hell, sometimes it was hard to make excuses for Rafe’s behavior when he went off the rails.
“He was dirty,” he admitted. “And that fucking sucks for everyone in the department. But you were fucked up on heroin. That shit can never touch that woman or her kid. Do I make myself clear?”
I really fucking wanted to hate this guy. Just the fact that he was interested in Skylar made it really fucking hard to find even a single fucking thing about him that I could tolerate. Yet, he barely knew her and was here, standing up to a murderer for her. For all he knew, I had friends scattered all over the place, ready to jump him and dump his ass in the river. It was a bold move.
And that made me like him even more.
