the archway to the bathroom to make sure that he doesn’t make a sudden appearance and catch me in the act.
It takes a while, but I finally manage to remove the key from the ring, breaking a nail in the process.
The water stops running.
“The pizza should be done by now!” he yells from the bathroom. “Go check on it.”
Chills run down my spine and I quickly shove the keyring back into his pants, managing to jump up and go for the oven door just before he comes back into the room.
I hear him chuckle behind me.
“What a sight,” he says. “A naked girl getting a freshly baked pizza out of the oven.”
He steps closer and wraps his arms around me. “Life should always be like this. Right?”
My heart is pounding so hard that I’m sure he must feel it throbbing against his muscular arms.
“Right,” I say, clenching my fist around the stolen key.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Kade
“I thought you’d never show up here again!”
Joseph is leaning against the bar as if he wants to show everyone that he owns it. His posture denotes that omnipresent dominance a man should display in this community if he wants to be taken seriously. He’s a lot shorter than me, but he stands straight and carries himself in such a way that he demands respect, and his sturdy frame accented by well-developed muscles is imposing. We trained together before I left town, so I know this guy can bench just as much as I can, if not more by now. I’ve been slacking since I became a corporate guy and no longer saw the need to always be primed and ready for a fist fight at the drop of a hat. That’s how business is done here, but not in the world I became a part of not too long ago.
I occupy the bar stool next to my old friend and order a Scotch without saying a word. The bartender knows how to interpret my gesture well enough.
Joseph places his elbows on the bar and looks at me through his deep, dark eyes.
“Thought you went completely off the radar,” he murmurs.
We haven’t seen each other since then. Since we ended that douchebag’s life together.
“You scared or what?” he asks.
I frown at him.
“What would I be scared of?” I ask back. “We were smart, nothing to worry about.”
Joseph shrugs his shoulders. “True.”
“Just been busy is all,” I add, taking the first sip of my Scotch, savoring the burn as it coats my throat.
“You know we did the right thing.”
Our eyes meet and I see that same worry in Joseph’s eyes that I’ve seen before on other faces. It speaks of fear, the fear of rats. Friends can turn into rats if they start questioning their actions. A murder, many murders, could be called a questionable act if you looked at it from a normal person’s angle.
But Joseph and I are not normal people. The difference between us and a normal person is that we don’t accept things as they are. We don’t accept that certain creatures have the opportunity to terrorize an entire neighborhood for generations because the police are too scared or misinformed to act. I’m all for the rule of law, but not if it’s not carried out in the harsh way these assholes deserve.
“Of course I know,” I hiss at Joseph. “He had to go. I’m not doubting anything. I won’t snap. I won’t talk. Stop worrying.”
“Okay, okay,” he replies, lifting his hands in defense. “But something is up with you man, I can tell!”
“Nothing is up,” I lie.
“What’s keeping you so busy then?” he wants to know. “And why are you still here? You’ve been giving me mixed signals all this time. You fucking show up out of nowhere, announcing that you’re back in town. Then your mother dies — again, sorry about that. We get into this shit together, you tell me you’ll be outta’ here once that’s done, and now you linger around but make yourself invisible. Seriously, what gives?”
“I have shit to take care of,” I say, finally coming up with a good excuse. “My mother’s place. I have to get rid of stuff
It takes a while, but I finally manage to remove the key from the ring, breaking a nail in the process.
The water stops running.
“The pizza should be done by now!” he yells from the bathroom. “Go check on it.”
Chills run down my spine and I quickly shove the keyring back into his pants, managing to jump up and go for the oven door just before he comes back into the room.
I hear him chuckle behind me.
“What a sight,” he says. “A naked girl getting a freshly baked pizza out of the oven.”
He steps closer and wraps his arms around me. “Life should always be like this. Right?”
My heart is pounding so hard that I’m sure he must feel it throbbing against his muscular arms.
“Right,” I say, clenching my fist around the stolen key.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Kade
“I thought you’d never show up here again!”
Joseph is leaning against the bar as if he wants to show everyone that he owns it. His posture denotes that omnipresent dominance a man should display in this community if he wants to be taken seriously. He’s a lot shorter than me, but he stands straight and carries himself in such a way that he demands respect, and his sturdy frame accented by well-developed muscles is imposing. We trained together before I left town, so I know this guy can bench just as much as I can, if not more by now. I’ve been slacking since I became a corporate guy and no longer saw the need to always be primed and ready for a fist fight at the drop of a hat. That’s how business is done here, but not in the world I became a part of not too long ago.
I occupy the bar stool next to my old friend and order a Scotch without saying a word. The bartender knows how to interpret my gesture well enough.
Joseph places his elbows on the bar and looks at me through his deep, dark eyes.
“Thought you went completely off the radar,” he murmurs.
We haven’t seen each other since then. Since we ended that douchebag’s life together.
“You scared or what?” he asks.
I frown at him.
“What would I be scared of?” I ask back. “We were smart, nothing to worry about.”
Joseph shrugs his shoulders. “True.”
“Just been busy is all,” I add, taking the first sip of my Scotch, savoring the burn as it coats my throat.
“You know we did the right thing.”
Our eyes meet and I see that same worry in Joseph’s eyes that I’ve seen before on other faces. It speaks of fear, the fear of rats. Friends can turn into rats if they start questioning their actions. A murder, many murders, could be called a questionable act if you looked at it from a normal person’s angle.
But Joseph and I are not normal people. The difference between us and a normal person is that we don’t accept things as they are. We don’t accept that certain creatures have the opportunity to terrorize an entire neighborhood for generations because the police are too scared or misinformed to act. I’m all for the rule of law, but not if it’s not carried out in the harsh way these assholes deserve.
“Of course I know,” I hiss at Joseph. “He had to go. I’m not doubting anything. I won’t snap. I won’t talk. Stop worrying.”
“Okay, okay,” he replies, lifting his hands in defense. “But something is up with you man, I can tell!”
“Nothing is up,” I lie.
“What’s keeping you so busy then?” he wants to know. “And why are you still here? You’ve been giving me mixed signals all this time. You fucking show up out of nowhere, announcing that you’re back in town. Then your mother dies — again, sorry about that. We get into this shit together, you tell me you’ll be outta’ here once that’s done, and now you linger around but make yourself invisible. Seriously, what gives?”
“I have shit to take care of,” I say, finally coming up with a good excuse. “My mother’s place. I have to get rid of stuff
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