Swear a rose blush enters her cheeks. “Why?”
“Well, when you show up after a decade and give me more questions than answers, it seems as though we’ve got some catching up to do.”
Her tongue touches her lips again as she drops her gaze to the desk and idly moves something with her right hand. “We were never friends back then, Jinx. Why act as though we are now?”
I take a step toward her. “Because you’ve already proved some thingscanchange, Kyra.”
Her gaze lifts to mine, then to the ceiling and the walls, as she draws a deep breath. “You really think it’s a good idea? You think myfatherwould think it’s a good idea?”
“You still take orders from your daddy?” I fold my arms.
Her gaze sweeps across my shoulders. “No. But I still respect him. Especially when I’m back under his roof.”
I slowly nod. I mean, I get it. My father’s an asshole too, but he’s the man responsible for putting food on the table while I grew up and for setting me up with a second family I consider closer than blood, so I still respect him, even if nobody else does. “One drink. That’s all I ask. You think he’d deny you that?”
Her nostrils flare, lips rolling together. “Non-alcoholic.”
Interesting.“Make it coffee at the Daily Grind Cafe, and yours can be how you like.” I can always rely on Theresa to add a dash of whatever I want to dirty up my brew.
Kyra smirks, folding one arm across herself to grab the other. “Deal. I get off at four-thirty.”
“Meet you right here.”
A beat passes where I don’t care to look away, and neither, it seems, does she.Fuck me.Kyra goddamn Green. As I live and breathe.
Who would’ve thought that an already pretty flower could bloom into something so goddamn breathtaking?
With a quick hitch of my eyebrow, I turn and head for the door, somewhat slower this time. Yeah, I do know most people around these parts, and for a while there, she was the one I cared about the most.
Even if she represents the epitome of the taboo for a lawbreaker like me.
I shift the property plans inside my shirt once I reach the bike to keep them safe during the ride, and tug on my helmet.How long has Kyra been back? Why haven’t I seen her before now?My phone vibrates in my pocket, so I tug it out and find a message from Chaos.
You far away?
On my way back now. Why?
I’d like you to be here to hear this shit, too.
Interesting.
See you soon.
My gaze lifts to the municipal building as I slip the device into my pocket. Throwing Kyra to the wolves by letting the club know she’s back leaves a queasy knot in my stomach, but it wouldn’t be long before they found out anyway. If I said nothing,it’d raise eyebrows and questions over why I’d chosen to keep a pivotal connection to the Sheriff a secret.
Shit’s been messy around here lately, what with the arson at our loading dock and then the fucking bullshit with Vanessa’s God-complex stepfather putting his fucking nose where it doesn’t belong. Having someone in our back pocket who can sweet-talk Marty in our favor is invaluable.
But it’s a no-brainer why the idea doesn’t sit well with me.
A decade may have changed Kyra, but I’d bet my life savings that the girl inside is still the same timid, people-pleaser she was back then. High school wasn’t kind to her. Easily taken advantage of, the vultures preyed on Kyra’s conflict-avoidant personality and leveraged her for everything from paying peanuts for completed homework assignments to cheats for the next test. A bike club would chew her up and spit her out.
Still—it’s not every day you get handed a fucking inside line to the Sheriff’s private life on a silver platter. A few minutes of casual conversation can reveal a lot, and if we want to keep one step ahead of the zealous asshole, I need to know more about the man behind the militant mask.
What’s his motivation? Back story? What are his biggest fears?
How do we exploit his weakness?
Who better to flesh out those answers than his treasured daughter?
