She scrubs her hands down her face and scrunches her nose, but her eyes are soft. “You didn’tdoanything. You’re just scary.” She bites her lip and hesitates, but I keep my mouth shut to give her a chance to explain. “You’re big, Nix, almost freakishly so. You’re all muscles and mood. Sometimes I don’t see you crack a smile for days. I’m sure when you walk down the street with those thick, black eyebrows drawn downward and a scowl on that beautiful face, people part like the Red motherfuckin’ Sea to escape you.”
I gawk at her. Not because she’s wrong, but completely spot-on. But my goal isn’t to scare people. I just want them to leave me alone and mind their own business. Relationships are a complication I don’t need or want. “I don’t need people thinking I’m approachable.”
“Well, you got that shit down pat.” She laughs. “Your mean mug is absolute perfection.”
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Although I love Coco to pieces, the last thing I want to do tonight is sit here and pick apart my personality. “It’s Friday night. I’m sure you have a hot date.”
“I have a date, but not until midnight.” She smirks and crosses her arms because she knows that I’m still protective of her even though she’s an adult.
“Midnight? Nothing good happens at that hour.”
“I hope not.” She giggles. “I’d be disappointed if Connor had anything good planned.”
I close my eyes and dig my fingers into the corners. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”
She laughs louder. “Can I make you something to eat before I go?”
“I’m fine. Be safe tonight. Please. I’d hate to go to jail for murdering Connor.” I don’t know who the little fucker is, but I’ll break him just the same if he hurts her.
She jams her laptop in her oversized purse, but she doesn’t look at me when she speaks. She’s hiding something from me. “He’s harmless, Nix.”
“What’s Connor do for a living?”
“Well…” She grimaces when she finally glances at me. “He’s a cop.”
I refrain from smashing my head into the hard countertop. The girl is still a challenge, and I swear she does this shit on purpose just to piss me off. “You’re dating a cop? Coco, we don’t need him looking into our life.”
Resting her arm on the back of the sleek, modern chrome and black stool, she purses her lips. “I figure since I’m getting my badass criminal on, I might as well date someone who could be of use to me.”
“Use?” I slam my hand down on the counter, and she jumps. “How will he be useful?”
She rounds the island and sweeps her hand over my hair with a sweet, innocent, and completely bullshit smile. “Calm down, Nix. I promise I’m careful.”
I close my eyes and take a minute to let my anger wane. “You’re playing with fire. It’s a dangerous game, Coco.”
Her hand glides down the side of my face, scraping against my evening stubble as she wraps her fingers around my jaw and forces my eyes to hers. “I’m learning a lot of useful things. He spills his guts to me every night. He’s part of the NYPD Computer Crime Unit and the REACT Task Force.”
“Fuck,” I hiss and pull my face from her grip. Not only is she seeing a cop who specializes in computer crimes—my kind of crime, in fact—he’s part of REACT. It’s a special multijurisdictional task force that deals with computer crimes of every kind. They’re the last thing I need in my life right now—our lives. How could she be so careless? I jump to my feet and tense. “You’ve gone off the deep end.”
“I have not.” She crosses her arms in front of her and watches me as I begin to pace. “Connor thinks I’m a secretary at a swanky investment firm. He’s clueless and shockingly not that bright. He tells me things he shouldn’t, things that would get him fired when I—”
I cut her off, and quickly placing a finger against her lips, I command, “Stop.” I’m trying to keep the anger that had been simmering under my skin from Kennedy’s disappearing act under control, but with Coco’s antics coming to light, the slow burn is turning into a raging inferno.
Her lips curve into a smile behind my finger before she pulls away. She scurries away from me to the other side of the island and grabs her bag. “Nix,” she says, looking at me over her shoulder. “Men really are the weaker sex.” She grins wickedly and starts toward the door but continues talking as I stalk behind her. “I have Connor right where I want him. You always taught me that women have all the power, and it’s true. Men will do or say anything for any tiny hope of getting into our panties.”
My hands ball into tight fists at my sides, and I want to track down Connor and pound him in the face. I’m too angry to say anything; I just hover behind her as she pauses with her hand on the door handle before she leaves.
She turns to face me with nothing but seriousness in her expression. “Remember that with Eva. No matter how much you think you’re in control, you’re not. You’re too busy trying to fuck her to think clearly. You told me never to get too close to anyone, but you’re breaking all your own rules. Don’t let pussy cloud your judgment like it’s clouding Connor’s.”
Instead of screaming at her like a child, I brush my lips against her forehead and sigh. “I won’t, babe. Don’t get yourself in a spot that you can’t get out of with him. It’s easy to get so caught up in a situation that you can’t see when you’re being played.”
As I start to pull away, she wraps an arm around my back and puts her ear next to mine. “Live by your own words, Nix. I don’t have a good feeling abouther.Your game is just as dangerous as mine.”
“I know,” I admit to her, shocked that I actually agree with something Coco said. “Call me in the morning so I know you’re okay, please.”
“I will.” Her lips touch my cheek ever so gently as she drops her hand from my back and the other turns the door handle. “Love you,” she whispers.
“You too, kid.” I smile, and some of my anger melts away. Not enough to calm me, but just enough that I don’t feel the urge to follow her tonight and murder Connor to keep her away from him.
