She folded her hands and refrained from giving him a reaction. Roxanne allowed him to have his moment, waiting patiently until he sobered up.
“You done, jackass?”
“For now.” He grinned. “What do you need?”
“Find a guy for me.”Dammit, that came out wrong!She clenched her jaw and squinted her eyes. She lunged forward in her seat and held up her hand. “I mean, I need to track him down because the asshole hit my car and now he’s dodging my calls.”
His laughter immediately halted, his entire body tensed, and he scanned her from head to toe. Yes, he was a pain in the ass, but Bogs was just as protective as her other brothers, and he was showing it tenfold. “You okay? What the fuck happened? Were you in the car? You see the doctor? What did they say?”
Roxanne should’ve expected this type of reaction. It was best to defuse the situation and get back to the task at hand.Find fucking Cord!
She waved her hand in front of her face, hoping to calm him. “I’m totally fine, Bogs. It’s not a big deal. I was at the marina for a meeting with a client. When I was leaving, I stopped at the exit, and he hit me from behind. Nobody got hurt except my back end.” She watched Bogs' gaze darken. “I’m fine. But now he’s dodging my calls. I want you to work your nerd magic and find him.”
Hopefully, it was enough information to get him to help her, and she could be on her way. It wouldn’t end here with Bogs, though. He’d be on her until she found the guy and he paid up. If he didn’t, it wouldn’t just be her looking for him.And you don’t want that, Cord.While she could appreciate her brother wanting to help and protect her, Roxanne could handle this on her own. She just needed some information.
Bogs continued to scan her body for injury and slowly nodded. “You got his info though, right? Driver’s license and insurance?”
Fuck!She clamped her lips. She was too damn nice sometimes, and it was biting her in the ass.
Bogs narrowed his gaze, and she held up her hand, scowling. “Shut up, dumbass.”
Bogs burst out laughing and leaned back in his seat, shaking his head. “You get into an accident, you don’t get his driver’s license number or insurance infoand I’mthe dumbass?”
No, clearly, I’m the dumbass.
“Look, I wanted to, but he said something about another accident and his insurance company possibly dropping him if I filed.” She sighed. “He’s young, and I was trying to be nice, show him a little grace.”
Bogs smirked. “How’s that working for you? You still feel bad for the kid?”
Oh, she was feeling something all right. Rage. Anger. Frustration. A desire to beat his ass when she found him.
“Can’t believe you fell for some lame sob story. Have we not taught you anything?” Bogs teased with a smile playing on his lips.
She should’ve known better. Even she could admit it, seeing as how it’d turned out. But there was more to it she hadn’t shared. Roxanne could’ve let it go with no further detail. And she would’ve had he not called her out. Her face was obviously too expressive.
“What?” Bogs asked.
Roxanne sighed, sinking into her chair and glancing up at her brother. “Somewhere in our conversation, he mentioned his dad had died. And he got all,” she glanced down at her hands, picking at her nail, “I don’t know. Sad. I guess I just felt bad for him. It’s a hard loss, right? A parent. You know?” She glanced upthrough her lashes to find Bogs staring back at her. His face was devoid of all humor. Cord’s story, whether it was true or not, was relatable to both of them.
Bogs slowly nodded. “Yeah, I know.”
The air in the room was thick and solemn. Their minds were in the same place. It was dark and sad, a place neither of them enjoyed revisiting. Losing a parent was like losing a part of themselves. A good part.
Roxanne drew in a breath, breaking the silence. “Just help me, Bogs.”
He flattened his lips, straightened in his chair and turned toward his laptop.
“Yeah, I’ll help you.” The corner of his mouth curled. “But you’ll owe me, Rox.”
Well, he recovered quickly.Asshole.It was all a front with Bogs. His pain and grief were deep. He just kept it well hidden. Like all her brothers.
“After all the favors I’ve done for you, you should be begging to help me.” She pulled up Cord’s name on her phone and recited the number.
Bogs didn’t have a retort, but he shook his head, smiling. He started tapping away at the keys. If there was anyone who could find Cord, it was Bogs. He was a technical genius, though she’d never admit it.His ego is big enough.
Bogs frowned, scanning the screen. She leaned in her seat but didn’t have the right angle to view his computer. He’d obviously found something.
“What?” she asked.
