Huh.
Friend? Partner? Family member?
With a frown, he left the bedroom. Faith had told him she didn’t have a cell phone, and while he had no idea why she’d say that when clearly, she did, it was her business. Her secret. Lord knows he had a shit ton of his own.
He read the note. Should he write one back? What the hell would he say? Deciding a note wouldn’t do, he grabbed the key and locked up. Then he slid it underneath her door and stood back. Maybe getting involved with a woman who had as much to hide as he did wasn’t the smartest thing to do.
And yet, after the night they’d shared, how could he walk away and give her up? He was already looking forward to round two.
With a sigh, he decided not to borrow trouble. It was late morning; he needed a shower and food, and things would make sense. Gus crossed the hall and let himself into his apartment.
“We need to talk.”
“The fuck?” He growled, though it wasn’t the man on his sofa who caught his attention. It was the woman who sat across from him with a grin on her face. Long dark hair. Big brown eyes. Cinnamon freckles and attitude.
His youngest sibling, Iris, smiled up at him sweetly, but her eyes were sharp and calculated. “Surprised?” she asked.
Gus ignored her and glared at Walker. “You had one job to do.”
“Have you met your sister?” Walker sighed. “She’s relentless and her bullshit meter is almost as big as yours.”
“I think my stick is bigger,” Iris said with a smirk. “I mean, if you want to whip it out and compare.”
“I’m good, thanks,” he tossed over his shoulder.
His good mood long gone, Gus walked past them without a word and headed for his bedroom. He took ten minutes to shower and when he returned to the living room, Walker was still on the sofa and Iris was still sitting across from him playing on her phone.
He opened his mouth, but she cut him off before he could speak.
“I’m not leaving.”
He and Walker were going to have some words. He shot a dark look at his friend, but Walker grinned and shrugged. “She belongs to you, not me.”
“I don’t belong to anyone.” Iris made a face. “But I am hungry.” She got to her feet. “You’ve got no food in here, so where we are going?” She headed for the door and disappeared before Gus found his tongue.
“Did you lose your balls along with the instructions I gave you?”
Walker got up and patted Gus on the shoulder. “Sorry bud. She was not taking no for an answer, and I figured it was easier to bring her along than worry about your mother finding out where you’ve been.” He sighed. “The girl plays dirty.”
“And then some,” Gus muttered, taking a step toward the door. “Are you coming for food?”
Walker shook his head and walked over to a black backpack. “Hell no. I’m not getting between you two. She’s all yours.” He handed Gus a large manilla envelope. “There’s everything Dozer put together.”
“Coward.”
“Smart coward is more like it.” Walker flashed a smile. “You better get going before she starts the kind of trouble you don’t want.” His friend exited the apartment, and Gus tossed the envelope onto the counter. He cursed all the way downstairs and found Iris on the porch. He walked past her, eyes on his truck.
“Isn’t Walker coming?”
“That’s a hard no.”
“He’s a pussy.”
“You tend to bring that out in men.”
“Can’t help it. I was built to annoy.” She laughed, and Gus hid a smile. As much as Iris was a pain in his ass, he loved her energy, and it was good to see her. Not an ideal circumstance, but still . . .
He decided to avoid Fire Lake altogether and drove out of town with the music so loud, conversation wasn’t possible. He needed to get his head right and figure out what the hell he was going to tell her because he knew there’d be questions. The kid had started talking in full sentences before she was two and hadn’t stopped. About thirty minutes later, Gus pulled up to a place called Rikki’s in Rockwell, a town not unlike Fire Lake.
