“Get in,” he snapped. “We’re going home.”
I got in the car.
* * *
Jinx
The moment Laikyn came inside, I knewsomething happened.
I could only assume it wasn’t good since Rule didn’t come in with her. And since he didn’t text to let me know of a job, I had to assume this was one of those instances when he was running away. That was something he was good at, too. Even Waldo was used to it, giving the sound only a cursory glance before huffing a sigh and flopping back onto the ground.
Since there wasn’t a television in the house, I was sitting on the back porch when I saw Laikyn emerge from her room a short time later. She’d changed out of her jeans into a pair of loose pajama pants and a long-sleeve T-shirt that looked about three sizes too big. Strangely enough, she was sexy as fuck, and I found myself shaking my head at the nonsense that was brewing in my brain.
I had no business thinking Laikyn was sexy.
“Oh, hey,” she said, her expression a mixture of sadness and surprise as she carried a glass of water outside.
Waldo lifted his head from his spot in front of the couch. His gaze skimmed her before he flopped back down to continue snoozing.
I patted the cushion beside me, urging Laikyn to sit. The fact she opted to sit on the very spot I patted wasn’t quite what I had in mind, but I refused to acknowledge that it meant anything.
“What are you watching?”
I tapped the button on the remote to show her the menu.
“The Breakfast Club?” She set her glass down, then smiled at me. “Very interesting, Jinx. I didn’t take you for a Molly Ringwald fan.”
I shook my head.
“Ally Sheedy?”
I shook my head again.
“Judd Nelson?”
I nodded, then grinned.
“Me, too.” Laikyn leaned back, her shoulder resting against my side. “Not so much in anything else.” She laughed softly. “Except maybe,Fandango.”
The girl wasn’t born until 2001, sixteen years after both movies were made. Then again, her mother was an actress, so movies could be her thing. Nothing in the information I’d unearthed revealed as much, so it was nice to learn something about her that I didn’t already know.
While she stared at the television, I grabbed my phone from where it sat on the armrest and typed a message using only one hand, then hit send.
“Are you talking to me, Jinx?” Laikyn asked when her cell phone chimed.
I typed YES, then hit send.
Her phone chimed before she had a chance to look at the first message, and she laughed again.
I liked the sound of her laugh. Far more than I should.
“How was your date?” she read from her phone screen. “Great. Right up until I kissed Rule, and he rejected me. Then it pretty much sucked. Until he kissed me. But that didn’t happen untilafterhe chased me down the beach because I ran away with my tail between my legs. That was actually pretty great, too. The kiss part, I mean. Not the running. Then he dumped me here and ran away.”
Laikyn leaned into me, resting her head on my shoulder. “Tell me something, Jinx. Am I not his type?”
That was one of those double-edged questions. Rule was adamant about keeping her at arm’s length for her own good, so anything I told her would be to keep his cover. And more than likely a lie. But if I didn’t tell her he was interested, she would be hurt. More than she appeared to be already.
“I’m sorry,” she said before I could come up with a way to respond. “Ignore me. It’s not your problem. I don’t mean to drag you into it.”
