“One of these days, I’m going to lock them in a closet. They can sit in there until they can learn to play nicely.”
I huff. “Make sure it’s in the middle of the woods where no one has to listen.”
He chuckles, but his eyes fall on me.
I scoot my butt back in the seat, straightening a little.
“How was it last night?” His tone is soft, and I know he saw the pictures.
“Which one of them blew up your phone?”
His mouth twitches. “Damn near threw the thing in the pool. Those girls speak nonsense. Y’all have your own language no man will ever understand.”
I smile. “At least they tried to include you.”
“Talking about you in a dress, dancing, hands, and giving The Assignment the talk. . . It’s payback, and I know it.”
I let my head rest against the chair. I stare at the ceiling. “Big bunch of drama queens.”
Silence falls between us only long enough for it to become uncomfortable.
“You did ok?”
It’s that soft tone again that makes me suck in my stomach, unable to look at him, so I keep my eyes locked on the ceiling. “Yeah. It was ok. Then I saw Nichols talking to Cole’s GM, and we left. Cole is. . .frustrated or something.”
“Disbelief or because you’re allowing him to be confused?”
Suddenly, it’s clear I’m about to get lectured, and I sit up a little more. “What exactly was I supposed to tell him?” I pause. “My job is to protect him. Giving him that kind of information wouldn’t do any good, and it’s completely unrelated.”
His eyes fall to the papers and pictures scattered around his desk. “That kid is surrounded by people who see nothing more than what he can do for them.”
He’s not wrong.
“My guess is he’s rarely respected enough to decide for himself what matters and doesn’t. People make assumptions, never even considering he should have a say.”
I pull my shoulders back, sitting forward.
“You save lives, Ryder. You have nothing to be ashamed of. No one can do what you do. You don’t have to hide it. It’s courageous.”
This man has taught me everything I know, but courage and shame live on opposing sides, and the latter never fights fair.
I frown. “I’m not hiding it from him. It doesn’t have anything to do with him or this case.”
His eyebrows lift. “True, but don’t you think he also deserves to know what kind of people might be lingering in his circles?”
I scoot to the edge of my seat, ready for this conversation to be over.
“You keep an eye on all this while I’m gone.” He waves his hand over the desk, changing the subject, likely sensing my impending rage. “If you find something or if something happens, I’d better be your first call. You understand?”
I stare at him, so incredibly tired as rage begins to awaken.
“Ryder, I mean it. No risky shit.”
“Got it.” It’s all I can say as I stand, turning for the door.
“I saw the pictures.” His gentle tone stops me. “You don’t have to be afraid of him knowing.”
I can’t look at him, my body temperature rising to a thousand degrees, stirring the coffee in my stomach.
