“Where’s your other half?” I ask.
He looks up from his phone and frowns. “Who? Dodger?”
“Yeah,” I confirm. Dodger is the lead singer for their band, IndieCent Vows. He’s also Judge’s best friend and shadow, the same way Roman usually is with me and my brothers. At least, until recently. “I haven’t seen him in a while,” I clarify.
“Dodge had a family wedding, then got held up.”
“Held up?”
Judge smiles as one of Violet’s coworkers sets down our orders in front of us. I bet Violet got in trouble with her manager for playing favorites and is stuck at the register. It wouldn’t surprise me. Once we’re alone again, Judge explains, “Not all of us are tied to Titas like I am.”
“What’s that about anyway?” I ask. I don’t know why I say it. Why I open the door I’ve kept firmly closed since the moment he showed up in Harden Heights again. Guess the exhaustion has finally caught up to me.
His brows raise as he blows on his hot coffee. “You really wanna know?”
“Yeah, why not?” I stretch out my legs beneath the table and take a sip of my latte. “Since you won’t leave me alone, we might as well play nice, right?”
The guy looks less than convinced. Then again, I can’t blame him. He peers over at the front of the shop. “Your girl tell you this?” he asks. “That we should play nice?”
I follow his gaze, finding Violet smiling at another customer. Fuck, she’s pretty. I’ve missed her. She’s also the only reason I’ve managed to crawl out of bed all week. Even now, with shit hitting the fan and the impending fight that could potentially screw over everyone I care about, I can’t help but wonder how I got so lucky to call her mine.
“She’s nice,” Judge murmurs, drawing my attention back to him. “And to be clear, I thought sobeforeI knew who she was.”
I analyze him. “You really didn’t know when you came in for a cup of coffee?” I challenge.
“That the infamous Violet Reeves works here?” He scoffs. “No, no, I didn’t know.”
“Infamous, huh?”
He quirks his brow. “To be fair, he bitched more about you than he did your girlfriend.”
I take another hit of caffeine. “What’d he say?”
“How you’re stubborn as ever.” He sighs. “Wonder where you get it from?”
I smirk. “Yeah, no shit.”
Sobering, he looks down at his cup and licks his lips. “I’m sorry he’s a shitty father.”
The apology catches me more off guard than when I saw him chatting with Violet minutes ago.
Damn.
I’ve always known he felt that way about his big brother, but he’s never called Titas out like this. So bluntly and matter-of-fact. It makes me wonder what life would’ve been like if he was around more during my childhood. If he would’ve come to our defense. If he would’ve stood up for us. Unsure what to say, I mutter, “Thanks.”
“Yeah.” He brings the cup to his mouth and drinks some as if hoping the coffee will wash away the vulnerability from our conversation, too. “So, speaking of playing nice,” he continues. “How are you?”
“Fine.”
“I mean really, Jagger.”
Really? He wants to know how Ireallyam? Let’s see, where to start. Tired. I’ve been sleeping like shit. A little horny, since I can still taste Violet’s coffee on my tongue. Pissed off, thanks to the whole blackmail thing. And scared. I don’t want to makea bad decision, not when it can affect the rest of my family. So, how am I? I have no damn clue.
“Jag?” Judge prods.
“Tired,” I admit. “This semester is kicking my ass.”
“That all, huh?” He gives my split knuckles grasping my coffee a pointed look, but I don’t bother slipping my hands under the table. It’s no use. He’s already seen them. And even if he hadn’t, he knows I like to train. He knows the only thing grounding me half the time is being in a gym. “Can I ask you something?” he says.
