My dad looked over at me and tipped his beer in my direction. “That was kind of poetic. Did you lose your balls when you moved to Kilgore?”
I would’ve tossed the pillow from behind Royal had I not worried I’d wake her up by taking it.
Dinner was in an hour—we’d ordered pizza—but for now, there was no reason she couldn’t sleep. Plus, I enjoyed having her close.
I loved the way she felt cuddled up against me.
“Yes,” I said. “As a matter of fact, that’s something you have to give up to get on the police force there in Kilgore.”
Dad grinned and tipped back the rest of his beer, draining it before standing and saying, “Anyone else want another one?”
I shook my head, then glanced down at the woman that was closely becoming a big piece of my heart.
“Not yet,” I said.
And I wasn’t sure if I was talking to my father about the beer, or myself about the fact that I wanted Royal to stay as mine. Forever.Chapter 18
Everyone’s brave until they figure out the roach has wings.
-Fact of Life
Royal
I fell in love with his parents.
I fell in love with them almost the same instant that I fell in love with their son.
I wasn’t sure how it happened.
One second, I was loading our stuff up to leave, and the next Channing was giving me a big hug and saying that she couldn’t wait to see me again.
Seconds after that, Loki was wrapping me up in his arms and saying damn near the same thing.
And in that second, longing hit me.
I wanted this.
I wanted what Justice brought to the table.
What sucked was that I had a way of ruining damn near everything.
What sucked even more was that, over the last two days, I’d not only realized what I was missing, but I realized what I would lose.
And at that point, I wasn’t just thinking about his parents.
I was thinking about Justice.
I’d brought trouble to his front door by asking around about Marcus.
Sure, Justice had played his own hand and had found himself involved with Marcus way before I’d even known he was in the picture.
However, he hadn’t blown his cover until I’d shown my hand.
Because of this, in typical Royal fashion, I’d put not only myself in danger, but the man that I would eventually fall in love with, too.
“You’re being awfully quiet over there,” Justice said as he drove.
I smiled sadly.
“I was thinking about how your family was way cooler than mine,” I admitted. “I can count on one hand how many times I’ve done anything together as a family.” I paused. “Or how many times I’ve had breakfast made for me.”
He frowned.
“Nobody’s ever made you breakfast?” he asked.
I shook my head.
“I stayed at a friend’s house once,” I told him, remembering a particularly good childhood memory. “Her mom made breakfast. It was scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. But that childhood memory is the single best memory I have of a morning. Until your mom.”
He frowned and held out his hand, resting it palm up against the center console.
I placed my hand gently into his.
“I know that we haven’t been seeing each other long,” he said. “And we haven’t really talked about what we are to each other.” He paused. “But, if you’ll let me, I’ll do my level best to make you breakfast as often as I can for the foreseeable future.”
I felt my throat close up.
I so wanted to take him up on that offer but I couldn’t.
“Justice.” I took a deep breath. “When we get back…I’m leaving.”
I was running out of money, to boot. I needed to let my apartment go.
And with my brother not in the picture, and Justice needing to be watched out for…there was nothing left.
Justice’s hand twitched, and his hands squeezed down onto mine rather tightly before he said, “Excuse me?”
I swallowed hard.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to be seen together anymore.” I paused. “I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”
And what did he do next in the face of my sacrifice?
He laughed.
And it wasn’t a small laugh, either.
It was a big, boisterous laugh that clearly said he thought I was joking.
I wasn’t.
“I’m going to use some of my trust fund,” I continued as if he wasn’t still laughing at me. “And I’m going to disappear for a while.” I swallowed hard. “I don’t think I could face your parents if something happened to you because of me.”
Justice stopped laughing.
But he surprised me again by reaching forward and pressing a button on the touch screen console between us. Seconds later, there was the sound of a ringing phone in my ear.
Three rings later, his father answers.
“Yo,” Loki said, sounding distracted.
“Dad,” Justice said. “So Royal and I just had a discussion about her leaving to protect me.”
There was a long pause as Loki digested this bit of news. Or, maybe, he was just busy doing whatever was distracting him.