Shit. Where had she gotten that impression? It wasn’t the time to replay their fight in his head now. He rolled out Jimmy’s desk chair and sat, then pulled her down into his lap. “Fuck no. Never that. I’m sorry it came across that way.” He hugged her, but he could sense she still wasn’t happy.
“You’re not my daddy, Fox. I’m still going to steal cars with or without your involvement. I need the money, and I love doing it. If I told you it was dangerous, you’d blow me off and tell me to mind my own fucking business.”
He tried to stay calm. Why did she have to be so damn stubborn?
“This isn’t about being controlling, Addison. It’s about very real danger from a man who doesn’t make threats lightly. I know you feel like you’re tough, but you can’t fight off a bunch of his thugs if you get jumped. They might seriously hurt you
even if they just mean to scare you. You’re so small . . .” Did she think she was invincible? One regular-sized guy could put her in the hospital, let alone a group of Marcel’s goons. Even if she was carrying mace and knew self-defense it wouldn’t make him feel any better, and he didn’t get the impression she was secretly a black belt in karate.
She shrugged. “I need money and my other job is never going to give me that kind of cash. It’s either this or I start stripping. The problem is, I’m lazy and like pizza.”
A laugh burst from his lips. Crazy girl. He sighed and shook his head. Of course she didn’t have to listen to him, but he also didn’t want to let her put herself at risk. Maybe she’d settle for a compromise.
“For now, the best I can do is let you help us plan things and work on gadgets. You’ll get a cut, but I don’t want you out on jobs. Not until Marcel chills the fuck out. In a few weeks this should blow over, but for now it’s too dangerous.”
“This honestly isn’t because you think my work is shit?”
“Oh, for fucksakes, Addison. You’ve got a gift for this. I just don’t want to see you get hurt. There are extenuating circumstances right now.”
The eye roll that won was pretty much expected, but she relaxed against him. “Fine. But I won’t be happy with this arrangement forever. Just until you get Marcel off your back.”
“Okay.”
“And give me back my panties, you bastard,” she whispered harshly, holding out an expectant hand. “I’m not going out there commando.”
He chuckled, having forgotten they were in his back pocket.
“But I wanted to go hang them from my rearview mirror. I’m sure the guys would keep you company while I go out to do that.”
Addison gave him what she probably considered a death glare, but was more disgruntled kitten frowning. “Give them to me now, or else.”
“Or else what?” He smirked at her, just to piss her off.
Her glare turned slightly more sinister and he had to bite back a laugh as he handed them over. So fucking adorable.
***
“You’ve got the heat too low.”
Fox stared at the grill, wondering why his father thought so. The heat was perfectly fine. The old man probably just liked to hear himself talk. One of the things he didn’t miss about being with family was his father armchair-coaching when he was grilling, but it looked like that wasn’t going to change at his own place. Hopefully the two-day visit wouldn’t feel like two weeks.
No support was forthcoming from Atlas or Luke, who were in the pool and probably hadn’t heard anything. If they had, they’d be steering his father away from the steaks before he made Fox overcook everything.
“What the fuck, Steve?” his uncle Scott immediately grumbled, then sipped his beer. “Leave the kid alone. You burn the shit out of everything, and you know it. Fox knows what he’s doing.”
Typical. If there was a disagreement to be had, his father and the old man’s brother would find it. They were best friends but in an annoying, constantly bickering way.
There was no wonder they’d both divorced young and stayed single. There was no room in their symbiotic relationship for other people. It also meant he and Atlas had been raised with Luke by two hardened criminals for fathers. His uncle also approved of him more than his father ever had.
Having at least one mother in the house would have made for a very different childhood than the one they’d had, but neither of their moms had stuck around. At least Luke’s little sister Macy’s mother had insisted on visitation. But even that was hard since their profession moved them around so much. It wasn’t safe to stay in the same area long. They’d seen a lot of the world, yes, but sometimes he wondered if the lack of stability had affected him somehow.
Macy sighed and pushed back her dark ringlets without bothering to look up from the textbook she was reading. It had gotten to the point where she was almost the older men’s handler, since they were getting grumpier as they aged and she was home alone with them now. As soon as she finished pre-med, she was talking about going away for med school. How their dads would manage on their own none of them knew, but it wasn’t fair to trap Macy with them forever.
Actually, he’d probably worry more about his father and his uncle than about Macy, who’d turned out pretty tough, despite the fact that they’d been overprotective of her growing up.
“So this Marcel character has the corner on the market for the whole fucking town?” Uncle Scott asked. “Like Brian back in New York?”
Luke and Atlas padded over, toweling off, likely lured by the aroma of grilled meat.