I nodded. We both knew that I was about the last person in the town that was going to get into any kind of trouble that involved the police.
As he turned to walk away, I hurried toward my apartment. I wanted to get inside before Draco reached me. He was going to have questions that I didn’t want to answer and I didn’t want to get into an argument on the sidewalk.
I also didn’t want Officer Jackass to see us together, not when I knew Draco would kiss me hello the moment he reached me.
I’d just put my stuff down by the front door when Draco walked in behind me and I braced for the inevitable round of questions. He didn’t disappoint.
“That the same cop that was hasslin’ you yesterday?” he asked, closing and locking the door behind me.
“Yeah,” I replied. It was best to keep things as close to the truth as possible. Besides, he knew the answer before he’d asked.
“Why the fuck is he botherin’ you?” He half turned to face the door, like he was trying to decide whether or not to go back outside.
“I think he was just making the rounds,” I said, trying to keep my voice even as I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Did you come here to talk about Officer Asshole or—”
“Officer Asshole?” he asked, his lips twitching.
“It’s actually Officer Park,” I replied with a shrug. “But Asshole suits him better, I think.”
“You need to tell me if he comes around again,” Draco said, his body relaxing a fraction.
“He won’t,” I assured him. “Why would he? It’s not like I’m selling drugs from the coffee shop or something.”
“Jesus,” he said with a laugh. “Don’t even joke about that shit.”
“You worry too much.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve seen the way people get railroaded by the cops.” He shook his head. “Better to just steer clear of the fuckers.”
“I will.”
“I don’t get why he’s messin’ with—”
His words cut off as I leaned up on my toes and kissed the side of his neck to distract him.
I wasn’t proud of myself, but it worked.
“You shoulda let me help you carry the stuff inside,” he said as he gripped my ass and hoisted me up to wrap my legs around his waist.
“I wasn’t sure when you’d get here,” I replied as he walked to the couch and sat down. “I figured you’d be at your parents’ house for a while.”
“Thankfully, not long,” he said shortly.
“You want to talk about it?” I asked, running my fingers through his hair. He kept it cut short on the sides, but the top was getting pretty long. When he’d first gotten home, his hair had been shaved. I was glad he was letting it grow—he looked more like himself now.
“Not really,” he said with a sigh. “They’re pissed that Curt and I got into it, and pissed at the timing, and pissed that I wouldn’t explain myself, and pissed that I wasn’t gonna let it go. You get the idea.”
“You shouldn’t fight with him anymore,” I said, leaning back to sit on his knees.
Draco huffed. “You’re seriously sayin’ that shit to me?”
“He’s your brother,” I replied, running my fingers softly across the scratch on his jaw. “You’re a matching set.”
“He’s a fuckin’ cunt and he’s lucky I didn’t beat him worse than I did.”
“Draco,” I scolded.
“Kara,” he replied in the same tone. “He had one fuckin’ job while I was inside, and he fuckin’ lied and said he was doin’ it, that he was lookin’ out for you—and we both know he wasn’t.”
“It wasn’t his responsibility.”
“The hell it wasn’t,” Draco snapped. His hands tightened on my thighs. “I asked one thing from that motherfucker. One thing.”
“Well, you can’t blame him,” I said in exasperation. “He didn’t want anything to do with me, how the hell was he supposed to look after me? If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have gotten into trouble in the first place. He and your mom knew that, and they made it clear.” I scoffed. “It’s not like I was going to let him look after anything.”
“What?” Draco asked, his voice low. “What did you just say?”
I froze.
“What?” I asked, confused about his reaction.
“How exactly did he and my mom make that clear to you?” he asked, watching me closely.
I didn’t reply. When he said he’d gotten into a fight with Curtis, I’d assumed that he knew everything that had happened, at least with his family. If Curtis hadn’t told him, then why had they fought?
“Why did you and Curtis fight?” I asked slowly.
“Answer me.”
“You first,” I said, dropping my hands to my lap.
“We fought because the piece of shit didn’t look after you while I was away,” he replied. “Now answer the question.”
“It was no big deal,” I said, gesturing lamely. “I just knew after you went in that they didn’t want me hanging around. It was okay. I understood.”