She lights up at my question, and it makes my chest tighten. I like seeing her smile and wouldn’t mind making her do that more often. “Do you like them? They’re limited-edition Balenciaga. They cost a couple thousand, easily.”
“That’s great, butwheredid you get them?”
Shrugging, she looks at me like I’m asking the dumbest question ever. “I don’t know. They were a gift.”
“From whom?”
“One of my many fans.”
“Great.” I pick her up and set her back down on the seat, pulling off each shoe and tossing it on the seat behind her.
“What are you doing?”
“Your shoes are going on a joy ride. If everything checks out, you’ll get them back in the morning.”
“How am I supposed to walk without my shoes?”
I lift her in my arms and carry her back to our truck, feeling both Lee’s and Case’s eyes on us as I pass them. Setting her in the backseat, I reach across and snap her seatbelt in place, inhaling her sweet coconut scent. “Now be a good and cooperative little client, and we’ll figure out a reward later.”
Her eyes flash wide as I swing the door closed, drowning out any complaints. Then I shout at my partners. “We ready?”
Case walks to the driver’s side, keys in hand. “See you in a couple of hours, man.”
Lee nods, removing his gun from his back and holstering it under his shoulder. “Have fun.”
* * *
Case takes the scenic route while I spend half my time looking for our tail and the other half fielding a million questions from our brat—uh, client.
“That place we went to earlier. Do you all live there? Like full-time?” She’s kneeling on the floor with her face cradled in her hands as she lays over the center console, which means her ass is in the air to an empty backseat. I wish I was in the backseat right now. It would take everything within me not to have my face buried in her ass.
I take another deep breath. “Yeah, that’s our place.”
“Together?”
“Yes.”
“Are you straight?” Her head is swiveling back and forth, gauging both of our reactions, which we keep placid. “I mean, no shade if you’re not. My best friend is gay, but I’m trying to imagine how girlfriends and three guys living together works? I mean, it’s not like you are college guys sharing a frat house.”
“Yes, we’re straight, and it’s not really a problem for us.”
“Why not?”
I glance at Case, who is shaking his head so slowly, it’s almost imperceptible to anyone who doesn’t know him like I do. This would be a great time to tell her all about our lifestyle and give her brain a few days to simmer on it. She’d either be very interested or completely disgusted. Either way, we’d know without having to make a move on her.
Case opens his mouth to speak before I do. “Do you have any dietary restrictions, Ms. Krushner?”
“Call me Epi. Everybody else does.”
“Except for your father. He calls you Pip, right?”
That seems to rip the chattiness right out of her. She pushes off the center console and sits back in her chair. “Pip is what my mother called me. My father rarely calls me, period.”
“Your mother died when you were twelve, right? It must’ve been hard to be a teenager without your mother around to mentor you.”
She crosses her arms over her chest and stares out the side window. “Have you guys heard from the other team about my sister?”
Classic avoidance as a result of unresolved traumas from a young age.