He gurgles, but no words are forthcoming.
“Noelle is off-limits. You stay away”—I press my blade to his belly until I feel a pop of skin—“I won’t have to kill you. Deal?” He nods vigorously.
Dropping him to the ground, he holds his side as I wipe his blood off on his sweater. “I’ll be seeing you, Cory.” Exiting the same way I came, I leave the flimsy slat of wood ajar. I hear the door slam shut as I walk down the stairs, passing the hooker I presume he was meeting on my way.
I already anticipate that as soon as Noelle finds out what I’ve done here today, she’ll be pissed. She’ll likely try to break things off with me.I know, projecting much?And with every advance I make, she’ll only try and push me further away.
That’s why I intend to occupy so much of her time that she’ll forget all about the asshole and be thankful that she's learned about his transgressions. Though, I don’t imagine that’s how it'll go down. From all that I’ve witnessed, Noelle is headstrong and independent. She’s going to be mad as hell.
Peeling out of the parking lot, I head back to The Snug, contemplating the entire way there about what the hell we’re going to do now that her cousin is tagging along. I’d planned on taking her somewhere romantic for dinner, but now I have no clue. I don’t have any experience with kids.
Hitting the Bluetooth button, I call someone who might know.
“Hi, Holden,” my sister Aria’s enthusiastic voice chirps. Over the last six months, she’s turned into an entirely new woman. Seven and Severo are to thank for that.
“Hey, kid, listen. I need some help.” I know she’ll haze me about this later.
“What’s up?” I can tell I’ve got her full attention. I don’t ask for help often.
Blowing out a breath as I stop at a red light, only minutes from my destination, I give her a quick run-down. “I met a girl. She has a cousin that is coming on a date with us.”
“What...? Why?” I can almost see her eyebrows scrunching up. “Also...you met a girl!”
“He’s young, I gather. I sort of didn’t give her a choice about the date, and she had an obligation to pick him up from school.”
“Can’t you just take him homethentake her out?”
And that’s why she’s the smart one.“Yeah. I’ll do that instead.” I’m going to pay for this later.
“Great. Text me a picture and all the details about her when you get the chance. I want to know everything!” This demand doesn’t shock me.
“Sure, look, I’ve got to go; I’m almost there.”
“Have fun!” she sings before hanging up.
Aria is a hell of a lot younger than me, but we’ve always been close. As kids, I used to protect her. As a teenager, I failed her. She was nearly burned alive and still suffers with the scars from that every day of her life. She's never held that against me, and for that, I’m immensely grateful.
The incident with Aria is also part of the reason I do what I do. I bring closure to families that were failed by the legal system. I give them what no one else can.
Justice.
Chapter2
Noelle
Three on the dot and leaning against his SUV as I exit The Snug is my mystery man. I thought about leaving early or ducking out back to avoid whatever this is, but he’ll only return tomorrow, and I’ll have to face the awkwardness then, anyhow. This way, we can have some weird, failed date and call it a day. Maybe he’ll stop coming by.
“You came back,” I point out as he watches me, his midnight gaze as intense as ever.
“I told you I’d be here.”
“You did.” I don’t know what else to say.
Taking the bag from my hand, he opens the back door and places it on the seat. “You thought I wouldn’t show?” His voice is like a punch to the gut. It’s smooth like fine wine and husky like he smokes, but I don’t think he does.
“Honestly?” He nods. “No.”
He frowns as he holds open the door for me to enter his vehicle. I’m still torn about whether I want to do this. He’s mysterious, handsome, sweet, and an excellent tipper, but he’s also the epitome of tall, dark, and dangerous.