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He glowers at me. “Trust me, I’m in the right fucking profession.”
I don’t know why every time I talk to Magnum lately, we end up arguing like enemies. It feels like we’re on two separate sides even though he keeps telling me I can trust him. If that’s the case, he can answer a few questions for me, can’t he? “How’d you get into the Crew? Oscar told me you went to school in the Heights. I’m assuming that’s where it started.”
Magnum settles back in the seat. Even though he’s practically my valet with some bodyguarding duties, he’s a badass one. His all black outfit with arm muscles poking out from underneath his sleeves would tell anyone not to fuck with him. The copper scruff adds to his aura of badassery. “I’ve been running with the Crew since school, yeah. I’m a lifer. What can I say?”
His bored tone aggravates me. “Can we stop playing games? Why haven’t you told Johnny about Brawler and Oscar?”
Magnum hits the breaks and swerves the car to the side of the road. Several people skitter out of the way as one tire runs up onto the sidewalk and then thunks back down. He shifts in his seat, glaring at me. “Don’t say that out loud again. Don’t insinuate it. Don’t even think about it when you’re in Rocket’s presence. You understand?”
“Do I look dumb to you?”
His nostrils flare, and his brows pull together.
“You didn’t answer my question. I want to know why.”
“Saying I want to be your friend isn’t enough? Because that’s all I’ve got. Maybe I recognize myself in you. Yeah? Maybe I see more than you want me to.”
My heart hammers, knocking against my chest. I don’t want anyone seeing me.
Magnum’s lips thin as he takes me in. “Remember that we both have shit on each other, Kyla. I know you fucked Brawler.”
“And I know you tried to get me out.”
“Tit for tat. When two people share secrets, that makes them friends.”
“That’s…fucked up.”
“That’s how it is here.”
He doesn’t have to tell me twice. I already know.
I sit back in the seat while Magnum pulls the car back onto the road. Good thing all the windows are dimmed, and no one can see in. I’m heeding Magnum’s warning on that. Spies are all over the Heights, and they would love to endear themselves to the Crew by turning in a backstabber.
Magnum pulls into a parking spot in the garage. It’s a different one than he usually uses. The shadows in this area stretch through the whole corner. He sighs as he leans back in the seat. “I really am trying to be a friend to you. I know it’s fucking hard because of where we are. I understand that things are usually never cut and dry. Johnny tasked me with keeping you safe, and that’s what I’m going to do. Even if it is in a way he wouldn’t approve of.”
“You seemed shocked before…when you asked if I actually liked him.”
He scratches the short, stubby hairs on his face. “I didn’t see the connection at first, but I get it now.”
My phone rings. I glance toward it and then back at Magnum’s face. He’s closed off again, looking alert and ready to make a decision at a moment’s notice. I reach inside my bag and pull it out. It’s Johnny. I bite my lip. Ever since I had the revelation about how he was going to take the news about his father being killed, guilt has been tearing at me. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he says. “Just making sure you didn’t forget I wanted to see you tonight.”
“I’m actually right downstairs about to come up.”
“Excellent,” he says, voice suave as usual. “Get your sexy ass up here.”
I end the call and push the door open when Magnum puts his hand on my thigh. “Be careful.”
He squeezes and lets go, and I glance back as I get out of the car, but he’s already face forward, the bodyguard mask down over his face.
I take the elevator alone this time. When it pings on their floor, the doors open to reveal a stunning Johnny. A smirk quirks his lips, and his posture is savagely confident, as if he knows he looks good. He’s wearing a pair of khakis and a button-down shirt, the top four or five buttons undone.
His presence about knocks me over, and I have the sudden need to shower. Brawler’s scent is all over me. His touch. His words, and here I stand in front of someone who wants to own me. Hell, he thinks he already does. He may have been able to capture a part of my heart, but he doesn’t have it all. Not completely.
“Hey,” I say, trying to plaster on an innocuous smile.
“There she is,” he says, stepping forward. He reaches for my hand to bring it to his lips, kissing me on the knuckles.