Page 73 of Asking for Trouble

She rolled those blueberry eyes. “It’s like ten steps from the entrance.”

“Eugene’ll walk you to your car,” I repeated, all trace’a amusement gone. “Need you safe. You don’t wanna leave the Raider’s house, fuck, I hate it, but I respect you’re decision. Doesn’t mean I want you takin’ unnecessary risks.”

“It won’t be for long,” she promised, every inch’a her softenin’ as she leaned into me. “I-I found something this morning that I think should help.”

“Whaddya mean ‘found somethin’’?” I demanded. “Blue, do not put yourself in danger snoopin’ around! We got this handled.”

“I’ll do what I can,” she decreed like a queen ’fore her court.

Her independence and sass shouldn’t been such a turn-on when I was tryin’ to keep her safe, but it was.

“What’d you find?”

“I told Lion about it,” she said, then winced at my glower. “I may have been feeding him intel when I found it.”

“Blue,” I growled, torn between rage and pride as my brave girl. “Fuckin’ stop that. I refuse to be phoned from the hospital or the cops sayin’ you’ve been hurt.”

Or killed.

She pursed her lips, then sighed. “Okay, okay. I’ll cool it on the detective front, but only because I think Lion has it covered. Apparently, Otto’s agreed to testify against Rooster in the jewelry theft case for a reduced sentence. The law moves slow, but it should mean they’ll get him eventually, right?”

The law could fuck itself.

We’d learned the hard way that cops fell down on the job or were too corrupt to do it in the fuckin’ first place. The only way I’d rest happy was if I saw Rooster put in the ground my-fuckin’-self.

“Relax,” she said softer, steppin’ close to place a hand on my hip. “I’ll be careful, I promise. Everything is going to be fine in the end.”

“You believe that?” I had to ask ’cause there was always a hesitancy in her, a thin barrier that was still erected between her heart and mine.

Like she didn’t believe everythin’ would be okay.

Like I was a dream she was livin’ only for a short time.

I refused to let that be the case.

“Yeah,” she whispered, tippin’ her head back so that blue hair cascaded in a waterfall shimmer and her vivid cobalt eyes caught the bar lights and burned neon. “You make me believe.”

I stamped a firm kiss on her lips ’cause the Raiders were gone, and I didn’t give a fuck. I needed her to know how much I fuckin’ cared about her. How much she’d rocked my goddamn world.

When I pulled back, she was blushin’ prettily.

“Keep your phone near tonight,” I whispered. “I’m thinkin’ I’ll need a little stress relief.”

I waggled my brows at her and let her laughter rain down on me.

“Let’s go, Romeo,” Wrath said, clampin’ a hand over my shoulder to pull me back toward the hallway.

I tipped my chin up at my woman before lettin’ Wrath spin me forward. I slung an arm around the taller man and sighed.

“I’m in love,” I told him. “Head, heart, and dick. The trifecta.”

He was startled into snortin’ and rubbin’ a fist into my hair, somethin’ he’d learned from Z that annoyed the shit outta me.

I was shovin’ him with a sharp laugh when we emerged through the exit door out back and rammed into the back’a Bat and Axe-Man.

“What the fu––” I started, and then the shot went off.

BLUE