Page 80 of Inked Desires

Message received. He needs space. I back off.

It must be hell not knowing why you flinch at certain things. Why your own body doesn’t feel safe.

The door swings open, and a cascade of black hair appears in the doorway. He slams the door shut behind him. His smile fades the second he sees Andrew at the desk.

“Hey,” Andrew says with a polite, somewhat forced smile.

“What the hell is going on here?” Kiran growls.

Perfect. This guyalwaysknows how to make an entrance—and always at the worst time.

“What isthis?” he demands.

I step aside.

“Andrew, this is a friend of mine. Kiran Calascione.”

Andrew offers him a more genuine smile and nods in greeting. I turn to Kiran.

“Kiran, you already know Andrew.”

“Oh, do I?” Andrew asks, confused.

“Sort of.”

Kiran’s completely thrown off. I grab his shoulder and steer him into the kitchen.

“What’s he doing here?” he finally blurts out.

“He showed up a few days ago. Out of nowhere,” I reply, letting him go as I pour us two mugs of coffee.

“He remembered?”

I hand him the mug, which he grabs immediately, and nod for him to sit.

“No. He discovered Google. The FBI monkey told him he hid out here once. The tattoo on his neck and my website led him straight to me.”

“Figures. What Idon’tget is why he’s sitting behind your damn desk.”

I don’t get it either. But I can’t tell him the real reason. He’ll launch into one of his lectures.

“He needed a job,” I say flatly.

Kiran rolls his eyes and takes a sip of coffee.

“And Benton? He’s not a threat anymore?”

“Everything’s the same,” I mutter.

“And you’re still letting him stay here. Knew it. Iknewyou wouldn’t be able to keep your distance,” he laughs bitterly.“And honestly? It was dumb to hand him over to the FBI in the first place. They’ve already proven they can’t protect him.Wecan.”

“You don’t know that. No one knows what that bastard’s planning. I have to be more careful than ever. Him being here just makes it worse.”

He tilts his head and studies me for a beat, then sighs in resignation.

“You’re such a fucking masochist. I know you. You’ll try to keep him at arm’s length—and it’ll blow up in your face.”

“We’ll see.”