Page 17 of Nails

“I’m fine, really.I just wasn’t expecting to get stuck like that,” Riley assured her, though Nails caught the subtle wince as she lowered herself onto the couch.He wondered if she had hurt herself.

His mom tsked, appearing upset.“I should’ve never let you go up there in the first place, especially since you’re still recovering from your incident last week.”

Nails folded his arms across his chest, listening and observing the interaction between Riley and his mom.It was clear that Riley and his mom had developed a close bond.He appreciated that someone had been looking out for his mom.However, it also allowed him to check out his mom’s next-door neighbor.

She was on the taller side, standing at around five-nine or five-ten.She had long dark hair, an athletic build, and blue eyes that were just the right mix of sharp and playful.Not to mention her sarcasm.She looked like the kind of woman who could hold her own in any situation.

Snow cleared his throat beside him.

“What?”Nails asked, wondering what was wrong with his friend.

“You’re staring,” Snow smirked.

Nails frowned, shifting his stance.“No, I’m not.”

“Oh, you definitely are,” Snow shot back, clearly amused.“I get it, man.She’s hot.But try to be a little less obvious.”

Before Nails could respond, his mom clapped her hands together, turning her attention to them.

“Oh!Where are my manners?”she said.“Riley, this is my son, Carson.And the one next to him is his friend Snow.”

Riley stood and extended her hand.“Nice to meet you both, officially.”

Nails took her hand in his, expecting a normal handshake.What he didn’t expect was the jolt of electricity that shot through him the second their skin touched.It was subtle, but enough to make his chest tighten.

Riley must have felt something, too, because her eyes flickered up to his before she quickly let go.

What the hell was that?

He barely had time to process it before his mom was rambling on about something else, but all he could think about was how he never reacted like that to a woman, and how it scared the hell out of him.

Riley was so embarrassed that she wanted to crawl under a rock.This was officially themost humiliating moment of her life.

Not only had she gotten stuck in a damn attic window like some rookie burglar, but she had done so in front of Ms.Torres’ insanely attractive son and his friend.

And what was up with all her sarcastic comments?Sure, she was known to be a little sarcastic around her friends and colleagues.But she usually wasn’t like that around strangers.At least not vocally.

Riley resisted the urge to groan as she sat on the couch, feeling flustered in a way she neverhad.She had been around plenty of good-looking men before, especially working in law enforcement.But something about Carson was different.

She couldn’t deny there was an instant attraction.He was very handsome in a rugged way, and that sexy smirk he did—lord, heaven help her.

No.Nope.She wasn’t going there.

She focused on not looking at him, but of course, that was impossible because he was standing right across the room with his arms folded across his chest.He was looking at her as if he had a million questions.

“Are you sure that you’re okay?”Ms.Torres asked her.

She forced a casual shrug.“Yeah.I’m good,” she said, even though her chest did ache a little and, well, her ego was bruised.

More than anything, she just wanted to go home, crack open a beer, and forget that she had just been fished out of a window by the hottest man she’d ever seen.

She turned to Ms.Torres.“I should probably head back to my house.That way, you can spend time with your son and his friend.”

Ms.Torres smiled warmly and shook her head.“Nonsense, dear.You should stay for dinner.In fact, I insist.”

Riley hesitated.It was tempting because Ms.Torres was a fantastic cook.But she wasn’t sure she could sit through an entire meal with Carson watching her like he was trying to figure her out.

She forced a smile.“I appreciate the offer, but I have a few things I need to take care of at home, especially since I’ll be going back to work on Monday.”