Page 19 of Nails

His mom took a slow sip of her iced tea.She seemed to be enjoying herself far too much.“Yes, Riley’s been helping me.She’s been an absolute godsend, actually.Checking in on me, picking up groceries, mowing the lawn—”

“She mows the lawn?”Nails asked, raising one of his eyebrows.

His mom nodded.“And she fixes things around the house, too.She’s got more handyman skills than most men I know.”

Nails had to admit that it was impressive.A woman who could handle power tools and fix things?Yeah, he liked that.He then remembered a comment his mom had made earlier when she was talking to Riley.

“I heard you say something to her about her recovering from an incident last week.Was she hurt?”

The smile on his mom’s face faded, and she looked visibly upset by his question.

“She was injured on the job last week.”

It was a vague answer, so Nails pressed for more.

“What does she do?”

His mom hesitated a moment before answering.

“She works in law enforcement.She was helping with a situation and was shot in her vest.”

Nails’ brain stalled for a second as he processed his mom’s words.Law enforcement.Shot in the vest.The woman who’d been dangling out of an attic window a few hours ago and cracking jokes had been shot.A knot tightened in his chest.He hadn’t pegged her as a cop.

He glanced at Snow, who looked surprised as well.He turned back to his mom.

“She was shot?”he repeated.

His mom nodded.“She’s been on leave for the past week.”

“And she was up on the roof?”he asked, looking shocked.

She sighed.“Yes.If you knew Riley, you would understand that it would take a lot more than a bullet to the vest to put that girl out of commission.”She laughed lightly.“Hell, the day she was shot, she showed up at my door that evening with two bags of groceries.”

Nails sat back in his chair.He didn’t say anything at first.Who got shot and would still think about dropping off groceries for their neighbor?That wasn’t just someone acting tough.That was pure selflessness.What she did, and then today, getting up on the roof, showed character—the kind that ran deep.She seemed like the kind of person who took care of others, even when she was the one who needed care.And damn if that didn’t make her ten times more intriguing.

“Before you get any ideas,” his mom continued, fixing him with a pointed stare, “I know exactly the kind of man you are, Carson, and I don’t want you doing anything that’ll jeopardize my friendship with Riley.”

Nails groaned.“Mom—”

“No, don’t‘Mom’me,” she interrupted.“I know you.You see a pretty face, turn on the charm, and next thing you know, someone’s waking up wondering how the hell they got into your bed.”

Snow was practically shaking with silent laughter at this point.

Nails huffed.“That’s not entirely true.”

His mom gave him a deadpan look.“Really?”

“Yes!”Nails insisted.“I mean, yeah, okay, I like women.And they like me.But I don’t force anyone into my bed.It’s all consensual,” Nails argued.

“And yet, somehow, you still have the reputation of a walking, talking, one-man romance novel with a revolving door for a bedroom.”

Snow finally lost it, bursting into full-blown laughter.

Nails glared at him.“You are not helping.”

“Oh, man,” Snow wheezed, wiping his eyes.“It’s just that even your mom knows you’re a man whore.”

His mom sighed dramatically.“At least he knows how to wrap it up, or I’d have grandbabies running around from every zip code.”