Page 19

19

RESOURCEFUL GUY

Jack

“ U m, what in the actual fuck?”

Emma shifts in my arms.

I feel nothing but a bare tit in my hand.

Hmm.

Nice.

I like Emma’s bare tits.

It deserves a squeeze.

She presses her ass into my morning wood.

“Emma!”

We both jerk at the same time my eyes fly open. Emma might’ve fallen to the floor if I weren’t so obsessed with her tits.

Emma’s little sister, Saylor, is standing in the open space between the kitchen and family room staring at us.

“Jack?” Saylor gapes before turning her attention to Emma. “I thought you were going to hook up with the quarterback!”

Emma grips the blanket and pulls it to her chin. “Stop yelling. It’s too early. And, no, I’m not with the quarterback.”

“I can see that,” Saylor states as she hitches a backpack over her shoulder.

Damn. Why is the universe trying to keep me from this woman?

The teenage girl just shrugs as she hands me the most back-handed compliment ever. “No offense, Jack. You’re no slouch, but you’re not famous.”

“None taken,” I mutter as I slide my hand out of Emma’s thin tank and think about how miserable it’ll be to settle my dick down so I can actually get up from this sofa.

Emma hangs on for dear life as she rolls to her back and smirks up at me. “Don’t take her seriously. You’re way better than a quarterback.”

“Way better is a stretch,” Saylor drawls as she proves how unimpressed she is with me and disappears into the pantry but doesn’t stop talking. “Aside from the initial shock of seeing you with your hand up Emma’s shirt, I’ve known you forever, so this is way less than exciting.”

Emma’s smirk grows into a satisfied smile. I lean down and press my lips to hers and proceed to kiss the smile off her lips despite morning breath. Her hand presses into my bare chest, and I wish we were on a secluded island with no teenagers and no gunmen.

Saylor was right—we have known each other forever, and it seems that nothing has changed. The girl can demand attention and run her mouth like none other. And coming from me, that’s saying something.

She yells so loud from the pantry, she’ll rouse the goats. “Does Levi know about you guys?”

“No, and I’ll be the one to tell him,” Emma bites before whispering for only me, “I’d better get up. Dad and Keelie will be down at any moment.”

I put my lips to her ear. “Then you’d better hurry up, because I’m hard as a rock. It’s going to make coffee with your dad awkward.”

She leans up and kisses the tip of my nose before practically rolling off the edge of the sofa backwards. She barely has time to tag her robe off the floor and slip it up her shoulders when we hear heels clicking down the wooden staircase.

Emma ties her robe shut and digs a pair of sweatpants out of the bag she packed and tosses them to me. Getting caught in my underwear by my high school counselor is so far down my bucket list, it’s hanging out around almost dying during a drive-by shooting.

I barely have a chance to adjust my cock when Keelie starts barking orders to her daughter. “Hurry up, Saylor. If I’m going to make it through the day after that late night, I need extra coffee.”

“Good morning,” Emma greets her stepmom.

Keelie is standing there in a fitted dress that hits her above the knees with a pair of heeled boots. Her hair hangs down her back in strawberry blond waves. Keelie has aged well.

I bet every boy in that high school still lusts over their counselor. Just one more thing that hasn’t changed. Hell, I was one of them back in the day.

Keelie comes to a stop in the middle of her kitchen and glances from Emma to me and back to Emma. “It’s an interesting morning, that’s for sure. From what your dad told me when you got home, there are all sorts of things to talk about.”

I pull a t-shirt over my head and do everything I can to keep my gaze off Emma’s bare thighs as she reaches for a mug.

“As you and I both know,” Emma says as she heads for the coffee pot. “It was horrible, but Jack is okay. That’s all that matters.”

“You’re very lucky,” Keelie says before following Emma to the cabinet and grabbing a thermal to go. I take this opportunity to move to a barstool while my blue balls suffer a slow death. “Asa told me everything when he got home last night. And I mean everything.”

Saylor comes out of the pantry and cracks open a protein drink. “Did you know about Emma and Jack? I’m always the last to know anything.”

Emma slides a mug of black coffee across the island to me with a private smile. “You’re going to need this.”

“You’re not wrong. Thanks.” I think of my house, my client, and the few options of where Emma and I can sleep tonight that isn’t on her father’s sofa.

“You’re barely the last to know things, Saylor. I didn’t know the details about these two or the shooting until after your dad got home last night,” Keelie adds. “We’re going to have a houseful when Knox brings his new girlfriend home.”

I shake my head. “I appreciate you letting me crash last night. I’ll check into a hotel tonight.”

“Maybe you need to take the same advice you gave Brett and get out of the city. I’m sure Levi and Carissa have room for you.” Emma takes a sip of her coffee. “I’m staying there while Knox is home with his mystery girl.”

“That’ll be a fun way to tell Levi you’re shacking up with his life-long bestie.” Saylor’s smile is wicked. I need to remember to avoid her as best I can. “Please don’t tell him until I’m there to witness it.”

Emma waves her off. “Levi will be fine.”

“I’ll handle Levi,” I amend.

Emma hikes a brow.

Saylor’s eyes go round the size of saucers.

Keelie bites her lip.

I pretend like it’s not the big deal that it is. “It’s the unwritten bro code. When I signed the best-friend contract, it became my responsibility to announce that I’m dating his sister—should that ever happen.”

“How long have you been together?” Keelie asks.

It’s Emma’s turn to bite her lip.

I take another sip of my coffee.

Saylor barks a laugh.

Keelie pulls in a deep breath and changes the subject. “We need to get to school. You ready, Saylor?”

Saylor grabs her drink. “So close to the weekend, yet still so far.”

“You’re not going anywhere without saying goodbye.” We all turn to Asa as he walks into the kitchen and heads straight for his wife and plants a firm kiss on her lips. “Have a good day, baby.”

She smiles up at him. “You too.”

Asa and his team … I wonder what they’re up to today.

Asa bops Saylor on the head. “Good luck on your geometry test.”

Saylor rolls her eyes. “Thanks.”

Keelie picks up her coffee and bag. “We’ll see you two later. I expect all the details of what’s been going on.”

“Have a good day,” Emma calls.

I’d like to know what I did to make Emma hate me in the last two minutes, because as soon as they’re out the door, she picks up her own coffee and leaves me to the wolves.

Or rather, the WOLF—in shouty capitals.

She turns to her father and me. “I’m going to take a shower. They’re adjusting my days since I worked straight through while in Vegas. We have a ton to do after what happened last night. Jack, you can get ready in the bathroom that goes out to the pool. It’s stocked with towels. I packed you everything else you need. I need exactly fifty-five minutes, and I’ll be ready to roll.”

And with that, she struts her sexy ass out of the kitchen. I force myself to focus on my coffee so Asa doesn’t murder me watching her run up the stairs in her short robe.

I wonder if he knows she slept on the sofa with me.

Shit. I didn’t think about that last night when I lulled Emma to sleep with an orgasm. I bet he had his team put cameras in every square inch of his house.

“We need to talk.”

I hang onto my chill with the skin of my teeth and focus on the good news that my blue balls have retreated into hibernation. “Look, I know I had a reputation in high school, but I can assure you?—”

“I don’t want to talk about anyone’s reputation,” he bites. “I want to talk about the fact it’s clear my daughter is comfortable in your house—a house that was shot to shit last night. Emma’s a smart woman. She can decide who she spends time with. I trust her in everything. But if she’s going to be with you, I need to make sure you’re not being shot at, which means I want to know what the fuck happened last night.”

“Oh, well, that’s easy. They were after my client, Brett Sullivan.”

“But he’s at Whitetail,” Asa counters, proving he’s in the know.

“He is,” I confirm. “But we planted the information that he was staying at my place. Brett has my car, so his was parked on the street. They had every reason to believe he was there.”

Asa crosses his arms and frowns. “Are you trying to tell me that you invited this on yourself?”

I put a hand up. “No way. Someone inside the Founders organization set Sullivan up after the game. We were trying to figure out who that was.”

“And how do you know it’s an inside job?” he demands.

“Because of Emma’s anonymous source.”

His tone dips to a scary place. “My daughter has an anonymous source?”

“Look, I know how this looks. Last night was a lot. I appreciate everything your team did, whoever they are. But I can promise you I’ve never been shot at before. Normally, my life does not invite this kind of drama. Emma is completely safe with me.” I stand, pick up my coffee, and feel the need to amend my statement. “Or she will be once I figure this shit out. If you don’t mind, I’m going to grab a shower and get ready. I need to check on my house, call my insurance, and touch base with the police.”

“Before you go anywhere with my daughter, I want to know all about this no-name source of Emma’s. I have access to technology. The next time he calls Em, we can trace it.”

I stop and turn back to him. “I might be a sports agent, but I studied all areas of the law. Unless you acquire a warrant, that’s illegal.”

Asa says nothing.

Not one word.

But he does give me a nod.

Damn.

I guess if he has a team at his disposal who’s willing to do the shooting, I should have realized Asa doesn’t give two shits about a warrant.

Asa being Emma’s dad isn’t the only reason to stay on his good side.

I tell him the truth. “You’ve turned out to be a resourceful guy.”

“And you’re the weird, adult version of the kid you were in high school. I don’t know what to think about that,” Asa mutters as he pours his own coffee.

I decide to take that as a compliment.

I also decide to get the fuck out of his kitchen before he brings someone over from his team to good-cop-bad-cop me. Or even worse, waterboard me.

If he wants to tap Emma’s phone, I’m down for that. The sooner we can get this shit over with, the better.

I do make a mental note not to sext her from now on.

Disappointing.

Same with my client being framed…

…and drive-by shootings.