Page 18 of The True Garza

Trent delivers a kick to my leg. “Get the fuck up, you pain in the ass.”

“Wait,” Lexi calls from the kitchen, “you cooked dinner?”

“Uh-huh. You can thank me with a kiss and a—”

Another hard kick from Trent shuts me up.

“Oh dear,” Lexi mumbles as she scurries back to the living room. “You only cook when something big is bothering you. What happened? Did you knock someone up?”

Trent scoffs and walks off.

“Don’t do that, Lexi,” I say. “Don’t act like you ‘know’ me. Not when you chose that ugly mug over me. That shit breaks my heart.”

Lexi rolls her eyes. “Then you’re also an ugly mug because you lookexactlythe same.”

“False. I’m beautiful-er.”

“Stop joking around and tell me what’s going on.” She sits next to me on the floor, then throws over her shoulder, “Babe, can you plate some of that food for me, pretty please?” She brings her attention back to me. “What did you cook, by the way?”

“Deep—”

“Never mind. Your cooking, though rare, is alwaysfire, so it doesn’t matter.”

I love my sister-in-law.

She pokes me. “Tell me what’s up.”

“I saw her today.”

“Who?”

“The Denver fling.”

“TheDenver fling?” She frowns, thinking, and then her eyes widen. “Oh, you mean the girl fromtheDenver fling?”

“Yup.”

“So, you saw her in what way? Like, you glimpsed her somewhere? Or did she show up with a surprise baby and you’re the daddy?”

I slide her a curious glance. “What’s up with you and all this baby talk? Is there somethingyouwant to tell me?”

She slaps my arm. “Stop digressing.”

“She moved to LA,” I tell her. “Turns out she’s an LX-BI agent. And she’s gonna be working with Red Cage on a job.”

“Wow. That’s one heck of a run-in.”

Tell me about it.

“Hang on,” Trent says as he comes over and hands his wife a plate of food. “That Denver girl you told us about is the one who’s gonna be on the job with Allard?”

“Yah. You saw her last night.”

Lexi arches a brow at him, and he arches a brow at me. “I did?”

“Apparently, there was a liquor-store robbery last night? She saw you and thought it was me.”

“Shit, that’s her?” He chuckles. “No wonder she was looking at me like that.”