“Horrible is a pretty strong word. We’ve struggled, sure, but—”
“We have nothing in common! I like baseball. You like football. I like to cut loose on a dance floor. You like quiet evenings at home reading. I bend the law here and there, and you recite the rule book. We’re just not compatible.”
Kierson slid a hand around me, pulling me into his body as he cupped my face with the other hand. “I think we are.”
“Then you’re a fool,” I whispered, pushing him away.
We both remained quiet for a long time. Kierson was an amazing man. I kept hoping that I could make it work with him, but it was like oil and water. And we both knew I was the oil.
“I’m sorry. But I’m done pretending,” I said, finally looking back up at him. “I’m not the woman you’re looking for.”
I turned and climbed the hill to the front of the house, leaving him behind. In the front yard, I saw Katie reversing out the drive and waved to get her attention as I jogged over.
She stopped and rolled the window down. “You need to make a fast getaway?”
“Something like that. You going across the street?”
“Yup. Hop in. We’ve got room for one more.”
“Where are the kids?” I asked Anne and Whiskey as I slid into the back seat with them.
“Already at Headquarters with Jackson and Tyler,” Anne answered. “I needed a quick shower first. I stunk.”
“Kelsey with them?”
Anne shook her head. “She wanted to soak in the tub until her skin wrinkled. She’s ready for this weekend to be over.”
“Between the tournament, the cartel, and all the shit with Grady and Sebrina, she deserves some down time.”
“You forgot the part about Wild Card buying Nicholas a dog,” Anne grumbled.
“Jager will be good for Nick.” I fastened my seatbelt. “Is Wild Card on assignment for Aces?”
“He didn’t say,” Tech answered from the front passenger seat. “But I don’t think so. He told Kelsey that a buddy of his called and needed help.”
Katie stopped at the stop sign at the end of the private road, before looking over her shoulder at Anne. “Why are you so against Nicholas having a dog?”
“Nicholas isn’t ready for a dog. He doesn’t know the first thing about taking care of one.”
“Which is why Wild Card asked Nightcrawler to teach him,” Tech said. “And I agree with Charlie. Jager will be good for Nicholas. Besides, every boy should have a dog. Especially a boy who lost three years of his childhood and is now dealing with this Grady crap.”
Whiskey chuckled as he wrapped an arm around Anne’s shoulders. “She knows all that. She’s just frustrated that Sara’s now begging for a cat.”
“I hate cats,” Anne said as she shivered. “They act all passive, but you know they’re plotting against you.” She looked at me and held up two fingers, gesturing toward her eyes. “You have to watch their eyes. They’re always planning. Preparing to pounce.”
I laughed at the same time Katie gunned the gas pedal to turn onto the highway. I grabbed the door handle to brace myself as I looked at Anne. “You’re scared of cats? Why?”
“They’re predators,” Anne said. “They hunt and kill while we sleep. One day, they’ll turn against all of us. Just wait.”
Katie stopped again in the center turn lane with her blinker on to turn left into Headquarters. She looked at Anne in the rearview mirror. “What the hell have you been smoking?”
“They’re evil,” Anne muttered as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Just tell Sara no,” Tech said, leaning around the seat to look at Anne.
“How am I supposed to tell her no after Nicholas got a dog?”
“Buy her a rabbit?” I asked as Katie made a sharp left turn, sliding both Anne and me toward Whiskey in the back seat. As I pulled myself erect and shuffled back to my side of the seat, I added, “Or fish?”
Whiskey leaned forward to look at me. “We’ve tried fish. They all died. And I’m not sure a rabbit would be a good idea with Jager around. Sara would be scarred for life if she watched Jager kill her pet rabbit.”
Katie parked the SUV, and we all climbed out.
“What about a parrot?” Tech asked as he reached for Katie’s hand. “I always wanted a parrot when I was a kid. Sara could teach it to talk.”
“That’s a good idea, actually,” Katie said, looking up at Tech as we walked across the parking lot. “And when it starts to annoy all of us, we can throw a towel over the cage to shut it up.”
Anne looked over at Whiskey. Whiskey shrugged as he threw an arm around her waist. “Might work. And changing the paper in the bottom of a cage beats the hell out of scooping poop from a litter box.”
Tech held the door to Headquarters open as we all filed inside.
Anne waved and said over her shoulder, “I’ll catch up with you guys. I’m heading to the War Room to shop for birds.”
I followed beside Whiskey as we made our way across the gym. We stopped at the food table to pile up plates before we ventured to the basement where fifty men and women screamed for the contestant fighting in the Circle of Hell. I didn’t know the guy competing, but Carl’s manikins were beating the tar out of him.
This was the environment I belonged in: sweat, muscles, cursing… and bloody knuckles. Hell, this was the world I thrived in.
Chapter Three
KELSEY
Monday, 7:00 a.m.
After sneaking off to bed before anyone returned
