“Damn women, talking about pricks the second a guy turns his back.” He grinned and kissed my sister full on the mouth until she flushed and squirmed away.
They were so damn cute together.
I cast a quick glance over my shoulder again, more than a little hopefully. I had someone I wanted to be cute with too.
Or down and dirty, either way.
“Hey, I’m going to go chill in your office for a few while you guys chat, okay?” I was already walking away. “I know you guys have private stuff to discuss.”
In truth, I was in search of one particular booty—uh, ass, so I could do some calling. But the office excuse was semi-plausible.
“You need the key,” Mia called.
“No, she doesn’t. It’s unlocked. I?
??ve been in and out so I just left it.”
“Thanks, see you in a few,” I called back with a wave, already rushing out of the room.
I wouldn’t have much time, so I’d have to make it count.
A quick check of the other dojo and the weight rooms netted me exactly zippo. Maybe he really wasn’t around. I decided to head back to the office and text him. At least we could exchange a few inappropriate messages if nothing else.
Pulling out my phone, I headed into the office and came around the desk, intending to sprawl out in the cushy chair like I always did. Just as I was about to sit, I saw the knife, handle up in the chair.
Impaled in the fucking chair.
I made some kind of noise, I know I did. I didn’t think it was a scream, though, until the door I’d left cracked banged against the wall. Gio filled the doorway, his broad shoulders blocking the sun streaming in the windows behind him.
“Jesus, tesoro, I saw you go past the men’s locker room and followed you here. What is it?”
Swallowing deeply, I pointed at the chair. I didn’t trust my voice yet.
“What the hell is this?” He started to reach for the knife, but I stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“Don’t touch it. There might be prints.” See, spending tons of nights stuck at home watching cop dramas hadn’t turned out to be useless after all.
“Who did this?”
“I don’t know. I thought that was obvious.”
He ignored my sarcasm and prowled around the room, apparently looking for anything else that might be out of place. Something I should’ve done.
Yeah, it looked like I’d be watching a few more cop shows on my next night off.
“Not a-fucking-gain.” He ran his hand through his wet hair. He’d obviously just taken a shower, as the back of his white linen shirt had little water spots on it.
Wanting to lick them up was probably not an acceptable thought right now, so I focused on what he was saying instead of his bulging, ripped body.
“What do you mean not again?” I walked around the chair to stand behind him. “This happened before?”
“Your sister didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?” Even picturing his tattooed arms gleaming with water wasn’t enough to stem the tide of my annoyance. “Throw me a frickin’ bone. What are you talking about?”
“The heavy bag. Someone hacked into it last month. Not someone. Lo’s people. Someone he had working with him, anyway.” He cracked his knuckles behind his neck, circling the chair as if it was a snake he expected to make a move at any time.
Out of nowhere he kicked it, sending it hurtling into the wall.