The Damaged (The Insiders Trilogy 2)

Feeling a little faint, I asked, “Why am I amazed by this? I know who you are, what other businesses you do, and yet you owning the local Burriotle is blowing my mind.”

Kash chuckled. “Ace is a big-time MMA fighter. If I hadn’t chipped in, Robbie would’ve needed only to wait another year. Ace would’ve bought in instead. I got lucky with the timing.”

“Does my dad know about this?”

A guarded look fell over Kash, clouding his face. He didn’t move away, but I felt him pulling away. His hand slid to the back of my neck again, his thumb holding over my pulse. “No. I did a lot, and do a lot, that your father doesn’t know about.”

I was hearing a different tone from him. Was that disappointment from Kash? Was that what I was hearing?

“I’m sorry.” I lifted a hand, wrapping it around his wrist.

His pulse jumped at my words. His eyes darkened again. “Why are you apologizing?”

“Because, for some reason, that hurts you.” I was going with my gut, not really knowing what I was saying until the words were out. “My dad hurt you. I don’t know how or why, but he did.”

Kash’s eyes grew intense. He didn’t respond, just held me, feeling my heartbeat, and his eyes locked on mine. I couldn’t move.

My other hand went to his chest, resting over his stomach muscles.

They were so tense, too.

He drew me to him, his lips moving to mine in a light and soft kiss before he let me go.

“I love you. Do you know how much?”

He rested his forehead to mine, drawing in a deep breath.

My throat swelled. “How much?”

His hand tightened on mine. “The depths sometimes amaze me. And other times…”

My heart began beating faster. “And other times?”

“And other times it scares me.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant. My pulse was beating an erratic drum in me, so I wasn’t sure if I wanted to ask, either.

Then, I didn’t have to.

The moment was broken a second later when Robbie returned to the table, but as he sat and talked with Kash, as the two laughed, as we had food and drinks brought over, I was still feeling the effect of those words from Kash.

My whole insides had melted, and he knew, his eyes catching mine and warming. His hand moved to my leg under the table, and like in the car, his fingers rested on the inside of my leg.

It was the best Burriotle I’d ever enjoyed.

NINE

I was listening to my voice-mail and Chrissy’s voice played. “You need to call your mother right now. You need to update her on your first few days of school. Dinner was not enough. We didn’t get the time to talk like we need to. You need to tell your mother you love her because if you don’t, your mother will hunt you down!” She breathed hard into the phone, and I was grinning listening to her. “You got that, my beautiful little genius daughter that I love and cherish and worry about? Call your mother!”

I snorted, because it’d been her who had been distracted during dinner. Not me. I’d been thankful at the time.

“Enjoyed any good burritos lately?”

Now I wasn’t so thankful, because calling Chrissy back might’ve saved me a little from the teasing I’d already endured this evening.

I was at Naveah. It was a couple days later, and that question came to me as I was in the VIP booth, squished with Matt and Guy. No Tony. No Chester. Both absences that I wasn’t complaining about.

And I knew the teasing would start, just didn’t know when it would start.

Tuesday was the Burriotle date.

Someone there took a picture of us, of Kash leaning over me like he wanted to eat me for lunch.

That photo was sold the next day.

It came out Thursday. And here we were. Thursday night. Naveah. My brother beside me. That damn picture was haunting me, and so was Chrissy’s voice message.

The club was packed. We had extra club staff at the end of our stairs to keep people from coming up, and since we’d just gotten here, I figured I got my brother for thirty minutes before he’d head off to quench the real thirst that had brought him to Naveah.

I figured I had that long with Guy, too, before he had a girl up here, or two. Both were grinning at me, sharing sly looks.

I flushed, putting my phone away. “Fuck off.”

Matt laughed. “I do believe that’s the look Kash had, wanting to do that to you.”

“I took a girl to get a burrito the next day and what do you know?” Guy piped in, his amusement thick. He winked. “It worked. She got a different burrito within an hour of leaving there.”

“An hour?” Matt shot at him. “It took that long?”

I added, “What were you doing before?”