Ready to Die (Alvarez & Pescoli)

“And you’re willing to?”

“To be a cop?” His lips rolled inward. “Yeah, why not?” He was still working the controller for all it was worth, never taking his eyes off the action on the screen. “But if he thinks he can humiliate me into quitting or can make me look like a jackass, he’s wrong, and sooner or later he’ll figure it out. Oh, damn! That guy’s going to get me!”

For a second she thought he was still talking about Brewster, but then she realized he was angry about the game he was playing.

“How is Heidi?” she asked, daring to stick her toe into dangerous emotional waters.

“She’s cool.”

Hardly. Hot as a pistol was more like it.

“You guys still going together?”

He paused, then looked over his shoulder. “And this is your business how?”

Here they were again, arguing because Jeremy considered himself an adult, yet he lived under her roof and oftentimes was more immature than his younger sister. But she wasn’t in the mood for a fight. Not right now. “Just asking,” she said.

“We see each other, Mom. We go out. Are we exclusive? Yeah.” He threw another challenging look at her, but she didn’t say it, just hoped, as always, that he used his head around Cort Brewster’s beautiful and sexy daughter.

“Okay,” she said, changing the subject. “So, have you had dinner?”

“Grabbed tacos with Cody.” A pause. “And, yeah, Heidi and Cody’s girlfriend were there.”

Of course. Get over it. He’s right. He can date whomever he wants.

“What about your sister?” she asked, sneaking a look at the hallway leading to Bianca’s bedroom. “She’s here, right?”

“In her room.” He actually glanced in Pescoli’s direction. “I have no idea what she ate or what she did. That’s on her, Mom.”

“Fair enough.” Tonight, she didn’t want to pick a fight, but he really had to do something about the damned rifle. “You know, in my house, all firearms are locked in the gun closet.”

Again he looked at her, this time as if she’d gone suddenly stark, raving mad. “Yeah, I know. Cuz we were kids, but now there’s no reason.”

“Sure there is. I’m not here all the time and neither are you. Bianca could have friends over and they start horsing around and before you know it, someone gets hurt. They are still kids.” And so are most of your friends, she thought, but held her tongue.

“Give me a break.”

“I’m serious. Plus, if anyone is poking around, you know, casing the house and they see a rifle, it’s more incentive to break in.”

“It’s registered, Mom. In my name.”

“Doesn’t mean it couldn’t be used in a crime if it were stolen.”

“Who’s going to come all the way out here.”

“We’re fairly secluded, you know that. No one could see an unfamiliar car in our drive as the neighbors are a quarter of a mile away.”

“Huh?”

“Just lock up the gun.”

“No!” He was suddenly angry. “Lucky’s right, you know,” he charged, giving her a shot. “You really do jump off the deep end.”

“Me? No way!” She wasn’t taking this from anyone, especially not her son. “The rules in the house are that guns are locked up, separate from the ammunition. That’s all. Just do it.”

“The rifle’s always with me.”

“Jeremy . . .”