Jonah (Chicago Blaze 7)

Once back, she snuggles against me and I close my eyes, finally relaxing. She’s okay. And we’re getting the hell out of here tomorrow, not a moment too soon.Chapter NineteenRey

“That’s really incredible, Kai.” I admire the pink glittery makeup swirling around his eyes in a perfect pattern. “It’s…artistic.”

“Thanks, sis, but we can talk about that anytime. Stay focused. I can tell you’re falling for Jonah. What are you going to do when this mission is over?”

We’re facing each other in the soundproof booth in his apartment, finally able to speak freely. And he’s using the opportunity to drill me with questions about Jonah.

“Mission?” I quip. “You’re making this sound so glamorous, I feel like I’m in a Tom Cruise movie.”

“Stop avoiding the subject before I cut you,” he says sharply.

“Fine, okay.” I roll my eyes. “I like him, yeah. But when the job is done, I’ll get assigned somewhere else. And I don’t know, maybe Jonah and I will…keep in touch.”

Kai shakes his head. “Jobs come and go, babe. But love doesn’t.”

“Who said anything about love?” I ask defensively. “I like him, but he’s not looking for anything serious.”

“You guys have talked about it?”

I glare at him. “No. Obviously, we can’t. Or, if we did, neither one of us would know if it was real or fake.”

“This is some bullshit. You two need to get inside this booth and have some real talk. And maybe some sex, too. But make sure you sanitize the walls if you do.”

I laugh and say, “We’re not having sex in here, Kai. It’s too small, and it’s just…walls.”

“Wall sex can be really good.”

“Bed sex is better.”

His eyes widen and he points at me. “So you admit you guys are having sex!”

“I never denied it.”

“But you never said it, either. OMG!”

I put a hand on his shoulder and say, “You seriously need to leave this apartment. Just for a few hours. We can go get groceries or something.”

“Eww, why would I do that when I can have them delivered?”

“Kai,” I scold. “You are too beautiful and vibrant to spend all your time holed up in here. You’re safe with me.”

He shakes his head and says, “I’m happy here, leave me be. And you can’t break out your Chuck Norris cop moves when you’re supposed to be a beauty writer, by the way.”

The police don’t have any leads on the guys who assaulted Kai. They did an exhaustive search for security camera footage from the area around the club that night, but didn’t come up with anything.

“I’m not going to stand by and let anyone hurt you,” I assure him. “It’s just not who I am. I’ll whip ass with my handbag if that’s what it takes to keep my cover.”

“I know, girl.” He smiles sadly. “I’m just not ready.”

I nod, hating the situation my friend is in. Kai told me the other night that it’s not so much a fear of those specific guys who beat him up, but a general one. Not everyone accepts him as he is, which makes me wish I could kick the asses of every individual who treats him as less than.

“I know I’m living vicariously through you, but right now, it’s all I have besides my channel.”

Kai took a break from his makeup videos while his face healed enough for him to cover the injuries with makeup. He said he didn’t want to draw even more attention to himself by going public about the attack.

He feels shame. That breaks my heart and infuriates me at the same time, because the only ones who should feel shame are the guys who attacked him.

“I care about Jonah a lot,” I admit to Kai. “More than I was expecting to.”

“He cares about you, too. I can tell.”

“He was with his wife since they were teenagers, though. She was everything to him. And he doesn’t want a relationship with anyone else.”

“How do you know?”

I sigh softly. “Logan told me at the start of this whole thing. It’s why he said Jonah is perfect for this assignment.”

“Right, but that was before. Now he’s taking you home to meet his family and buying you gifts.”

I reach up and touch the Tiffany & Co. necklace Jonah gave me before he left on his road trip yesterday, the Tuesday after our weekend in Malibu. It’s a rose gold four-leaf clover, and I was surprised and quite honestly, moved when I opened it.

A good luck charm. I held his gaze and thanked him, my heart fluttering from his thoughtfulness. I need all the luck I can get in this assignment to gather evidence on Shields. And what I really wanted to tell him is that my good luck charm is him.

“I think he’s just a really nice guy,” I say softly. “Anyone would be incredibly lucky to be with him.”