The strike across my face made me see stars.
LUCAS
We were at the diner eating a late lunch. I’d decimated my burger and was lazily picking at my fries. Not much was said on the ride back to town. Cy was lost in his thoughts. He’d talked to his dad for the first time in almost twenty years. It was something to process.
“You’re too fucking calm,” he said, looking across the table at me. The waitress brought a refill on his iced tea and he thanked her.
We were at one of the booths in the back corner. I could see out into the parking lot, which was quickly emptying as it was the end of the lunch rush.
I glanced at him, shrugged. “What else can I do?” I tossed a fry in my mouth.
His dark gaze flared, not with heat, but anger. “Steal my truck and go back to my father’s house, make him talk.”
It was a tempting idea, one I’d considered more than once since we pulled away.
“He didn’t kill Erin,” I said. “The traffic camera photo of her blew his story wide open. She was alive when he’d said he killed her. While he did a shitty thing by stepping forward, it wasn’t him. I’d rather focus my attention on finding who really did do it.”
Slowly, he shook his head. “Jesus, just once I want to see you lose your shit and rip someone’s head off.”
I couldn’t help but grin at the image. I was calm and he’d always hated it. In comparison, he was like a bull in a china shop. He had a hair trigger, and I had to admit, when we’d driven to see his dad, I’d expected to have to hide a body before we left. Maybe he realized, no matter how much he wanted to, his father wasn’t worth the effort.
“I’m sure there will be a time.”
My cell chimed and I lifted it from the table. “It’s Nix.”
Cy sat up straight. Hearing from the detective meant they knew something. I glanced at the screen.
“He wants to run some names by me.”
That meant they hadn’t caught Erin’s killer. I wrote out a reply, letting him know where we were. I watched the bubbles on the screen as he typed out his response.
“He’s coming here,” I told Cy, setting the phone down and grabbing another fry.
“Heard from Hailey?”
I tried not to grin, but it was hard. “You sound like a seventh-grade girl.”
He smiled. “I fucked up, and now I wonder if I’ve blown it for good.”
“Doubtful. She’s not shallow. A little arguing won’t keep her away. She loves you. Me. Us, even if she hasn’t said it yet.”
“You think?”
I ached a brow. Total seventh-grade girl.
He sighed, realizing how he was behaving. It was reassuring to know he cared about her. I’d seen it all along and now he was blatantly whipped.
“I doubt it will be the last time we fight.”
I laughed at that. “You two are always going to knock heads. Did you really want someone meek and quiet?”
He glanced out the window, thought. “Her submission’s all the sweeter when she gives it to me.”
My dick got hard remembering how she’d just let go for him. How that plug looked nestled between her perfect ass cheeks.
“She’s meeting with her coach. We’ll wait for her text when she’s done, then go get our girl. Celebrate her decision.”
“Did you want her to race?” he asked.