Remington (The Theriot Family 1)

I remembered seeing a few young men earlier, leaning against a lamppost at another intersection. They were so much a part of the background of the neighborhood that I’d barely registered them.

The boy leaned down and winked at me through the window. As beautiful as he was—and he was stunning—I couldn’t afford to be distracted, not there.

I rolled the window down, intending to send him away. He leaned on it, looking in, smiling at me, his face a combination of allure and innocence. “Do you need some… assistance?”

I realized he could help me. If I were honest, I wanted him to assist me in several different ways, but I would solve my most immediate problem first.

I held out my hand. “Give me your phone, cher. I need to call a tow truck.” Normally I wouldn’t let someone know I was at such a disadvantage, caught in a place I shouldn’t be without a way to call for help, but I could snap this boy’s neck with one hand. He wasn’t a threat to me.

“I could let you use my phone, but it’s going to cost you.”

“I’m not interested in playing games.” I wasn’t as annoyed as I should be. I liked that he showed spirit. He was right not to give anything away for free. “But I see that you’re a businessman. What’s the going rate for using your phone?”

Why the fuck was I entertaining his proposition? I could yank him through the window, rip the phone away from him, and dump him out wherever I chose, but despite what I’d said, playing the game with him made me feel more alive than I had in a long time.

He gave me a slow once-over that had my cock plumping up. He glanced at the car and then back at me. “Five hundred.”

I laughed. “That’s one fucking expensive phone call.”

“The way I see it, you don’t have a lot of other options.”

He had no idea how many options I had. I could tear through the neighborhood and leave carnage in my wake. I could boost any car on the street, but I wasn’t done with him. “I’ll give you fifty dollars.”

He shook his head. “Three hundred.”

I reached for my wallet and pulled out two crisp hundred-dollar bills and handed them over. “Take it or leave it.”

His eyes widened, and he snatched the money from my hand, stuffed it into his pocket, and met my eyes again.

“Phone?” I asked.

“Oh. Right.” In that moment he looked really young, frightfully young. I didn’t fuck children.

“How old are you?”

He pulled his phone from his pocket, though I had no idea how he’d fit it into his pants that fit like a second skin. “How old do you want me to be?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Are you fucking legal?”

“All I did is offer you my phone in exchange for money. My age doesn’t matter for that.”

I grabbed his arm, letting him feel my strength as my fingers bit into his wrist.

He looked scared, and monster that I am, I liked it.

“I’m twenty-three. I swear. I just look really young. Some men like that.”

I was sure they did, and for some damn reason I wanted to take him far away from there where men like that would never look at him again.

He held my gaze as he spoke, which was more than a lot of much older, much tougher men could do. I didn’t see any signs he was lying. “That’s better.”

I took the offered phone, called my brother, and let him know I needed a discreet tail and a tow truck from Beau’s Body Shop, the one place I trusted not to ask any questions.

When I handed the phone back to the boy, I meant to send him on his way. He gave me a shy smile, then he shifted position, leaning away to show off the slender curve of his body. My gaze was drawn to the line of skin exposed between his cropped shirt and his pants.

His smile widened at my obvious interest. “Are you interested in some entertainment while you wait for the tow truck?”

I was more than interested, but I needed to stay sharp. Charles Landry’s body was lying in an alley on the next block, and more of the gunrunners or his family could arrive at any time.

If anyone was watching the place, if anyone got curious about the vehicle that had been parked close by and then crashed, this boy could describe me and give them the details of my accident. The Landrys were nowhere near as smart as my family, but they probably had the sense to have spies in every part of their territory looking for anything unusual. I wasn’t sure if a wrecked car counted, but I hadn’t survived so long by taking chances. The beautiful boy was not only going to entertain me while I waited for the tow truck; he was going to stay with me until we’d ended the situation with the gunrunners once and for all.