I didn’t know what to do with this. It wasn’t a surprise, really. It also wasn’t an invasion, exactly.
Before I could make a decision about what to do with it, Ren swallowed a bite and kept talking.
“One good thing, you with me, all that shit is over.”
Uh-oh.
He reached for his glass, but before he took a sip, he looked at me and stated, “And Decker’s visit means that shit’ll be shut down. His occupation may be hazy, but his reputation also says he gets a job done.” He took a sip, put his glass back and finished, “Finally something good happened today. A line drawn under that mess. And if you got any other shit goin’ on, you work with Tucker and Dunne to finish it, then you’re free to find a real job and settle in with me.”
Oh man.
He picked up his fork.
“Uh… Zano,” I called.
“Yeah, honey?” he answered his chicken.
Shit.
I stared at his profile, his square jaw, the line of his full lips, the spikes of his thick eyelashes. Then my eyes slid through the food, the champagne bucket, the flowers, the candles.
I took this all in, but my head was filled with promises of three, one, two (with the possible inclusion of four) and the way it felt when he drew my pendant in his mouth that morning.
Then I decided we’d both had enough for the day and tomorrow would be a better time to explain to Ren about the “real job” I was finding.
So, I scooped up some peanuts and mumbled, “Nothing.”
Crap!
Chapter Fourteen
Hit Play
Darius stared at me.
“Well?” I prompted.
We were sitting in his truck outside Fortnum’s the morning after Chinese with Ren (and, by the way, after chocolate candles, we did four along with one, as well as three and two; it was righteous).
I’d just told Darius my future career path.
“You got instincts I haven’t seen except in men trained and experienced or earned on the streets,” Darius stated.
Well that was good.
“I still don’t like it,” he finished.
Hmm.
“It would mean a lot if I had your support,” I said quietly.
He shook his head but said, “You have my support, Ally. I know you enough to know no one’s gonna be able to talk you out of it, but that isn’t it. Seen it time and again, takin’ your back, you got your shit tight. But your girls are nuts. The reason I don’t like it is because those women don’t have their shit tight.”
“They won’t have anything to do with this,” I assured him.
“How you gonna manage that miracle?” he asked.
“I explained it to Indy, she gets me. They will too.”
He shook his head again and looked forward. He also looked reflective. And lastly, he didn’t say anything.
“Darius,” I called, and his head again turned to me.
“You need to get licensed, and for that you need bona fide investigative hours. And the way to get them is workin’ with Lee,” he announced.
I blinked at him, something funny, but by no means bad, moving through me.
Before I could pinpoint what that feeling was, he kept talking.
“And no way your brother is gonna take you under his wing. He’s been on my ass now for months to find a way to shut you down. He doesn’t give a shit you close cases, you’re trained, you shoot, you run, and you take this shit seriously. He knows the dangers and he wants you nowhere near that. Your dad and Hank agree.”
“Maybe I can convince them,” I suggested, but when Darius’s expression turned from pensive to dubious, I tried something else. “Maybe I can work my next case with one of the Hot Bunch and whoever that is can vouch for me.”
“You’re workin’ your cases with Brody and me and that hasn’t worked. Brody thinks you’re the shit, Ally. And he’s shared that with Lee. Repeatedly. Lee isn’t swayed.”
Okay, as annoying as Brody could be, at Darius’s words, I remembered why I loved him.
“Then I’ll work with another investigator,” I proposed.
