Page 18 of Skin Deep

I scowled at him. “And you just happened to show uptoday? Of all days?”

Paxton shrugged. “Maybe it’s destiny.”

“I don’t believe in that shit,” I said, standing with my tray in hand.

“Sit down,” Paxton demanded.

I don’t know why I listened, but I was sitting before I’d even registered what he’d said.

He shifted in his seat, pushing his tray aside and leaning across the table to speak in a whisper. “I saw your face when I brought up the ripper. You’re going after him. I want in.”

“That’s not how it works,” I said, crossing my arms. “I can’t just go after people. There’s a process. And even if the other people who help me agree that he should be dealt with, they’re not going to bring you in.”

We didn’t work with outsiders. It was too dangerous. My brothers and I had been brought up to be effective operatives, each filling a role on a well-maintained, tight-knit team. The more people involved in any operation, the more chances for something to go wrong or for there to be a leak.

“I’m hurt. You don’t trust me?” He picked up a cold fry, rolling it in ketchup before sucking on it.

I had never wanted to be a French fry so badly in my life. “It’s not up to me.”

That wasn’t entirely true. If I brought the operation to the table, Yuri would almost certainly let me call the shots. He wanted to see if I could do it. I could make a compelling argument for Paxton to assist. After all, they’d let Theo help, and he was about as useful as a freckle on a dog’s ass. Not that I thought he should be. He’d been raised to be a timid slave, so it was a wonder he was as functional as he was.

Paxton was clearly a capable killer in his own right. He’d hunted down and dispatched Alvin without showing an ounce of weakness. That didn’t mean he was without vulnerability. In fact, he had two of them crawling backward up the plastic slide in the play place behind him. Those girls were reason enough for me to keep him as far away from this work as possible. They’d already lost their mother. I wasn’t about to risk their father.

He was too close to this anyway. His personal connection to one of the victims would lead him to make stupid decisions that could get me and my brothers killed. No. Getting him involved was abadidea.

“I don’t think you understand, War. I wasn’t asking for your permission.” He sat back, stretching his long legs so his gigantic feet came to rest on either side of mine as he picked up his soda. “I’m fully capable of launching my own search for this asshole.”

“Then why haven’t you?”

“Who says I haven’t?” He shrugged. “Maybe I don’t have a team, or whatever fancy equipment you and your people have, or a nice six-figure salary to hide behind, but I got my own resources.” Paxton smirked and wrapped his full lips around the straw in a distractingly seductive way.

Damn him, and damn my stupid cock for responding to his teasing.

“Face it,” he said, putting the cup down. “You can’t stop me, and this will be easier for both of us if we work together. You want this guy and so do I. Help me help you.”

I glanced past him to where his daughters were laughing and playing together. “There’s too much on the line for you.”

“You think I can’t fuckin’ do it?” he growled, suddenly angry.

My eyes snapped to his. “Do you know how rare it is for siblings to be adopted together? Because I do. I know so much about adopting kids I could write a book about it. Let me tell you something else about it. The system in this country for orphans is hell. I want you to picture Lettie and Charlie growing up without each other, sleeping on cots in dark rooms, carrying their belongings around in garbage bags because they don’t stay at one foster home long enough to have a suitcase. Because if something happens to you, that’s their future, and that’s if they’re lucky. If they’re unlucky, they live through the shit my brothers did, only it’ll be worse for them because they’re girls. Social systems chew up and spit out little girls every damn day in this country. Is that what you want for Lettie and Charlie, Pax?”

His jaw clenched. “You let me worry about raising my girls.”

“I’m trying to make sure you get that chance.” I drove a finger firmly into the tabletop. “Stay the hell away from this, Paxton. If not for you, for them.”

Paxton shook his head slowly. “They’re the reason I need to do this, War. You want to talk about systems that chew up and spit out little girls? Their mamma was a victim, too. I couldn’t fuckin’ save her. You’ll have to kill me yourself if you want to keep me from avenging her.”

“Stubborn jackass,” I muttered. I believed him. Nothing I said would persuade him to let this go now that he’d decided he was going to do it. I could see it in his eyes.

I didn’t know why I should care. It wasn’t my problem if he did something stupid and went to prison, or if he got himself killed. Dammit, sometimes I wished I could be a little more like River and not have a fucking conscience.

“This isn’t some grand gesture to get in my pants, is it?” I asked coldly. “Because if it is…”

Paxton grinned. “Oh, I’m gonna get into those pants and into that tight ass of yours eventually. I think we both know that.”

I rolled my eyes. “You think highly of yourself, don’t you?”

He put his hands on the table and leaned forward. “Admit it. You want me.”

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