Page 152 of Five Mountain Daddies

She frowns and looks away. “Do you think they were the ones looking in mygarbage?”

“Could be,” I admit. “I really don’tknow.”

She bites her lip and doesn’t say anything for the rest of theride.

I hate that this is so difficult for her. I don’t want to drag her through this, force her to listen to all this shit about her brother, deal with petty threats from douchebag gang bangers, but if she wants to be a part of this, that’s whathappens.

I drop her off at her apartment. I walk up to her front door with her and she turns tome.

“You know,” I say. “Most dates like this end with akiss.”

She can’t help but smile. I love making her smile. “Ohyeah?”

I nod. “And then you’ll invite me in, bring me into your bedroom. You’ll pretend it’s so we can listen to some music, or whatever excuse you use, but we both know what you reallywant.”

“And what’s that?” sheasks.

I smirk and tilt her chin up toward me. “You want me to fuck you until youscream.”

She stares into my eyes before looking away, smiling. “Yeah, too bad I only invite you over when strange men go through mytrash.”

I grin and step back. “Yeah, too bad. I guess I’ll have to arrange forthat.”

She grins at me and opens her door. “Good night,Wyatt.”

“Good night,Cora.”

She head in and shuts the door behindher.

I’m smiling to myself the whole ride back to the motel. I know it’s irrational and foolish, flirting with her like that, but I couldn’t help myself. My adrenaline was running high after that little faceoff with Jaxson, and Cora draws me to her, slowly but surely. I can’t help myself aroundher.

That’s scary. But goddamn, does it feelgood.

9

Cora

Ipark my car on the gravel driveway and step out, glancing behind me, back toward the street. I don’t know why I do it, but I can feel the paranoia inside of me, just starting togrow.

I think about Wyatt as I walk up toward the little house. I keep seeing the way he looked at me last night, jokingly talking about coming inside with me, but I’m not so sure it was a joke. There’s a tension between us, and it’s always there, no matter what we’re doing. Maybe I want to keep trying to pretend like it’s not an intense attraction, but I honestly don’t know how long that’s going tolast.

Because the truth is, I want him. I know I shouldn’t, for a lot of reasons. Mainly, he’s the one that’s helping me solve this case. I need him to be objective and invested in this, the case, not in whatever’s brewing between the two of us. And on top of that, last night showed me just how dangerous this whole thingis.

My brother was murdered. I can’t forget that. Someone killed him violently, viciously, and we want to find that person and throw them in prison for a very long time. Whoever did it doesn’t want to be found, for obviousreasons.

I can’t risk a distraction, either. One false step and we’re both screwed. And after that mystery man stopped by my apartment to root through my trash, I’m already scared enough. They know I’m on to them, that I’m the one helping to investigate this. They’re not going to back down until they scare me away, orworse.

But on top of all that, Wyatt was my brother’s friend. That specter of Atticus is keeping me away from him, because I know Atticus wouldn’t have wanted me to get involved with his friends. Or maybe that’s just the old Cora talking, maybe he’d be happy that I found someone likeWyatt.

It’s hard to say. The Atticus I used to know and the Atticus that got killed are two very, very differentpeople.

I reach the front door and don’t bother to knock. I push it open, stepping into the familiar living room. I shut the door behind me as my mother pokes her head out from thekitchen.

“Hi, mom,” Isay.

“Come home to dolaundry?”

I wince a little bit. My mom still thinks I’m a little kid. “No, I actually do that at my ownapartment.”

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