Page 20 of Fire for Effect

“No, but that’s like… the least important part of him.”

I looked down at my junk. “No man in the world will ever agree with that statement.”

“Cody’s got more to him than just his dick, Griff. Not everyone’s preoccupied with their danglers.”

“You’re preoccupied with my dangler.”

It was a reflex to childishly turn her last statement around. Like your mom goes to college. It slipped out before I could realize what it meant.

She paused. So did I.

Would she acknowledge it? The fact that she had seen my cock. Begged for it, in fact. And I had obliged. But just like every other time, she definitively closed the topic.

“See you soon, yeah?” she said, as if we talked every night on the phone.

“Yeah, Psycho. I’ll talk to you soon.” In fucking person. “Happy birthday.”

The van door opened as Sierra climbed in, her strawberry blonde hair completely soaked, making a brilliant impression of a drowned New York rat. The rain on her jacket caused dark spots on the cloth seats, as she shook out her head, splashing me in the face.

“Jesus!” I grumbled, holding the phone away from my face. “What are you? A wet dog? Knock it off.”

Agent Sierra glared at me but stayed silent.

I could still hear Taz breathing on the other end of the line. She wouldn’t hang up first. She never did.

“First round’s on you when I get there, Psycho. Find a place that serves Belgian Whites.” I clicked the red button to close that line of communication without a farewell. I never wanted to tell her good bye.

Then I pulled out the SIM, removed the battery, and tossed the pieces into the center console.

“How’s your girlfriend?” Sierra asked, settling into the seat, and putting her hands in front of the vents to get some warm air on her fingers.

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

She snorted at me, then rolled her eyes. “Sure, bro.”

“She’s not. She’s dating some guy, I guess… Riley…”

“That’s a girl’s name.”

“That’s what I said!”

Finally, Sierra and I agreed on something.

“Want me to look into him?” Her offer implied that she’d do a thorough background check, and get super personal, to figure out if we’d need to kill him or not.

It took me way too long to respond, but I finally said, “No.”

Having Sierra look into you was violating. She could be so far up their ass, they’d feel her fingers making them talk like a puppet before the day was through. It was just one of the scarier things about her. The fact that she was a sociopath was the other.

“You sure?” This was her version of showing that she cared.

“Yes.” No.

I fucking wanted his name, social security number, income tax reports, and… everything. What if he was a bad guy? What if he was mean to his girlfriends? What if he hurt small animals, and kicked puppies? What if he was some weak-spined piece of shit that would diminish her fire like so many of her boyfriends before?

I finally nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

I wanted to know his intentions. I wanted to know if they were serious or if he was just some flavor of the week.

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