Page 27 of Sunshine & Sinful

“What?” he goads, sitting forward in the chair. “Finish your sentence. Can’t have what?You?” Staring straight into my soul, an evil quirk on his lip, he arches his brows and his forehead crinkles. “Is that what you were gonna say?”the jerk presses, and when I don’t respond, he continues, “Abby is only around because of Lily. I tried to do what was right, given the shitty situation.” Dark shrugs and resettles back in his chair, resting the side of his booted foot on his knee, reeking of bravado.

“Then do what’s right and leave her. Because one of these days, you’re gonna knock another bitch up, or you’re gonna give her an STI.”

“What I do or don’t do with Abby is none of your business, Kali.” He gestures between us. “We aren’t married. You made it clear you want nothing to do with me.”

This dumbass, need-to-be-castrated dickweasle.

“Are you playing the victim now?” I scoff, then soften my tone to something grossly sweet. “Oh. Poor, Dark, his wife left him when he knocked up another woman.” Dramatically clutching my chest, this time, I roll my eyes so far back into my skull it’s a miracle they don’t get stuck.

Fed up with my sarcasm, Dark slams his fist on the arm of the chair. “Goddammit, woman, I love?—”

Refusing to let him finish that stupid sentence that does nothing but anger me, I cut him off. “Why were you both at the restaurant last night? Why were you on my date?”

Clearly not knowing what to say, my ex looks to his dad. Something unspoken passes between them before Dark expels a heavy breath and flicks an invisible piece of lint from his t-shirt. “We. No.Yougotta run a job on Todd.”

Ah, yes, a typical half-assed answer. I know this game well.

Confident they’ll give up the goods one way or another, I play along anyhow. “You want me to spy on my boyfriend?”

Beside me, a low growl rumbles in Sunshine’s throat. I peek at him out of the corner of my eye as he grips the arm of the couch. The muscles in his neck thicken, and his nostrils flare. Okay. I guess Todd is a sore subject in present company.

“Yeah,” Dark confirms. “We need you to spy on your boyfriend.”

“Why?”

Dark looks at his father. Again, something passes between them when Sunshine dips his head. My ex squeezes his eyes shut and mutters a curse before turning his attention back to me. “How long have the stalkers been happening?”

What does that have to do with Todd?

I frown. “Years. Why?”

“We have reason to believe that… Fuck…” Dark massages the base of his neck and his thick biceps flex. “There’s somebody scouting you.”

“Scouting me, how? For what?”

“Someone who knows about your talents.”

“My plants?” That’s not exactly a talent. They’re plants. They grow. You harvest them and turn them into usable poison. Literally, anyone with time and half a brain could do it. My mother taught me how in the back of the old hippy van we lived in. We had a small grow area where we harvested the necessities and stored them in blue Ball jars. We tried out different blends on people. No. Not people. Men. We targeted men. Well, she did. I didn’thave much say in who we experimented on. I had a small notebook where I recorded all our notes and outcomes—it disappeared ages ago. Mom learned everything about the dangerous plants Mother Earth provides during her worldly travels and passed on the knowledge to me. Again, that’s not talent. That’s education. There isn’t a time I don’t remember knowing. It’s just there.

Inserting himself into the conversation, Sunshine reaches into my lap, claims my half-eaten plate of food, and rests it on the sofa table beside him. Then he grabs my calf and turns me so my back tucks into the arm of my couch, and my legs are in his lap. His eyes meet mine for the first time since the bedroom incident. They’re warm but etched with concern.

“We believe Todd works for the same people scouting you,” Sunshine explains.

“No. No, he’s not.” That’s insane. Actually insane.

“Sweets. Yes. He. Is. We went to the restaurant to ID him and shake shit up. He needs to know that whatever he’s got planned, it ain’t gonna fly. You’re too important to us and to the club. Whoever is bankrolling this motherfucker ain’t gonna like we’re in the picture.”

Oh.

When I don’t say anything, Sunshine continues, and as he does, he massages my bare feet. “Have you ever noticed the stalkers only happen when we aren’t around?”

I shrug. “No. I guess not.”

“Just tell her, Pops,” Dark says, as if they’re hiding something vital.

Squeezing his eyes shut for half a beat, Sunshine shakes his head and exhales a sigh. When he reopensthose gorgeous grays, he pins them on me. “You know I’m a cleaner.”

“Duh,” I reply.

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