Page 14 of A Fine Line

I glance over at Dare, who’s also waiting patiently, smirking at me knowingly. That motherfucker.

I huff out of breath and then mutter, “Those are the people who touched her without her permission.”

All three of them gape at me, and then Dare says, “What was that? You’re gonna have to speak up, Tony. We couldn’t quite hear you.”

I growl, my hands rubbing over my face in agitation. I rest both hands on the counter behind me, and my head bows a bit as I mutter a bit more clearly, “Those are the motherfuckers who put their hands on Carolina without her permission.”

No one says anything for a moment, and a glance out of the corner of my eye shows they’re all looking at each other in surprise. I’m sure they are genuinely surprised that I’d know anything about Carolina, never mind enough to get a list from her.

I don’t know why I came in here thinking I was going to be able to avoid a conversation about any possible acquaintance I might have with that bitch. But I’m in for it now, if the increasingly calculating look on Nettie’s face as she sharpens her claws, preparing to attack, is anything to go by.

Finally, she says, “I told you, Darius. Did I or did I not tell you?”

“Oh, you definitely told me. I was a little skeptical, but you really nailed that one right on the head,” he replies dryly.

Then Matt asks, “How am I only hearing about this now? We have a fucking group chat, and nobody ever uses the fucking group chat.”

Nettie giggles and says, “Well, if you’d like me to include you in our post-coital bliss gossip via group chat, I certainly can do that. Is that like a new type of exhibitionism? Voyeurism?”

Matt shakes his head. “That’s not necessary but thank you. At least someone thinks about me once in a while.”

Dare walks over to the desk, pulls out a stool, and sits down, his eyes on me as he asks, “So you found Carolina?” I nod. “And you still have her?” I nod. “She’s tucked away in the bunker?” I nod again. “She won’t try to escape?”

This time, I shake my head and reply, “No. She asked me specifically to help her find her daughter. And I get the impression that in terms of enemies you know, I’m the least of her worries.”

Nettie leans against the desk near Darius and asks, “Why would you help her? You fucking hate her.”

I raise one shoulder dismissively. “I don’t hate her daughter. And I’m sick and tired of seeing kids paying the price for the sins of their parents. Paying the price only because they were born into the wrong family.”

She smiles at me, her hand squeezing my forearm as she gives me a close-lipped smile. I shake her off and say, “Stop looking at me like that.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Matt and Darius both laugh because we all know she’s full of shit, and so I add, “Sure you don’t, Net. What do you think, guys? She about to go on one of her romance novel trope lectures?”

They both nod, and she takes a moment to glare at each of them individually before turning back to me. “Hey. My romance trope lectures have done a lot of good for us. Admit it.”

She’s not wrong. And most of the time, it’s greatly entertaining, but that’s only when it’s not directed at you. Having it directed at Darius, Matt, or anyone else for that matter is usually all laughs for me.

I can tell she won’t let it go, so I may as well get it over with. “Go ahead. Lay it on me.”

She smiles triumphantly, sitting fully on Dare’s lap as she claps her hands together. “Definitely enemies-to-lovers. Certainly, some form of suspense, maybe even a little thriller. Not really office, but forced-proximity…” She pauses, obviously thinking over her choices as she continues, “Insta-love. Oh, this is great!”

I frown and shake my head. “No fucking way. Insta-love, my ass. I fucking hate that bitch. If it wasn’t for you all, I’d have slit her fucking throat a long time ago and never thought a thing about it.”

She’s still giving me that smug smile as she retorts, “But only after you hate fuck her, right?” And I kind of want to wipe that superior look off her face. Not that I’d ever actually hit her, but maybe putting her in a rear-naked chokehold until she passes out isn’t a bad idea.

As if he can read my mind, Darius pipes up, “Don’t even think about it, Tony.”

“No, go ahead and do it, Tony,” Matt gives his two cents from the other side of the room where he’s tapping on his computer. I’m sure he’d like nothing more than for me to try something to give Darius an opening to try to hand me my ass. I’m not sure if either of us could overtake the other one. It’s more than likely that it would be whoever gave up first.

I raise both my hands in surrender. “Calm down, Beast. I ain’t gonna do nothin’.”

Dare narrows his eyes at me. “Don’t fucking call me that.”

I go to jab back, but Matt interrupts me. “Calm down, kids. Let’s not get distracted. Tony was going to tell us what he knows about Carolina’s situation.”

“I don’t know much. I ran into some complications when I retrieved her from her apartment in Spain, and she didn’t really have much to say before I stuffed her in the box.”

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