Page 13 of Pick Me

When had he started? Liam was already running from an onslaught of cops while I was revving up the engine of the getaway car.

“How many are after you?” I asked, annoyed that Liam couldn’t do a damn thing without me.

“At least twenty.” I could hear the effort as I drove around the block to find him.

“Give me a second,” I grumbled. Sometimes, I wondered what Liam brought to the table besides his good looks. I would have completed the game by now if it weren’t dual player, but then I remembered the increased follow count and the endorsement offer sitting in my inbox. All things I wouldn’t have if it weren’t for him.

I guessed I should be thankful even if he were prone to getting killed on every street corner.

With that, I saved his ass and moved on to the next level.

Chapter Four

Thea

I threw my door open, letting it hit the wall with a thud. When Jackson didn’t look my way, I glared at his grimy baseball hat and snarled.

How could a person wearing a headset be so loud?

“Can you please keep it down?” I gritted out, making my way to the living room.

Jackson was too focused on the game to notice me. His thick thumbs furiously moved across the controller, his eyes glued to the TV.

“I know. I know. I promised I’d fix it before the Mafia boss found us,” he said. I assumed he was speaking to that guy who didn’t want vegetable ears, and followed his intense gaze to the screen, then bursted out laughing.

“Hold on a minute. Is that supposed to beyou?” I pointed at the extremely hot, tattooed and pierced bad boy working on the car in the game. Hot as hell; if he were real, he’d be mine. Then I turned to my overly muscular roommate and laughed some more. Sure, Jackson was good-looking, and without his shirt on, he was a sight to be seen. However, he was a good boy playing bad.

His eyes flicked to me for barely a second before going back to the screen. He answered with a growl, confirming my suspicion.

“Wow. You really think highly of yourself, don’t you?”

He ignored me and chomped on his popcorn obnoxiously loud.

I shook my head, my fists tightening in anger. “I can’t believe you.”

That got his attention. His light eyes burned dark as they connected with mine, and a chill ran up my spine. In any other circumstance, I might even say that glare highlighted his chiseled features. “Mynight. Remember?” It was a threat. One I knew he’d never follow through on. Much like his character on screen, as much as Jackson liked to pretend he was a bad boy, he really wasn’t.

“Trust me, it’s hard to forget with all the grunting out here. Seriously, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were fucking a moose.”

I ignored the yelling coming through Jackson’s headset and considered giving him a lecture on how loud it was when the rancid smell hit me. I thought the burned, overly processed cheese popcorn was bad, but right next to Jackson were perfect slices of bologna.

“What the hell are you eating?” I was going to hurl. Honestly, why did I ever think this man was attractive? He wasn’t. Everything about him was obnoxious, overbearing, and repulsive.

Nothing. He said nothing, so I stalked around the couch and tore that stupid little microphone off his head.

“Hey, what was that for?”

I tossed it across the room, not caring when it hit something. That would be Jackson’s problem to figure out.

“You’re wearing your headphones, but you’re being so loud I can’t listen to my music in peace.”

“That wouldn’t matter if you could actually keep your promises and maintain a healthy social life.”

I raised my brows. “I told you I’d be quiet in my room. We didn’t agree to the schedule until it was too late to arrange anything.”

He laughed sarcastically. “I’m going to need a second, L. Do you think you can handle the mob boss on your own?”

I covered my ears. “Why are you talking so loudly?”

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