Page 12 of Vigilante
Pulling my mask off my face completely, I smile back. “Yeah, I’m mad at me too,Bella.”
“Yeah, okay, you said he was hot, but you didn’t say he wasthathot!” Her friend barks in shock. “Hey, are you some kind of GQ model or…hey…Julia!”
The girl protests continually while my girl pushes her back into the window and out of sight.
My girl?
“You think I’m hot?”
“Borderline…attractive, I guess.”
“Better than Baby Knees!” Her friend screams from inside.
“Baby knees?” I question.
“Don’t listen to her. She’s an alcoholic. She missed her AA meeting today, and I’m her sponsor.”
Lifting my hand, I rub it over my chin. Christ, my cheeks hurt. I don’t think I’ve smiled this much since…well…it’s been a long time. The door adjacent to me bursts open, and her flushed and breathless friend stands there with a grin on her face the size of Manhattan.
“Hey, Hot Mask Guy, get over here.” She flaps her hand, calling me over.
“Tasha, you whore, I’m going to kill you!”
“Hey, would you shut up. It’s late!” A neighbor calls out from the adjacent window.
“You shut up fucker! If I have to listen to the fake screams of the women you bring home, you can listen to my voice dickhead!”
“Fake screams? Come over here, and I’ll show you they’re not fake.”
“Fuck you Miller, I wouldn’t touch you with this guy’s dick. Go inside!”
I laugh then, hard. My girl has a potty mouth.
My girl. Jesus Christ, I said it again.
As I close the space between myself and her friend, Tasha, I hop the final steps two by two. Stopping in front of her, she holds out her hand.
“Phone.” She demands. I unlock it and hand it to her, and she begins punching in a few numbers before eventually handing it back. “It’s girls’ night, so…no boys allowed. But, if you hurt her, I’ll shoot you directly between the fucking eyes, and nobody will find you,capiche?”
“Okay.”
“Trust me, I have a concealed weapon and a shovel. I doubt anyone would miss you.”
Leaning forward, I place a gentle kiss on her cheek. “I promise. She’s safe with me.”
But is she?
Descending the steps, I hold my phone up to her. “I’ll text you.” Even from here, I can see how her cheeks blush, and she fights the grin, forcing its way onto her angelic face. “I have a few things to do, but are you free this weekend?”
She shrugs. “Maybe. I think I’m working.”
“Call in sick.”
“I can’t?—”
I pin her with a stare. “Call. In. Sick. I want to show youmyspecial place.”
“Is it between your legs?” Tasha cackles.
