Page 18 of Liar & Champion
She rolled her eyes. “But if you did…”
“I guess I’d like someone…” I looked at her, waiting for help before I shook my head and shrugged. “I really have no idea.”
She snorted adorably. “Wow. That’s specific.”
“There’s a reason I don’t date, haven’t ever really dated anyone long-term.”
“You’re just casual.” She nodded her head very seriously, definitely mocking me.
I pointed at her. “This from someone who won’t date anyone either. So commitment makes us queasy. That’s not a crime or even immoral. Didn’t Paul say something about how much better it is to be single?”
She laughed fully that time. “You should tell your mama that. I’m sure she’d just roll over if you bring in the Good Book. Get out of here before I ask you to fix something.”
I raised a brow. “You need something fixed?”
She sighed heavily. “Stop. I have no idea how you stayed single. You’re the perfect man.”
“I’m really not. Really, really not.” Her saying that I was the perfect man so factually made me incredibly uncomfortable. Just because I didn’t hurt women and didn’t mind helping out didn’t make me a good guy. Everyone who knew me back in Vegas would laugh outright if they heard this sweet little innocent proclaim my perfection.
“And humble? Really, stop, Nix. You’re too much. Get pillows out of the hall closet on your way out. I’m closing my eyes and taking a nap. You must have been really great in home health care. That must have killed your mama having you work for a living.”
I paused. “I must have been.” I had a lot of friends with broken bones, because that was the game we played, but I wasn’t going to clarify. “Call me if you need anything. If your hips get worse, tell me and I’ll take you to the hospital.” I gave her one last backwards glance before I headed out.
I wasn’t comfortable leaving her all alone, but I was just next door, and I had things to do.
When I got back to the small house, I threw her pillows onto the mattress and went to the kitchen to find Daniel washing my dishes.
I stood there for three seconds before I cleared my throat. “Seriously disturbing.”
“Easily disturbed. You had a girl over here last night. Have you made your choice or are you just warming up?”
I sat heavily on a stool and picked up a grapefruit, rolling it around on the laminate counter. “Michael Dupre. Have you heard of him?”
He went very still. “The Dupre’s are not good people.”
“How not good are they? Or I should say, how difficult will it be to rip him apart and hang him to dry?”
“Difficult. Impossible, actually. The Dupre’s have an agreement with your mother.”
That changed things significantly. I swore for a few minutes, working through the different flavors of curses while I rolled the situation around my mind. “I can just kill him.”
He turned around to stare at me. There was extra tension around his eyes. “For fun? That seems like it’s not the best idea.”
“He roughed up my neighbor. She’s not going to be walking for a few days. It’d be fun and righteous. There’s nothing better than righteous wrath. It’s much better than just cold-bloodedly doing the Crocodile’s work.”
He frowned thoughtfully then shrugged. “It’s a distraction. I’ll let your mother know that he’s interfering in your business, and that should take care of it.”
I scowled at him. “Where’s your sense of honor, of justified violence? It would be a good fight, I might even lose. How can I give that to my mother? Besides, he’s her stalker, been after her for years.”
“Give her a gun. Let her defend herself. If she’s not the one you’re choosing, put it behind you. This is temporary. If you mess with things, his relatives will avenge him, and then her and her family will all suffer from your interference. You know how it works.”
I scowled at him. “Give her a gun? Where’s the fun in that? Still, I guess it’s a solution. I’d have to teach her how to shoot so she didn’t end up shooting herself. Still, Daniel, you’re soulless if you don’t want to beat Dupre’s corpse.”
“I’d love to beat Dupre’s corpse, but it’s not a current priority.”
“You’re seriously disturbing.”
“You’re easily disturbed. Focus on the task, Nix. Choose a girl, get back to work, forget about your mother’s alliances, her business, since you don’t want to take responsibility for it.”
