Page 59 of Two Sticky Nuts

“And?” Logan says again.

“And then we wait for them to leave for the day.”

“You want to break into their house and grab Carter ourselves?”

“It’s an option. A pretty good one, considering Skippy can turn off all the cameras. The Gusanos won’t even know we were there.”

“And just what do you think will happen when they find out Carter’s missing?”

“Ah. By then we’ll have Carter somewhere safe, and we can release the footage of Carter being taken by Roman Gusano. Carter can say he escaped on his own or something like that. You and I don’t have to be involved at all.”

Logan’s blue eyes flicker. “Hmph.”

“Hmph, what?” I ask.

“I’m surprised that someone so stupid can be so smart.”

He just called me stupid? “I’m a smart person who did a stupid thing, Mr. Sticky Nuts. And you of all people should know better than to judge a person based on a single event or aspect of their lives.”

“Sorry, I was out of line. You’re not stupid. You’re crazy.”

All the other times he’s insulted me, I let it roll off. But now, for whatever reason, his words really sting. Maybe because now that he’s real, so are my feelings for him. Yes, I barely know the man, but that’s the point. I want to get to know him, versus Carter, who I just wanted to get away from.

“So I’m a trailer-park whore, and I’m crazy.” I bob my head. “At least I know where I stand.”

“Carter told you I said that, huh?”

“Yep,” I reply.

“I only called you that so Carter would back off. He has a big hang-up on class. Probably has to do with his false sense of grandeur. He hates the suburbs especially.”

Guess that would explain why he snubbed my house.I look up at Logan, who is six one compared to me at five six, so I have to crane my neck. “Why did you want him to back off?”

“Because I…” His voice drops off.

“You what?”

He meets my gaze. “As I already said, I liked you.”

Strange. In an odd way, I take his extremely offensive comment as a compliment. He really wanted to make an impression on Carter, so he went for the worst possible thing he could say.

“So you really said that to degrade me in your brother’s eyes?” I ask.

“Yes.”

“Because you wanted me for yourself,” I say.

“Yes.”

Blood races through my veins. He genuinely likes me.Or liked?I need to know. “And now? How do you feel about me?”

“I’d probably leave out the trailer-park part—really has no bearing on any of this—and you’re clearly not a whore.”

“So I’m just trashy and crazy,” I conclude.

“Something like that.”

He’s really going for the jugular. “Okaaay. Good to know.” I exhale. “Well, for the record, when we first met, I knew all about Mr. Sticky Nuts, but I prayed it wasn’t you.”

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