Page 38 of The Jester and His Outlaw: Part One

I roll my eyes. He’s not wrong and while I should be happy that he wants to take the fall for me, I’m not. I feel guilty.

He isn’t the one buying it right now. I am. It’s my responsibility. But I also realize I am way out of my league, and I can’t remember a time I’ve ever been happy for Riggs Sutton’s presence.

“Fine,” I resign. “Thanks, Riggs.”

I hand him a roll of money, officially earning my thug card. The guys all share a round of laughs.

Heat rises into my cheeks, and I know damn well they can all see it. Riggs’ eyes settle on me and this time, he isn’t looking at me like I’m gum stuck on the bottom of his shoe. This time, there is an ease in his gaze. He studies my features, getting stuck on my lips as he wets his own. My heart speeds up in my chest and for a moment, I’m trapped in a little bubble with him.

“Well, I’m fucking glad someone wroteyournumber on the wall in the bathroom,” Kai clips sarcastically, breaking us from our trance and clapping Riggs on the chest. Riggs’ body rocks back, but he recovers.

Riggs doesn’t turn away, though. “That’s how you got my number?” His smile grows. “Damn, you’ve got balls.”

My eyes grow wide, and I can’t help but smile back at him. Was that a compliment? I’m going to take it as one because yeah, I have balls. Maybe stupid ones that make poor decisions, but I have balls.

“Thanks?”

Riggs dips his head slowly and places his elbow on the door, leaning in. I try to hide my sniff in his direction, but I think Foxy catches on because she lets out a low whistle. Instead of watching him full on, I spare a couple of glances out of the corner of my eye.

Jesus, he is so damn hot with his dark, bronzed hair all ruffled from his helmet and his blue eyes sparkling with light. Light I’ve never seen in him before. Eyes I could get lost in if given the chance. The way his lips curve shows he has a tiny dimple on the right side of his face.

Hold up. What?I’m talking about his dimple and the curve of his lips? I shake my head to break my train of thought. What the hell is wrong with me?

“What are you guys getting into tonight?” Jensen asks all of us, but he’s clearly only interested in what Foxy is going to say.

“I’m going home to shower,” I reply.

“I’ve got to get to work soon.” Riggs’ mood falters and the air around him fills with the weight of sadness. I take it he doesn’t want to go to work today. Foxy said he is going through some shit right now. I wonder what that shit might be.Wait, no I don’t.

“Kai, you gonna leave me hanging?” Kai shakes his head in Jensen’s direction.

“What you got in mind?” he responds with a gleam in his eye.

“I’m sure we can come up with something. Fox, you in?”

“I wish,” she sighs. “My father wants me home for dinner tonight.”

Jensen frowns playfully.

“Just me and you, Kai. Let’s go.”

CHAPTER17

“That was awkward,”Foxy mentions as I drive the Jeep from deep within the park and pull onto the main road. Kai and Jensen headed off to who knows where, and Riggs is a few cars ahead of us. Call me stupid and a moron, but I have an urge to follow him. I will not do a drive by shooting or anything, but I want to glimpse where he lives—for whatever reason.

I still haven’t decided why. Maybe because I want to prove he’s lying. That he’s not from the other side of the tracks that doesn’t have enough money to feed himself. I want to justify that he is indeed a rich prick asshole he claims to hate so much. Anything to make him a demon because he smiled at me this afternoon and leaned in to talk to me. He got so close I could pull him into my lungs. Like candied grapes and fresh outdoors.

I needed to convince myself that he was still an enemy.

“Yeah, tell me about it. Me, of all people, would text the number of my arch enemy. I can’t believe he was the one who showed up.” Foxy’s giggle pierces my ear drum. She cannot get a hold of herself and thinks my pain is hilarious.

“I might start calling you Mandy from now on.” Switching my eyes between the road and Foxy, she’s trying to hold in the laughter that threatens to explode from her. My death glare is enough to help her rein it in, though. “Okay, okay fine. But good news is, Riggs didn’t look like he wanted to kill you. He smiled at you.” She winks cheekily.

My heart melts in my chest with her statement. She was right. He smiled and as terrible as that situation was, it didn’t piss him off that I was the one he’d been texting. Why didn’t it piss him off?

It should have.

I wanted him to be pissed when he got off his bike.

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