Page 115 of The Villain

“No, those jerks owe,” she grumbles. “They’re the ones that stole it.”

“They paid.”

“How?” She looks up in confusion.

Shade starts to laugh. “She slashed their tires and left them stranded at the bar.”

“You’re laughing,” I say with narrowed eyes. “I thought you wouldn’t like it.”

“Of course I like it, baby,” he chuckles with a confused look.

“You didn’t laugh before.”

“I wasn’t sure if it was real before. I laughed my ass off when Andi told me everything you broke. Why didn’t you just set it all on fire?”

“I changed my mind. If a fire started inside the things you left might have gotten damaged.”

His hand goes around the back of my neck to pull me into a laughing kiss.

“I will get a new phone tomorrow,” he says with a grin. “You can have yours now that I’ve been all through it. You’re a little boring baby.”

“Good to know and not give a shit about,” I nod placidly while he laughs.

“My mom might text you though. I wanted her to know I was safe. Use caution,” he warns me. “She wants to meet you so bad she can taste it.”

“To threaten me for touching her precious son?” I ask calmly.

“No. So you can tell her how you got me to behave so well,” he scoffs.

“Just tell her threats. It’s all she needs,” Max laughs, watching our banter like we’re a soap opera. “I can’t believe you have a mom, man.”

“Did I hatch from an egg, Max?” He asks blandly.

“Maybe,” he shrugs. “How would I know since you don’t talk?”

Tera starts giggling. “It’s been driving Max crazy that you won’t talk to him.”

“The gossip deserved it,” Shade says and gives Tera a high five over the table.

“You were in on it together?” Max looks betrayed.

“I’m impressed, Ter-bear,” I nod in respect.

“It was Shade’s idea,” she gushes like a proud parent. “He’s been helping me with passive aggression. He said I don’t have to be the one doing it for it to be effective.”

“I’m impressed, Shade,” I smirk.

“Don’t support bad behavior, Southie,” Max wheedles and leans forward to try and intimidate me with his frown.

“You look like a before picture,” I take another bite of pizza and chew slowly as I stare him in the eyes.

His eyes widen and his lips start turning up in a smile. Someone likes being insulted. Good practice for Tera. Game on.

“You’re dating Shade. You love the red flags that much?”

“They’re called fun facts. In your case, it’s called boring yawn-fest.”

“Tera says you like murder docs. You should take notes so you can get away with it when you’re ready.”

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