Page 12 of Blood & Kisses

“Word on the street is that he was shot,” he states, brushing his fingers lightly along my ribs and my skin tingles.

“No kidding,” I stab back at him.

“Gabe will know more,” he assures me. “But I reckon you won’t be on their list of suspects.”

“How do you know?” I enquire as we walk into the kitchen, where Cormac is chopping carrots into thin slices with great precision and artistry to make each stick the same size

“Because you haven’t declared to anyone that you wanted to kill him or that you have a motive to wanting him dead, right?” he eludes.

“Correct. But I don’t want anyone else to be imprisoned for my crimes,” I assert, biting a carrot stick.

“We’re picking up the car,” Blake tells Cormac.

“Yep, dinner will be served in about half an hour, but if you’re not back in time, I’ll stick it in the warmer,” Cormac continues to chop vegetables as he speaks.

“You have a knack with that knife,” I compliment, mesmerized by the fast-moving blade.

“I have a lot of experience with sharp objects,” he replies, slightly confusing me. I glance at Blake, who’s wearing a smile that hides a secret, I suspect. Maybe I don’t want to know what they hide, but I can’t help noticing the unspoken exchanges between them, which puts me on edge.

Blake’s truck sits high on large tires, and if it weren’t for the shaded windows, I’d feel a little exposed sitting in the cab. The sun is falling over the horizon as a flock of birds dot the orange sky, and for a moment, I have complete clarity and peace. That’s before Blake turns the sound system on, and I’m pulled out of my place of solace.

“Tomorrow, we’ll head back to the shooting range,” Blake suggests, “and I was thinking I should teach you how to use a rifle for long range.”

“Okay. Good idea,” I answer quietly. “The Pig is next, so I want to get too close to that man.”

“The Pig,” he repeats as he approaches a red light. “I’d hate to know what name you’d give me if I happen to have the misfortune of landing myself on your list.”

“Depends if you’re planning on hurting me or…” I pause to consider whether I should be open and honest about my concerns about the three men, and he turns to look at me expectantly to finish my sentence. “Or deceive me.”

His brow furrows in amusement, not in offense; I doubt Blake takes offense to anything. “Deceive you? Why would we do that?”

“I don’t know,” I answer nonchalantly, trying not to make this a big deal. “I killed someone. Maybe you have a hidden agenda that I don’t know about and will screw me over when I least expect it.”

He scratches his unshaven cheek, and I bite my bottom lip, surprised at how much that bristling sound makes me hot. Maybe it’s because Cormac didn’t finish me off earlier today when I gave him a hand job.

“That’s not going to happen, Rae,” he promises.

“That requires me to take your word for it, but sometimes a man’s word is not enough,” I reply, annoyed that I feel this way, but placing my life in the hands of these three men is unwise.

“If you don’t trust me on my word, then I’ll have to prove it to you through actions,” he resigns, pulling up to my apartment block, and the conversation ends. “Have you got your gun on you?”

“No, I left it in my bag at your…Gabe’s house,” I reply, assuming he’s asking if I left my apartment, although he saw me put it in my bag.

He turns sullen and gazes up and down the street, examining the parked cars. “I’m coming with you.”

“Okay,” I answer, glancing behind through the back window to see if he spotted something or someone to be wary of. I couldn’t see anyone, but maybe I was looking in the wrong place.

“Let’s go,” he states, opening his door. His usually relaxed demeanor tenses, and his eyes search the street.

Once inside the elevator, his arm hooks my waist and pulls me close to kiss my cheek. “Tell me who The Pig is,” his warm breath graces my cheek,

I shake my head. “The Pig is my business. Why do you want to know?”

“All I know is that he’s an ex-cop,” he probes, ignoring my question.

I repeat, sounding like a parrot, “Why do you want to know?”

“I have my reasons,” he replies as the elevator pings and the doors slide open.

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