Page 20 of No Take Backs

I don’t say anything because my eyes are glued to Nia’s ass in a pair of leggings that hug every single curve of the body I haven’t gotten a chance to know as well as I want to.

Before he can make himself known, however, his sister is right back at my side with a wide smile. “Thanks for dragging Kevin out, Josh. I didn’t think I’d get to see him this month. We’re having a party for Nia, the woman who was just standing here. You guys should join us.”

Then she is off again, dragging her brother in her wake, refusing to let him give her anything but what she wants, and what she wants is for us to join their party. The tortured plea in his eyes as he looks back over his shoulder has me smiling even more.

I do the only possible thing I can. I follow her.

After all, Nia can’t very well run away when we are all sitting at the same table, can she? I also don’t miss the fact that her shoulders tense as she watches me approach hot on Chloe’s heels.

“Kevin and his roommate, Josh, are gonna sit with us.” Chloe sits down next to her husband, yanking on Kevin’s arm until he takes the seat right next to her like the doting brother he’s pretending not to be.

I’m certainly not complaining about the seating arrangement, especially since the only empty seat left at the table is directly across from Nia. As I slide into the chair, I catch the brief flash of surprise in her eyes before she quickly masks it with a facade of nonchalance.

But it’s too late.

I’ve seen the momentary crack in her composure, and it only fuels my determination to keep her off-balance. Dinner is shaping up to be more interesting than I thought it would be, and I have no intention of letting her off the hook that easily. If she thinks she can brush me aside without addressing what happened between us, she’s in for a rude awakening.

And maybe I’ll use handcuffs this time. I’m sure I’ve got a pair in storage somewhere.

Hell, the only reason I don’t bring up our one-night stand to the entire table is the fact that she left me high and dry… and wanting more of her than any man has a right to want a woman.

“Save me.” Kevin catches my attention with his whispered plea. “Just switch seats with me. I can’t take my little sister hounding me about going back to the fire department again. She won’t let it go.”

“No,” I hiss back, eyeing Nia out of my peripheral vision. “You’re her big brother, and she wants you to live again.”

“I am living,” Kevin declares, his voice louder than intended. The sudden outburst earns us a few curious glances, but he doesn’t seem to care. His expression hardens as he continues, the frustration and exhaustion evident in his tone. “It’s not my fault I don’t want to walk into burning buildings anymore. I’ve done my time. I’ve seen more than enough flames for one lifetime. Now, I just have to find something I can tolerate, something that doesn’t make me want to crawl out of my skin. And it’s not like I actually need the money. I’m rich now.” Even if he mutters the last part, the raw honesty in his words silences any further objections I might have had, and I find myself nodding in agreement. He’s right. It’s his life, his decision, and he’s earned the right to choose a path that doesn’t lead back into the fire. Especially if the fire is going to do more harm than good.

“Hey.” Nia’s voice cuts through the thick silence that has settled over our table. The tone is softer than usual, more vulnerable, as she stares at Kevin with a look of understanding that catches me off guard. “There’s nothing wrong with making the choice to save yourself,” she says, her words deliberate and weighted with meaning.

For a moment, she seems to realize that everyone is watching her, waiting for her to continue. A slight flush colors her cheeks, but she doesn’t back down. Instead, she clears her throat and looks down at her hands, which I can imagine are clenched tightly in her lap.

“You know what?” she continues, a fire igniting behind her eyes that I haven’t seen before. “No. It’s okay that you don’t want to do it anymore. I don’t want to sound crass or out of line, but everyone knows that you were overseas, trapped in a hell that none of us can probably imagine. I think you should take as long as you want to be depressed, to grieve, to process what you’ve been through and decide if you want to do anything else. There are people who didn’t go through what you did that are beyond messed up. The fact that you’re sitting here, in a restaurant surrounded by people when you look like you’re crawling out of your skin, is amazing. And if you want to just stay at home in a blanket fort and avoid your sister, you should be able to do that, too.” The passion in her voice is undeniable, and as she speaks, I can see the tension slowly drain from Kevin’s shoulders. It’s as if her words have given him permission to feel what he’s been suppressing for so long.

Her chest heaves with the intensity of her words, and the fire in her eyes is impossible to ignore. It’s a passion that I find equally intoxicating and terrifying, a combination that makes it nearly impossible to keep my thoughts in check.

Ignoring the painfully obvious reaction my body is having to her fiery outburst, I glance over at Kevin, expecting to see the usual trepidation and fear that have become so familiar. But instead, what I see surprises me. His eyes are dancing with laughter, a lightness that hasn’t been there in a long time. It’s as if Nia’s words have lifted a weight off his shoulders, even if just for a moment, and it makes me see her in a whole new light.

“You’re a spitfire,” Kevin finally says, breaking the tense silence that has settled over the table. His voice carries a warmth that’s been absent for far too long, and I can tell that Nia’s words have struck a chord with him. “I like your friend, Chloe,” he adds, turning to his sister with a look that’s equal parts gratitude and amusement. The tension that had been building dissipates, replaced by a ripple of laughter that spreads through the group. The mood shifts, lightens, as if Nia’s impassioned speech has given everyone permission to relax, to let go of whatever burdens they’ve been carrying.

While the rest of the tables around us follow suit and laugh, returning to their conversations, tension still flows off Nia in waves. At least until she makes eye contact with Kevin. Then her face lights up with the kind of smile that men gladly go to war for, and all the air in the room vanishes. Except, the smile isn’t aimed at me.

She’s staring directly at Kevin, her gaze unwavering as a blush spreads from the roots of her almost platinum hair to the very tip of her nose. It’s a blush that transforms her from the confident, no-nonsense woman she presents to the world into someone softer, more vulnerable, and it’s a side of her I find myself inexplicably drawn to. There’s a teasing glint in her eyes as she finally speaks, her voice filled with playful defiance.

“You, sir, are a flirt,” she declares, raising her hand in the air to signal the waitress. There’s a challenge in her tone, one that dares Kevin to respond, to match her wit. “Someone better get us a round before I decide to flirt back, just for the fun of it.” The words are light, teasing, but there’s an underlying edge to them, a hint of something deeper that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s as if she’s using humor to mask something she’s not ready to reveal, and it only makes me more intrigued by her.

The man sitting on her other side, Detective Eddie Stryker, groans loudly. “Come on, V. You don’t have to flirt with everyone.”

She freezes, and the heat that filled our table only a moment before evaporates into thin air, only to be replaced with ice that would have done the Titanic proud.

“Eddie,” she says so sweetly that honey wouldn’t have melted on her tongue. “If you have a problem with us having fun, you can go sit at one of the boring tables. This is the fun table, and I’m not going to let you shit on my last night with a lot of my friends from the PD. Do you understand? Or do I need to prove my point?” Like I thought, her voice is sickly sweet, but her words could have flayed the man alive.

Stryker doesn’t say another word, and I honestly feel bad for the guy. I’ve worked with him through our two agencies multiple times over the years. He is a solid cop and always volunteers to help when we need it.

Clearly, there is some sort of history between the two of them, and if I were a better man, I might walk away. Unfortunately for Eddie, I’m not going to. Not when it seems like fate is throwing Nia in my path.

Violet Ortiz, better known as Vi, comes up to our table and takes everyone’s order. When Nia gets a Bloody Mary, half the table groans and the other half laughs.

“What?” I ask Kevin. “Why’re they groaning?”

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