Page 35 of The Demons We Hide

“I’m gonna go talk to her tonight,” Gio says, recapturing my attention.

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Nolan asks.

“At the fucking least, I have to try,” G replies, frustration clear in his tone and his body as he rubs the flat of his hand over his hair. Several strands are dragged back away from his face only to bounce right back over his forehead with the movement. “I’m kind of hoping that since she knows I couldn’t have anything to do with her apartment that she’ll let me talk to her. If I can just get her alone, maybe…”

He doesn’t need to finish the statement. If anyone understands the desire to get Juliet alone and vulnerable in his grasp, it’s me.

“She needs a new place to stay,” I announce. Both Nolan and Gio glance in my direction.

“What? I thought she was staying with Ma-Ri’s niece or something?”

I turn my phone around and let them see the texts. “Looks like she’s moving out this weekend.”

Both of them lean forward. “That might be beneficial to us,” Nolan murmurs, eyes locked on the screen for a moment more before I put it down. He nods to Gio. “Fine, go talk to her. See if you can get her to agree to go with us to Eastpoint. We can work on her there.”

Work on her.A shiver of anticipation steals up my spine. As Nolan turns and climbs into the vehicle, I face Gio.

“G.” All it takes is one word, and his attention focuses squarely on me. For a moment, all he does is look back at me, waiting for me to tell him what I want. When I don’t say a word, he shifts on his feet.

“Goddamn it, Lex, just spit it out.”

That’s the thing, though—a request such as this isn’t meant to be justspat out. It requires elegance, something I’ve never had much of. Another beat passes and Gio blows out a long breath.

“I don’t expect anything to happen between us,” he finally says, guessing the direction of my thoughts—rather accurately I might add.

“But if it does?”

Gio’s head sinks back on his shoulders as he stares up at the sky. With a low groan, he straightens. “I’ll include you,” he mutters.

I grin.

“She won’t like it,” he says.

I shrug. “She never has to know.”

Gio shakes his head and moves away, the last of his words drifting back to me as he grumbles to himself. “Ain’t that the fucking truth.”

15

GIO

I'm on my third cigarette, standing outside Roquel Lee's shitty ass duplex when I realize—I'm acting just like Lex. Minus the whole technological genius shtick, of course. Dropping the mostly burnt-out cig to the pavement, I crush it under my foot and leverage away from the big green pad-mounted transformer box I'd been using as a seat for the last thirty minutes. Instead of going straight up the front steps of the residence, though, I circle it—all while keeping an eye on the neighbors.

A couple of guys sit out on the front stoop despite the fact that it's well past dusk. They watch me, too. I don't lift a hand or wave, though. Even if I don't know them by name, when I'd parked down the street and ambled my way up to where Prep Girl's been staying for the last few weeks, I'd seen the way they'd looked at me. The recognition. They know who I am and they know who I work for. It rarely pays to be Darrio Vargas' son, but it appears now is one of those times.

I hate that Juliet has been staying here. As if the dilapidated old homes and duplexes that line the street with their overgrown yards and car frames on cinder blocks aren’t enough. The fact that the guys on the stoop don't even bother to call out a warning or approach me to demand what I'm doing here when they have to know two teenage girls are living next door makes my upper lip curl back away from my teeth. I could be here for any reason.

All that talk about people helping others in need is bullshit. The more people there are around, the less likely anyone is to help.

Sidling up close to the side of the house with its peeling paint and dirtied windows, I halt as a light comes on further down the wall. Creeping towards it, I pause before peering inside.

Juliet appears, fresh faced and rosy from an obviously recent shower. She's got a towel wrapped around her luscious body, and her wet hair hangs in disarray around her face.

Ah...fuck.I'd meant it when I told Lex I hadn't expected anything to happen between Prep Girl and me tonight. I'm here to talk, not … what I'm thinking now as she turns away from the window and drops the towel. My cock hardens in my jeans, pressing hard against my zipper with a harsh throb. My lungs expand and inflate as the sight of her backside, rounded and thick, draws my attention.

Fuck.Fuck. Fuck!I can't draw my eyes away though as she bends over and rummages around in what looks like a duffle bag. Definitely not her old one since that one is still over at Nolan's house along with her computer.

The curve of her ass disappears a moment later as she straightens and pulls on a large gray t-shirt. I blow out a breath and before I can pussy out or keep watching her like a creep, I knock on the window. I hear the curse she lets out through the thin glass pane as I whirl to face her. Then her eyes zero in on where I stand.

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