Page 38 of Cocky Jerk

You fucking name it and this guy has been charged with it, but from the looks of it, nothing sticks.

Forget O.J. Simpson, whoever DeLuca has on retainer is the real dream team.

I keep scrolling, bypassing all the arrests and the list of criminals he’s been linked to and freeze when I spot the one charge that actually did stick. Thirty years ago, DeLuca did a bid for aggravated assault on a cop. He had no priors at the time, so he was out in five years. That should be a crime in itself, yet all it appears to be is the beginning of DeLuca’s affair with breaking the law.

It’s no wonder his daughter doesn’t date cops.

The question is, now that I know who her father is, what the fuck am I going to do with her?

“Pirelli!” Judy shouts, tearing my attention away from the screen. “Here’s your change,” she says, throwing a twenty at me. “I bought myself a cup of coffee and a danish too.”

* * *

Pullingthe beer bottle away from my lips, I glare at my cousin, Tig, as he continues to ignore my rant.

“Did you not hear a word I just said? Her father is a fucking convicted felon.”

He pauses with the tattoo gun in his hand and lifts his eyes from his client’s back.

“So?”

“So, I’m a cop!”

Sighing, Tig takes his foot off the pedal, powering down the gun. The buzzing sound dies, and he pats his client on the shoulder.

“Gary, give me a minute,” he says, pulling the rubber gloves from his hands.

“Sure, bro,” Gary replies. “I’m going to go out for a smoke.” He pauses in front of me and shakes his head before glancing back at Tig. “Good luck with this one.”

This coming from a guy who is tattooing a tarantula to his back. When Gary is out of sight, I turn back to Tig.

“Your client is an asshole.”

“Same could be said about you.”

I bring the beer back to my lips and take another long pull.

“You’ve been going on about this girl for a week,” he points out.

“Six days,” I correct.

“Soraya says you sent her a fruit basket and took her to Luigi’s,” he pauses, crossing his arms against his chest. “You took the girl to your favorite restaurant, seems like a big deal to me.”

Lowering my beer, I raise an eyebrow.

“Good to know you and Soraya have nothing better to talk about,” I mutter. Dropping my eyes to the bottle in my hand, I start to pick at the label. “You’re no fucking help.”

“You don’t need my help,” he says. “You need to pull your head out of your ass. You’re not dating her father, you’re dating her.”

“I hate that word.”

“Dating?” he questions.

“Yeah,” I admit. “All I wanted was to get her out of my system. One fucking night.”

Tig laughs, and my gaze snaps back to him.

“It’s not funny,” I argue. “I don’t know what I’m doing. She’s not like any other girl I’ve met before. She’s a firecracker wrapped in leather, with wild hair and beautiful eyes. Complete with a smart mouth and a fucking ass you just want to sink your teeth into.”

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