Page 62 of Broken

“Waiting for you, honey-pie.”

“Missed you too, sweetness,” he laughs.

“You get everything sorted?”

“Yeah. Two months stay, if she won’t put up a fight about it.” He sighs, looking across the street.

People are staring at us. That is nothing new, so I ignore them.

“You can get Nero to kick her out.”

“I’ve thought of that. There is no guarantee she’ll stick around in Baltimore. That’s worse.”

“If you need any help, I’m here.”

“Well, I know you’re good at kidnapping.”

He gets a solid glare for that comment. I wouldn’t let anyone else get away with saying that shit. Phoenix knows it’s true. It seems like a drastic last resort to kidnap his own mom.

“I need to not think about it for a few days,” he runs a hand through his hair and glances into the shop, then back at me. “Things good here?”

“They always are,” I shrug.

We’ve had to turn away some clients given we’re a man down. Katja is out of town because her dad is sick. It’s nothing that hurts the business. Phoenix definitely doesn’t need to beworrying about that. His focus goes back to the window, and he blows out a breath.

Two guesses on who he is looking at.

“Don’t give me that look,” he says.

“What look?”

“That one,” he points at my face.

“Pretty sure my expression hasn’t changed.”

“You forget I know you. That twitch in your eye says you’re pissed.”

“You know why,” I say, shifting to lean back against the wall, side on to face him.

“I’ve been thinking a lot. It’s time to do something about it.”

“Meaning?” my voice comes out gruffer than I intended.

“Don’t get your balls twisted. I’m talking about moving on.”

I don’t hide my surprise, which is rare. It’s not often I’m shocked by anything.

“I need to get laid.”

I grunt out a laugh. “You’re telling me.”

“This chick has been reaching out. We’ve hung out but I’ve put her off.”

Phoenix needs to move on. I’m down with that. “Pining over her is not doing you any favors.”

He nods, not having anything more to say. I’m not the guy to talk about this with. Especially given how I feel about him and Lucky.

“I’ll give her a call.”

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