Page 81 of Fighting For You
“I’m just saying I’ll do just about anything for you, even take your boring shift at the desk in HQ, and I think you know that, but…” He let it hang between us.
“But?” I prompted, an irritated edge making itself known loud and clear.
“But you have to tell me why you need the time.”
Speaking of, I had zero time left on the brief break I’d taken, so I gave him what he wanted. He clearly knew anyway, or he wouldn’t have made such a big deal of it.
“I want to catch Pop before she goes on shift. I think things are going well but we’ve been on opposite schedules, and I want to check in.” Hopefully, he wouldn’t notice the flush of my cheeks.
He pushed off the door frame “Yes.Yes.” He kept coming and rammed into me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and squeezing me. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
I laughed at his dramatics but accepted his praise. “Thanks.”
He pulled back and swallowed, his throat working like it took effort.Aw, hell. Here we go.
“I know you’re gonna roll your eyes at me, but I’m gonna take a minute and then I’ll do what you asked without mentioning it again, okay?” His words were watery, right along with his eyes.
I cleared my throat, in no mood to start down an emotional rollercoaster with him. No one could make me cry faster than this kid. “Fine.”
His gaze shifted into something so soft andaffectionate, another version of myself would’ve died at the proximity to it. But getting closer with Kenny the last few years, I’d learned a lot.
“I’m so proud of you. You’re still grieving Omi but you’re out here fighting for Pop like you’ve always wanted to. And from the sounds of things, it’s going pretty darn well. So”—he slapped my back—“way to go, brother.”
I exhaled as though impatient, but really I needed to breathe past the knot in my throat that never failed to rise when he called me brother because I knew he meant it like Adam meant it for Ethan or Wilder meant it for Warrick and Wyatt, even though we didn’t share blood.
Then I hooked an arm around his neck to draw him into a quick hug. “Thank you. And thanks…” I cleared my damn throat again. “For being here. And for the twenty minutes.”
Kenny pulled back and swiped at his eyes quickly before wiggling his brows, gear shifted instantly back to teasing and annoying. “I can probably do an hour if you need more time.”
Like any good brotherly relationship required at such a time, I palmed his face and shoved him away.
He laughed, then waved me off as I left him in the break room. I had two hours and forty minutes until he’d start his shift early and swap out with me. Jess and I had never once texted so I felt weird about doing so now, but I also didn’t want to miss seeing her. We were all moving in different directions and coordinating with our CP here at the homebase, but since she was man-on with Jack again tonight, she very well might not show up here at all.
Swallowing the nerves that hounded me as I tapped out the words—then deleted them, then made another attempt—I exhaled sharply and sent the message.
“Everything okay?” Bruce asked, Tristan and Luc at his side.
I shoved a hand into my hair. “Yeah. All good with you?”
Bruce’s brow was furrowed, and he glanced toward the other two. “I’m… I don’t know. I’ve got a feeling something’s off.”
“With what?” I asked, certain that if Bruce suspected something was iffy, he was unlikely to be wrong.
“Julian mentioned something to me the other day that hit me weird. You know Cara, his stepdaughter, has been hanging out with Jenna Halter?” he asked.
“Had heard something like that and saw them at the event two nights ago,” I confirmed.
Bruce nodded. “Yeah, she’s sort of assisting her, but it’s mostly because they’ve become friends in a roundabout way and Jenna loves Cara and wants to introduce her to some music people here or something. Anyway, Julian casually dropped that Cara had an odd interaction with someone from Blackthorne.”
I already knew. “Kurt.”
Bruce, Tristan, and Luc all confirmed with simultaneous nods.
“What kind of odd?” I asked, dread sliding through me. Kurt was a jackass, but he’d never been after underage girls… at least not that I’d been aware of. If he was hitting on a teenager…
Bruce scowled. “Unclear. I guess she just seemed a little put off by him. Cookie’s asking Jenna about it to see what she knows.” He searched my face. “Any concerns on your end?”
And this was where I’d never found the right note to strike because I no longer believed I had an ability toseparate out my feelings about Kurt and what I knew he used to be like with what I knew about him now. I hadn’t seen anything particularly damning, though he certainly seemed to be focused on women. But that wasn’t necessarily a crime. That he was rude to Jess made me want to ask his face some questions with my fist, but it still wasn’t a professional failing.
