Page 93 of Bad Boy Next Door
Twenty-Seven
Nick
“About time you showed,” Mac said as I walked into Keagan’s apartment. “Thought maybe you were tied to the bed again.”
“Very funny.” Even my brothers’ teasing couldn’t ruin my Jade-induced high.
She was amazing in every way. Stan had fired her less than twenty-four hours ago, and she’d already landed a part-time waitressing job and had a line on a second. I wondered why she wasn’t looking for a job in a kitchen, but she claimed waitressing paid better, with the tips, than a job in the kind of kitchen where she wanted to train. Crazy to think she needed to save up to be able to afford to do the job she wanted. She could save more if we moved in together…
I walked straight through to the kitchen and grabbed a beer. “Explain this to me.” Mac leaned onto the kitchen island, across from me. “You ordered your sex slave to tie you up?”
“Fuck you.” I chuckled. “Fuck you all. My sex life is none of your business, Jade is none of your business, and Shane and Keagan are total assholes for what they did. Can we just drop it?”
“I agree,” Keagan said from the sofa. “We’ve got more important things to discuss. Like next Saturday night.”
“About that,” I said. “I’m definitely out.”
Shane came out of the bathroom. My mood deflated. I was not ready to forgive and forget the ketchup and mayo art. Not yet.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Nick’s out,” Mac answered.
“No.” Shane strode toward me. “Nicky—”
“Don’t you ‘Nicky’ me.” I jabbed my beer toward him.
Clearly sniffing anger, he stopped short.
“And don’t try to lay a guilt trip on me,” I said. “Not after what you did.”
“So now you’re an art critic?” Shane smirked.
Shaking my head, I turned away and scooped a slice of lasagna from the tray on Keagan’s table. Setting my beer down, I tucked into the food, refusing to take Shane’s bait.
Now that I was eating Jade’s cooking so often, this frozen lasagna from Salvatore’s wasn’t up to my newly high standards. I sliced off a hunk of sourdough to sop up some of the sauce.
“Hey.” Keagan stepped up beside me. “You know we were just joking around, right? I was just about to untie you when she walked in.”
I stuffed a huge chunk of lasagna into my mouth so I wouldn’t have to answer. Keagan and Shane had threatened blackmail—not exactly a joke—although I knew my brothers would never do anything to really hurt me.
Keagan put his hand across my shoulders. Second in height to me, he was the only brother who could do that without straining.
“Listen, Nicky. I get that you want out, but we could really use you on this one. It’s a five-man job, plus with you on the team we won’t need to go in hot.”
I studied my oldest brother’s face as I swallowed. “You’re not bringing guns.” The Downeys rarely used guns. Never got involved in any jobs that might need them. Sure, it meant we’d passed up dozens of great opportunities over the years, but it had kept us alive and had shortened Shane’s jail sentence. It was one rule I’d never thought I’d see Keagan break. Shane, yes, Keagan, no.
Keagan shrugged as if it was out of his hands and into mine.
“Don’t put that on me.” I set my plate down. “This whole thing sounds dangerous. Did right from the start. Come on, Keag, you’re too smart to go ahead with a job of Shane’s.”
He frowned. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You think I’d do this if I hadn’t checked out Shane’s info, fleshed out a good plan?”
“If you did such a great job of planning, you should have made it for four. I’m out.”
He leaned onto the table. “You keep saying that, Nick, but you always come through. Loyalty first, right?”
I tried to ignore the guilt his words unearthed. “I’m done. For real. I promised.”
