Page 26 of King's Barber
“I’d rather be full of you.”
Sucking in a rare surprised breath, I yanked myself out of his hold and brushed down my clothes to gather my thoughts. Not many people shocked me, but Luke Booth was an exception to a lot of rules—and I wasn’t sure if I liked that. IknewI didn’t like it.
“Fine. You can come around for dinner tonight, if you want. KC will be there, and you can thank him for fixing your bike.” I glared at him as I took another step back. My body turned warm, and I hated the heat that filled my cheeks. I was a goddamn assassin, I didn’t do coy, especially not around a target. I was beginning to regret bringing my normal life into this. KC should have never met Luke.
“I’ll be there. Name a time.”
“Seven. Don’t be late, or I’ll lock you out.” Spinning on my heel, I stormed into the salon, ignoring the chuckles that followed me.
* * *
I stareddown at the food I had spread out across my kitchen island and sighed. I had no idea why I was going to the effort of cooking something extravagant. It was Luke coming over, not the president of the United States. He was the kind of guy who would settle for a beer and a burger, yet instead, I’d made a kung pao chicken and fried rice.
KC came up behind me, grabbing a fork. He gathered some of the chicken and rice on the utensil before shoving the food into his mouth. He moaned. “Pa, that’s so good. We have guests coming?”
“I always cook good meals like this,” I grumbled.
He laughed. “Yeah, when you have time, I know, but that’s not normal.” He nodded at the table I’d set as soon as I’d gotten home. It had one of my fancy linens draped over it—the baby blue tablecloth with intricate patterns woven into the material—and my finest cutlery. “Want to tell me who we’re expecting?”
I sighed and rubbed my forehead. “Luke Booth.”
“Barber?” KC grinned at me as he stole another bite. “I thought you said he wasn’t allowed in our lives anymore and that fixing his bike was a mistake?”
I scowled at him. “I did say that.”
“But he’s coming for dinner tonight?” He smirked. “How is that staying away from him, Pa?”
It wasn’t in my plans to tell KC what had happened. The last thing I wanted was for him to get the idea that something romantic would occur between me and Luke, because it wouldn’t. Definitely not. I snatched the fork out of his hand and pointed it at him. “No more. You can wait until he comes.”
“Is that a pun?” He winked.
I glared. “Don’t be a smart-ass, Kristofer Colt.”
He winced at his full name. KC had always hated what his mother had called him, and when I’d found him on the streets and he’d told me his entire backstory, I’d agreed that KC would be his legal name from now on. I made it happen, forging a fake birth certificate and identity with the help of the Society hacker, Franco.
“I hate it when you call me that.”
“Then don’t act like a child. I need to keep Luke close and inviting him for dinner will make things easier.”
He snorted. “I don’t believe that. You had no trouble following him before. What changed?” His eyebrows crept up his forehead. “He likes you.”
“He does not like me.” I turned away from him and checked the clock. 6:56 p.m. He would be here soon.
“You told me you use everything to your advantage. The stupidest person in the world can tell Barber’s got a thing for you, Pa. He loves it when you go into his shop with complaints, and you know it. That’s why you keep doing it.”
I hated how intelligent KC was. He hid it well, but when he wanted to use his brain, he did it at full capacity. His intellect was why I wanted him to go to college. He could be anything he wanted to be—anything but an assassin.
I touched the ring on my chain, thinking about Dean and how it all went wrong. That’s what happened when I got involved with people who were too close to my job.
“Are you going to leave New Gothenburg again?”
The question caught me off guard. I frowned at him. “Why would you ask that?”
He shrugged, but I didn’t miss the sadness in his eyes. KC always did this when I went off on my next assignment. He stayed with Dad while I dealt with my target. I’d worried that being here for so long while protecting Luke would have an effect on him, and I was starting to see I’d been right to be concerned. KC ducked his head and took the fork off me again, before gathering the rice and then shoving it into his mouth. Dropping the utensil, he ran his palm over his bare arm, shivering.
I sighed and gripped one of the rolled-up sleeves of his green Henley, yanking it down to his wrist and muttering about using clothing correctly. “KC….” I crossed my arms. “Why did you ask that?”
“Because you’re bored.” He licked the excess food off his mouth and sighed. “You don’t like sitting around doing nothing, and that’s exactly what this gig is. The only reason you took it was because of the money that guy offered you.”
