Page 44 of Sacrifice the Knight (Checkmate 6)

“You’re a child! You have no clue if I’m looking for a date, and even if I was, you don’t get to make these decisions for your mom.”

“Right.” He reaches up and fixes long hair back off his face. “I agree with you there. I can’t make her decisions; I don’t have that power, but I know you watch her. I get the feeling you wanna make her smile. If you watch her butdon’twanna date her, then we’ll revisit the shooting your dick off thing, because you’re not allowed to have the milk unless you buy the whole cow.”

“Dude…”

“I’m just saying, I can make this easy, or I can make it hard. I can make it so she knows I’m okay with the thought of her dating, and I can make it so I’m good, and she can trust me alone for a couple hours while you buy her dinner. Or I can flip the switch and get myself grounded till I’m old like you, in which case, she’s not leaving my sight.”

Fuck him and his old shit. “So if my watching her is honorable, you’re willing to play?”

He flashes a handsome grin. “Yup! I just want her to be happy, whatever that means, with whoever. Except Zeke, he’s a fuckin’ prick.”

He’s your father!

“Why are you zeroing in on me?” We move a little to the left as the crowd becomes rowdier. Jess accepts hugs from everyone, and Kane watches on, since no one but Jay is game enough to touch him. “I’m not the only guy who watches her, and I could be a murderer psycho. How do you know you’re picking the right one?”

“Well…” His chin dimples flash. “Are you a murderer psycho?”

I guess that would depend on perspective.“No.”

“Right. You’re a cop, sorta. Ben’s mom’s new husband is a cop, too, and since I’m over there more than I’m at home, we heard Oz and the chief talking about you.”

That draws my attention for a whole other reason. “The chief was talking about me? What the fuck about?”

Chuckling, Mac lifts a finger and wags it in my face in a way no grown ass man would dare do. “You gotta watch your gutter mouth in front of me. I’m not saying I don’t cuss, but I’m saying my mom will beat you till you’re black and blue if she thinks you taught me to say ‘fuck.’”

“You already know that word?”

“Of course I do.”

“Who taught you?”

He laughs. “My mom did, but that’s beside the point. My mom doesn’t want any bad influences around me, since apparently I’m easily led into trouble.”

“Are you?”

He shrugs. “Sometimes. I get bored, and sometimes doing stupid shit sounds like fun. I don’t do a lot of that stuff anymore, not because I think it’s stupid, but because it hurts my mom. I’m trying to be mature and shit, so she’ll stop freaking out so often.”

“I mean… I guess that’s cool of you. Mature and stuff.”

“Right. So that’s the deal, if you’re a good guy, not a murderer, have honorable intentions, not looking to steal her away from me on a permanent basis, and are willing to make her smile, I’d be willing to put in a good word for you and endure a teeny bit of awkwardness. I heard Alex and Oz talk about you and the Bishops for hours. Like, a lot of hours. And the general consensus is the local PD respects the fuck outta you guys. So I’m saying we could be cool.”

“Um…” I clear my throat. I’ve worked in and around undercover operations, guns, drugs, criminals, murder and worse. I’ve seen it all. But this fourteen-year-old kid still manages to walk up to me at a party and make me nervous. “Alright. I guess I could–”

“Awesome! Hey, Mom.” Ducking away on fast feet, only to spin back before my next breath, the little shit deposits a radiant Katrina right under my nose and flashes a smartass grin. Katrina wears all black, a cinched dress that shows her hourglass figure to perfection and heels that give her a couple extra inches I didn’t realize I love. She carries a glass of champagne in her left hand and presses the right to her heart while she furiously blushes and looks me up and down with wide eyes.

“Uh…”

Mac slides his arm around her shoulders and pulls her in for a side hug. “Mom, you remember Eric from the diner? He’s friends with the groom’s side.”

Her face flames redder. “Um…”

“We just ran into each other, and he was saying how he had this awesome story to tell, but seeing as I don’t have time to listen to old people stories, I thought maybe you’d hang out with him.”

“Mac!”

“He thinks you look pretty in that dress.” Hip bumping her a little closer, Mac flashes a wide grin and latches on to his friend Ben as he passes. From the center of our group to invisible the next second, Mac leaves behind the carnage of his meddling while I flounder for something to say and Katrina grasps for an excuse to race outta here.

Fucking her in the dark is one thing. It satiated a hunger that’s been brewing for years. But a date. In the light. Where I have to remain honorable.

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