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For a second, I stop and stare.
With her hands clenched by her sides and flashing eyes, she’s magnificent. A living, breathing treasure I’m fighting like hell to protect.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not doing this to piss you off,” I say, folding my arms.
Now it’s my turn to force everything inside, to keep myself from flying off the handle and screaming how close she came to disaster.
“What? Like how you’re being a giant douche?” She raises an eyebrow. “Because you’re acting like one, Dex.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I resist the urge to check it.
“Don’t push me, Sweet Stuff.”
“Don’t lecture me then. Okay, so yeah, I went there alone. I made a mistake. Youmighthave a point through all your snarling. But still, this gave us something we didn’t have before…”
“At what cost?” I throw back. She freezes and I hate myself for it, but I can’t hold back my temper. She’s still acting like it’s a game. “We found ourselves a drop site and we probably wound up on camera or worse, seen by fuck only knows. Where do you think that goes, Junie?”
She flinches, swallowing thickly. “Look, Iknowit was dangerous, Dexter.”
“Do you? Because you marched in there like you’d get a pat on the head for digging at a crime syndicate. You had no fucking clue what you were risking.”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child,” she flares.
“Don’t behave like one. What do you think would’ve happened if I hadn’t found you when I did?” I’m bristling now, stepping closer. “This isn’t a game, Junie. Even if you report it to the police, it’s not quick and clean like it is in the movies. By the time they make a move, it’ll be like the hidden money never existed.”
“You think I don’t know that?” She’s shouting now. Her voice rises to match mine. “You think I wasn’t scared out of my wits the whole time? When you grabbed me, my fricking life flashed in front of me. But this is my business. My life. My fight. I deserve to know what’s going on without having to stand around, waiting for you to play superhero.”
Goddamn.
So I really did scare her shitless when I surprised her at the laundromat. I may be right about everything, but it brings me no pleasure.
It feels wrong.
Like I’ve gone and broken something precious and scattered the pieces in front of us like careless, cutting shards. One little misstep and someone will wind up bleeding on the floor.
I hate it.
I hate how my blundering ass can’t figure out how to tell herI care, I fucking love youwithout being dragged through a pit of sharp words and acrid glances.
“So what do we do now?” she asks in a small voice.
“Welet me deal with it. Like I said before, I’ll take it to the cops. I have a contact.”
“The cops. Right.” She laughs brokenly, shaking her head. “And what can they do without proof? You basically said it’ll be cleaned up there before we can blink.”
“There’s more to find, sweetheart. Like I said, leave it to me.”
“Lovely.” Sighing, she flashes a thumbs-up like the wounded little smart-ass she is. Only, there’s something brittle in her voice as she says, “I won’t bother you anymore. You’ve made your point. I’ve got a store and a life to get back to.”
Oh no.
Oh, fuck.
I sidestep and stop in front of the door.
“Not a chance, lady. You’re stayingputuntil we’ve figured this out. You’re safer here in a gated house with a state-of-the-art Home Shepherd security system than anywhere else. I have friends I can call on the Kansas City PD to patrol this place, too. I’ll let you know the second the coast is clear.”
She stares at me like I’m speaking ancient Phoenician.
