Page 142 of Shattered Pieces

I glared at him as he flipped the blanket off me, the cold morning chill hitting my bare legs and making me shiver. Snatching my phone from the bedside table, I typed out a quick message to tell him to fuck off, amusement flashing across his face as he read it.

“You’re mean when you wake up. C’mon, let’s go get some breakfast and coffee, then you can come on a job with me. It’ll be funsies,” he insisted, catching my interest a little.

I went to speak, but he motioned to my phone, so I typed my response into my notes.

What kind of job?

He smirked, knowing he was sucking me in. “Someone owes me money. They can either hand it over, or lose fingers. I was going to do it this afternoon, but if you want to come⁠—”

I cut him off, shoving my screen in his face.

Hunter will kill you.

“He knows I won’t let you get hurt. Besides, this guy isn’t dangerous, he’s a pussy. Skeet never let you go on jobs, right? It’ll be fun.”

You’d better not leave me sitting in the car like a dog.

“Hey, if you want some torture practice, have at it. I’ll let you help,” he grinned, surprising me. I must have shown it on my face too because he chuckled. “You like that idea? You want to come be my little murder buddy for the day?”

Promise I won’t get arrested this time?

I gave him a teasing look, and he rolled his eyes. “Promise. Breakfast, torture session, then we can go to the warehouse to check in with Hunt.”

I nodded and swung my legs out of bed, frowning when I noticed some of my clothes folded on the end of the bed.

Where did they come from?

He glanced at them, shrugging like it was no big deal. “You think I only break into your house when you’re home? Hunt said you didn’t have anything with you, so I figured I’d get you a few things. No idea what you’d want, so I grabbed a few random things.”

Why was that so sweet? I should have scolded him for going in the first place, but I doubted I’d be very intimidating with a cracked voice.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, grabbing a change of clothes and heading to the bathroom to shower and change, meeting him in the living room when I was done. I eyed the helmet and jacket in his hands, raising an eyebrow. “Is that a good idea?”

“No talking, just roll with it. The jacket will protect your tats, at least,” he replied as he offered me the jacket.

I slid it on and took the helmet, grabbing my phone out to type a reply.

What if someone shoots at us? I don’t really have the right outfit on for a crash, asshole. My tattoos are the least of my concerns.

“If you want some proper riding gear, I’ll take you shopping and help you find some. Bring that fancy credit card though, I’m not paying for it,” he answered, waiting for me to put the helmet on before setting up the Bluetooth comms system. “Try not to talk, but if you need me to stop or you feel like something’s off, let me know.”

We headed out to the garage, where he put his helmet and gloves on before fixing his own Bluetooth, then he turned the bike around and walked it outside to start it to warm it up.

I closed the garage and waited for him to climb onto the bike before swinging on behind him, heading north through Newhaven.

The bike jerked forward as Marco braked slightly, forcing me forward more and making me scowl.

“Hold on properly,” he chuckled, taking my hands one at a time to tighten my hold on his middle. “If we get any surprises, you need to be ready.”

“You just want me touching you,” I said dryly, a laugh leaving him.

“That too. Pretend to like me for five minutes, it won’t kill you.”

I huffed but held on tighter like he said, his hand returning to the bike as he kept checking the mirrors. I wanted to glance around too but knew it could throw the balance off, so I trusted him to keep an eye out for me.

We arrived at a small cafe in Riverside, and he motioned for me to climb off so he could do the same.

Carrying our helmets inside, we sat in the back booth so we could see the whole room to avoid someone sneaking up on us, and I sat across from him to put my helmet on the seat beside me.