A Dirty Business (Kings of New York #1)(42)

CHAPTER THIRTY


JESS


“Oh my gosh! What happened to your eye?” Kelly took one look at me that night and screeched. She dragged me under our brightest light and tipped my head back, her hands not so gentle, and she started touching around the bruise just under my eye.

“Ouch.” I moved back, already having had a first responder check me out. It was all protocol, along with the amount of paperwork I had to file when my parolee’s sister wasn’t feeling me after I gave a lengthy discussion that surprise home visits were a real thing between a parole officer and a parolee, especially one that had missed two office checkins and two UAs, and that was after a positive UA. Urine analysis. This parolee was beyond due for a visit by me, and in my books, he should’ve been prepared for it. Her place of residence was the one he’d put on file, and since he was there, I needed to come and check the place out.

She took offense, and when two loud neighbors distracted me for a moment, she decided it was a good idea to punch me when I couldn’t hit her back.

She was now in jail.

I held up a hand, putting my frozen bag of peas over my eye once more. “I’m good. Just, a stupid thing at work.”

“Are you still going to your shift tonight?”

I would’ve shot her a look, but it would’ve been painful, so I tossed the bag of peas instead.

She caught it, her hand jerking up. She looked at it as if she didn’t recognize what it was.

I frowned but moved over and took it back. “Yes. Dark lighting and makeup will be fine.”

She stared at the peas in my hand before jerking her gaze upward. “Justin’s going to freak when he sees your eye. He’s protective of us both.”

I let that slide off my back because Justin would probably make a comment. It was his way of showing he cared.

“Speaking of Justin, you two are getting serious?”

Kelly turned a shade of red before rotating in the kitchen and starting to grab items from the cupboards. “Yeah.” Then she paused in midreach for a spatula before she rushed out, “Hemightvebroughtupthepossibilityoflivingtogether.”

I turned fully around, my coffee in hand, and stared back at her. Hard.

I wouldn’t have to wait long. A pigeon could stare her down, and Kelly would fold.

Suddenly, she threw down the spatula on the counter. It bounced, hit the side of the pan, and then bounced back onto the counter.

Kelly turned back around, a panicked look on her face. “I don’t know what to do! He dropped the bomb on me two nights ago, and I’ve been hyperventilating about what this might mean. Could mean. Would mean! I mean, I have no idea. I have horrible taste in men. You seem to like him, but what if we’re both wrong? What if my bad luck in men wore off onto you and—”

I set my coffee down and moved in front of her. If she didn’t breathe, she was going to pass out. I went to her and touched her arms, cutting her off. “Breathe.”

She did, her chest rising up, and she held it.

And held it.

And held it.

“Oh my god! Let it out!”

She did, choking and coughing at the end before she shook her head, a tear slipping from her eye. “I’m so scared, but I think I’m more scared about leaving you.”

Somewhere inside of me was a marshmallow, and it was melting. I started to pull her in for a hug, but she misunderstood, and she rested her forehead to my shoulder, bending at a slightly awkward angle. I began patting her back, burping my overgrown adult baby. “It’ll be okay. Justin’s a good guy, and I’ll be fine.”

“You’re not fine. You just never talk about it.”

I stepped back, frowning once more. “What do you mean?”

She gave me a long look before sighing. She swung her hands around, and one connected with the spatula, and she snatched it up. I didn’t think she was aware she was holding it and now swinging it around. “You’re not okay. I can tell. You’re never here unless Justin and I are here. You’ve not been to our Sunday bowling for three weeks. Justin took your place, and no one is happy about it.”

“What?” My stomach started to sink, but to be honest, it’d been sinking since I’d met Trace.

Trace.

This was all him.

Or no. My family. Dad. Brother. Mom. Nope. This was me, my luck.

Kelly was right. I wasn’t okay. “I think I’m cursed.”

“Yes!” The spatula went up in the air before she lowered her arms. “Wait. What? No. You’re not cursed. You’re just . . . not happy.” She scooted back. I didn’t think she could get any closer to that counter than she was unless she started climbing up it. She took a deep breath, those big eyes of her watching me with an emotion I didn’t like seeing. Fear. “I’m worried about you. I’m worried about if I move—what will happen to you? Before, when it was just you and me, we had our thing, and I’m not trying to put guilt on you because I don’t want you to take it the wrong way, but my job was to ground you. I did my job. I know your family stuff, but you were smiling, and we were hanging with friends. Since I met Justin, that’s started to go away. I don’t like that. If I move in with Justin, what will happen?” A tear slid down her other cheek. “Am I going to lose you completely?”