Better when He's Bold (Welcome to the Point #2)(61)

I walked up to him, and putting all the old fear and questions I had about him aside, wrapped my arms around his lean waist and gave him a hug. I felt him go stiff and pull back.

“What in the hell was that for?”

Both of his black eyebrows were raised to his hairline and the star tattooed by his eye was twitching. Bax was not a guy you just randomly squeezed out of gratitude, apparently.

“I just wanted to tell you thanks for getting that creep in my class to back off. I really appreciate it. Also, if you know anyone who would be interested in buying my car, could you maybe feel them out for me? I still owe money on it but I need to make enough on the sale to get a small apartment somewhere for me and my sister.”

“Say thank you with words, not hugs. All I did was lurk around. Race was pissed and the guy knew it. Someone messing around deep in your life like that”—he gave me a pointed look—“means someone wants to not only hurt you but make your life crumble from the inside out.”

I bit down on my lower lip. “Race says it’s someone with a hard-on for me.”

He nodded, dark eyes serious and steady. “Sounds like it.”

Well, there wasn’t anything I could do about it now, not until I had some idea who it was at least.

“Will you let me know about the car?”

“I’ll keep an eye out. BMWs always sell, but you know Race will lose his mind if you get rid of that car and take up residence in some slum down here.”

“Race can’t fix every problem I have right now. The ones he’s already helping me with are enough.”

Bax grunted at me and turned back around to go into his office but not before telling me very matter-of-factly, “You bring him a problem, he’s going to try and fix it. It’s what he does for the people he cares about, and if you don’t let him help you with it, he’ll take matters into his own hands anyway. Don’t make him go around you so that you have an excuse to be mad at him later. That isn’t fair and you’re both too smart for it.”

“Why do you even care, Bax?”

He glared at me over his shoulder and I saw him dig in his pocket for his smokes. “Race and I have a shit ton of history. Most of it good, a pretty big chunk of it bad. I’m in love with his sister and she makes me appreciate having someone that you’re willing to destroy an entire city for. Race will tear apart anything and anyone he thinks is a threat to you, so you need to handle him carefully. Being with guys like us . . .” He shrugged and put the end of his cigarette in his mouth. “It’s like being in love with a loaded weapon and you’re the safety.”

I wanted to tell him I wasn’t in love with Race and that I didn’t have anything left in me to be the safety for him, but Bax’s dark eyes saw the truth so I didn’t bother to lie. I just turned around and walked away wondering how I could be Race’s safety if I didn’t even know how to handle a gun.

Chapter 14

Race

YOUR OLD MAN IS a piece of work.”

I was impatiently tapping my fingers on the tabletop and staring balefully at Titus while he shoveled a burger and fries into his face. He had his tie thrown over his shoulder and mustard on his chin, but he still managed to look tough and no-nonsense in a totally different way from Bax. He also looked extremely worn out, like he hadn’t seen a bed or a good night’s sleep in days.

“You’re telling me.” I muttered it under my breath.

We were at a run-down diner across the street from his station house and the place was crawling with cops. Some in uniform, some out, all of them giving me the side eye and clearly wondering what I was doing in their midst. It was like inviting the wolf to dine with the flock and they didn’t care for it one bit. I might have been more concerned if Titus seemed to care about it, but he was just eating away while I tried to pull information out of him about my dad. A task that would’ve been easier if he didn’t keep changing the subject to the dead bodies and to whoever it was that had assaulted Roxie.

“You really have no idea who might be behind it?” Titus asked the question around a mouthful of fries, making me roll my eyes at him.

“Do you really think if I had any clue who it was that I wouldn’t have told you, or Bax? He’s mad as hell about Roxie, and Nassir doesn’t like anyone trying to disrupt his business, so there would be a body somewhere.”

He choked a little and reached for his drink. “You can’t say stuff like that to me, Race. I’m a cop.”

I just shrugged. “It’s true.”

“It might be true, but talking like that makes shit premeditated.”

“No one knows anything, Titus.”

He considered me silently for a second and flipped his tie back down. He wiped off his face and hands and pushed the now totally empty plate to the side.

“Your dad thinks he can play both sides. He thinks he can give the feds just enough to guarantee him a place in WITSEC, but not the entire bag of tricks so that his ass is covered from the last of Novak’s guys.”

I snorted. It sounded like my dad. He was always looking for some angle to work to his advantage.

“The feds froze all of his assets.”

“That’s pretty standard in a RICO case. Criminals aren’t allowed to use dirty money to pay for their criminal defense.”

“What are the chances of him wiggling out of everything and getting put in the program?”