Redeemed (Dirty Air #4)(19)

“You’d do the same if you were in my shoes,” he counters.

“It’s okay.” Chloe gives my hand a squeeze under the table. The contact has my skin prickling in a new way I’m afraid to give more attention to. “Ralph is my mother’s boyfriend… He isn’t a danger to me anymore, especially since I’m this far away from home. When I was a teenager, my social worker insisted on filing an order after he was caught doing something he shouldn’t have. But he never bothered me again after that. Based on how lazy he is, I think he’s more of a danger to himself.” Her laugh fails to make light of the situation.

What does that even mean? What sad fucks has she hung around because of her mother? I’m stuck staring at her like a surprised idiot. The exact kind of idiot I shouldn’t be if this is my actual girlfriend. I school my features, ignoring the urgency to pester Chloe for answers.

She and Noah lock gazes. Neither backs down as he reads her face like the emotionless robot he tends to be around anyone who isn’t family.

Chloe raises her chin and rolls her shoulders back. “If you’re concerned about Marko being with anyone, it should be Santiago. He might teach him every bad word while you’re away. And he also has terrible people skills, so I’d feel bad for Marko.”

“Hey, that’s not nice.” I pinch her side, smiling when she laughs and pushes me away.

I’m tempted to touch her again. I like the way her eyes light up and her skin flushes because of me.

Everyone joins in to laugh, and the tension dissipates.

“Please tell us how you met. Santiago didn’t bother sharing this morning.” Maya claps her hands together.

Jesus.

Chloe taps her lips with her index finger. “One day I was in a…”

“Park,” I finish for her.

“Right. A park. And I was climbing a tree.” She stalls.

“To help that stray cat,” I offer.

“Yes. That poor cat. She was missing clumps of hair and had one blind eye.” Chloe’s lip wobbles in an impressive way.

I’m absolutely captivated by her performance. Damn.

Maya leans toward us, grinning like a madwoman. “Tell me more!”

“Well, I fell out of the tree because your brother scared me.”

I withhold my laugh by sheer willpower alone. At least that part of her story is the truth.

“No!” Maya reels back.

“And then what?” Noah smiles at Chloe, clearly pleased after his little test. Asshole.

“We saved the cat and took her to a vet together. Santiago cradled it like a little baby, which was beyond cute. He definitely had my attention after that.” Chloe demonstrates the motion, making her perfect tits hike up an inch.

Fuck. Me. And she definitely has my attention after that. It’s official. Chloe needs to get the hell out of here. She’s a danger for my self-restraint, which says a lot because I have endless amounts of it when it comes to women.

“I’m surprised Santi left his little castle to go visit a park in the first place.” Noah wipes syrup from Marko’s fingers.

“Now that I know him, I’m surprised he did too.” Chloe nods. Everything she spews is absolute bullshit, yet oddly accurate. “I guess he couldn’t resist coming to my aid.”

I shouldn’t enjoy this charade as much as I do. “The shorts she wore made the rescue mission worth it.”

Chloe smacks my arm. I let out a loud laugh, enjoying the way her cheeks turn pink.

Maya and Noah stare at the two of us. Noah crosses his arms and grins at me while my sister openly gapes.

I look away, not liking the weight of their stares.

The rest of breakfast goes off without an issue. Chloe and I make a show of domestic bliss, with her drying the dishes I wash.

I jump in place when Marko sneakily lifts the leg of my sweatpants while I put away the dishes. My first dirty secret I’ve kept from Chloe comes out as Marko begs for Iron Man to help him fly.

Chloe stares at my leg. The way she blinks a few times has my stomach churning. It’s a look I immediately interpret as aversion. I hate it. But most of all, I despise how lesser than it makes me feel. This is exactly what I try to avoid by not allowing new people into my life.

Maya walks into the room and grabs Marko. “What did I tell you yesterday about Tio Santi’s leg?”

My temple throbs from the pressure. I clutch onto the counter, trying to soothe the frustration building inside of me. It’s not as if I can flip a shit in front of my sister since my girlfriend should know this basic fact.

Chloe’s gaze snaps from my leg to my face. She smiles at me in a way that has something twisting in my chest. I don’t know what to make of the expression on her face. It’s a look I want to label as appreciation, but that doesn’t make sense. But is that surprising when nothing about her makes sense?

A tiny part of me—a part so small I forgot it existed—questions if she can be physically attracted to me like I am to her. A flicker of hope fills me. It’s microscopic, yet strong enough to overwhelm me.

Chloe the criminal has devastation written all over her, and I need her to run in the opposite direction. Because now that I’ve been around her, I don’t know who’s more dangerous—her or me.





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