Page 16 of Slashes in the Snow
“A month. She’ll be done with school, then she’ll meet up with her parents” — the word stings like ten-thousand needles stabbing my tongue — “in Paris. Then goodbye, good riddance.” I dust my hands clean.
“So, what I’m hearing is you’re gonna be spending a lot of time with the high-priced pussy.”
“It’s lookin’ that way.”
Hawk considers. “There could be worse ways to spend your time.”
“Ya think so, huh? You haven't met her.”
“Maybe one day I’ll get the pleasure.”
“I highly doubt it.” The last person I want to bring around my guys is Kira. That combo sounds like a bad deal just waiting to go down. We barely get along, Lord knows what’ll happen if we add the six of them to the mix. “I need one more thing.” This is where Hawk’s very special skills come in. “I need you to look into a guy named Dex Kendrick, current address Beverly Hills.”
“Fancy. Who’s the douche?”
“Kira’s father. And that’s a very accurate way to describe him, according to her.”
“On it.”
Hawk may have never made it to the LAPD, but he is a computer whiz. He works for the city’s IT department now and can hack just about anything on a data network. He’s an invaluable asset to have in your pocket.
“Anything else, Prez?”
“That’s it for now.” I drop my head back, resting it on the couch.
“You look wiped, Slash.”
“Bro, I am.”
“Girl giving you a run for your money?”
“Understatement of the century. She may be hot, but damn, she is a frickin’ pain in the ass.”
“Ahhh . . .” Hawk punches me in the thigh. “Isn’t that how all great love stories begin?”
I gaze at him vacantly. “God, I fucking hope not.”
7
Kira
Ky smells so damn good.
He was just as excited to pick me up from school as he was to drop me off, but as soon as I climbed on the back of his bike and wrapped my arms around him, this woodsy, masculine scent overwhelmed me. I shouldn't like sniffing my stepbrother so much, but I do.
Back at home, all is quiet. Even the alarm is behaving. I checked it all day. I can basically control the entire house from an app on my phone. It’s like having a cockpit in the palm of my hand. Honestly, though, I don’t even know what half these buttons do. Arm, disarm, lock, and unlock is about as far as my knowledgebase can take me.
My nose has been buried in economics books since we got back. I didn’t even realize the sun had set until Ky made a ruckus in the kitchen around me.
“I’m makin’ a beer run.” He jingles his keys in his hand.
Internally, I panic. “Now?”
“Yeah, now. We’re out, and the game is going to start soon.”
“Well, can I come?”
“Snow, I’m going to be gone for ten minutes. You’ll survive.”
