“You’d let me go? Really?”
He chuckled. “You sound disappointed.”
“I thought you’d be all possessive and demanding and tell me under no circumstances you’d let me go.”
“Love is about doing what’s best for the other person, yeah?”
“Yeah.” I stood on my tiptoes and brushed my lips against his. “I don’t want to go. I want to stand next to you when we come out on the other side of this.”
“You will. I know you will.”
He turned away, giving me a perfect view of his muscular, inked back and his tight ass before slipping into the bathroom.
Jesus. Where had he come from?
And how did I get so lucky to call him mine?
An hour later, we met the boys at the diner down the road. They were sitting across from one another, drinking sodas and Boxer was eating a plate of chili cheese fries while Zip went for a more traditional breakfast of a short stack with fried eggs.
Boxer looked up at Colt and grinned. “You’re in a good mood.”
“Yeah,” Colt said lightly. “Don’t ruin it.”
Boxer shoved his plate across the table next to Zip and then got up so Colt and I could sit together on the same side of the booth. After the perky young waitress took our order and left, I asked, “So, when do we find out what we find out?”
“Few days,” Colt replied vaguely.
The boys exchanged a look and then Zip altered the direction of the conversation when he said, “Gotta call from Knight. They’re on their way.”
Colt nodded. “I hate calling them in for back up.”
Boxer shrugged. “They’ve called us before for back up. It’s why we have brothers.”
“Who’s Knight?” I asked.
“Knight is president of the Blue Angels in Coeur d’Alene.”
The waitress brought our food and check. With bedroom eyes sent in Boxer’s direction, she told us to have a nice day. Boxer watched her depart. “If y’all will excuse me, I need to see the waitress about something.” He scooted out of the booth and went in search of the woman about to be on the receiving end of Boxer’s charm.
I watched him lean over the counter and say something to her. She laughed and nodded. Before I knew it, they disappeared down the hallway, no doubt seeking the back exit and the alleyway.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” I said. “She’s going to have a quick romp with him?”
“Looks like it,” Zip said with a chuckle. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he took it out to look at it. “Gonna take this outside.” He slid out of the booth and headed to the front door. The doorbell jingled as Zip walked out, cell to his ear.
“And then there were two,” I muttered, picking up my fork and diving into my cheese omelet.
“Talked to the fire chief,” Colt said, his tone conversational. He was already halfway done with his huevos rancheros and I’d barely touched my food.
“You got a call? I gave him my number.”
“But I’m me.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, anointed one. What did the fire chief have to say? How bad is the house?” I held my breath.
“Kitchen and living room took the brunt of it. Bedrooms are mostly untouched, but he says to give it about a week before going in there because of the smoke.”
“Okay.” I nodded, taking a deep breath. “Okay. That I can deal with.”
“He also mentioned your bar.”
“My bar? Oh, Dive Bar. Wow. I forgot for a moment that Richie gave me his bar. Isn’t the fire chief suspicious about all these buildings belonging to me going up in flames?”
“Naturally,” he said with a wry grin. “But considering you weren’t on the premises when either of the fires started, there’s speculation but no outright accusations.”
“All he has to do is look into who I’ve been associating with for him to put the puzzle pieces together.”
“His job is to put out fires and tell the cops if arson is suspected, not start a criminal investigation.”
I stared at him. “How much did you pay him?”
“Pay him what?” Colt asked.
“Colt,” I warned.
“Mia.”
“Did you bribe him to look the other way?”
“Nah, of course not.”
I let out a breath.
He looked at me and grinned. “I bribed him so he’ll lie to the insurance companies.”
Boxer eventually wandered back and slid into the booth across from us, looking relaxed and flushed.
“You’re disgusting,” I said with a laugh.
He flashed a grin. “Lady, you have no idea.”
I looked at the waitress as she stepped onto the dining room floor, tying the strings of her apron around her waist. She looked at Boxer and wasn’t at all discreet about checking him out. Boxer lifted his half-empty glass of soda and silently toasted her.
Her chuckle was throaty, her eyes sparkled, and her dimples winked from her cheeks as she beamed. She got back to work to serve the few customers that were at the counter who hadn’t noticed her absence.
“Magic dick,” Boxer stated.
“Dick is right,” I teased.
Colt lifted his arm to rest on the booth, his fingers running up and down the skin of my arm. I scooted closer into the crook of his body and enjoyed the solid warmth of him despite the humid air circulating through the diner.
He didn’t say anything or remark on the fact that Boxer and I were ribbing each other. But I knew he was enjoying our exchange.
“You gonna eat the rest of that?” Boxer asked, gesturing to my plate.
I pushed it to him.
“Where’s Zip?” he asked, dousing the omelet in hot sauce.
“On the phone,” Colt replied. “Don’t know with who.”
“Probably Cheese,” Boxer stated. “He’s been checking in with Cheese about Joni.”
“Really,” Colt drawled. “Why?”
I had to force myself to remain lax even though the insides of me were tense and coiling with the truth.
“He feels like a shit that he said he’d watch her and then had to give Cheese the duty while he was out of town.”
Boxer’s announcement did nothing to ease the tension I felt in Colt’s body. “Those two can’t stand each other,” Colt remarked.
“Yeah, I dunno. But Zip takes his duties seriously,” Boxer said. “You know that.”
“Hmmm.” Colt looked out the window and Boxer took a moment to glance at me. We had an entire conversation with our eyes—both of us knew what was really going on between Joni and Zip and yet neither us wanted to be the one to let Colt in on the secret.
What would happen when it all exploded?
There would be hell to pay for sure.
The waitress appeared at our table and gently set the check down, addressing Boxer. “Thank you so much for joining us. You can pay at the cash register.”
Boxer grinned. “Thank you for the excellent service, darlin’.”
She giggled and then fluttered away like a love-struck blonde butterfly.
“Yup, exactly as I said. Magic dick,” Boxer crowed.