That sounded interesting. “Got it.” He rushed upstairs to take a speed shower, clean his teeth and shave. He dressed in a long-sleeved pullover and worn jeans. Carrying his shoes and socks, he headed back down.
Kennedy was already neatly dressed in a flannel shirt, skinny jeans and thick socks. She’d pulled her hair into a high ponytail and put on a touch of makeup.
Cute. She wanted to impress his family.
She was going about it the wrong way, but he wouldn’t tell her so.
Sterling now had a cola, and Madison had a bottle of water. Curled in a chair, Kennedy asked numerous questions, which Sterling fielded like a pro, telling her only so much without admitting to anything private.
They were mostly questions on fighting styles, and Kennedy seemed duly impressed with their answers.
Reaching to the small of her back, Sterling pulled a wicked blade from a sheath. “Check out my new knife.”
Gingerly Kennedy accepted it, handling it like a live grenade.
Madison’s laptop was open, but so far no one was looking at it. Reyes lifted it, going through the photos with a practiced eye. He didn’t see anyone familiar to him, but then, that was the problem with the ever-growing trade.
When the women started talking about fashion or, in Sterling’s case, the lack thereof, Reyes decided this might be a good time for him to dodge out. He could talk to his dad, let him know that he might have to bring Kennedy by, and he could warn Bernard not to be so damned possessive of the cat.
Yes, the cat was Bernard’s now. Reyes had relinquished ownership when Bernard turned to comical mush over the critter. Pretty sure if he’d pressed the issue, Bernard would have challenged him.
Then his dad would be pissed, and probably Madison, too, because they all considered Bernard one of the family.
Shaking his head, Reyes said, “If you ladies are going to hang out here awhile, I think I’ll head over to Dad’s to check on...things.”
Madison shooed him away. “I’ll give you three hours while Kennedy and I get better acquainted.”
Better acquainted? What the hell did that have to do with searching through arrest photos? He didn’t like the sound of it and was about to protest when Sterling got to her feet in a rush.
“No way.” She pointed at Reyes. “You’re going to the house to spar with Cade and I want to take part.”
Why couldn’t his sister-in-law just go along like Madison had? She never let anything slide, and she never missed an opportunity to sharpen her edge.
Reyes tried a smile that felt like a snarl. “I thought you were going to visit.”
“Ha!” Sterling narrowed her eyes on him. It was an effective look for her, both mocking and, for some, intimidating. “You know I don’t get into the whole girl-talk thing.”
Madison glanced up with indignation. “I hardly think researching traffickers fits that description.”
“You’re talking clothes, not creeps.”
“They’re going to search through arrest photos,” Reyes reminded, trying to divert her.
Sterling huffed. “And that’ll take how long? Once they’re done, we both know the chitchat is going to veer to female stuff.”
“News flash, Sterling. You’re female.”
She rolled her eyes. “Barely.”
Of all the... “My brother would disagree with that assessment.”
“Your brother is incredibly unique.” She shrugged it off. “So far, he’s the only one I know who makes it worthwhile to be female.”
Kennedy’s fascinated gaze took it all in. “Why don’t you like being female?”
Just to irritate Sterling, Reyes answered before she could. “Being smaller and weaker grates on her. She’d rather kick ass than fix her hair.”
“Hey.” Madison glared at him. “Some of us enjoy doing both.”
“Yeah, I get it,” Reyes said, with enough inflection to insinuate that Sterling did not. “You happen to be both lethal and feminine. Apparently, most can’t figure out that balance.”
Slowly smiling, Sterling said, “Oh, now I’m really going to enjoy sparring. Plan to bleed.”
He groaned. When Sterling got in that particular mood, she could be a total bear. He wouldn’t actually bleed, but he would be wearing a few new bruises before they wrapped it up. “I didn’t agree to spar with you.”
“You will.”
He narrowed his eyes. “So maybe I’ll give as good as I get.”
“You can try.”
Damn it, they both knew he could flatten her—if he wanted. The problem was that she was his brother’s wife. Cade loved her more than life, and if his scuffling got too rough, Cade would take it out on him. “I’m sparring with you,” Reyes stated, emphasis on sparring. “Save that painful shit for your husband.”
“Chicken.”
Ignoring Sterling, he made an impulse decision and bent to press a kiss to Kennedy’s forehead. “Call if you need me, otherwise I’ll be back before Madison is ready to go.”
It took her a few seconds to recover from the affectionate peck. She blinked several times, then lifted her chin. “I’m getting curious about all this sparring stuff. I think watching would be fun.”
“Another day,” he said easily, and moved on before she could challenge that dismissal. He leveled a severe look on his sister. “Don’t overdo it.”
After giving him another airy wave, Madison situated the laptop on the coffee table and gestured Kennedy over to sit beside her so they could look at the images together.
Sterling turned to Kennedy with a quick apology. “Sorry to visit and run—”
“I understand,” Kennedy assured her.
Still, Sterling explained, “Sparring with the guys is special. I always learn something new.”
“I’m in no way offended,” Kennedy promised. “Go have fun.”
Fun. Frustrated, Reyes walked out of the room with Sterling dogging his heels. He literally felt her behind him as he went down the hall and out into the garage. If he thought he could leave her behind, he would.
But one thing he’d learned about Sterling—dealing with her was never easy. In her current challenging mood?
It’d be downright impossible.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“I CAME OVER with Madison,” Sterling said. “Since I hadn’t planned to leave—until you offered better entertainment—you’ll have to give me a lift back.”