I was just about to open my mouth and set Tibbs straight on exactly the kind of man Presley was with when she answered instead. “No, I was alone. But seriously, you can’t just come in anytime you want. Family or not, this is my place and I’ll control who has access to it.” She held out her hand, tipping her head to the key. “I want it back.”
Tibbs laughed, looking at his sister like she was insane. “Pres, you’re being unreasonable. What if you lock yourself out? Or worse, something happens to you and we need to get in? You have my key.”
“Tibbs, this isn’t up for discussion. I’m going to control what I can, and this is one thing I get to decide. I want my key back.”
There was so much confliction in her eyes, I wasn’t positive it was an act, her words hitting me right in the chest.
She was right, there was a lot going on she didn’t get a say in, but she absolutely had a right to decide who entered her home. Especially when some asshole had already invaded what should have been a safe space. Hell, even I had muscled my way in that first morning, using the spare key to let myself in under questionable circumstances.
“She’s right, Tibbs.” I snatched the key out of his hand and handed it to Presley. “No one will ever come in without your explicit permission or consent. And if they do, I’ll deal with them.”
His brow scrunched in confusion, taking a step back. “Jesus, Leighton. Dial it down, okay. Fine, keep the key. And I promise I’ll always knock. Now, are we done making me feel like the asshole? I came over for a reason.”
Presley directed us to her couch, which incidentally I’d fucked her on when we’d originally gotten home. She bit back the grin, her attempt to not smile telling me she was thinking about the same thing.
Yeah, we were a couple of sex fiends. And there probably wasn’t a lot of places in her loft that hadn’t been desecrated. And it gave me a warped sense of pleasure to know she liked it too.
“So what’s so important? You guys might have the day off today, but I’m still working tonight.” She moved into her kitchen, turning on her coffee machine and pulling out three cups.
Tibbs parked his butt on the sofa, leaving me room to join him. “Lewis did a drive-by last night. There were no uniforms in the area at the time, and the guy who was tailing him lost him in traffic when he crossed into Brooklyn. You know any of his friends who live out there?”
“If it wasn’t the cops, who was tailing him?”
She was a smart woman, and even though he hadn’t exactly signposted the additional help, she picked up on it right away.
The coffee machine was left as she spun around to face us. “Tibbs, what did you do?”
He shrugged, probably not planning on telling her right away. “There’s an old cop we’re friends with. He’s no longer on the force. He’s doing some digging.”
“Wait, you knew about this too?” She narrowed her eyes, the venom that had previously been reserved for her brother now directed at me.
Shit.
“Tibbs had mentioned it.” I rubbed the back of my neck, knowing I probably should have told her. She had a right to know but to be honest, there wasn’t a lot to tell. Shapiro hadn’t found dick, and who knew if he would. “He was doing some behind the scene stuff.”
Even to me it didn’t sound good, the intentions getting lost in the heavy handedness of it.
She took a breath, exhaling slowly in what I assumed was an effort to stay calm. “I can’t be an outsider on this, it’s literally my life. I get what you’re trying to do, what you’re both trying to do. But if your guy finds anything out, you’ll come to me, Justin. You don’t get to make the call.”
It was a lot more rational than I was expecting, not blaming her if she wanted to cuss us out. Not sure I’d be as cool being handled.
“Pres, of course.” Tibbs nodding his head, his voice softening. “But I’m not sorry I did it. Between Shapiro working the backend and Leighton keeping an eye on you, I feel a lot better. And you know I’d be fucking driving you around and doing the other stuff if you’d let me. I get why you don’t want your big bro around cramping your style, but I can’t sit around and do nothing either.”
It was an impassioned speech, and I could tell it came straight from the heart.
And I hated he didn’t know the truth.
“God, Tibbs, and Mom always accuses me of being dramatic.” Presley shot him a smile. “Is there anything else I should know?” She looked between us, inviting me to volunteer any intel if I had it.
“That’s it. Unless you want to know about Chief’s new woman. The guy is hardcore for her, totally smitten. He didn’t even look half as happy when he was married to Melinda.”
Presley’s eyes widened as she went back to the coffee, “Oooooo, you need to spill. The chief deserves someone nice for a change, I want to know everything.”
She turned, returning her attention to the coffee she had started making. “Well, come on. You’ve got me awake, the least you can do is come up with the goods.”
Her brown curls bounced as she moved, my hand itching to walk up behind her, push that hair out of the way and kiss her on the neck. She was beautiful, stunning in every fucking way and she’d been under my nose the entire time.
“He’s been baking,” I added, keeping my hands and lips right where they were. “Walking around with a goofy look on his face.”
Tibbs elbowed me in the ribs and snickered. “Sounds like someone else I know.” He cleared his throat before announcing loudly, “And Leighton has a girlfriend.”
Presley spun around, the cup of coffee in her hand splashing a little on the side. “Wow, really? You been holding out on me, Leighton? You’re dating someone?”
God she was adorable, going along with Tibbs when she knew exactly who he was talking about.
“Yeah, I really like her too. She’s different than the others, special. It’s early days and things aren’t going to be easy, but I’m hoping she feels the same way.”
Last thing I intended to do was tell her how I felt while her brother looked on. And what was worse, it wasn’t half as much as I wanted to say. But every single word of it was true. And whether the timing was right or not, it didn’t matter. I would’ve tapped it out in Morse code if it were the only way.
Her beautiful eyes softened, giving me a smile. “I’m sure she feels the same way. But make sure you tell her. Women like to hear that kind of thing.”
“I will,” I promised, swallowing as she walked over and handed me a cup. “I’m going to tell her the first chance I get.”
Tibbs laughed, rolling his eyes. “Now who’s being dramatic.”
And you know what, he was right. I was. But I no longer cared.
Presley
HEARING JARED SAY I was special was something I hadn’t known I needed.
It was unexpected, his declaration happening after my brother had almost caught us, and somehow that made it a little more exciting. His little code, the words said publicly but meant just for me, and I loved hearing them.
Of course, it took hours before we were back to being alone. Tibbs insisted we go out and get breakfast, and hang out like old times. I’ll admit it was nice, Jared slipping right back into Leighton as we sat side-by-side and ate pancakes and bacon.