I stare after her for a second, not sure what to make of her reaction, and then I have to jog to catch up with her. She may have short legs, but she moves fast when she's pissed.
"January, wait." I grab her arm when she ignores me.
She stops walking and spins to face me. Tears shimmer in her eyes, stealing my breath.
I made her cry.
I instantly feel like the biggest asshole. I hate when she cries. Seeing tears in her eyes breaks my heart every damn time.
"I'm sorry, bab–"
She leans up on her tiptoes and presses her lips to mine, silencing me.
Her lips are so soft and taste like peppermint and sugary candy. I like the way they feel on mine. I like the way her breath blows sweetly across my face too. Her little body nestles into mine. I've thought about kissing her a thousand times, but this is so much better than I thought it would be.
Something settles deep in my chest, clicking into place. This feels right…like it's supposed to happen. I'm not sure what that means, but she smells like vanilla and sugar. I want to kiss her all day long.
As soon as the thought strikes, she gasps into my mouth and then jumps backwards. Her eyes go wide in obvious distress. "I'm so sorry!" she cries, then she spins around and runs from me.
I stand there for a second, not sure why she's running away from me. Does she think I didn't like her kissing me? Is she afraid I don't like her like that? Is she worried Titan will lose his mind?
Christ. Titan. He's going to kill me when he finds out his baby sister kissed me and I let her do it. I think I'll actually have to let him kick my ass. I broke the biggest rule there is. Siblings are off limits. Everyone knows that…except me, apparently. Because I want her to kiss me again. Actually, I want to kiss her this time and I don't want her to run off after I do it.
Shit.
"Kincaid!"
"Dammit," I swear as January disappears down the block. Turning to glance over my shoulder, I see Curtis Kaleo jogging toward me. He's been trying for months to talk me into joining his crew, but I'm not interested. He's into some real hard shit. That's the last thing I want around January and Ma Rose.
Still, I'm not dumb enough to brush him off. Respect is important to guys like Kaleo. At twenty, he's one of the biggest gangbangers in our neighborhood. Most people walk softly around him, trying not to piss him off. He's quick to anger. When something sets him off, the collateral damage can be nasty. If he feels slighted or disrespected, he won't let it go.
I've managed to hold him off this long because he's not very intelligent. He's brute strength and nothing else. I can usually talk circles around him. I'm not in the mood to have to play that game today though. I need to catch up with January and find out why she ran away from me.
"What's up?" I ask when he catches up to me.
"She's cute," he says. His white teeth gleam and his dark eyes twinkle with mischief. The beads at the ends of his dreads click together when he starts walking beside me.
My stomach sinks at seeing that pleased expression on his face. He saw her kiss me.
"Don't worry, I won't tell Titan," he promises me, a hint of satisfaction in his dark eyes. He rubs his hand down his face like he's straightening his goatee, though I think he's just trying to hide a smile. "I know how pissed he'd be to find out his best friend is putting the moves on his little sister."
"It's not even like that," I mutter, gritting my teeth.
"I know that." He holds his hands up in a placating gesture, but the smug grin on his face screams that he's up to no good. "I'm not so sure he'd believe that though. You two looked pretty cozy."
"What do you want, Kaleo?" I snap, too frustrated to play his game.
His smile slips. The scar at the bottom right corner of his lip curves down, making him appear as if he's snarling at me even though he's trying to play it cool.
"Just wanted to warn you that you should probably stay away from January before Titan finds out," he says, his voice level. He's pissed but doesn't want me to know it. "You know, just watching out for you."
"Yeah, I get it," I mumble. He's lying through his teeth. The only thing he's watching out for is himself. He just wanted to let me know he saw her kiss me. I don't even have to guess to know he's going to try to hold that over my head, try to blackmail me into doing what he wants. Which means I'm going to have to tell Titan about the kiss before he does.
"Thanks," I lie to him.
"Catch you later, Kincaid," he says and then jogs back across the street.
"Dammit," I mutter under my breath and then take off running toward the house to make sure January's okay. She's too small to be running off like that, especially with Kaleo creeping around. He's trouble. I don't want him anywhere near my girl. The thought alone sets my teeth on edge.
When I get to my house, Ma Rose is sitting on the front porch, drinking her coffee.
"Hey, sweet boy," she says, smiling at me when I jog up the steps and drop my backpack by the front door.
"Hi, Ma Rose." I lean down and kiss her wrinkled cheek. She's aged a lot in the last few years. Her hair is completely gray and she's lost a lot of weight. She looks frail, but she's still full of energy. She says the weight loss was good for her, but it worries me.
"January went running by here about five minutes ago," she observes quietly, holding my gaze. She knows something is up, so there's no point even trying to hide it from her. How she always knows when something's going on, I don't know, but she does. Trying to hide anything from her is impossible. It's easier to just tell the truth and get it over with.
"Yeah," I mumble and tip my head backward, closing my eyes. "She kissed me."
"Did she?"
"Yeah, then she ran off."
"Hmm."
Hmm?
What is that supposed to mean?
I tip my head forward and crack my eyes open to find her smiling at me over the rim of her coffee cup. She doesn't seem disappointed or mad. Maybe a little worried…but there's also a touch of amusement twinkling in her eyes.
"You're not mad about it?" I ask, just to make sure.
"You've been in love with that little girl for years," she says with a laugh.
I shrug, my cheeks burning. Like I said, Ma Rose knows everything. I didn't even realize I love January until recently, but Ma Rose knew. She may be old and frail, but her mind is as sharp as a tack.
"Just promise me that you'll wait until she's older to do anything more than kiss her," she says, reaching out to wrap my hand in hers. "You're both too young for any nonsense, you hear me? I don't want you making Jana a grandmamma before January's even out of high school."
"Yes ma'am," I mumble, blushing again. It's not even like that. Well, I mean maybe I want to do that stuff with her one day, but not right now. She's way too young. Her mom would kill both of us. Actually, Titan would kill me and then her mom would kill her. Either way, there would be bodies to hide. I'd prefer to keep both of our bodies intact. Plus, I plan to be with her for a long time, so we don't need to rush anything. I just want to keep her safe and make her smile. And maybe hold her and make out with her sometimes. That's all.
"Go talk to your girl, sweet boy," Ma Rose says and pats me on the cheek. "I'll wait for a little while to start dinner."
"Thanks, Ma Rose. But you don't have to cook. I'll do it after I check on January." I kiss her on the cheek once more and then fly down the stairs to go check on January. Her mom works late during the school week so she can be at home with January and Titan on the weekends, so I know January is probably in there by herself, freaking out about kissing me.
I jog up the steps to her front door and knock.
"Go away, Cade!" she yells from inside.
I smile and shake my head. She can't actually believe that's going to work. I never listen when she tells me to go away. She does that sometimes when she's upset and doesn't want me to know. She never really minds when I ignore her and make her talk to me anyway. Hopefully she won't mind today
either.
"You know I'm not going away," I call softly and tap on the door again.
She doesn't say anything but I hear her shuffling around inside.
"Please open the door, January. Don't make me use the hid-a-key." I will if she doesn't let me in, but I'd rather her open the door on her own. It'll mean more that way, I think.
She cracks it open a second later. Her eyes are red and puffy. Knowing she's been crying makes my chest ache.
I press my palm to my sternum, trying to rub away the little pain, but then a tear slips down her cheek. As soon as I see it, I push the door open, forcing her to let me inside with her.
"Don't cry, baby girl," I plead with her, grabbing her and pulling her into my arms before she can turn away from me. "Please don't cry."
She burrows her face into my shirt, but doesn't return my embrace.
"I'm glad you kissed me," I blurt, rubbing her back. "I liked it."
"You did?" she whispers, her voice muffled.
"Yeah." I smile.
She's quiet for a minute. "You're not mad at me?"
"I'm never mad at you, baby girl."
"You said I was just a kid."
"I was jealous," I admit, running my hands through her hair. It's so soft and silky. It slips through my fingers like strands of gold. I could play with her hair all day and never get tired of it. "He asked you to the dance and you didn't tell him no. It pissed me off."
"Oh. Why?"
"Because I want you to be mine."
She tips her head back to gawk at me, her mouth open in a surprised "O". I can't help but chuckle at how adorable she looks with her mouth hanging open like that. I brush away the tears drying on her cheeks and then push her mouth closed with a finger beneath her chin. She is incredibly beautiful. Even with her eyes all red and puffy, she's the prettiest girl I've ever met before. She still reminds me of the little dolls she used to have in her room…the porcelain ones with the big, pretty eyes.
"Titan's probably going to be pissed about it," I whisper to her and then kiss her on the forehead and both of her cheeks. Her skin is even softer than her hair. "But I've wanted to kiss you for a long time."
"Oh."
"Do you want to go to the dance with Cody?" I ask, worried she might actually like him. I'm not sure what I'm going to do if she does. Probably kick his ass so he can't come near her and then beg her to forgive me for it after I do it. She'll have to forgive me eventually, right?
Shit, I hope so. It'd suck if she stayed pissed at me forever.
"No," she whispers, allowing me to pull in a deep breath of relief. Her lashes flutter. They're so long. Her emerald eyes catch mine, searing into me. "I wanted you to kiss me too."
"How long?"
"A long time," she mumbles, her cheeks turning pink.
Happiness swells inside me, sending my heart soaring. I feel like a king with her sweet words ringing in my ears. The smile on my face feels like it's going to crack my cheeks because it's so big, but I don't care. She likes me too. I'm the luckiest bastard on the planet.
"Can I kiss you now?" I whisper, my voice husky.
She nods.
I lean forward and press my lips to hers. Just like our first kiss, this one is incredible…only it's better, because she doesn't run away from me this time.
"I have to tell you something," I tell Titan, catching the football we've been tossing back and forth across the porch for the last hour. The sunlight has almost faded, leaving behind that inky half-light that fights for dominion for a few minutes before night finally closes over the city, rubbing away the last lingering rays of the sun. Crickets chirp loudly all around us, drowning out the sounds of cars passing on neighboring streets. They're so loud they almost drown out the sound of sirens wailing a little farther out.
"What?" Titan asks.
"You probably aren't going to like it," I say, tossing the football back to him.
He catches the ball and holds it, tilting his head to the side to peer at me.
"I'm in love with your sister," I blurt, trying to get the words out as quickly as possible. I don't want him to be pissed about me being with her, but I figure if he is, maybe it'll help if he knows I love her. Even if the truth doesn't smooth the waters, I don't think I'll be able to stay away from her. The thought alone hurts.
"You're in love with January," he says.
"Yeah. I kissed her today." I leave out the part about her kissing me first. If he's going to be mad, I'd rather him be pissed at me than at her. It'll break her heart if he's upset with her. Titan is her hero. He has been for years, but I don't think even he realizes how much his little sister idolizes him.
"You kissed her today," he repeats.
"I did. I'm sorry if it pisses you off," I say quietly. "You're my best friend and it's really going to suck if you're pissed about it, but I like your sister a lot. I'm not sorry about that. I've always liked her."
Titan watches me for a minute and then he throws his head back and laughs loudly. "No shit, dude."
"You're not pissed?"
"Nah. I've known for a long time that you're into her. And she's been into you since forever," he says, rolling his eyes. "You two were the only two who didn't know you both love each other."
I exhale a deep breath, glad he's not angry about it.
"If you try to get in her pants, I'll break your arms," he says. Even though he's smiling, I know he means it. He tries to hide it, but we both know he'd do anything for January. "She deserves to be treated like a princess. You better treat her that way. If you hurt her, you'll answer to me."
"Fair enough," I murmur, not telling him that my biggest fear is letting him down. He's like my brother. It'd kill me to disappoint him by hurting January as much as it'd kill me to hurt her. I don't want to ruin my friendship with him any more than I want to ruin mine and January's.
He tosses me the ball.
"Kaleo saw us kissing."
"Fuck," Titan mutters, fumbling the ball when I toss it back to him.
"He's going to try to blackmail me over it."
When Kaleo realizes I told Titan, effectively removing his leverage, he's going to be furious. Who knows what he'll do to retaliate? We'll have to be careful, make sure we're watching our backs and keeping January close. If he goes after her, I'll probably lose my mind. So will Titan.
"You sure?" Titan asks.
I nod.
He's quiet for a minute and then he shrugs. "Fuck it," he says. "Let him come. He's been trying to hook you for months and hasn't succeeded. Eventually, he'll realize you're too smart for his bullshit and find another target. Until then, we'll just keep doing what we've been doing. We'll just make sure Quan, Boots, Davonte, and the rest of the crew keep their eyes peeled and help keep his people out of our territory. There's nothing on our turf worth his effort, so he'll lose interest in us eventually."
Chapter Five
Michael
Present Day
I sit in my rental outside Kaleo's house, waiting for the bastard to get tired of me scaring off his people and bring his ass out to talk to me. It won't be much longer. Not with his latest recruit hauling balls down the block as fast as his tubby legs can carry him.
Turns out, flashing a badge in Los Angeles works just as well as it does in Seattle. It doesn't hurt that my goddamn name is all over the news at the moment. Probably also doesn't hurt that I've been in every shithole in this city in the last forty-eight hours, rounding up the usual suspects for a friendly chat about how things are going to go from here on out.
Either they stand down and stop this bullshit gang war Elijah Noel and el Demonio started for Pedro Francisco, or they answer to me. With Los Zetas, which is basically the Mexican mafia, and Nazario Leyva, a Colombian cocaine prince, playing by my rules, most others are willing to do the same. I may have had to crack a few skulls, but hey…sometimes, the stick is more efficient than the carrot. For the others, the carrot is working out quite nicely.
They all want a piece
of the pie I'm generously dangling in front of their faces. They play by the rules, I don't burn their shit to the ground and maybe they get to scoop up a little of el Demonio's territory too. Considering that el Demonio managed to snatch up some seriously prime gang-related real estate in the city, everyone wants in on it.
And I'm the last person they want all up in their business. I've been fucking with their friends in Seattle for so long they all know who I am. Most of them are shitting bricks over the fact that I've been here less than a week and I've already helped run el Demonio out of town. They don't want to become my next target.
Lucky for them, Curtis Kaleo's already secured that privilege. If he isn't willing to back off and leave January alone, shit is going to get real uncomfortable for him, real quick. He may think he's an OG, but I have precisely zero fucks left to give. He used up his one free pass a long time ago. I'm not inclined to give him another one now. He should have kept his ass off my block and away from my girl.
I stare out the windshield at his house. Like most of the neighborhood, it's a shithole. He's worth a good half a mill, but he still lives in the same blue bungalow he did when we were growing up. His yard is overgrown and his gutters are full of leaves and tumbleweeds. He's got an old Camaro on stilts in the carport.
The entire scene is honestly depressing.
My phone rings, drawing my attention.
"What's up, Sasquatch?" I ask Roman Gregory, the ATF agent who helped bring Little Mama home safe. Mostly safe, I amend, thinking about the bruises all over her face. I really can't fucking wait to find Remi Pledger, the dirty DEA agent who kidnapped her. I'm going to kill him. Or Roman will. Either way, he's going to die for putting his hands on Lillian.
If Kaleo doesn't watch himself, he's going to die too.
"Lillian was discharged about an hour ago," Roman says, ignoring my nickname for him. It's fitting though. He's a big son of a bitch, and that's saying something because I'm not exactly a little dude myself. He's about six-seven and built like a brick shithouse. He's also one of very few federal agents who can match me when it comes to taking down gangs. He's been snatching guns out of their hands for so long, it's honestly a little impressive.
Fight for You: A Second Chance Romance (A Warrior for Her Book 1) Page 5