“I didn’t mean it when I said I hated you,” Cody said.
“I know,” Lyric said. “Sometimes people say things they don’t mean when they’re mad.”
“I didn’t mean it,” Cody said, shaking her head.
“Well, I did mean it when I said that I love you, Cody,” Lyric said, squeezing her hands gently. “You are very important to me, and nothing and no one is ever going to change that.”
Cody looked back at her, her eyes unsure.
“Tell me what you’re thinking, Cody,” Lyric said.
Cody chewed on the inside of her cheek, glanced at Savanna, then looked back at Lyric.
“You’re afraid I’m going to replace you in Lyric’s life,” Savanna said gently.
Cody’s eyes widened, as she looked over at Savanna then she looked back Lyric, clearly worried. She was worried that Lyric was going to be mad, because that was exactly what she thought. She had no idea how Savanna knew that though.
“Cody,” Lyric said, moving to sit next to the girl again, “you loved your mom and your brother at the same time, right?”
Cody nodded slowly.
“So, I can love you and Savanna at the same time too,” Lyric said. She saw Cody’s doubtful look. “I know it’s really hard and really scary, Cody, but you’re going to need to trust me, okay?”
Cody looked back at her for a long moment, then nodded slowly. Lyric hugged her then, kissing her temple.
Later when Savanna had finally forced Lyric to go up to her bedroom and get some sleep, she made Cody something to eat and sat in the kitchen while she ate.
“Cody,” Savanna said, her look gentle, “I know that people in your life have let you down before, but I can tell you that Lyric isn’t like that. And if you’ll let me, I’d really like to be someone else you can count on.”
Cody looked like she was considering the idea, then she gave Savanna a slightly narrowed look.
“Do you love her?” Cody asked her, sounding very adult suddenly.
“Yes,” Savanna answered without hesitation. “Yes I love her.”
Cody nodded, looking satisfied with that answer.
Savanna couldn’t help the grin that crossed her features. It was rather nerve-wracking having to get approval from a fourteen-year-old to date her friend!
“Where are you headed?” Savanna asked when Cody and McKenna walked into the house and she heard Cody’s keys jangle.
“The gym,” Cody said, grinning.
“Uh,” Savanna stammered, looking at McKenna and then back at Cody.
“McKenna is going to hang around for a bit,” Cody said, not wanting to get into a big discussion about it in front of McKenna.
“Okay…” Savanna said, her look questioning.
“See ya later,” Cody said, as she reached into the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water.
She leaned over to kiss Savanna on the cheek, then pulled back to wink at her. Savanna shook her head at her daughter, thinking the kid really did like to keep her mysteries. As Cody and McKenna walked out to the garage, Lyric came into the room.
“Where’s Cody going?” she asked.
“To the gym,” Savanna said, her tone matter-of-fact like Cody’s had been.
“Is the girl still with her?” Lyric asked, her lips quirked sardonically.
“Yes, apparently McKenna is going to hang around for a bit,” Savanna said, using Cody’s words.
Lyric chewed the gum in her mouth, her look a cross between amused and perplexed.
“She’s your daughter…” Savanna said, shaking her head.
“Always is when you can’t figure her out,” Lyric said, grinning.
“Because she’s just like you when I can’t figure her out,” Savanna said.
Lyric laughed, shaking her head and then kissed her wife.
“From the sounds of that conversation, I think that McKenna is pretty interested in our kid. I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”
“You say that now…” Savanna said.
“Babe, she’s too old for us to choose her playmates,” Lyric said.
“She was too old for that when she was fourteen, Lyric,” Savanna said, grinning.
“Yeah, but she wasn’t really hot for anyone then,” Lyric said, widening her eyes playfully.
“And she’s hot for this one?” Savanna said ruefully.
“Maybe that’s a good thing, babe,” Lyric said. “She needs something solid in her life, something to hold on to.”
“Or something to drag down with her as she drowns,” Savanna said, sounding worried.
“For a shrink you’re sure pessimistic when it comes to your own kid,” Lyric told her.
“Yeah, because I’ve seen her pattern, Lyric,” Savanna said. “This could just be a segue to another break, if this girl hurts her.”
Lyric looked back at Savanna for a long moment, knowing that Savanna was forever worried about Cody. She had every right to be, Cody was far from healthy emotionally and they both knew that. Lyric wanted to believe that Cody could be cured of her depression, but Savanna knew all too well that it wasn’t likely to happen. It was the difference in being a clinical psychiatrist and a cop; Savanna knew the science of it, but Lyric felt like she knew Cody’s heart, and she thought that McKenna could be just what Cody really needed to get her life on track.
Out in the garage, McKenna stood staring at the two extremely expensive-looking sports cars, her mouth hanging open.
Cody grinned at McKenna’s reaction.
“That one’s Lyric’s,” she said, pointing to the black Ferrari.
“And that one is…” McKenna said, nodding at the red one.
“Mine,” Cody said, her eyes dancing in amusement.
“No way,” McKenna said, shaking her head, thinking that Cody had to be teasing her.
“Trust me, it’s mine,” Cody said. “So is that,” she said pointing to the black motorcycle sitting on the other side of the garage next to two others.
“The black one?” McKenna said.
“Yeah, the other two are Lyric’s.”
“What about Savanna?” McKenna asked.
“Savanna drives a Range Rover Autobiography, and in case you’re worried she got gipped here, her Rover was about a hundred and sixty thousand, so…” Cody said, grinning. “Lyric just wants her safe.”
McKenna nodded slowly, getting that Lyric pretty much protected Cody and Savanna fairly zealously.
“But you and Lyric get to be… not safe?” McKenna asked, as Cody walked over to the red Ferrari and opened the passenger door for her.
Cody chuckled, shaking her head. “Don’t let Savanna hear you say that,” she said, grinning.
In the car, Cody plugged her phone into the phone jack as McKenna looked around at the interior.
“This is gorgeous…” she said appreciatively.
Cody smiled. “Thanks,” she said, sounding very pleased with the compliment.
Cody started the car with a loud rumble and grinned, McKenna could see that she enjoyed the sound. Cody backed out of the garage, and used the remote to close the door.
“So Ferraris are a thing for your family?” McKenna asked.
“Well, Lyric’s family is Italian, so yeah, kind of their thing,” she said, smiling. “My grandfather gave Lyric the black one, it’s actually pretty rare. There were only thirty-two of them ever made… She restored it with him. When I turned sixteen she gave me this and she and I worked on it together.”
McKenna nodded, seeing that Cody was very proud of her car, and also very connected to Lyric.
“You and Lyric are close,” McKenna stated.
“Yeah,” Cody said, nodding. “She’s who I wanted to be when I grew up.”
“And that seems to be going pretty well,” McKenna said, grinning. “At least from what I’ve seen so far.”
“Don’t let Lyric fool you, she’s pretty tough when she needs to be, and believe me, she’s needed to be with me a few times. But I know sh
e loves me and that she worries about me, and that’s why she’s tough.”
“Times when she’s needed to be…” McKenna repeated, glancing over at Cody.
“Yeah,” Cody said, nodding as she accelerated onto the freeway.
The Ferrari engine hummed with power as Cody moved between cars, grinning as she shifted gears, with the car jumping forward in response. McKenna did her best not to be alarmed, because it looked like Cody was fairly confident in her driving, but it was still a bit unsettling. As she moved around yet another car, Cody glanced to her left.
“Fuck!” she exclaimed, as she continued to drive.
“What?” McKenna asked, completely mystified at the exclamation as she looked around them.
Cody curled her lips in derision shaking her head. “LAPD…”
A couple of minutes later her phone rang. Cody looked heavenward.
“Goddamnit,” she muttered even as she answered the call on hands free. “Hi,” she said, her tone even.
“Slow the fuck down, Cody!” Lyric gritted out angrily.
“I know, I know,” Cody said, her tone agitated. “Jesus, do they have you on fuckin’ speed dial?”
“You know better,” Lyric said, her voice chiding, but calmer now.
“What’s the point in having a sports car if you can’t drive it?” Cody asked.
“It’s not a jet, Cody,” Lyric said.
Cody sighed. “Got it,” she said, feeling defeated.
“Just be careful, please?” Lyric said then.
“Yes ma’am,” Cody said, her tone respectful.
She hung up then, glancing over at McKenna to see she was watching her.
“What?” Cody asked self-consciously.
“Somebody called her about you speeding?” McKenna asked.
“They do that,” Cody said.
“For everyone, or are you special?” McKenna asked.
“Lyric used to work with the LAPD, they know me from then, and they recognize my car… and my bike… and yeah, they almost always call her when I’m pushing it.”
“Another reason she worries,” McKenna said.
Cody didn’t respond, she just sighed and nodded her head. McKenna sensed there was a lot she didn’t know about Cody. She wondered if she’d ever know everything, but really wanted to get to know her more. She was an enigma, but an extremely appealing one. McKenna had never felt such a strong pull to a person as she did to Cody, even before she knew who she really was. Even Cody Wyatt had a way that had made her want to engage her, help her, do whatever she could to be near her. It was crazy, but knew she needed to see where this led. At that moment, she couldn’t think of another place in the entire world she’d want to be, but in this car with this woman who she barely knew.
The intrigue about Cody only grew when they got to the gym. In the parking lot, Cody surveyed the cars parked there. Before even walking through the door, she knew that Jet, Jericho, Sebastian, and Quinn were there. Their cars were easy to pick out in a crowd. Jet drove a Maserati, Jericho a red Challenger Hellcat, Sebastian a black Hummer, and Quinn a midnight blue Mach 1 Mustang.
“Oh good…” Cody muttered as she got out of the car and walked around to open McKenna’s door.
“What’s wrong?” McKenna asked.
“Oh, this morning is just going all to hell,” she said, grinning.
“Why?” McKenna asked as Cody closed the door.
Cody chuckled. “Just do me a favor, okay?”
“Okay…” McKenna said, smiling at Cody’s odd behavior.
“Try to ignore at least half of what you hear in there, okay?” she asked.
“Oh my…” McKenna murmured.
Cody turned and led her into the gym. The girl at the front desk scanned Cody’s card, and Cody signed McKenna in as a guest.
“How’s it going, Cody?” the girl at the counter asked with a wide smile.
“Shut up, Denise…” Cody said, grinning, knowing that this was just the beginning.
Denise laughed. “You had to know…” she said, her tone chiding.
“Yeah, yeah…” Cody said, shaking her head, as she led McKenna into the gym.
Cody seemed to know a lot of people in the gym; they nodded to her, or called out a greeting. There were more than a couple of wide grins, and McKenna was really curious. It only grew when they rounded a corner and walked toward a group.
“Good morning…” Cody said formally to the group, foolishly hoping to influence their behavior.
No such luck.
“Cody…” Quinn said, her look sly, her Northern Irish accent very clear. “How ya doin’?”
Cody gave Quinn a quelling look, not that Quinn was paying any attention though, her attention was on McKenna.
“Quinn Kavanaugh, this is McKenna,” Cody said. “McKenna, this is Quinn, that’s Jericho,” she said pointing to each of them as she said their names. “That’s Sebastian, Cat and Jovina, and that’s Jet. No Shenin or Sky this morning?” she asked.
“They’re at the shelter,” Jericho said.
“Then I’ll see them there,” Cody said, nodding.
“Kash is on call today and Sierra’s on a big case, so you’re safe there,” Sebastian supplied, grinning.
“Safe?” McKenna asked, her look pointed.
“He’s being facetious, and it’s not appreciated,” Cody said, narrowing her eyes at Sebastian. She then clapped him on the shoulder. “I do, however, appreciate the assist last week,” she said, referring to him helping her home the week before.
“Any time, little one,” he said, nodding.
Jet extended her hand to McKenna. Cody knew things were about to get out of her control, she also knew there was no way to stop Jet and her runaway mouth. She knew everyone in the group was watching the exchange, and simply shook her head.
“Hi, I’m Jet,” she said. She cast a look at Cody. “Is this her?” she asked, her eyes returning to McKenna, searching McKenna’s face.
Cody pressed her lips together, then nodded. “Yeah.”
Jet gave McKenna another assessing look, then nodded her head. “I get it,” she said, smirking.
McKenna looked at Cody. “I’m sorry?” she queried.
Cody looked back at her. “Jet was at The Club on Friday,” she said by way of explanation.
“And she knows about me, how?” McKenna queried, sounding surprised.
Jet and Cody exchanged a look and then Jet smiled mischievously back at McKenna. “We should talk,” she said and she wrapped her arm around McKenna’s shoulders.
“Oh, hell no,” Cody said, shaking her head. “Do not talk to her, she’s trouble,” she told McKenna.
“Sounds like she’s trouble for you…” McKenna said, smiling brightly. “Which makes her my new best friend…”
Jet burst out laughing. “Oh, I like her…” she said, her smile wide.
“Son of a…” Cody muttered, shaking her head. She started to say something else, but Natalia was calling everyone into the class that was starting.
Cody gave Jet a final pointed look. “I’ll kill ya, I swear…” Cody said, her look serious, but a grin already starting on her lips.
“Go on now…” Jet said, waving Cody on her way.
Cody gave Jet a narrowed look, but finally shook her head and walked away.
“Come with me,” Jet said, hooking her arm around McKenna’s.
Jet walked McKenna outside of the gym, where there were tables. Jet sat down at a table, pulling out her lighter and cigarettes.
“Do you mind?” Jet asked politely.
“No,” McKenna said, shaking her head.
“So, what do you want to know about Cody,” Jet asked, grinning.
McKenna smiled, looking down for a moment, then looked back at Jet. “How well do you know her?” she asked.
Jet shrugged. “Better than most, less than some,” she said.
“What does that mean?” McKenna asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.
“It means, I’v
e slept with her a few times, and we’re friends,” Jet said simply.
McKenna looked back at Jet, surprised by the statement. “You’ve slept with her?”
Jet grinned. “Trust me, honey, that does not make me unique in any way.”
McKenna narrowed her eyes again. “Why?” she asked.
“Because Cody’s slept with a lot of women,” Jet said, her look serious.
“Define a lot,” McKenna said.
“A lot,” Jet repeated, her look pained.
McKenna nodded as she processed what Jet was saying. “So, what happened last Friday night at The Club?”
Jet looked back at her for a long moment. “What did Cody tell you?”
“She said she was a bit over the top and that she did a lot of drinking and carousing.”
“Is that what she calls it?” Jet asked, grinning at the term.
“What do you call it?” McKenna asked.
“Scoring another notch for her bedpost,” Jet said her look serious. “Exactly how do you know Cody?” she asked then.
McKenna looked back at Jet for a long moment confused. “In there, you asked Cody if I was her…”
Jet nodded. “’Cause I knew she was really wound tight on Friday, I took a shot that it had to do with you, and she confirmed it. Cody doesn’t bring women around, unless they mean something to her.”
“How many women have meant something to her?” McKenna asked.
“I think I was the last one,” Jet said, no ego in her tone at all.
“And how long ago was that?” McKenna asked, feeling a bit jealous of Jet, and trying to tamp down on it.
“About a year and a half ago,” Jet said. “And don’t get me wrong, I didn’t mean that much to her, we’re a lot alike.”
“Meaning?” McKenna asked.
“I didn’t do commitment and I did a lot of women,” Jet said, her tone serious. “Same as Cody.”
“So she doesn’t do commitment?” McKenna asked.
“Not that I’ve ever seen,” Jet said, looking apologetically at McKenna.
McKenna nodded, her look contemplative.
“So she took someone home from the bar last week?” McKenna asked, wondering why Cody would be embarrassed about that. It sounded like regular behavior for her.
“Uh...” Jet stammered. “No, she didn’t take her home…” McKenna looked back at Jet for a long moment. “The girl took her to her place?” she asked, her tone hopeful.
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