Page 73 of Last First Kiss
“That makes me sad for you, Tiger.” He scratched his head and then his neck.
Light seeped into the dark bar when the front door opened and Joey walked inside and hollered, “Let’s go.”
Jax was in the driver’s seat of one of ICS’s black Yukons and Rocco and Annie sat in the back. “You can’t go to your house,” Joey said. “I can take you to one of our safe houses.”
“No. I’m not going to any safe house. I’m going home. I’m not hiding from these fanatics. It’s a goddamn movie. Not an act of war.”
“Listen, these fanatics, they mean business. A safe house is a good place to—”
“No!” he said in a tone that left no room for questioning.
Jax and Joey looked at each other, clearly having a silent conversation that made Rocco want to lash out.
“I’ll take him to my house,” Annie piped up from beside him.
“What? No!” Joey said quickly.
“Yes. No one knows who I am. My house is off the grid, it’s the safest place. And we don’t know how long the paparazzi will be at his house or when we’ll be leaving for Colombia. This is the best option.”
Joey turned his body and looked straight at Annie, ignoring the other two men in the car. “You are being irresponsible and emotional.”
“Joey . . .”
Rocco put his arm around Annie, and pulled her toward him. “You better accept this, because this is real. The two of us, it’s real. And she just got us out unscathed, so you should also thank her for a job well done.”
Her sunburned face broke into a big smile. “I really like you.” It surprised him that she’d admit that in front of her brother, but it felt wonderful to hear it.
“I really like you too, Tiger.” It wasn’t “I love yous,” but for someone as guarded as Annie this was a huge step and he wanted to hold her, kiss her, make love to her. Instead, he was stuck in the middle of nowhere with her brother shooting daggers at them.
“This is all real cute.” Joey said, with his arms crossed and his nostrils flaring. “But this is so in-fucking-apropriate! Like him? What does that mean, exactly?”
Her brother really needed to take it down a few notches. He was just as intense as Annie. Apparently, it was a Clad family trait.
But the bottom line was that this was really none of his business and even though Rocco could appreciate that he was being protective of his sister, Joey was very close to crossing the line. He didn’t want to cause Annie additional stress by going head to head with her brother but he wasn’t going to stand idly by and watch Joey be a dick to him or to Annie, even if Annie could defend herself. It just wasn’t in his DNA to watch anyone mistreat another person, especially a woman.
“It means I like him. I like how he is with me, I like how I feel when I’m around him. I like him.”
“Fuck, Annie.” He rubbed his temples with his thumbs. “How could you let that happen? He’s an actor.”
A low deep groan came from deep within Rocco and he had to fist his hands in order to control his impulse to punch Joey. Who the hell did he think he was? Calling him a liar right in front of his face. And in front of Annie, his woman. “Fuck you! I’m not acting and I don’t give a shit about work. I won’t let anything happen to her. You have a lot of nerve coming here and talking about things you don’t anything about.” Joey was assuming this was a quick roll in the hay for Rocco, but it wasn’t. Not at all.
“She’s not supposed to let anything happen to you, Goddamn it! How did this all get twisted around? This is not pretend. You told me you just wanted someone to blend in, Monroe.”
“It’ll be fine,” Jax said from the driver’s seat, trying to calm Joey down. “Where’s your head at, Annie?”
“It’s on the job. I’m focused. If anything, I’m more aware because I don’t want anything to happen to him. I can do this, Jax. I swear. You have to trust me.”
“I do trust you. But you’re not my sister. You and Joey need to figure your shit out.”
“Annie, honey, I love you and I don’t want to see you get hurt.” Joey finally said, softly.
“I’m not a little kid anymore, Joe. I love you too, but trust my instincts. It’ll be fine. I’m tired of arguing with you. Just stop.” She looked exhausted by the conversation and he wanted to reach for her but he didn’t want to be so blatantly touchy-feely in front of her brother, who was obviously not on board with the relationship.
“How can you do your job when you have feelings for him? Your judgment is compromised.”
“Did you have this talk with Jax when he fell in love with Megan—his client?” she asked snarkily.
“Yes. Actually I did. And you know what the lunatic did, he ran into a fucking arena with a bomb in his hand. If that’s not compromised judgment, I don’t know what is.”
