Page 28 of Steady Stroke
“Wait, you’re Dominic Bounds’s sister?” the officer asked. “As in one-half of Off Beat?”
“The one and only.” Roxy’s mood shifted to that of a very proud sister. “Isn’t he amazing? I was always so jealous of how talented he is. The only thing I’m good at is cussing people out, and that’s not really something our parents encouraged.”
Emmett released a rusty sound that was almost laughter. Pepper spray aside, he was kind of starting to like Roxy. He vaguely paid attention to their conversation about Off Beat until the male officer returned.
He handed Emmett back his license. “You know, you’re well within your rights to press assault charges for the pepper spray.”
Roxy squawked.
“No, thank you,” Emmett said. “It was a misunderstanding, that’s all.”
The officer nodded, and he and his partner left. After Roxy shut the door, she walked into the kitchen, both hands held up in mock surrender. “I am really, really sorry.”
His face still hurt and he really needed to blow his nose, but the worst had passed. “It’s okay. Sounds like you had reason to panic.”
She shrugged as she lowered her hands. “I guess. I still feel awful. Lincoln’s trying this new thing called making friends, and I go and attack one of them. Emilio, right?”
His pulse jumped. “Actually, I prefer to go by Emmett.”
“Why?”
He really did not want to unpack that with a near-stranger. “Long story.”
“Okay, whatever floats your boat. You do kind of look more like an Emilio than an Emmett.”
He knew that more than she realized. The contacts to make his eyes look hazel instead of dark brown-almost-black. The light-brown hair dye that barely made his naturally black color look medium brown. He lived in disguise every single day, trying to distance himself from his Syrian roots.
Trying to be anonymous.
Something of his thoughts must have shown on his face, because Roxy said, “Okay, Emmett it is. Nice to meet you.”
“You too.”
“So the sunglasses thing? That’s what set off Linc’s migraine?”
“Yes.” He gave Roxy an overview of their afternoon, all the way up to his search for an ice pack. “You know the rest.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. Again. God, your face looks awful.”
“Good, because it feels awful.”
“The good news is that when I started carrying pepper spray, my parents made sure I knew how to treat it, in case I accidentally burned myself. Do you wear contacts?”
“Yes.”
“Then go take them out and throw them away. They’re contaminated.”
And his last pair. He’d have to save up to afford more. But he did as told, popping them out with practiced ease. If Roxy noticed the big change in eye color she didn’t comment. She was busy soaking a fresh towel in milk.
“Go lie down on the couch, flat on your back,” she said.
He did as told. She came over a moment later and placed the milky towel over his eyes.
“This will help absorb the oil out of your skin, okay?”
“Okay.”
After a few minutes with the towel, his face started feeling better. Less like an open fire pit and more like a heating pad. Roxy brought a second milk-soaked towel over to replace the first. Emmett concentrated on the slow way his skin calmed, most of the irritation leaking away. The next thing she brought him was an ice pack, and that felt amazing.
