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Her golden eyes surrounded by sexy-hot smokey shadow narrowed to slits. “I have a date.”

My body rocked back like she’d just punched me in the gut. Was she fucking with me right now? She had a date? Who the fuck with? “The fuck?”

She raised a brow in challenge. “Is it that shocking that a man might want me?”

“What?” Okay, whoa. “No. That’s not⁠—”

She threw her hand up, silencing me. “Save it, Nightmare.” Turning around, she locked her door then shrugged on a cut that declared her Property of No One. “I don’t care anymore.”

“You don’t care?” What the fuck had crawled up her ass? Since when didn’t she care?

I pinched the bridge of my nose. This was going sideways fast. “At least tell me where this date is taking you. I’m supposed to be⁠—”

“Babysitting?” she snapped, tilting her head. “I’m a grown woman. Why the fuck do all you idiot men think I need a handler?” she growled.

O-kay. She was pissed. I could see it now, well more like hear it since it was the first time I’d ever heard her say the word fuck.

Sighing, I asked her again. “Where, Joy?”

“Dinner.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only one you get.” She held up her phone and wiggled it at me. “Drew knows where I’ll be. Consider yourself off the clock.”

Off the clock.

A smarter man would’ve left it at that and gone back inside.

I wasn’t a smarter man. Clearly I’d proven that by shooting a fucking cop and thinking I’d get away with it. Although I guess technically I sort of did get away with it, but whatever, this was different. I couldn’t let it go—couldn’t let her go. Not like that.

“You’re not going out looking like that.”

Jesus Christ.

The second the words left my mouth, I knew I’d fucked up royally.

“Excuse me?” Joy asked calmly.

Oh she wasn’t really calm, though. Not in the slightest bit. I could see—no, could feel the rage building inside her.

She was a powder keg just waiting to explode.

“Fuck. That’s not what I meant.” I rubbed at the back of my neck, desperately searching for the right words to pull my size twelve boot out of my mouth.

Then, just like a switch being flipped, the shutters came down behind her eyes, and she locked me out. But not without a parting shot, “Don’t worry. Nothing’s gonna happen. Not that it matters, though. I mean, I’m like a little sister to you. Right?”

I shook my head. What the fuck? “You were spying on me?”

She scoffed. “Don’t flatter yourself. I was taking the trash out and heard you two boneheads talking. About me, might I add.”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

Joy stood there watching me flounder like a fish out of water, then squared her shoulders like the badass warrior I knew she was. Only this time her armor was shielding her from me, and I didn’t like the way that made me feel.

“A girl can take a hint.” She said, chin raised and eyes guarded.

Fuck me.