Page 23 of Fight for You

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, and 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, and then she spins around and runs from me.

What the fuck?

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.

I want to tell him to fuck off, but respect is important to guys like Kaleo. When something sets him off, the collateral damage can be nasty. If he feels slighted or disrespected, he won't let it go.

I don’t have time for his bullshit today, but I don’t have a fucking choice. I can’t risk him causing us more problems.

"What's up?" I ask when he catches up to me.

"She's cute," he says. His white teeth gleam and his blue eyes twinkle with mischief.

My stomach sinks.

He saw her kiss me.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Titan," he says, a hint of satisfaction in his expression. 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, sure." 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 finally joining his crew. Which means I'm going to have to tell Titan about the kiss before he does.

Fucking hell.

"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. I don't want him anywhere near my girl. The thought alone sets my teeth on edge.

When I get to my house, Ma Lucia 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 Lucia." 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.