Once Kissed: An O'Brien Family Novel (The O'Brien Family) by Cecy Robson Read Free Book Online

meant to help. What they don’t understand is that being alone is the last thing I need. It gives me too much time to think about everything that went wrong.
    I square my shoulders, waiting for Tess to answer. Instead, she huddles deeper into her coat when a gust of wind slams against us like a solid force. For as tall as she is, she seems so small now. As much as I bitched to Declan yesterday, it was probably better someone else had had her back. As it was, I spent the night reliving Joey getting shot and counting all the ways I screwed up.
    “Wassup?” I ask her when she stays quiet.
    She doesn’t look at me when she answers. “I don’t have a car. I walked here.”
    “You serious? What happened to the badge watching you?”
    “He followed me in his vehicle.” She glances around when I narrow my eyes. “Traffic was slow; he kept up just fine,” she insists. Her lips part when I practically growl. “It’s only ten blocks.”
    “What do you mean it’s only ten blocks?” I ask. “It’s goddamn January.”
    “I walk fast. You can call it an opportunity for exercise.”
    “No, I call it an opportunity to freeze your ass off. Come on, I’ll take you in my squad car.” I pause when I catch sight of her horrified expression. “Relax, baby. It’s not like I’m going to cuff you or anything.” I dance my eyebrows at her. “Unless you want me to.”
    Her mouth pops open. “Officer O’Brien. Do you really think this is an appropriate way to speak to me given our roles?”
    I lean back on my heels, pretending to be all offended. “It was just a joke between friends.”
    “Friends?” she repeats, grasping the collar of her coat tightly against her.
    “We’re not—what do you call it?—BFFs. But come on. It’s not like we’re strangers. We know each other.” I make a point to glance around before leaning in close, acting as if I’m sharing some top-secret info. “From college, remember?”
    Although she tries not to, she laughs. And damn, doesn’t that totally change her face. She goes from all business to, yeah, all kinds of hot. “Very well, bestie,” she says. “Take me home in your vehicle.” She clutches my arm when I take a step forward. “I am riding in the front, right?”
    I grin. “Don’t you think it would be more fun to ride in the back? I can read you your Miranda rights and pretend you’re under arrest for streaking or some crazy shit.” She tightens her jaw and releases my arm. “Okay, okay. You can ride in the front.”
    We cross the street and walk into the parking deck, where a couple of skate punks are racing down the ramp, hootin’ and hollerin’ like they’re at Disney World. “Wait here,” I tell Tess. “Hey, assholes.” The kids skid to a stop, their eyes wide. “Can you read?” They look at each other. “I asked you if you could read, shitheads.”
    The kid with the greasy hair hanging to his shoulders answers. “Yeah.”
    I point to the NO SKATEBOARDING ALLOWED sign. “Then read and get the fuck out of here.” I shrug at Tess when they scatter. “Just kids having fun.”
    She takes a hesitant step forward before hurrying to catch me. “Then why did you speak to them that way?”
    “So they won’t do it again,” I say, as we cross the low-lit area to the ramp where I parked my patrol car. “Their kind of fun can bust their heads open.” I glance over my shoulder. “Ever seen a busted head?” I grimace. “It’s not pretty. The skin is so thin on the scalp and forehead you bleed like a stuck pig.”
    Tess makes a face. “I can imagine.”
    I open the passenger door for her. She slips inside and glances around the interior when I shut the door behind her. “Don’t worry,” I say as I slide into the driver’s seat. “I’m supposed to sub this car out for my own tomorrow.”
    “Thank you. That’s probably best.”
    “Where to?” I ask her.
    “Right out of the lot and then two blocks down to Juniper,” she says, keeping her attention