Bad to Be Worthy (Bad to Be Good #2) - Andrew Grey Page 0,10

in an apartment that Richard is still paying for and was empty, doing nothing. So don’t give me a bunch of shit.” He was being nice to someone. “Besides, if there’s real criminal activity going on around us, that is going to lead to scrutiny, and you know what that means?”

“Oh shit, not again,” Terrance groaned. “What is it with you guys? You meet some kid and you start acting all weird.”

Gerome finished his coffee and set the mug in the sink. “Forget that. Last night was a drop at sea, and the money brick proves it. That means that illicit activity is happening right out there. It isn’t just down by Miami or out on the Keys. If it continues, then the feds and other police are going to be here to try to put a stop to it. Or worse, what if what’s left of the Garvic family decides to move in? If it’s lucrative, those fuckers will smell the money all the way in Detroit. What if they’re already here? We have to find out and put an end to this shit. That means that Tucker across the hall is our one lead right now.”

Terrance growled, but Gerome knew he’d already won. “What does Richard say?”

“Who do you think gave me permission last night?” He cocked his eyebrows.

Terrance grimaced. “I think both of you have gone completely soft, each because of a cute pair of eyes and a great ass.” He shook his head. “Not that I can blame you on either count, but why does this hotness always come with strings? Can’t you just pick up a guy, have some fun, fuck, and then walk away? It’s what you used to do. None of this soft, mushy stuff.” He slipped off the stool. “Do what you want. Just don’t come to me when it all blows up in your face.”

That was as close to approval as Gerome was going to get.

“What bug crawled up your ass?” Gerome asked.

“Me?” Terrance set down his mug hard enough that coffee spilled on the counter. “You’ve been terrible for months, mopey and as snappy as a gator. Now you meet some kid and suddenly—” Terrance paused and rolled his eyes. “You really like this kid….”

“Don’t even go there. We need to find out what’s going on for our own safety.”

Terrance snorted and then did it again as he laughed. “You could do that by scaring the shit out of him until he tells you what you want to know. Don’t forget, I saw this guy, and he was cute as all hell. Besides, you don’t even know if he walks on our side of the street or not. You said he’s with a woman and her kid. Maybe they’re involved.”

“Like usual, you have it all wrong.” Okay, maybe not all of it, because Gerome had spent much of the night wondering about a certain young man. He wasn’t going to tell Terrance that every time he closed his eyes, he saw those blue eyes filled with worry. “Now shut it and stop giving me a hard time. It’s early and I need to get dressed. I told Tucker I would be over this morning.”

A knock on the door had them both turning. Gerome set down his mug, yawned, and pulled open the door.

Richard, Daniel, and Coby came inside, with Daniel looking him over. “Nice robe. Though if you don’t want to flash the neighbors, I suggest you go put something else on.”

“God,” Gerome muttered as he pulled his robe together and stalked off toward the bedroom. “There’s coffee—help yourself.”

“We will,” Daniel said with amusement.

Pans clanged in his kitchen as Gerome closed the bedroom door behind him. Gerome sighed and stripped off his robe, heading to the bathroom to clean up quickly. Then he pulled on jeans and a newer T-shirt, taking a moment to lament the loss of the Detroit shirts he hadn’t been able to bring along. When they had entered witness protection, the marshals had gone through everything they owned to make sure there was nothing obvious about their pasts, and they took all his Detroit T-shirts and jerseys. Dammit.

He padded barefoot back out to where Daniel was serving breakfast. He handed Gerome a plate and a refilled mug of coffee. The others stood or sat at the counter snack bar. Gerome sat on the nearby sofa, setting his plate on the coffee table. What he really wanted was to be alone, but it seemed his family wasn’t