Blacklisted (Loveless, Texas #3) - Jay Crownover Page 0,21

to pull me to safety when someone started shooting that day in the parking lot. I saved you. You saved me. That makes us even. The favor from the club is cleared. The slate is wiped clean as far as I’m concerned.”

I wanted to make sure he knew we didn’t have any kind of realistic reason to interact in the future.

I hitched a thumb in the direction of my place and pushed back the sudden rise of something that felt like sadness at saying a final goodbye to this man. My words were quiet when I told him, “I’m gonna run in, grab some stuff, and drive myself back to Kody’s. You don’t have to stick around anymore. I’m sure your vision is okay now. You should be able to ride your motorcycle with no issue. Once again, I apologize for overreacting.” I fought the urge to stick my hand out for him to shake. It seemed overly formal and silly, and I already felt clumsy and awkward around him. It wasn’t like I was trying to impress the biker, but it irked me that I always ended up making some kind of scene or needed rescuing when we were together.

Shot’s dark eyebrows quirked and his lips followed. He was an outrageously good-looking guy, one who clearly knew his own appeal. The men I normally spent time around were confident in their abilities and skills. They used titles and bank accounts to brag. Shot needed none of that. He knew when he did something as simple as smile it made hearts foolishly start to race. He was cocky and self-assured, without that practiced charm and charisma so often found in men with high-powered and well-paying jobs, but the sexy swagger he had to spare was too potent to ignore and far more appealing.

When I realized I was staring—because he had really pretty lips for such a rough and rugged man—I jolted and hoped I wasn’t blushing. I also hoped it wasn’t obvious that I couldn’t quit looking at his mouth.

“Have you ever heard, ‘When you save a life, you’re responsible for that life until the favor is returned’?”

I shifted my weight nervously from one foot to another and dragged my gaze away from the magnetic pull of his. “Of course, I’ve heard that. Everyone has.”

He bent at the waist slightly, which brought us nearly eye to eye. My breath caught and I lifted a hand to my chest where my heart was pounding underneath my palm.

“As of now, I’m responsible for you, Dr. Baskin.” It took me a second to realize he was referring to when he pulled me out of the line of fire in the parking lot. One of his dark eyes closed in a flirty wink as he straightened while I struggled to form an argument against his words. “Gonna be interesting to see how that plays out, isn’t it?” Before I could say anything, his hands landed on my shoulders and turned me around to face the apartment. “Go get your stuff. I’ll hang out here until you get into your car, just in case.”

I started to protest, but I could tell he wasn’t going to listen to anything I had to say. Swearing softly under my breath I asked, “You’re just going to do whatever the hell you want regardless of what I say or do, aren’t you?”

“Pretty much.” His grin turned into a full-fledged smile, and I swore I forgot how to breathe for a moment. It was unfair that a badass biker was blessed such a pretty, persuasive smile. How was that fair to innocent hearts everywhere?

Huffing in frustration, I let myself into my apartment.

I’d only ever been responsible for myself, and for my mother. Shot telling me he intended to be responsible for my well-being in any way made me dizzy and made me feel off-center.

I also couldn’t shake Shot’s theory that running away from my life was giving Ashby exactly what she wanted. I’d given up everything to try and play her game and didn’t have anything to show for it.

Something needed to change, and it was slightly disconcerting that the revelation came from the last place I would’ve expected it to. Taking life advice from a guy I’d had to dig a bullet out of not too long ago probably wasn’t the brightest idea I’d ever had, but for some inexplicable reason, listening to Shot didn’t seem as scary as everything else happening in my life.

Chapter 5

Shot

So this is the