But the more Nicole tried to explain, the less Amy seemed willing to hear it. Worse, she'd started mimicking Nicole's exact tone right back at her, mockingly."Uh-huh, sure, a 'game.' What kind of game exactly? One of those adult games?" Amy said, deadpan. "Anyway, I'm gonna go read. You two enjoy... whatever this is." She capped it off with a ridiculous face aimed squarely at a mortified Nicole before skipping off toward her room, thoroughly pleased with herself.Left alone in the kitchen, Jake and Nicole just stared at each other."This is entirely your fault, you useless man. Now Amy thinks whatever she thinks. How am I supposed to show my face at your place again after this?" Nicole started yanking off her apron, genuinely irritated.Jake caught her hand, trying to calm her down. "Come on, don't stoop to a thirteen-year-old's level here. Besides, it's not like we actually did anything. Why does it even matter what she thinks?"That was, without question, the wrong thing to say. Ni

Jake cooked up a fresh batch of braised pork belly. Within minutes, the whole living room filled with a rich, mouthwatering aroma that pulled both women straight off the couch mid-show.Nicole, halfway through popping a wedge of orange into her mouth, froze and set it down entirely."Amy, what is that smell? It's incredible, do you guys have a professional chef living next door or something?" Nicole asked, genuinely puzzled.She hadn't clocked yet that the smell was coming from her own kitchen and assumed it had to be drifting over from somewhere else. Amy sniffed the air too, brow furrowed."Wait, that can't be right, why does it smell like it's coming from our kitchen? That's got to be the pork belly my brother's making," Amy said, thoroughly confused.Even as she said it, Amy gave a skeptical little laugh. She'd literally watched that same dish turn into charcoal a few minutes earlier. There was no version of reality where it smelled like this now.Nicole's expression relaxed with

The heavyset man made zero effort to hide his interest in Nicole. She was visibly rattled underneath it all, but held her chin up, staring him down without backing off an inch."I hit your car because you deserved it. I was already pulling into that spot you cut me off. That's on you," Nicole shot back, refusing to budge.The second she spoke, her voice bright, clear, effortlessly composed only seemed to delight him further, and he burst out laughing."Gorgeous and got a voice like that? You're a walking heart-attack, you know that? You go to school around here? How about I just... keep you," the man said, utterly shameless."Keep your own sister. I've got plenty of money already."A cold, flat voice cut through the moment right as the man reached for Nicole's arm, and every head turned toward the source.Nicole, in particular, felt something warm bloom in her chest watching Jake step forward like that. He wasn't dressed anywhere near as expensively as this man, but in that moment, se

Nicole decided she'd rather not push the argument further. Watching Jake's aggressive stance, the security guard looked ready to step in physically, but Frank waved him off."Everybody, just enjoy the show. My guy's already on his way. Today, I'm making this punk crawl," Frank said, puffed up with confidence.Sure enough, moments later, an unmarked van with no plates rolled up nearby. No question what that meant whoever Frank had called clearly wasn't the type to worry about paperwork. Unmarked plates meant these were career muscle, professionals who knew exactly how to stay under the radar.Frank's mouth curled into a nasty smile as he jabbed a finger toward Jake's face."You just wait. I'm not letting this go until you're on your knees calling me sir. Nobody and I mean nobody has ever humiliated me like this."The van rolled to a stop, and several men in black climbed out. Frank scrambled over, practically bowing as he approached the man leading the group."Tiger, thank god, you're

Just as the bearded man reached to grab a fistful of Nicole's hair, Jake closed the distance and drove a punch straight into the side of his head.The gun dropped from his grip, clattering to the floor. He tried to lunge for itJake caught him under the chin with a solid kick before he got anywhere close.---Meanwhile, back at the precinct, Kayla let out an involuntary yawn.Ever since the whole mess with Hank had wrapped up, Kayla had come out the other side with real credit for her role in it, a formal commendation, even a promotion. She was running her own squad now.Somewhere in the back of her mind, unbidden, a certain young man's face kept surfacing. Jake.The promotion, if she was honest with herself, traced directly back to him.Lately she'd caught herself missing him in odd, unexplainable little moments, a feeling she genuinely couldn't make sense of.She pulled out her phone. On the lock screen sat a photo one Jake would have been stunned to discover existed, since it was o