Stil , I didn’t care. This was going a lot further and a lot faster than made me comfortable. In fact, this happening at all made me uncomfortable. I had to set the brakes, pronto.

“We’re not talking about this, Chiquita,” he said to me.

“Yes we are,” I shot back.

His eyes started to get a little glittery.

“Okay then, we are,” he said.

Uh-oh.

I didn’t think I had control of the Jet Chat anymore.

“Time for our chat,” he announced.

I was right, I didn’t have control of the Jet Chat anymore.

The Jet Chat had just taken a scary turn down the road leading straight to the Eddie Chat.

Damn.

“I think I need coffee before our chat,” I said hoping to buy time.

“After. We’re gonna get a few things straight, you and me.”

Damn, shit, f**k and hel .

I wasn’t doing very well with things crooked between Eddie and me. I real y didn’t want things straight. I didn’t know for certain how I wanted things. What I did know was how I didn’t want them and that was Relationship Overdrive while the rest of my life was chaos.

“Eddie…”

“I know the meaning of that ‘Eddie’,” he said, “and you can save it. You’re not getting out of this.” Exactly how did he have me so figured out?

I gave up and glared at him.

He ignored The Glare.

“See, even with bul ets flyin’, I’ve had the chance to get to know you. Cal me crazy but I’d like to do it better.” My glare deepened.

He continued to ignore it.

“That said, bul ets are flyin’, one nearly blew your pretty face off last night, so, I gotta tel you, I’d like it a f**k of a lot more if you saw your next birthday. The way I see it, that gives you two choices. First choice, you cool it with this ‘get control of my life’ business and let me keep you safe, which means you do what I say and you don’t go out on the town with your gang in high heels. Second choice, you go your own way. You do that, I have Lee pick you up and put you in his safe room until I sort this shit out. If that means we’re over, I’m wil in’ to take that chance, knowin’ after it’s done you’l be somewhere alive and breathing even if you’re doin’ it in someone else’s bed.”

I gasped through The Glare and said, “Eddie…”

“No ‘Eddie’. You choose, right now, door number one or door number two, no discussion.”

Real y.

I did not think so. He was not going to lie there and give me an ultimatum.

I pushed him off, sat up, taking the sheet with me, and turned to him but he sat up too so I lost my leverage.

So be it, I was used to no leverage.

“There’s always room for discussion,” I told him.

“Not this time,” he returned.

I narrowed my eyes at him and then said something immensely stupid. Do not ask me why, I just did. Maybe it immensely stupid. Do not ask me why, I just did. Maybe it was my newfound attitude; I didn’t have it under control just yet, it leaked out wil y-nil y at the worst possible times.

(In my defence, Eddie was being kind of bossy.)

“Door number three is I do what I want and get Daisy to help me avoid you while I’m doing it. And door number four is turn tail and run, escaping it al by talking Mace into helping me and Mom disappear in Mexico like he said last night.”

Eddie’s eyes were no longer a little glittery, they were ful -on glittery.

“I’m sorry?”

Um… maybe it was time to put away the attitude and keep my mouth shut.

“I’d like to hear that part again about Mace helping you disappear.”

I didn’t actual y think he’d like to hear it again so I decided not to say it again.

“Tel me about Mace,” he persisted.

“No,” I said.

“I think I missed something, maybe we should go back over that kiss you shared,” he suggested and I could feel the negative vibes rol ing off him in waves, pounding against me.

“Eddie.”

“For f**k’s sake, Jet!” he exploded and I’d never heard him talk so loudly. I mean, I’d heard him yel but this was a roar. “You were shot last night.”

“Believe me, I know!” I yel ed back (but mine wasn’t as good).

“You are not puttin’ yourself out there and you are not goin’ anywhere near Mace again,” he shouted.

“You can’t tel me what to do!”

His eyes narrowed.

“You better f**king believe I can.”

I felt my temple throb and I chose to drop back to the pil ows instead of having another staring contest, I never won those anyway.

I closed my eyes and put my hand to my head.

He was right, of course and that total y pissed me off. I had no business putting myself out there; I didn’t know what I was doing. He tried to tel me with the pepper spray incident, but did I listen? No. So I ended up on the floor of a dirty, smoky room, shielding my sister from bul ets, my friends in the line of fire, Shirleen, who I barely even knew, lying unconscious out in the hal and final y with a gun to my head. A gun that went off in front of Mace, making him relive a nightmare.

Damn, shit, f**k, hel and back again.

“Al right,” I snapped, opening my eyes, “I’l be cool but you have to promise me you won’t tel Mace I told you al this.”

He dropped to his side and rol ed over me, pinning me to the bed.

“No f**kin’ way, Mace and I are gonna have a talk.”

“No! You have to promise.”

“You just chose door number one, which means you chose me, which means you stayin’ in my life and my bed. I know you aren’t gonna like it, Chiquita, because you look like you’re preparin’ to bolt any time anything looks or sounds serious about us, but that also means you are now official y my woman and as such, Mace and I are gonna have words.”

I didn’t have time to freak out about being Eddie’s woman. That was worse than his girlfriend. Far worse. A thousand times worse. The w-word was to the g-word what the f-word was to the c-word. I couldn’t even say the c-word in my head!

I had to let the w-word go and tackle one thing at a time.

“He said if I told you, we were going to disappear in Mexico! You can’t tel him. It’l break it, whatever it was, for him. He wasn’t there, he’d slid into another moment, I saw it, I felt it. It just happened that I was there when he did, it could have been anyone. But it was me and that connects us but not in a bad way. You can’t understand it, you weren’t there. But I told you what happened. I didn’t lie and I didn’t hide. Don’t make me sorry I didn’t.”