“You good?” Mo asked Mag.

But it was Elvira who spoke.

“I’m inviting that sister of Evan’s out for a cosmo,” she declared.

Mo looked over his shoulder at Elvira then back to Mag.

“You’re good,” he said.

Then he strode out of the office.

“Mag,” Elvira called.

“What?” Mag answered, his attention still on his friend’s departing back.

“Boy, look at me.”

He looked at her.

“It isn’t right, and it isn’t good, how it came about, but since it did, you got an opportunity to do something normally you would not. That is, help your girl to be all she’s meant to be. And Mag, as much as it sucks she got delayed in her path to that, and how, if you give her that, you’ll always be the one who gave it to her. That’s a beautiful thing. And if she’s as smart as everyone says she is, she’s not gonna miss it.”

Hawk could go guru because he was good at it.

With work shit.

Elvira could do it because, as she’d just demonstrated, she was good at it too.

With life shit.

“Thanks, Vira,” he muttered.

She gave him a scrunched-nose smile.

And with nothing for it, Mag got back to work.

Evie was sitting next to him in his truck, giggling.

He was surprised about this because, not five minutes ago, both of them were standing outside his truck, bickering.

She did not like that he was driving with his arm in a sling.

He did not allow anyone to drive his truck but him and there was no way in hell his ass was going to be in a Prius unless he was unconscious or so weak from loss of blood, he didn’t have it in him to fight it.

When he’d shared these things, the last bit got her ass in his truck.

And now she was giggling.

“What’s funny?” he asked.

“You came home early to make Gert chocolate chip cookies,” she answered, still laughing.

“I told you I was gonna win her over,” he reminded her.

“Bribing her with cookies is the way to go,” she replied. “Especially your cookies. I didn’t decimate them like you did the clusters, but I nabbed one and you’re right. You kick chocolate chip ass.”

He was glad she thought that, because, “Babe, there’s a dozen left at home, all for you.”

That got him nothing.

He glanced her way and saw he was wrong.

It hadn’t gotten him nothing.

She looked like she didn’t know whether to smile big or bust out crying.

He decided to help her make that decision.

“What’s my cookie bribe for you gonna get me?” he asked.

When he glanced again, he saw she was now grinning.

Mission accomplished.

“You’re oversexed,” she teased.

“Me bein’ oversexed means you’re oversexed so is that a complaint?”

“No,” she said quickly.

That was when he busted out laughing.

She curled her hand around his thigh in the middle of it, and when he shot her another glance, he saw her grinning at him.

Shit, fuck.

He had that from her, and he had to do what he had to do, and for her, he had to get it out of the way.

So, he set about doing that.

“Right, one piece of bad news and two pieces of interesting news.”

“Oh boy,” she mumbled.

“Bad news fast, Cisco was not the one who nabbed that bag out of your car. So, he’s still…whatever he is.”

“What is he?” she asked, sounding curious.

“A bad guy.”

She didn’t ask any further questions about Cisco.

Yeah, his girl was smart.

“The interesting news is, first, your dad is doin’ what he can to make sure the people in that sphere know you got nothin’ to do with this.”

She had no reply to that, but her hand still on his leg twitched.

“The second bit of interesting news is your sister came to my office today and—”

Her nails dug in through his jeans, which was one reason he stopped talking.

The other one was her shouting, “What?”

Her hand disappeared and he heard her digging in her purse, he knew for her phone, so he talked fast.

“It was not a bad visit, Evan. Listen to me, I think—”

She cut him off to say, “Hang on, honey, it’s ringing.”

Mag sighed.

“Yes, it’s your sister,” she snapped into the phone. “Yes.” Pause, “Yes, and I am not okay with that.” Longer pause and then, “No, he told me you…” Pause. “What? I don’t care if you approve.” No words, then, “Sidney, you can’t just walk into Danny’ place of business and—”

There was a very long pause before she spoke again.

“It was for your own good.”

More silence.

Then, exasperated, “I was trying to protect you!”

Mag made a turn through nothing coming verbally from Evie and then she spoke again.

“Don’t be sweet when I’m mad at you. If you have something to say, say it to me. Don’t interrupt Danny’s work.” Pause and, “I call him Danny. He’s Mag to everyone else.” Silence and then, “We can’t. Some other time. We’re having dinner with Gert.”

Her next was quieter.

“Yes, Gert. And yes, that means what you think it means.”

Mag started smiling.

“I think you knew that before you went to his office and interrupted his day,” she went on. “And no, I can’t chat about this now because we’re on our way there.” Pause, then, “No, I’m not talking and driving, and yes, I pay my insurance, so I know my driving record. Danny’s driving.” A heavy breath and then, “Tell me about it. But he refuses to ride in my Prius, and he won’t let me drive his truck.” Her voice was pitched higher when she said, “Only you would approve even more of that ridiculousness. Okay, I gotta go. ’Bye and love you.”

Mag knew on the other end of Evie’s line that Sidney was saying she loved her sister back before he saw out of the corner of his eye Evie’s phone hand going down.

“So, your sister approves?” he joked.

“Shut up,” she muttered.

He got serious and advised, “You should spend time with her, have a long talk. I think she has things to say you’d wanna hear.”

“She’s part lunatic.” Evie was continuing with the mutters.

“Baby, met her once and she did not hesitate to impress on me how deep her love is for you and how you worry her. I got no opinion on how she lives her life because it’s not my life and she’s not my sister. But from the little I know of her, you might be giving her a bad rap.”

He knew she was talking to her side window when she replied, “She wants to escape her way and I want to escape mine. It’s just that her way opens her up to being hurt by outside forces, whereas my way opened me up to the same, but by inside ones.”

Yeah, his girl was smart.

He didn’t have a free hand to touch her like he wanted to so he just said as gentle as he could, “Yeah.”

“And since you heard it,” she started, “I get in a lot of bust-ups in my car. Nothing serious. I blame it on multitasking.”