13. Cal Walker
J esus fucking Christ, it should be illegal to be that hot. Ryan mother fucking Fairview had my ticket, let me tell you.
His adorable little fight for dominance had me so goddamn hard. Ugh, I nearly gave his mom the show of her life when I walked back into the kitchen. Before going inside, I slipped my dick up into the waistband of my jeans so as not to accidentally poke her in the damn eye with it. And people say I don’t have any manners.
When I re-entered the kitchen, there were two steaming cups of tea waiting for us, and Iris was drinking hers while she hummed and danced to a song that was only playing in her head.
She was making breakfast now, and my mouth watered at the smell of bacon.
“How do you like your eggs, dear?” she asked.
I assumed she was speaking to me as I was likely the only person in the house that she didn’t already know the egg preference for. I snatched up my tea and took a big sip before peeking over her shoulder to see what she was up to.
“I like ‘em over easy, but if you’re doing scrambled, I’ll take that too.” I grinned, and she beamed back at me.
I really liked this lady. She was weird as fuck. It was the best.
The little pouch she gave me was full of the most random shit. There was a shiny black stone, a sprig that smelled and looked like rosemary, and a rusty nail.
Super odd, but whatever. It didn’t bother me at all to keep it on my person the way she had asked. I liked it when people humored me with stupid shit, so I always tried to do the same for others. Especially if it was harmless and took zero effort on my part.
Ryan followed me into the kitchen, looking sullen and pissed off. It seemed I had a brat on my hands, which was literally my favorite. I loved it when they fought back. I got to punish them and teach them their place.
Ryan wanted to be good. I saw it when he finally realized he was going to lose the fight in the hallway and begged me to let him go.
I would make sure to teach him just how far begging would get him… though it did concern me that he seemed to think he was straight.
I typically stayed away from closeted dudes, mostly because I didn’t have the patience or the time for it. Usually, I was looking for a quick fuck between jobs. Coaxing someone out of the closet, especially someone as ingrained in their ways as Ryan, was usually more trouble than it was worth. But looking at his scrumptious little ass and his still half-hard dick flopping in those cotton pants that left nothing to the imagination… I was going to have to make an exception.
He glowered at me, clearly not liking my proximity to his mother, so I got closer to him instead.
“Here,” I said, pulling out the seat at the table with the remaining cup waiting for him. “Have a seat.” My offer seemed to anger him.
“Where do you get off offering me a seat in my own fucking house?” He snarled, and I glanced at his mother, who didn’t seem perturbed by his outburst.
“I was just trying to be nice,” I explained, but I couldn’t help chuckling when it looked like literal steam might come shooting out of his ears.
“Yeah, well… it would be nice if you got off my property,” he snapped, though my heart did an embarrassing little pitter-patter as he flopped into the seat I had pulled out for him anyway.
“I’m not going anywhere, ginger snap. You better get used to it.”
“Breakfast is ready!” Iris chimed.
I grinned at her, returning to her side.
“Can I do anything to help?”
“How kind, dear. Yes, please take these plates to the table. Ryan, have you heard from Theo? Is she joining us?”
My grin widened as I helped Iris set the table. Oh boy. Theo was going to lose her shit when she found me in this kitchen.
I couldn’t wait.
I was just about to sit down in the seat next to Ryan when Caleb walked into the kitchen rubbing his eyes.
“Morning, bud,” I greeted him, and he gave me a shy smile. Ryan shot up from the table and went to him, crouching down to get on his level.
“Hey… how did you sleep?” he asked the boy softly.
My heart swelled at the sight of it. Seeing him interact with Caleb now, I couldn’t believe how much I had misinterpreted the situation the night before. I supposed Ryan had just had a bad reaction to the news that the kid had been injured. I would need to be more careful in the future. A little pulse of anxiety shot through me at the thought that I very well could have killed Ryan for no reason.
What a shame that would have been…
“I slept ok,” Caleb said, his voice small.
“Do you want some breakfast? We’re having scrambled eggs and bacon,” Iris said, and the kid’s eyes lit up.
“I love bacon!” he exclaimed, scrambling toward the table. I chuckled and pulled out a seat on the opposite side of me.
“Who doesn’t?” I asked, and he wrinkled his nose up at me.
“Vegetarians.”
“Ah, yep. You’ve got me there,” I agreed, thinking of Cass and her weird tofurkey we always had to make when she came over.
Whatever. To each their own.
Ryan and Iris sat down at the table with us, though Ryan couldn’t seem to take his eyes off me. He was glaring at me with such intense hostility that I could feel his gaze burning into the side of my head.
If he thought he was going to be able to scare me away with a few dirty looks, he was sorely mistaken. He was just a little kitten compared to the assholes I usually ate with when working for Apex.
This breakfast, despite his hostility, was closer to what it was like when I shared meals with Naomi and Cass, and honestly, I was fucking loving every minute of it.
I would be inviting myself back very soon.
“See something you like, ginger snap?” I teased him, grinning as I took a bite of my eggs. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head aggressively.
“Keep dreaming, you freak,” he snarled, and I narrowed my eyes right back at him.
“Watch it. There’s a child present.” I warned, making sure he heard the threat in my voice. I was fine with him being a little grumpy raincloud, but I wouldn’t be disrespected or allow him to call me names.
I had killed people for much less.
He opened his mouth to say something else. I could tell by the expression on his face that it was going to piss me the fuck off, but luckily for him, Theo walked into the kitchen before he could get a word out.
“Someone’s here for the kid,” she growled, stalking up to the table, looking even more agitated than she had the day before. She was in the same black shorts and T-shirt combo, with her signature bun tied at the nape of her neck.
She was still hot as fuck, but decidedly less so now that I had met her brother. Theo’s angry gaze flitted to mine, and her eyebrows shot up in surprise to find me sitting at the table like a self-proclaimed member of the family. Her jaw dropped, and she rounded on Ryan.
“What the fuck is this guy doing here?” she growled, and Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out an exasperated sigh.
“It’s a long story,” he grumbled.
“Perhaps we should focus on the task at hand.” Iris piped up sagely from her end of the table. She had pulled Caleb into her lap and was stroking his hair fondly. “We seem to have a bit of a problem, and we would present a stronger front if we worked together.”
Have I mentioned that I fucken loved this lady?
The. Best.
I crossed my arms over my chest and smirked at the Fairview siblings, raising my eyebrows at them expectantly.
“See? Iris gets it.” I grinned.
They both looked at me like they wanted to see what I would look like with my throat cut.
Unfortunately for Ryan, that just made my dick hard.
Fortunately for Theo, it made me think she might not be a useless twat in a fight if I needed backup later.
I wouldn’t… but it was definitely a point in her favor.
Caleb started crying, and the smile dropped right off my face. I stood up, giving him my full attention.
“Don’t worry,” I said, making sure my voice came out even and calm so as not to frighten him any more than he already was. “You’re not going back.”
Caleb turned his impossibly large eyes up to face me, his lower lip trembling.
“You promise?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.
“I promise,” I said before glancing at Theo.
“Is it a man or a woman?”
She pursed her lips, her dark eyes simmering with rage, but she answered me.
“A man. He’s claiming neighbors saw Caleb come in here, and he’s demanding we return him. He says he’s his dad.”
I nodded. “Alright then. Let’s go meet the dead man.” I grinned, not waiting to see if the Fairview siblings would follow me. I knew that they would.