9
Dante
Our third round of beers had arrived, and Birdie passed them around the table. Country music streamed out of the speakers. A gentle rumble of voices filled the air. I’d never been in The Bullet during business hours before. I’d been underage and my mother would’ve ripped my ear off if Uncle Lynx let me in. It was crazy how everything in Bastion Township felt just as I remembered. Nothing had really changed, except for the people.
Raymond sat across from me with a scowl. He ended up joining us, which ticked me off. I didn’t want to bring up Ember in front of him. Even my cousin seemed different. Before I left, he’d been an angsty son of a bitch. Yeah, he had trauma from when he’d been held captive and lost his first love not long after. Now he didn’t seem so angsty, just angry as hell and directed at Birdie. I suspected he had developed feelings for her, so why weren’t they together if they both wanted to be?
“So, why did you return earlier than we expected?” Birdie asked. Thus far, we’d only been shooting the shit. Keeping conversations impersonal, but I’d been wondering when she’d ask this very question.
My attention went to the folks on the dance floor. There was no point in hiding the truth. Direct and to the point was how I rolled, much like my dad.
“I screwed around with an underage girl. My CO’s daughter,” I blurted the words without hesitation.
Birdie spewed her beer on Raymond’s lap.
He perked up in his chair and shot her a you-gotta-be-fucking-joking look.
“Oh wow, I’m so sorry!” She grabbed the cocktail napkins off the table and cleaned his pants. Bent over, her dark hair hid her face like a curtain as she frantically blotted Raymond’s crotch.
My cousin was in a trance, watching her with a heated gaze. It was obvious she was stirring up things instead of only drying his jeans.
“Raymond!” Birdie said in a chiding tone. “Clean yourself.” She threw the ball of napkins at his chest and shifted back in her chair.
I flicked my eyes below his belt and noticed the cause of her disgust, about eight to nine inches’ worth. Holding back a snort, I waited for the fallout.
“I just let you at it, sweetheart.” He laughed and adjusted himself. Jesus, the lust oozing out of his pores was unmistakable. He wanted her. She had always wanted him. So, what was keeping them apart?
“It was just an automatic reaction. You could have stopped me.” Her cheeks flamed red with embarrassment, but her blue eyes nearly turned black. She’d liked what she felt, the dirty girl.
“No man would stop a woman in my situation.”
Birdie held her hand up in front of Raymond’s face and rolled her eyes. “Please, continue your story, Dante.”
“Are you sure? You two seem to have unfinished business.” Seriously, the sexual tension was suffocating. If I were my cousin, getting fuck-me vibes from Birdie, I’d get her the fuck into my bed ASAP.
“Nope. There’s nothing. I want to hear all about the underage girl.”
“I need a whiskey.” Raymond stood. “I’ll be back.”
“Or you could just go home. Dante will take care of me.” Birdie batted her eyelashes at my cousin. She could sass with the best of them, and oh so effortlessly.
Raymond glared at her for a long beat, then made his way toward the bar.
“What’s going on with you two?” I asked. Clearly, something had them both wound tightly.
“Absolutely nothing.”
That would explain it. They needed to fuck. Fuck long and hard until they were sufficiently sated. Six years ago, I would’ve punched my cousin in the face for getting a boner for Birdie. Now, I wished them all the luck. Gone were the days I’d pined over Birdie. My sights were on Ember, and experiencing her fiery love, and claiming her.
“What’s holding you back from getting what you want? The Birdie I knew wouldn’t let anything or anyone keep her from doing as she pleased. Just go after him.”
“Tried that and failed.”
I reared my head back in shock. “Excuse me? You tried and failed? Impossible.”
“Ask him. I’d waited for years, then once I turned twenty-one, I made my feelings known. And… He rejected me.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Nobody rejected Birdie. That was fucking stupid. She’d been the most sought-after girl in high school. Every guy wanted her, but they feared Storm… Hold up. Was Storm the obstacle between them? That was crazy. They were adults.
“Ask me what?” Raymond took his seat.
“Why you rejected me.”
They stared at each other for what felt like a lifetime. Then my cousin opened his mouth and said, “That’s not how I recall it.”
Birdie gaped. “Are you calling me a liar?”
“No. Just saying your version differs from mine.”
Her mouth nearly hit the ground. “Unbelievable. I clearly remember all the things we did that night, and you were gone when I woke in the morning.”
“Enough!” I fanned my hands out to stop them. “TMI. I don’t want to hear any of this.”
“And I don’t want to relive the humiliation. Take me home, please.” Birdie flew out of her chair and hobbled toward the exit.
“You just going to let her leave?” I asked Raymond.
“Yup.”
“Fuck man, you’re an asshole.”
“Yup.” He drank his whiskey as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“Okay, then. Later.” I rushed after Birdie. When I caught up to her, I swept her off her feet and carried her the rest of the way to my Jeep.
“Thanks, Little D. He knows how to be a royal jerk.”
“Asshole is more like it.”
She giggled and tossed her head back. “Be nice. He’s been through a lot, y’know.”
“Doesn’t give him a right to do whatever he did to you.”
“He was drunk. I took advantage of him.”
Snorting, I opened the passenger side door. “I doubt that.”
“No, it’s true. I caught him at a weak moment in Florida.” Her smile vanished and her eyes shimmered with emotion. “I crossed the line, and I will regret it for the rest of my life.”
I leaned in and kissed her head. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Maybe what you need is to talk it out with Ray.” Which was the exact same thing I needed to do with Ember. Talk everything out like mature adults.
“I would if he would, but he won’t.” She shrugged, and I shut the door and got into my seat. I honestly didn’t know what to say to her and felt horrible about it. There’d been a time when I always knew how to comfort Birdie, but nothing came to me now.
My steps froze when I sensed someone watching me. I scanned the area in front of me. We’d parked in the back parking lot where spots were reserved for the Knight’s Legion family. I slowly continued toward my car door. Maybe I was hearing nothing. It was dark out. Critters ran amok in our area. Quite possibly, my military training was coming through, except I wasn’t in hostile territory. At least I didn’t think Bastion had been infiltrated.
What happened to Birdie’s car could’ve been harmless. We’d just have to be vigilant and trust our gut instincts.
I hopped into my Jeep.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“Yeah. Just thought I heard something.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing.” She smiled and rubbed her hands together in front of the vents, blasting warm air. She was always the optimist.
I grunted and pulled out of the parking lot. Something felt off to me. The horrors I’d seen could be fucking with me.
Calm down, man.
On the ride home, the roads were a bit icy, so I went slow, keeping my eyes peeled for any deer with a death wish. Naturally, Ember was on my mind. Now was my chance to ask the question, driving me crazy.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, so long as it’s not about Raymond.”
“It’s not. Which one of you is trying to get pregnant without a man? I’m pretty sure it’s not Tara.”
“It could be.” She grinned like the Cheshire Cat.
“Birrrdieee.” I drew out her name like when we were young.
“Why would you ask me such a strange question? Did my dad put you up to it?”
“I saw you all at the fertility clinic.”
“How? You just got home.”
“Let’s just say I was inside the building reading the directory when you came out of the office.”
“Son of a bitch! Raymond was following us, wasn’t he? Why? Why would he do that, when he wants nothing to do with me, other than singing together?”
“I don’t know. Please answer my question. Who got IVF?”
“I can’t say.”
“Sure, you can.”
“Nope. Can’t.”
“I’m not playing games, Birdie. If Ember has another man’s cum inside her, I want to know now so I can question her about it the first chance I get.” I gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying not to think of her having another man’s baby when she should have mine.
I didn’t even know how I’d feel about her having a kid without me. Why would she do something crazy like that?
“You better not back her into a corner, or I’ll make your life hell!”
“Then tell me the truth. Was it you?”
“Yes.”
I whipped my head toward her. “You’re lying.”
“Why would I lie?”
I shook my head. “Come on, Bird. Don’t do this. Just give me the truth.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and stared out her window, effectively shutting down, just like when we were kids.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Somebody had gotten IVF. She hadn’t denied it, but I was nowhere closer to knowing who. All I had was a feeling it had been Ember.
We made it to the compound, not saying another word. At the gate, Max waved us through, and I drove Birdie straight to her house.
Parking in the driveway, I killed the lights.
“Leave Ember alone, Dante. We’re going to have some massive problems if you go all caveman on her. Treat her with respect and if she lets you into her bubble, you better not fuck it up.” Birdie pursed her lips tightly together and pinned me in place with her intense gaze.
“Just tell me if it was her so I can prepare myself.”
“Whether it was or wasn’t isn’t a factor. You should always care and support her, no matter what.” And with that, she got out of my Jeep and limped inside her house.
Christ, women could sure be a pain in the ass.
I’d find out Friday night what happened at the clinic. I could be persuasive with women and bend them to my will. Just didn’t know if Ember was resistant to my charm.
Did it matter? No.
Did I care? Hell, yes.
Would I stop trying to be with her? Absolutely not.
Friday night, I’d stop at nothing to get her alone. Somehow, I’d get through to her.