Chapter 37
Vienna
“Pizza has been ordered,” Rachel said, flopping onto the sofa with a sigh. As soon as she did, Bee shuffled over to her, curling up into her side, and Rachel raised her arm so Bee could get comfortable and snuggled her close, kissing the top of her head.
“Pie-apple?” Axel asked with a drooling grin.
“Please for the love of god tell me he wasn’t saying pineapple just then,” Gabriella said, looking a bit green in the face.
No one answered her. Dante looked vaguely guilty. Which wasn’t helped by me pointing in his direction. This wasn’t getting put on me. I can be blamed for a lot of the mayhem around here, but I was not taking responsibility for the poor kid being forced to eat pineapple on pizza.
“You’re joking,” Gabriella said. She no longer looked green. She just looked horrified.
“Don’t look in my direction,” Rachel said. “He was a perfectly normal kid before I was dragged back here.”
“He couldn’t even talk then,” Dante snapped back.
“Yeah, and it was probably for the best,” Rachel shot back without missing a beat. “Because now look at him, out here requesting pineapple on pizza.”
“I’m done,” Gabriella announced. “Take me back to the Riders. I’ll take my chances with Nico. This is a step too far.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” Dante said, pulling a cushion from the sofa and lying down on the floor, his arms under his head. “I can start the engine right now and take you. It would be my pleasure.”
“Please don’t,” Rachel yawned. “Because then that idiot best friend of yours will only try to rescue her again, and then that’s two deaths on our conscience.”
“You could always rescue me again?” I said.
“Nah, I don’t have another one of those in me. You’re on your own next time, hair buddy.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“Gabriella, pack your bags, love.”
“On it.”
“Good lass,” Rachel said. “I hate to put you in this position, but if it means I can prove a point to Vienna then I’m sorry, you’ve become collateral damage.”
“That’s understandable.”
Her voice was cold and detached, but when I looked over and caught her eye, I saw she was smiling at the teasing. I gave her a small wink, loving the blush that crept over her cheeks.
I had no idea how long we’d been in the bath earlier.
I was barely aware of her shaking me awake and helping me climb out.
I know she was shivering as we walked to the bedroom, and she’d argued with me when I refused to get into the bed until she was in dry clothes and comfortable.
She soon realised I wasn’t going to back down though.
Something in my expression must have told her I’d die on my feet before I ever climbed into a bed without securing her comfort first.
She’d slipped on my underwear and one of my old t-shirts and jumped into the bed, pulling the sheets back for me and patting the empty space next to her.
I’d woken hours later to find her braiding my beard and simply staring at me, a million miles away, lost in thought. When she’d realised I’d woken, she’d given me the softest, most breathtaking smile, and the past couple of days disappeared.
“Did you get the kid settled?” Rachel asked Dante, nudging him with her foot as he started to snore.
“Yeah, she’s good,” he replied, clearing his throat. “The mum took some convincing that she was safe. Said the bloke has some family who will wonder where they’ve all gone. I’ve placed Chris and Trent outside the house to keep her calm.”
“Which house did you place her in?” I asked.
“Monster’s old place. He’s pretty much moved into the shop with Snow White now, so figured it was as good a place as any.”
“I hope to God you cleaned it first,” Rachel said.
“The fuck would I clean it for? I thought Nicole and Emma were doing their own cleaning business?”
I scoffed. “The Birds? Cleaning? Really? They couldn’t run a bath, never mind a cleaning company.”
“Didn’t you hire them?” Rachel said, frowning at me.
“No. You hired them. You said they could clean the clubhouse.”
“And you let them into your room…?”
“Well, that was my mistake because they sabotaged me!”
“Don’t be dramatic,” Rachel said, rolling her eyes.
“How did they sabotage you?” Gabriella asked.
“They cut my mattress open and placed a mannequin inside it. I almost had a fucking heart attack when I laid down.”
“Yeah, only because you realised it wasn’t a real woman you could shag—”
“Language!” Rachel hissed, kicking Dante before he could finish his sentence.
Dante smirked, keeping his eyes closed.
Axel crawled over to him and placed his nose against his dad’s. “Boo-ey”
“Aw, mate, no…”
“Boo-ey!” Axel said, firmer this time, biting the end of Dante’s nose.
“For fuck’s sake—Rachel!” He sat up, seizing Axel by the waist and standing him on his feet. “What did I tell you about letting him bite?”
“Do I control his teeth?”
“Aren’t you his mother?”
“Did I stutter? Do. I. Control. His. Teeth?”
“Boo-ey,” Axel hissed, launching himself at Dante again.
Dante just about had time to grab him, picking him up into the air until he was hovering over him. “We’re not watching Bluey,” he said firmly, bringing Axel close to him and looking him dead in the eye.
“Boo-eeeeeeeey,” Axel giggled.
“I think he wants to watch Bluey,” Gabriella said, ever so helpfully.
“Yes, thank you for that,” Dante hissed back, narrowly dodging the spit that drooled from Axel’s mouth. “Cars. Do you want to watch cars?”
“Boo-ey?”
“I can meet you in the middle and let you watch a blue car—Vienna, don’t you fucking dare.”
I held my hands up in surrender. “I wasn’t going to.”
I looked at Rachel, and she discreetly nodded.
“I swear, Vienna. It took me three days to get it out of my head. I nearly sang it when I was doing the brick collection.”
“Maybe our suppliers would have appreciated the jolliness of a sing-song?”
“Shut up.”
I mimed zipping my lips up.
“Dante?” Rachel asked innocently.
“No.”
“What do you think about the red car and the blue car?”
“Please don’t.”
Gabriella perked up, a sly grin creeping over her lips.
“I’m not sure what Dante thinks, but I heard the red car and the blue car had a race?” she said, looking at me.
“They did,” I nodded. “And all Red wanted to do was stuff his face.”
“Greedy monkey,” Rachel said, tickling Bee’s sides until she giggled. “I heard he eats everything he sees?”
“From trucks to prickly trees?” Gabriella said.
“And then what?” Rachel asked, looking down at Bee.
She gave a gap-toothed smile and then said quietly. “And good old blue, he took the Milky Way.”
Dante covered his face with his hands and groaned loudly.
“I didn’t sing it, don’t blame me,” I said, sitting back with satisfaction.
“The red car and the blue car had a race,” Bee sang. And that was it. If Bee was insisting on singing, we were obligated to join in.
“Boo car!” Axel screamed, jumping up and down and clenching his fists in excitement.
“Yes, Axe-man!” I jumped up from my seat and grabbed hold of Axel, lifting him onto my shoulders. “But all Red wants to do is stuff his face,” I continued, spinning him around.
“He eats everything he sees—hey, where are you going?” I asked as Dante got to his feet and stormed over to the door.
“I’m going to collect the fucking pizza before that song gives me an aneurysm.”
And then he slammed it behind him.
I saw Gabriella shoot from her seat and rush over to the window. “Hey, Dante?” she called out, pushing the window open. “Good old Blue he took the Milky Way!”
“Go fuck yourself, Rider!”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time! I can start the engine right now. It would be my pleasure!” she laughed back, copying his earlier words.
“Give me a fucking break,” I heard Dante mutter, and saw the yellow lights of the delivery driver pulling into the drive.
“Pizza for King?”
“Do you do taxis as well?” Dante asked.
“I’m sorry?”
“Me too, pal. Me too,” Dante sighed, taking the pizza.
“You gonna turn around and come back inside?” Gabriella called innocently, leaning her elbow on the windowsill, her chin on her hand.
“Vienna, can you get your woman under control?”
“Sorry,” I yelled back. “Can’t hear you. The pain has kicked back in. In fact, I think I’ve passed out. Could you bring the pizza? Blood sugars and all that.”
“I hate my life,” Dante muttered, coming back inside.
“And to think, if you hadn’t kidnapped me, none of this would have happened. How’s that working out for you?” Rachel grinned.
Dante just shook his head and walked to the kitchen, grabbing himself a slice of the pizza and then went straight out the back door.