Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
EROS
Bonte sits next to Kinsley at the smaller, less formal dining room table that runs along the kitchen.
I watch her, reading her body language and learning it.
Having a girl of my own is new to me, and I don’t want to fuck it up.
It would be harder on everyone if she didn’t want to be with me.
Back to the cabin we would go until I could win my hellcat over again.
“Shouldn’t we go back to school?” Bonte asks Kinsley. That has me swinging my full attention on to them. Back to school? I don’t know what to do with that. I can’t go to school, so she’d be there alone.
She might have my brothers there, but Jax can’t see past Kinsley, and while I trust Damon, I’m not sure I fully trust anyone with her. Fuck, at times I don’t trust myself, but the devil you know.
“Well, it’s Sunday, and I have been back to school,” Kinsley tells her. Bonte’s brows furrow, and I know she’s contemplating things. I’d guess it would have to do with her future since now the topic of school is on the table.
“Have I been reported missing? Wait—” She pauses. “How did I not know it was Sunday?” Not sure the second is a question, but I’ll take credit for it.
She’s been so wrapped up in me that she’s lost track of everything else. It has nothing to do with her whole life being flipped on its head for a second time, and her serial killer father being back on the radar.
“Oh, I don’t think so. That would be traveling around school. People have asked where you are.”
What people? The fuck are they asking about her? I need names. They should mind their own business.
“I’m going to be so behind,” she mutters with a huff. Both my brothers glance toward me, I’m sure thinking what I am. No way I can let her go back to school right now. “Eros, I need to get new uniforms unless you grabbed some from my place.”
That was never her place. Her place is with me, but I keep that remark to myself. I brought bags back, but she’s yet to open them. I’m not sure what all I shoved in them.
“You’re not going back to school,” I tell her. I might as well get it out there now. I’m sure my hellcat will go a few rounds on the topic. That shouldn't excite me, but it does. Bonte is something else when she gets worked up. That fire and determination that flare in her eyes.
“My dad isn’t going to hurt me.”
It’s nice that she thinks that, but it’s not a chance I’m willing to take. Hurting her is not my main concern when it comes to her dad. Him taking her and disappearing with her is more it.
“It’s not safe for not only you but for the people at school.” While I may have been joking about her giving me names for a hit list at her school, her dad wouldn’t be. At least I tell myself I was joking. I can’t let myself think I’ve gone that far off the rails.
But I do know her father is always watching in some form or fashion, and he would be taking people out if he thought they were hurting Bonte.
“No one bothers me at school. I’ll be fine.” She turns in her chair to face me.
“No,” I clip.
“No?” Bonte repeats.
“Ah shit,” I hear Jax say under his breath. If he doesn’t shut the fuck up, I’ll wrap my hands around his throat, and he won’t be able to say shit under his breath. He won’t have any.
“There is no reason for you to go to school.”
“What are you talking about? Of course there is, and don’t say it’s because I am wrapped up in the Marinos. They all go.”
“Can we leave me out of this? I only got Eros to stop wanting to kill me a few hours ago,” Damon says, but when I glance his way, I can see he’s enjoying this. He winks at me and pops a grape into his mouth.
“It’s school. There is a gate, and they don’t just let anyone in,” Bonte pushes back. “Well, maybe sometimes.” She flicks a glance toward Damon and Jax.
“Oh, now you’re back to being mad at me?” Damon throws up his hands, but I know he’s still fucking around. He pops another grape into his mouth.
“She’s only stating facts.” Kinsley shoots a smirk at Jax. “But in all seriousness. Are you ready to go back? I mean, you killed the media teacher.” Bonte’s mouth drops open and then closes. I think she keeps forgetting that, or maybe she keeps choosing to.
“Right.” She cringes. “I kind of forgot about that.”
Kinsley bursts into laughter. “I mean, he had it coming, but damn, you sound like a Marino already,” she tells her.
“It was an acc—” Bonte cuts herself off. “Okay, it wasn’t an accident, but he hit me first!” She stomps her foot adorably to emphasize.
“Hey,” Kinsley laughs more. “No one is judging you around here.”
"I still need to go back to school. I can't sit here in purgatory. I'll go crazy." Bonte is really pushing back on this one. I want to give her what she wants, but I'm not sure I have it in me.
"More crazy," Damon says.
"I'm going to fucking kill you," I warn, keeping my voice down. Bonte is already grappling with who her father is and if she might be more like him than she thought. She doesn’t need anyone planting seeds in her head that she’s like him. Even if she were, it wouldn’t fucking matter.
"It might not be a bad idea for her to go back to school." It's Jax, who now obviously has a death wish. "Don't murder me, but nothing draws people out more than letting them think the dust has settled and your guard is down. Getting back into a routine might be good for everyone."
"Speak for yourself." It’s been a while since I came to blows with my brothers, but they’re both itching for a fight.
Bonte stands, making her way over to me. She grabs my shoulder to push me. I get the message and turn in my high-top chair so she can step between my legs. She snuggles in closer, resting her head on my shoulder.
“I can’t just sit around here. I have to do something.” I have a list of things she can do. I'll keep her ass more than busy. "Eros," she whispers my name gently. My hellcat is now in my lap, purring for me.
I feel my resolve start to shake. It’s an eerily unsettling sensation.
One I have never had happen before. I’m an asshole.
It can be almost impossible to change my mind.
In fact, people have spent hours sparring with me, and it did nothing.
Bonte’s head on my shoulder, her hand running up and down my chest, is killing me to not give in.
"A grand says he cracks," Jax says to Damon. Out of the two of them, he'd know because he's been in my shoes to a degree.
"I'm not a dumbass. I don't take bets I know I won't win even if it's only a grand." I feel Bonte smile against my neck. At least she finds this amusing. I run my hand up and down her back.
“We still don’t know what the Feds are up to,” I say. Are they trying to find Bonte? Did they simply clean up the bodies and that was that? It’s all strange.
“I never understand why they do certain things,” Bonte tells me.
“Dad check into it?” Jax asks.
Dad has more connections to the government than anyone. I’d put Mac’s mom, Ellie, next. They both have had to help with a few cyberattacks. I think my aunt might have been behind one or even a few in her time. But I don’t think the people they speak to about these things are FBI.
“He said he’s going to poke around before he asks anything,” I respond. You don’t want outsiders knowing what you’re looking into if you don’t have to. If you poke, however, you can see what might come out.
Bonte lifts her head. "I mean, if someone is out to get me, does it really matter?"
"What?" I bark, my hold on her tightening.
"I only mean that it's their death wish. They know how my father operates. The school would be too public. Hell, maybe they've given up."
"They don't give up." Her father hasn't either. He's out for more blood.
"Eros, I really want to go back." Bonte keeps pushing me.
"Stay strong, bro," Damon says. "Help is not on its way."
Both Kinsley and Bonte giggle, and I know Bonte will win this round.