Chapter 18 #3
"I . . . ugh . . . I took the day off," she tells him sheepishly, lying in the process, not meeting his gaze.
“Delaney,” Mammon calls her name in warning, “why are you lying?”
“I’m not lying,” she snaps far too quickly.
“Bullshit,” he states heatedly.
"You might as well tell him," I grunt. I didn’t see a reason for her to lie about it. Hell, I'm still heated about what the school did to her. It's not right. "He'll find out eventually."
Delaney casts a sharp glare in my direction that screams 'Shut up' but I don't care. Mammon and I have been on good terms for the most part, though I use those words loosely. I’ve seen firsthand how protective he is over his sister.
He isn't going to take lightly to finding out second hand what happened.
"What happened?" Mammon demands.
I wrap an arm around Delaney as she sighs, her shoulders dropping. I press a kiss to the side of her head and whisper, "It's going to be okay. Promise, Laney."
With a nod, Delaney tells him everything, and I mean everything.
About the administration calling her in, about the questions they asked, about being suspended without pay, about the hearing.
She tells him even more than she told me the night before.
She doesn't sugarcoat it, or minimize it either.
I find myself respecting that about her even as I watch her brother's expression shift from concern to something that looks a hell of a lot like barely controlled fury.
Mammon is quiet for a long beat when she finishes. That particular kind of quiet I know means the man is working through something before he lets it out. Whatever is coursing through his mind can't be good.
"They suspended you?" he asks finally, his voice low and measured in a way that somehow sounds more dangerous than if he shouted it.
"Yes." Delaney lifts her chin. "But they were?—"
"They can't do that, can they?" Mammon cuts her off, and his jaw is tight enough I can see the muscle working there.
"They have to think about the safety of the children. What's best for them."
I didn't like that Delaney would even think it was okay for them to suspend her the way they did. They didn’t have a good enough reason to do it.
"Do they even know you're pregnant?" Mammon asks.
"No, I haven’t told anyone yet. Well, besides the people who do know that is. But you know . . ." She shrugs, acting like none of this is a big deal when I know she believes otherwise. “We do live in a small town. Word spreads quickly”
"Don't try to bullshit me with this, Delaney Marie Knox." Mammon glares at his sister. "I know you better than anyone else. Your little facade of it's not a big deal is just for show."
Damn, the man isn’t above pulling punches.
"Don't you use my full name, Dustin Issac Knox.
" Delaney huffs, hands on her hips. "I know it’s a serious issue.
But it's mine to deal with however I need to. So, the principal and superintendent want to suspend me for all of that. That’s their prerogative.
It is what it is. I won't feed into the egos of those men by pleading and begging. "
"You shouldn't have to deal with the bullshit of them suspending you over us being together,” I mutter, tucking her into my side. “It's none of their goddamn business in the first place. Not to mention your attack was in your home, not on school property. And the fire wasn’t your fault. I’m not even going to bring up that you didn’t invite Philip onto school property. "
"Tyler has got a point, Laney." Mammon nods in agreement, crossing his arms.
"Can we just drop it, please?" Delaney asks, frustration dripping from her voice.
"We'll drop it for now, sweetheart, but we haven’t finished talking about it. We'll fight this out, and you'll be back to teaching in no time." Granted, I do intend to talk to her about the homeschool option I'm thinking about. It might be a good fit for both her and Dash.
"Great," she grumbles and glances around. "I'm going to see the horses while you two talk."
"Stay within sight," Mammon orders.
Delaney waves him off without looking back, and Mammon lets out a frustrated noise that wasn't exactly a sigh, nor was it a groan or huff. Maybe a mixture of both.
Mammon turns his attention to me and cocks a brow. "What are you going to do about the situation with the school?"
"I intend to go speak with the principal and superintendent myself. Someone needs to call them on their bullshit.” I wasn't going to let them get away with this. "They shouldn’t get away with suspending her for things that aren’t her fault. I do have a favor to ask of you.”
“What’s that?” he asks.
“I want Philip’s address.”
“You want the douchebag's address?” A grin slips into place.
“Yeah, I plan on paying him a visit and see to it that he stays away from Delaney. Him fucking with her is over with. I won’t have him freaking her out by texting her constantly.”
Mammon’s grin turns into a full-blown smile as he nods. “I’ll get his address for you. But I’m going with you. I think putting the fear of God into him will be enough to get him out of town.”