24. Fury
Chapter 24
Fury
One Week Later
“Hey, Ice.”
“You don’t look like you’ve had a good day, honey.”
I slide onto the barstool, thinking her words might be the understatement of the century. She hands me a cold beer. It doesn’t escape my attention that it’s the brand I always drink. She remembers. Since having her back in my life, everything has just clicked into place. Does she realize that? Does she feel the same emotions that I feel?
“You can say that again,” I mutter, twisting off the top, taking a deep pull.
“No sign of Wolf?”
“Not one. He could already be headed to Chicago,” I mutter, frustrated because I was hoping to catch this motherfucker and finally giving Devil and Torrent some good news.
“But, if he didn’t get the information from the church, he wouldn’t know to do that, right?”
“Yeah, I guess so. It just doesn’t make any sense that he would disappear.”
“Maybe he’s tired. You said it had been over a year. Maybe he just decided enough is enough,” she suggests.
“He’s not the type to give up. If he thought he could do something to cause trouble for Devil or Torrent, he’d move heaven and earth to do exactly that. He’s as fucking twisted as they come.”
“So, you think he’s still in town.”
“I’d bet good money on it,” I reply.
“Well, if what you say is true, he’ll show up again, Liam. You know that.”
“Yeah, I do. That doesn’t mean I like sitting around here, holding my damn dick in my hand. I hate waiting for this twisted asshole to make a move.”
“I don’t know,” Ellie whispers, leaning in closer to me. “It doesn’t sound so bad being stuck holding your dick in my hands.”
Despite the stress and frustration of the day, I find myself grinning.
“You are a fucking tease, Eleanor Lane.”
“Way to break the mood, Liam. You know I hate my first name.”
“I love it. It makes you sound all prim and proper. We both know what a freak you can be in the bedroom.”
“Uh…I’m not sure I’d use the word freak.”
“I would.”
“Jerk,” she says, shaking her head and smiling at me. “Besides I wasn’t teasing. We have the house alone tonight. I was thinking maybe we could pick up where we left off a week ago.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“Nope, she’s not,” Dawn says sitting beside me and just like that my cock-stand begins to deflate.
“Dawn, where’s your girl?”
“She’s home packing our shit. Her and I are going away for the weekend.”
“The whole weekend, huh?” I ask, enjoying the way Ellie blushes when I grin at her.
“That’s right, so you can pork my sister all weekend, Ape Hanger.”
“Didn’t realize I needed your permission,” I mutter, wondering how her and Ellie had the same parents because they’re nothing alike.
“I guess you don’t. Ellie makes up her own mind. If she listened to me she wouldn’t give you the time of day.”
“Dawn, don’t start, please.”
“Good thing she doesn’t listen to you then. I don’t want to fight with you, Dawn, but you need to get used to the fact that I’m back in Ellie’s life and I’m not going anywhere.”
“We’ll see. It’s not like you seem to have good staying power, Liam. After all, you disappeared when Ellie needed you most.”
“Dawn,” Ellie snaps, her tone full of warning and more forceful than I can remember her ever using. When I glance up at her face, she’s staring straight at her sister and the irritation and anger is clear to read on her face.
“Relax, Ellie. Liam and I are just coming to an understanding. Am I right?”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I mumble.
“Good, now that we have that out of the way, I have a present for you, Liam,” Dawn says.
“Now you’re just fucking with me,” I say with a dry laugh. I don’t know what Dawn has up her sleeve, but I know her well enough to know that it’s something to piss me off.
“Trust me, Liam, the last thing I ever want to do is fuck with you in any way, shape or form,” she replies, setting a brown paper bag on the bar and shoving it towards me.
Reluctantly, I put my beer down with a thud against the bar and pick up the bag. The top has been rolled down and crinkled so I quickly open it. When I look inside I shake my damn head. I reach inside and grab a hand full of rubbers and put them on the bar. The size clearly states small and I shake my fucking head.
“You’re a bitch, Dawn.”
“If I had a dollar for every time someone said that to me. I’m not buying your damn condoms. You buy them for yourself, don’t be a lazy fuck. If you want to pork my sister, then make sure you protect her, too. Do we understand each other?”
“We’re crystal.”
“Good. Now, I’m off to spend the weekend with Glenna and some fucking man with a dick that she met on Tinder.”
“Christ, you’re fucking kidding me,” I growl.
“Don’t act like you care, Ape Hanger.”
“Believe it or not I do. You shouldn’t do this shit if it’s not what you want. Bitch needs to acknowledge she committed herself to you and that should be enough for her.”
“Yeah, well, in a perfect world,” Dawn mutters and Ellie puts a drink in front of her.
“I don’t like this at all. I don’t think you should do this, Dawn.”
“Just let it go, Ellie. It’s not like I’m enjoying all of it, either. Still, Glenna wants this and I love her.”
Ellie and Dawn stare at each other and it feels like there’s some nonverbal conversation passing between them.
“You need to be careful,” Ellie cautions, apparently giving in.
“You got it, Mom,” Dawn says, rolling her eyes.
“I want pictures, name and address of the man you’re meeting and where you’ll be, Dawn.”
“Jesus, we’re hooking up, I’m not marrying the motherfucker. If there’s any luck, this weekend will show Glenna that she doesn’t need a man to be happy.”
“Just get me the information, please, especially a phone and address of where you’ll be this weekend.”
“Fine, I’ll do it. Will you let it drop now?”
“For now,” Ellie mutters and I reach out and grab her hand, giving it a squeeze. She stares at our hands, and there’s something on her face that I can’t read. I wish I could fix this so Dawn could finally be happy, but there’s nothing I can do.
“What if you give me this guy’s name and date of birth? I can at least get Scorpion to run a background check on him,” I offer.
“Jesus, you two,” Dawn growls. “It’s a fucking hook up.”
“Still, it’s better to be safe rather than sorry, right?” Ellie says hopefully.
“I don’t even know his date of birth,” Dawn mumbles. “We’ll be fine.”
“Call and get it. If he’s a good man, he won’t mind that you’re taking care of you and Glenna,” I tell her, hoping she’ll see the common sense in what I’m suggesting.
“You’re both being ridiculous,” she says, but she picks up the phone and I’m rewarded with the look of happiness on Ellie’s eyes.
For some reason, I feel like I’ve won a war for her and it’s a really damn good feeling.