Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
The next morning came too damn early with a call to the lawyer Everest recommended. My voice still sounded like gravel when I answered, half-awake, coffee burning my tongue as the suit explained the steps.
Turns out getting custody of Jessa wouldn’t be as hard as I’d imagined. CPS liked to keep orphans with family, and since I had a mostly clean record and steady income from the garage and Mavericks Security, it was just paperwork and a home inspection away.
Easy enough on paper, but my gut still churned with worry. Nothing in my life came easy.
“Where’d you disappear to last night?” Merrick asked as he poured a cup of coffee in his kitchen.
“Went home.”
It was the truth, technically. Merci returned to the clubhouse to hang out with the old ladies, as if we hadn’t fucked against a tree and professed our love for each other.
But I’d left—choosing to go home and wait for Jessa and Chaos to get back from dinner with her friends instead of having to keep my distance.
My heart thumped in my chest as Merci skipped down the stairs. Chaos bound over to her, whining with excitement. Merci bent over to say hello and—fuck. I averted my gaze. If Merrick caught me looking at her tits, he’d cut out my eyes.
She opened the refrigerator and cracked a can of Red Bull, taking a long sip. “Morning,” she chirped.
“Morning,” Merrick said before turning his attention back to me. “So, how did you get that shiner?”
I rubbed the darkening bruise under my eye and smirked. “Got attacked by a hellcat in the woods.”
Merci snorted. “You really should be more discerning about who you fuck.”
I bit back a grin. “Maybe I should, but I can’t help myself. I like ’em with a bite.”
Merrick shook his head. “You left your birthday party for a hookup. Fucking typical.”
I didn’t correct him. It was easier for now if he thought my attention was focused on a woman who wasn’t his sister. I shifted uncomfortably as my jeans rubbed a spot on my nuts that had progressively become more itchy throughout the morning.
“So, what’s the assignment today, boss?” I asked, changing the topic.
“I have you and Fuse heading out to Káfsima Global. They have an investor meeting today, so they’re expecting some environmental activists to show up.”
“Great. Hopefully I don’t get stabbed again,” I grumbled.
Merci tossed a bagel at my head, and I caught it. “But you’re only one slice away from filling out your frequent flier card in my ER.”
I bit into the bagel. “What do I get?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” Merci said. “Maybe a sticker?”
“Lame,” I grumbled. I moved to the refrigerator and pulled out one of Merci’s Red Bulls. I cracked it open.
Merrick turned, pouring another cup of coffee. I slid past Merci, palm grazing her ass before I gave it a quick, hard squeeze. She bit her lip and gazed at me, her eyes flaring with heat. I was several steps past her by the time Merrick turned around.
Kenna stepped into the room, her eyes still tired from sleep. She moved to Merrick wordlessly and swiped the coffee from him. He kissed her forehead and pulled out another cup for himself.
Merci and I exchanged a look. Kenna was the only person on earth who could pull shit like that on Merrick and keep their hands attached to their body.
“Do you and Jessa want to join us for dinner tonight?” Kenna asked.
I grinned. “We can’t. We have brother-sister bonding time planned. She wants to play paintball.”
“That sounds fun,” Merci said.
“You can join us if you’d like,” I said in my most disinterested tone possible. Like I didn’t care either way.
Merci hid a smirk. “Maybe next time. I have to work.”
“Speaking of, I’d better get on the road. Traffic will be hell this time of day.”
* * *
Protestors already lined the sidewalk by the time Fuse and I pulled up on our bikes at the Káfsima Global headquarters. Their chants about fossil fuels killing the earth filled the air. Fuse and I stood guard at the door, each of us taking turns to escort investors down the sidewalk entrance.
“Why are you walking like that?” Fuse asked. “You look like a penguin.”
I shifted, trying to shake loose the burning sensation between my legs. “Dude, I don’t know what the fuck is going on. The skin on my balls itches like a motherfucker.”
Fuse chuckled. “TMI. Maybe you caught something with the girl you went home with last night.”
“I didn’t go home with anyone,” I growled. “And I didn’t catch anything. It’s probably just a sweat rash.”
But by the end of the day, the unbearable itch left me barely able to straddle my bike. I swung into an urgent care clinic, and the doctor examined me with silent judgment on his wrinkled old face.
“Do you spend a lot of time outside? In the woods?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Not really. Is it a bug bite?” Then it hit me. Shit. “Wait. Is it poison ivy?”
The doctor nodded slowly. “I’ll give you a steroid injection and some hydrocortisone cream. You can also grab an over-the-counter antihistamine. Be careful when touching it. You don’t want it to spread, especially down there.”
I swore. “How long will it last?”
The doctor shrugged. “The blisters haven’t peaked yet, and it’s quite a small spot. With the treatment, it’ll be mild.”
I glared at him. It didn’t feel small or mild.
“The skin there is sensitive, so it probably feels much worse than it actually is. The itching should improve in a day or two. Keep it clean and dry, and don’t scratch at it.
I’d say it should heal in five to seven days.
I’d recommend abstaining from sex. You wouldn’t want to spread it to someone else. ”
No shit. I couldn’t even imagine what Merci would do to me if I gave her poison ivy. Though technically, it was her fault.
I swung by Merrick’s to borrow his truck.
“You’re going to need to buy a car,” he grumbled. “I’m not letting Jessa borrow my truck when she gets her license.”
I grimaced. “I didn’t even think about her being old enough for that.”
I fidgeted uncomfortably again.
“You’re pretty fucking shifty today,” Merrick observed, leaning back against the counter with his arms crossed. “What’s going on?”
“I have fucking poison ivy.”
Merrick tilted his head in question.
“On my nutsack,” I clarified.
His roar of laughter echoed through the house. He doubled over, hands on his knees, as he wheezed for air. “How the fuck does that even happen?”
Merci picked that moment to stroll through the door with Kenna, bags of groceries in hand. Merrick continued to guffaw as he reached to take the bags from his old lady.
“What’s so funny?” Kenna asked.
“Hatchet has”—he sucked in a ragged breath and clutched his side—“poison ivy”—another desperate gasp as his body jerked with laughter—“on his balls.”
Merci’s hand flew to her mouth as a guilty giggle slipped through her fingers.
Kenna held back her laughter. “Are you OK?”
“Letting Jessa shoot me with paintballs should distract me for a bit.”
“Did you get the poison ivy from the same woman who gave you a black eye?” Kenna asked.
“She didn’t give me poison ivy,” I argued. “The bush I fell into with my pants around my ankles gave me poison ivy. Worth it though.”
Kenna’s brows raised, but she stayed silent.
“I’ll see you guys later.”
Merci turned away, putting items away in the cupboards, but I didn’t miss the wicked grin on her face. “Try not to hump any trees while you’re out there,” she shouted as I closed the door behind me.
She’d pay for that later.
An hour later, Jessa bounced in the passenger seat of Merrick’s truck, trash-talking nonstop about how she’d smoke me—even though she’d never shot a paintball gun in her life.
“Keep dreaming, kid. I’ve taken real bullets. You’re going down. No fucking mercy.”
Jessa raised a brow. “No mercy, huh? What about Merci? How’s that going?”
I groaned. But lying to Jessa felt wrong. “Can you keep a secret?” I eyed her as she straightened, suddenly taking the conversation more seriously.
“Of course. So, Merci? That’s happening?”
I nodded slowly. “It’s early, but there’s something there. No one can know yet. Especially not Kenna or Merrick. Not until she’s ready.”
Jessa’s eyes gleamed as she rubbed her hands together like a cartoon villain. “I knew it.” She mimed zipping her lips shut. “I won’t say anything.”
“You better not,” I warned. “Because if Merrick kills me, you’ll have to find a new place to live.”
She laughed. “Kenna would let me and Chaos move in with them,” she said confidently.
I shook my head, but it warmed my heart that she already felt so comfortable with my closest friends. “Glad you already have a backup plan. But I’m serious. No one can know. Not yet.”
“I won’t say a word. Promise.” She turned toward me, expression curious and soft. “So, you really love her?”
“Yeah,” I said, feeling more confident about an answer than I’d ever been in my life. “I do.”
“She should move in with us,” Jessa said, like it was the most obvious solution with no complications. “Then we’d be like a real family. You, me, Merci, and Chaos.”
“First of all, we are a real family. Second, we need to figure out how to tell Merrick.”
She rolled her eyes. “Because of your bro code?”
I chuckled. “He’s my best friend. He trusts me. And this is really going to piss him off. I’m ready, but I want to make sure Merci is, too. She’s going to be more than just a girlfriend. She’s going to be my old lady.”
Jessa nodded thoughtfully, picking at her nails. “You always tell me not to hide shit. That I need to be honest about how I feel with you. It kind of sounds like you need to take your own advice.”
Her words shot through me like a live round. I cut the engine. “Yeah, kid, you’re right.”
* * *
We traded fire for an hour, the sting of each paintball on my limbs helping me forget the burn of my rash and the crushing guilt from lying to my best friend.
Sweat mixed with paint splatter coated our skin.
By the end, I let Jessa take the last shot, and she shouted with glee, looking like a neon-streaked warrior as she cheered for her victory.