25. Mav
MAV
GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!
She thought he was my kid.
She hoped he was mine, because the only other alternative, in her mind, was that he belonged to Bas.
I don’t consider myself no Detective Watson, but I’m starting to think Scarlett Castro is a little possessive of my big brother, and though I doubt she’s a hard-ass unfeeling wench determined to become the wicked step-mother in Koda’s life, I do think she’d be a tad put out by him having a kid already.
Say it ain’t so.
“She’s not as scary as she’d have you believe.
” Once Mom drags my kid brother out of the room and marches him along the hallway, I snag a chair, spin it around, and sit at the table opposite the woman whose cheeks drain dangerously pale.
“Eat, Scarlett. I know for a fact this is your first proper meal today. Passing out in the hall from low blood sugar won’t do you any favors.
” I nudge her plate closer, but not before stealing a chunk of lamb from her monstrous pile.
“You didn’t come out at lunchtime, and though my dad said he saw you this morning, he agrees: coffee is not a meal. ”
“K-Koda is your brother?” Her voice trembles just as violently as her hands. “And Sebastion’s brother, too?”
“Yup.” I lick the gravy from my fingers and consider taking a little more.
“My parents clearly have a thing for gaps in parenthood. Bas first, then me. Wayyyyy after that, Sir Stabs-Alot made his debut.” I wrinkle my nose and set my elbows on the table.
“I figure they’re too old for that nonsense now, but I doubt my dad would listen if I told him o keep his hands to himself.
So I mind my business, and I never, ever go into their room without knocking first.” Morose, I shake my head. “It’s not worth the trauma.”
“I-I didn’t know…” she stammers. “Sebastion never even—”
“Mentioned he had brothers?” Ouch, you bastard.
Way to make me feel loved. “Bas, being the oldest, has a lifetime of pressure sitting on his shoulders. The kind of pressure that taught him to keep these things close to his chest.” Too hungry to watch this woman not eat, I lean across the table and startle the poor thing as I snatch up her fork.
Holding it just three inches in front of her face, I meet her gaze. “Eat.”
Her cheeks stain a pretty pink. “I’m not hungry.”
“Mommmmmmmmm!” I tip my head back and pretend not to notice Scarlett’s yelped panic. “Scarlett said she doesn’t like the food you—”
“Oh my gosh!” She grabs the fork and slaps my hand away, then she scoops a massive pile of potatoes into her mouth and growls around the mass, “What the hell is your problem? Look! I’m eating.”
I see you, cutie. You’re spitting mashed potato onto my mom’s table.
“That woman has a habit of birthing really obnoxious, irritating sons. Jesus.”
Like I did with Koda, I press a palm to my chest. “You wound me, Lady Guinevere.” But then I steal her apple and take a noisy bite.
“Not sure if it’s kosher to say, seeing as how my brother already claimed you, but my mom is badass, battle-hardened, and ready to fight, right?
And they say a man is typically attracted to the same type.
” I chew my apple and earn Scarlett’s unimpressed glower.
“You being mean to me doesn’t hit the way you probably think it does. ”
“Obnoxious, irritating, and intent on pissing me off.” She swallows her potatoes and washes them down with water. “I see it runs in the family.”
“You thought Koda was my nephew,” I chuckle. “It really bothered you to think he belonged to Bas.”
“If by bothered, you mean I’ve known Sebastion for the better part of a month now, I’ve seen him every single day, and he never mentioned being a dad, then sure, it bothered me.
” She pinches a long piece of carrot between her fingers and rage-chews the tip.
Like an angry little bunny rabbit. “Nobody likes a deadbeat.”
“Right.” I take another bite of my apple. “It was probably that. Totally.”
“I was more concerned with figuring out who the boy’s mother was.
” She reaches into her back pocket and slaps her phone onto the table.
“There’ve been several women vying for his attention since our arrival last night.
Some names pop up more than others.” She tosses the rest of the carrot into her mouth.
“Some more colorful in the language they use. Some even send instructional videos, which is a little concerning.” She stares me square in the fuckin’ eyes and growls.
“Considering the number of women awaiting a call back, I spent most of my time in Koda’s presence wondering if his mom was the one who sent a picture of her boobs, or the one who described in graphic detail how she’d like to suck his dick after dinner. ”
“Wait…” I swallow my chunk of apple and reach across the table. “Who sent you pics? Can I see?”
“No!” She slaps my hand for the second time and snatches up her phone. She sets it on her chair, tilting to the side until I know she’s sitting on the damn thing rather than risk losing it. “Are you planning to stay long, Maverick? I’m eating.”
“Staying… Here?” I cast my gaze around the kitchen. “In my house? I mean… I suppose I’ll leave someday. Ya know, especially now that I learned how to wipe my butt and all that.”
She drives the pointy end of her fork into the lamb and meets my eyes. “I meant here in this kitchen. I already escaped one Jameson who lacked the ability to shut the hell up while I was trying to eat. Must I escape two?”
They say this woman freezes in the face of danger?
Bullllshit. “I see how it is.” Snickering, I glance down at her drawing and know, without a shadow of doubt, she’s either seen my brother half naked, or she’s seen my father’s… leg. Probably the former. “Would you draw something for me if I asked nicely?”
“No.” She doesn’t give my question even a single second of consideration. “Ask your brother. He might.”
“Which brother?”
“Either. Can you leave now? Or should we continue to pretend this is a simple matter of fun conversation and not what it really is?”
Curious, I bring my apple up again and nibble. “What is it really?”
“Supervision. A security detail.”
“Do you require a security detail? Is it for your protection? Or everyone else’s?”
She rolls her eyes. “Pretending, then. Noted.” She works on her dinner at a steadier pace, shoveling potatoes into her mouth fast enough I know she’s doing it for the sake of escaping me.
“Where is my brother, anyway?”
Glancing up, she parrots me with a little too much sarcasm to be considered friendly. “Which brother?”
“Bas. He was eating in the chow hall a little while ago, loaded up a tray I figured was for you, but now you’re out here…
alone… with just a fork.” Suspicious, I peer back toward the hall.
“You didn’t stab him, did you? I know he can be a prick most of the time, but he’s pretty decent once you get past the bullshit. ”
“Didn’t stab him.” She swallows her potatoes and washes the lump down with water. “Though I’m often tempted. What time did he come to eat?”
“What— He—” I snap my lips closed and consider her for a moment. “What?”
“Sebastion. Dinner’s at six, right?”
Uno reverse on the interrogation tactics. She’s good. “Yes,” I answer warily. “Dinner’s at six. Why?”
“Sebastion ate at six?”
What are you getting at, Shorty? “Yes. He ate around six. Just a bit after.”
“Does he typically sit with his friends for an entire hour while he wolfs down ten thousand calories and loads up another plate for the road?”
“No.” Her phone vibrates against the chair, buzzing loud enough to draw my eyes and make her grit her teeth. And that’s when it hits me. She wants to know if he was with a lady friend after dinner. “He ate in ten minutes flat. Then he got up and said he had someplace else he had to be.”
Buzz buzz. Buzz buzzzzzzzzzzzz.
“I see.”
Oh, Bas. You’re in trouble, bro. You’re in big trouble.
“I wonder if he visited tits or blowjob?” she quips sourly. “Personally, I feel neither conducted themselves appropriately.”
“Why? You think sending sexy texts is trashy?”
“No, I think begging a man like that to pay attention to me is trashy. He talks of his dick so often, I’d say he’s willing to fuck anyone with a hole.
The fact they’re begging speaks legions about them and allows him to flitter from woman to woman with zero accountability for whatever mess he leaves behind. ”
“I mean…” She’s so fucking jealous, it’s eating her up inside. “I have it on good authority he never leaves a mess, Ms. Castro. He doesn’t like to waste a drop, if you’re picking up what I’m puttin’ down.”
Her cheeks blaze a fiery red, and fuck my stiff dick, her eyes dance with something I’m absolutely not allowed to think about. Or I die.
“Maverick!”
I jump in my seat and pretend Bas’ ferocious snarl as he stalks through the door doesn’t scare the piss out of me.
Scarlett’s horny gaze makes way for horror. Hunger turns to fear, but that fear quickly turns to scorn, since I guess she’s already sick of his shit. “Get up.” He claps my shoulder and forces me to my feet.
Dammit, I was happy here lapping up his thirsty friend’s I want your brother to fuck me raw pheromones.
Bringing me around and knocking me back a step, he stares into my eyes like I’m just another soldier in the yard. “The hell are you doing?”
Bas is jealous too.
What an interesting fuckin’ turn of events.
“Just saying hello to our new friend.” I brush his hand off and take a greedy bite of my apple.
Turning to Scarlett and smiling past the droplet of juice cooling my chin, I wink and wave.
“You should bring her out in the morning. Force her to eat with the commoners. The longer you keep them separate, the bigger deal it becomes when she finally wanders into the hall.”
“La Bruja?”
I snort. “Wrestling her Sir Lancelot into the shower, but not before he had Scarlett convinced he was the bastard son of a deadbeat Jameson.”
Stunned, he inches to the left and looks down at the woman shoveling food into her mouth. “What?”
“She thought he was yours. Then she thought he was mine. In the end, she realized you had two brothers and told her about neither of them.”
His eyes narrow and come back to mine. “Okay.”
“She also knows about your obsession with Top Gun.” I clap his shoulder and lay extra emphasis on the slap of my palm against his sore muscles.
“Have fun, kids. Make good choices. I’m gonna track Mom down before she initiates a coup.
What with it being bath time now, and bedtime in less than an hour, I’m not sure she has adequate time to reign victorious. ”
“Shut up.” Bas rumbles, his eyes already on his prize. “Go away.”
“Looooove you.” I toss my spent apple into the trash can in the corner, catching the edge and whistling when it plops into the dark abyss, then I drop my hands into my pockets and saunter out of the kitchen.
“You needed to tell me you were leaving the room,” Bas barks out the instant I’m invisible to them. Dumb, emotionally stunted dipshit. Why scold her when you could just admit you were worried? “I need to know where you are at all times, Scarlett! Fuck!”
Idiot.