Chapter 4
STYXX
Pulling into my driveway the next afternoon, I barely get out when I spot a girl skipping across the yard in my direction, a bright smile on her face. Her hair was the same strawberry blonde as the woman I watched dance the previous night.
“Hey.” She waves. “I’m Promise and just moved in yesterday.”
“Yo,” I grunt and round the hood of my truck to get my daughter out as I say, “Saw y’all moving in.”
“Yeah, we’re still waiting on the internet guy to come tomorrow, but my sister, her name’s Hope, is having her girls over tonight.
It’ll be better than just binging on DVDs while I wait to be able to stream my favorite shows.
Plus, I hate scrolling on my phone to look at all the videos and reels on stupid social platforms. Only so many times you can watch the same thing repeatedly without rolling your eyes. You know what I mean?”
Ugh, no, I didn’t know what she was talking about. Still, I grunt. “Yeah.”
Opening the back door, I grab Eabha’s carrier and lift it out.
“Oh, you have a baby.” Promise squeaks excitedly.
“If you ever need a babysitter, I’ve got a certification for babysitting, and I’ve taken CPR classes.
I took a course at the youth center in town.
I’m free any time I don’t have school, which is any time after four in the afternoon, which again is after Hope drops me off at our house after picking me up.
She takes me to school as well, though I wish she didn’t, but she doesn’t want me on the bus for long periods of time.
“I go to a private school. Again, I don’t want her paying for it, but she’s insistent because it’s where she went, and our parents paid for her to go. She says they would have wanted me to go there as well.
“Anyway, I can babysit any time after four until nine, nine-thirty. On the weekends, I’m free all day except Sundays.
I do have to be home at a decent time. Hope doesn’t like for me to be out late.
Granted, where we used to live, I get. Now that we’re in a better part of town, she probably wouldn’t mind so much to change the time.
So, if you need me, I’m right next door. ”
Before I can tell her I wasn’t looking for a babysitter, she pipes up again with a bright smile, eyes shimmering.
“Oh, and I have references if you need them. I’m really good with kids.”
“I’ll think about it, kid.” I doubted I’d ever let the kid watch my daughter, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
“Promise.”
I stiffen at the sweetest voice I’ve ever heard and glance in the direction it was coming from to find the sweet Temptation rushing in our direction.
She’s dressed in a pair of skin-tight jeans that encase a set of legs I want to feel wrapped around me, along with a tank top that barely contains those perfect tits of hers.
Hope’s a lot shorter than I would have put her at. She’s maybe five-six at most, putting her barely reaching my shoulders.
Her eyes come to mine as she reaches us before going back to her sister, hands on her hips. “What did I tell you about being the noisy neighbor. We just moved in.”
“I was just introducing myself,” Promise mutters.
“Right, well, come on. We have to go to the grocery store.”
“Ugh, can’t you go without me?” The teenage sass in Promise’s voice makes me glad Eabha is only a baby. “I want to be able to see . . .” Promise glances back to me. “You didn’t tell me your name.”
“Styxx,” I grunt.
“What kind of name is Styxx?”
“Promise,” Hope snaps and looks at me. “I’m so sorry, my sister doesn’t have a filter.”
“Yes, I do,” Promise protests. “I just don’t see why I should have to hold back questions I want answers to.”
Damn, the girl is funny. Loopy maybe.
“Well, you’re going to the store with me. We have things to get, and if you want me to make my lasagna for dinner, we need to get going,” Hope states.
“You should come over for dinner,” Promise remarks, still looking at me. “And bring your baby, of course. What’s her name?” she asks, dropping her gaze to my daughter.
“Eabha,” I answer.
Eabha makes a disgruntled sound from her seat, letting me know her displeasure with still being in it. She’s not one for being in the damn thing unless we’re in the car.
“I’ll see y’all around. I need to get her inside.”
“Right, well, nice to meet you, Eabha,” Promise says, speaking directly to my daughter.
I leave the two women, well, woman and girl, to it as I fight not to look back over at Hope while heading for my front door.
It’s not easy, and I have to grit my teeth to keep from doing it, but as I unlock the door, I glance over, seeing them walking back toward their place just as Hope looks over her shoulder in my direction.
Our eyes meet, and damn if I don’t want to march over to her and claim those pretty lips of hers.
Hope is the first to look away as she heads straight to her car, making me wonder what had been on her mind.
Why does it even matter?
All I need to be worried about right now is taking care of my daughter.
She’s all that matters. Nothing else.
The knock came two days later while I was working on making Eabha her bottle, getting her ready to go down before my brothers came over to watch the ball game. The Rangers are playing, and we have plans to watch it here.
Cursing to myself, I glance at my daughter and head to the door. My brothers would’ve walked right in, so I know it’s not any of them.
Opening it, I find Promise standing there, a bright smile on her face. “Hey, Styxx.”
“Promise,” I grunt. “What can I do for you?”
“Well, Hope is at work, and I’m bored,” she announces, waltzing right into the house and straight to Eabha. “Hey, sweet girl,” she coos, dropping down in front of my daughter on her playmat. “What are you doing?”
“Don’t think you should be over here without your sister home.”
The last thing I need is people thinking I’m some perv letting young girls in my house.
“I texted her and told her I was coming over here. It’s all good,” she says without looking up.
I doubted it was all good.
“Did you eat?” I end up asking instead of kicking her out.
“Not yet,” she answers and looks up at me and the bottle I’m holding. “Can I feed her?”
Shaking my head, I close the door and toss her the bottle. “Help yourself out.” Why did I say that shit?
Promise catches it easily and lifts Eabha, snuggling her close. “Hope always fixes dinner for us before she picks me up from school. It’s always something healthy and good for you. Tonight, it’s chicken broccoli, and cauliflower rice.”
“Sounds good.” Not really, but I wasn’t going to tell the kid that.
“Not really, I mean, it always tastes good, no matter what Hope fixes, but I’m tired of healthy foods. The only time we eat junk is on the weekends. Even then, the majority of the time, my sister makes the healthy choices of the meals. Like who orders a salad over a greasy burger?”
“Lasagna doesn’t sound all too healthy,” I point out, remembering her mentioning it the other day.
“Yeah, that’s part of the weekend foods she does when she knows she doesn’t have to be at work the next night,” Promise explains.
“It’s my mom’s recipe, and it’s great. You missed out.
The girls all devoured it. You won’t want to miss out on her chicken-fried steaks this weekend coming up. They’re divine.”
“I’ll remember that.” Sounded good, but no way would I be over there eating with them. I shouldn’t even have Promise here now.
Before she can say anything, the door opens, and Scythe comes inside along with Beast, Diablo, Azrael, and Cerberus. They look from the girl to me.
“You get a babysitter or something?” Scythe asks.
“No, this is Promise, she lives in the house next door with her sister. She came over here to see Eabha,” I explain, hoping they don’t say shit about Hope working at Keeper’s Temptation in front of Promise.
“Hey, cool, you guys are a part of Satan’s Keepers MC,” Promise blurts, lifting my daughter to her shoulder. “My sister works at one of your establishments. It’s the new strip club. Her name there is Temptation. Have y’all been yet? She’s a great dancer, isn’t she?”
Damn this kid and all her blurting questions.
“Yeah,” Scythe answers, nodding. “Saw her opening night. Wasn’t half bad.”
“Half bad?” Promise cocks a brow, looking at my brother, then me.
“Hey, you two are twins. Cool,” she says and looks back at my brother.
“Hope is anything but half bad. She’s great.
If I weren’t such a clutz, I’d dance like she does, but I make it look like I’m a cartoon character or something.
When Hope’s on stage, she makes magic happen. ”
“The kid ain’t lying,” Beast grunts.
“This kid’s awesome.” Azrael snorts. “How old are you?”
“I just turned fifteen. I go to Pinehaven Academy. Hope thinks it’s cool that I’m top of my class there and I’m only a sophomore.” Promise finishes with Eabha and lays her back down on the playmat before standing. “I guess I’ll go back home and let you get on with your evening.”
“Stick around, Kid, we’re ordering pizza.
You can’t have any of the beer, but I’ll make sure you eat before you go back home.
Just text your sister and let her know.” I shouldn’t have offered.
Should have let her get home, but I have a feeling she gets lonely and is just looking to have someone to spend time with.
“Really?” Promise utters, for the first time, looking nervous. “Are you sure?”
“Y’all mind Promise hanging out and watching the game?” I ask, though I know my brothers. They’re all taking one look at this kid and seeing her as a new addition to the family, and they want to see her protected.
“Nah, she’s good. Long as she doesn’t try to change the game.” Scythe grunts and moves to Eabha, picking her up. “We’re Rangers fans around here, aren’t we, sweetheart?”
“Rangers are awesome,” Promise agrees and looks to me. “I play softball for my school.”
“Thought your sister picked you up after school.”
“Yeah, she picks me up and drops me off right before four every day. We get out at two-fifteen, practice until three-thirty, then head out. Our first game was last week, in the middle of all the fun of finding a place to move to. Hope was able to come to my game, which was awesome. She doesn’t usually get to go. ”
“What time do you have to go to school if you get out so early?” I ask.
“School starts at seven-twenty,” she answers with a shrug.
So, Hope gets off work, naps, gets up, carries her sister to school, comes back home, does what she does, cooks, goes back to pick up her sister, then goes back to work. Woman has to be running herself to the ground. I glance over at my brothers, wondering if they’re having the same thoughts as me.
It shouldn’t be my problem, but it’s like I can’t help myself.
This kid has to realize just how special she is to have a sister as dedicated to her as Hope is.
She might have lost her parents, I get that feeling all too well, but having a sister like she does, that’s something no one can take from her.
A devotion unlike any other and that needs to be protected at all costs.