Chapter 7 #2
“I’ll let him know.” Viper looked down at his watch and grumbled, “Fuck, where did the time go? Bec’s been waiting on me for almost an hour.”
“I’m sure she’ll understand,” Widow assured him.
“Maybe but doubt the same will hold true for Cat.” After a few sighed curses, Viper turned his attention to the rest of us. “I get that you boys are eager to find out what’s going on with this guy. I am, too, but there’s work to be done.”
He didn’t have to say anything more. We all immediately turned and walked out of the building, then went our separate ways. I still had a few hours before my shift at Stilettos, so I headed back inside to grab something to eat.
I was on my way to the kitchen when I heard strange voices coming from the family room. I stepped inside to see who it was and found Rebecca’s daughter sitting on the floor with an armful of her Barbie dolls. “Hey, Cat. How’s it going?”
“Hey, Lynch.” A sweet smile swept across her face as she shrugged and said, “It’s going. I’m waitin’ on Momma. She’s seeing if Thatch wants to go eat pizza with us.”
“Hmmm, pizza sounds good right about now.” Rebecca was Viper’s ol’ lady, and as much as he might want to have pizza with his girls, there was no way he’d leave with everything going on. Not wanting to be the one to break the news to her, I motioned my hand over to her dolls. “Whatcha got there?”
“Nothin’.” She quickly tossed the dolls into her basket, then looked up at me with a weird expression on her face. “What are you doing?”
“I was about to grab me something to eat.”
“Whatcha going to eat?”
“Guess it depends on what’s in the fridge.” I gestured my head towards the kitchen. “You wanna come with me to check it out?”
She nodded, then hopped up and rushed over to me. “Do you think there’s any ice cream?”
“Probably.” She followed me into the hallway as I asked, “But aren’t you going out for pizza?”
“I just want a little.”
“You sure your mom won’t care?”
Cat shook her head. “No, I always have a snack after school.”
“Okay, if you say so.” When we entered the kitchen, I walked over to the freezer and opened the door, then grabbed the tub of ice cream and placed it on the counter. “Is chocolate okay?”
“Mm-hmm,” Cat answered excitedly.
“All right. One scoop or two?”
“Two.”
“You got it.” I grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and filled it with two scoops of ice cream. “Here ya go, kid.”
“Thanks.”
She carried it over to the table and started to dive in. As she opened her mouth to take a second bite, I got an uneasy feeling. “You’re not gonna get me in trouble with this, are ya?”
She giggled and shook her head no before taking another huge mouthful.
I wasn’t sure I believed her as I stepped back to the fridge and pulled out some leftover lasagna.
I was just starting to make myself a plate when Viper walked in with Rebecca.
He stopped in the doorway and gave Cat a disapproving look as he asked, “Ice cream before dinner?”
“Mm-hmm.” Cat didn’t skip a beat as she threw me under the bus. “Lynch gave it to me.”
“Lynch?”
“Whoa. Hold up!” I dropped my fork and held my hands up in surrender. “The ice cream was her idea.”
Viper gave one of his looks. “Is that right?”
“Yeah, she said she always has a snack after school.”
“Yeah, and school was out hours ago.”
“Oh, don’t let him rattle you.” Rebecca smiled as she picked up the bowl and carried it over to the sink. “He knows better than anyone how convincing Cat can be. Isn’t that right, babe?”
“She has her moments.” Viper reached down, lifted Cat into his arms, and his expression immediately grew soft as he looked at her and said, “Not gonna be able to go with you and your mom tonight.”
Cat’s little nose crinkled as she asked, “Why not?”
“I’ve got things to tend to here.”
“But you said that last night.”
“Yeah, and I imagine I’ll be saying it a lot.” Viper’s tone was endearing in a way I’d never heard from him before. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t wanna be with you or your momma. You get that, don’t ya?”
“Yes, sir.” She nodded. “Will you be home tonight?”
“I’ll do my best.” He kissed Cat on the temple, then lowered her to the floor. “Now, be good and listen to your momma.”
“I will.”
Viper gave Rebecca a quick kiss and told her, “I’ll be home when I can.”
“I know you will.” She smiled, then turned to me. “Take care, Lynch.”
“You, too.”
As soon as they were gone, Viper turned to me and asked, “You working tonight?”
“Yeah, I’m about to head over and start my shift. Just grabbing a bite to eat first.”
“Good deal.” As he started out of the room, he stopped and snickered. “Try not to pick up any convicts on the way.”
“Heard about that, did ya?”
“That I did.” He shook his head and grumbled, “You boys and your women. It’s always something.”
“We’re just trying to keep things interesting, Prez, but you don’t have to worry about the lawbreaker and me.” I nonchalantly shrugged at him. “I don’t think things are gonna work out.”
“Oh, yeah. I’ve heard that before.” He gave me one of his looks, then he started out of the room. “I can almost guarantee we haven’t seen the last of your little daredevil.”
“I don’t know, Prez,” I called out. “I’m pretty sure it’s done.”
“We’ll see about that.”