THIRTY-SIX
I pace the halls upstairs while I wait for Damien to emerge from his bedroom. What the hell am I going to do? My mother was fucking serious, and I don't know how to program anything serious into my head unless her name is Hanna.
Grabbing onto my hair, I grip the roots as I yank on it, the frustration is unreal. "Hey, if you keep doing that, you're going to pull it out," Damien mutters as he opens his bedroom door. Maybe I should.
My eyes lock with him and before I can think, I'm shoving him into the wall. "Our mother said I either give her my kid when they're eleven or Hanna dies! What the fuck do I do with that knowledge because I'm not giving up either one of them!"
The itch to put a bullet in someone's head is too grand. Too much and way too soon. If I see my mother, I might be tempted to root out revenge within seconds.
"A, get the fuck off me. And B, we have eleven years to think about that. Stop stressing yourself out," Damien replies as he shoves me away from him. He wants me to wait eleven years to exact revenge? Is he serious?
I close my eyes, calming my breath as I stare at him, dumbfounded "Oh yeah, and if she asks me when my kid was born?" I challenge, clenching my jaw so hard my teeth ache. This is fucking war.
My brother watches me carefully before he makes any move to speak. "Honestly, we will have a plan, so don't stress yourself out, for fuck's sake."
I nod slowly, running my hand through my hair. "Hanna's afraid," I blurt out without meaning to.
Damien's features soften at the mention of her name. I never thought I would see the day. "She has an entire world of ours that would take a bullet for her. She'll be okay," he responds softly.
I nod again before heading downstairs into the kitchen. I need coffee before I lose it. Pouring myself a cup of coffee, I add the sugar and milk before stirring it all together and taking a long sip. Sighing softly, I take another sip, a satisfied smile covering my face. That doesn't mean my revenge is over, though.
It's only just begun.
The only thing that really matters right now is Hanna and planning revenge. My mother's fucking cracked out ass can wait a few years. I look up as Sam and Damien saunter downstairs, whispering amongst each other.
"This is family business, Damien," I growl.
My brother shoots me a glare along with Sam. "We are all family, so shut up while we all come up with a plan," Damien responds. This is about to be a goddamn war zone, and bloodshed will be everywhere.
Rolling my eyes, I turn away from them and finish off my coffee. Setting the mug beside the sink, I grab my keys and head for the door. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" Sam barks. As if he can fucking keep me locked up in here.
"To see my girl," I growl, slamming the door behind me. Once I slide into the driver's seat, I speed off toward Hanna's condo. My mind buzzes as I come to a stop outside the brown-coloured building.
Heaving, I pull myself out of the car and head inside the house, scanning the room for Hanna. "What are you doing here?" Her soft voice fills the room.
Turning my head, I lock eyes with Hanna. She's seated at their table sipping her morning tea. And fuck, she even looks beautiful when sadness clouds her green eyes. "I needed to see you."
A smile fills Hanna's lips as she watches me. Leaving the teacup on the table, she wanders over to me and wraps her arms around me. "I love you, you know that?" she whispers into my chest.
I press a kiss to her head and wrap my arms around her. "And I love you, Cinderella." I smile, pulling her closer.
Hanna peers up at me with soft green eyes and a frown touches her lips. "You have things to discuss with the boys," she says, crossing her arms over her chest. As if that is something fucking important in my life right now.
I smile, lightly pecking her lips with my own. "That can wait. I'm not going," I reply, unfazed.
Hanna's eyes fill with anger as she watches me. "Absolutely not! You worked too hard to throw it all away."
It was never an end goal. What the fuck does she mean? Sighing, I wrap my arms around her slender body. "I'm not going. It's not important, not like you are," I whisper. Hanna smiles softly and nods, pressing her lips to my cheek.
"Get over there," she demands. For such a small person, she has a serious attitude. A smile pulls at my lips as I climb back into my car, heading toward campus and the massive hockey condo where we all meet and head inside. I really couldn't understand why she believes this is important.
"That's what I fucking thought." Sam smirks at me.
My eyes narrow at him just as Damien speaks up. "She wasn't letting you skip out on us." Damien grins at me.
Oh, fuck these guys. Grumbling, I walk past them, heading into the living room. Just what I need, them shooting me smart remarks. Assholes . Rolling my eyes, I take a seat on one of the benches. "He made it," Alex pipes up.
God, I don't like that guy. Ace said he cheated on Bailey and all I wanna do is throw a punch, but Ace said to leave it because she doesn't believe us. Fucking bitch. She's gonna get heart broken and realise, shit, they were right. Smiling to myself, I lean back against the wall, ignoring Alex's remark.
"So, what's on the agenda today, captain." Alex smirks, purposely trying to get a rise out of Ace.
I watch my friend's eyes narrow on the asshole before he speaks. "I'll make the coach bench you if you don't slap your lips closed!" Ace growls. Jesus . It seems as though this asshole is always on edge lately. I wonder what's pulling at his dick.
Aside from his new and improved duties, of course.
Chuckling under my breath, I pretend as though I was laughing at Ace's comment, even though I really wasn't. Shaking my head, I follow Ace out of the kitchen, letting all my worries slide off for a couple of hours.
Even though I'm fully aware they will come rushing back the moment I'm out of here. And the moment I let myself think about it again.