Chapter 7
Ricochet
Slowly, I chewed the bite of steak in my mouth and watched as Trent grandstanded in front of the women. He was putting on a show, trying to impress them both. He was also ignoring his kids. Big surprise.
Sean was silently eating, and even Grace was unusually quiet while Trent was here. It didn’t take a genius to see that this was a normal occurrence.
“Sweetie, did you get enough asparagus?” Gwen asked Sean. He was notorious for ‘forgetting’ to add vegetables to his plate. But he hadn’t forgotten tonight.
Gwen had interrupted Trent, trying to bring her kids into the conversation. To Trent’s attention. It didn’t work.
A sullen expression flashed over the man’s face, then he turned to Jordan and started back up again.
He was talking about his job and how important it was.
That they were putting criminals behind bars.
His gaze slid over to me and he gave me a combative smile.
“We have so many plans for the city and ridding it of crime. I have the DA’s ear and soon maybe we’ll even outlaw MCs. You know how much trouble they cause.”
Jordan’s deep green eyes flicked to me, but she gave Trent a polite, if weak, smile.
She didn’t seem to know what to say. I hadn’t had a chance to explain to her what MCs really were and here this dick was, calling us criminals.
The muscles in my jaw tightened as I ground my teeth together.
I was doing my best to keep it together so I didn’t ruin this for my sister, but I couldn’t understand why she was thinking about letting this piss stain back into their lives. It wasn’t my choice, though.
I was back to strangling my steak knife as he continued on about what a menace motorcycle clubs could be to a community.
He was just trying to piss me off. He’d been saying shit like that ever since I’d joined The Viking’s Rampage.
He’d go on rants about how MCs were nothing but filth and should be behind bars.
I knew exactly what he was doing. Didn’t mean I didn’t want to lunge over the table and fuck him up.
Something settled on my thigh. Looking down, I saw Jordan’s hand there. Meeting her gaze, I forced myself to relax. She gave me a reassuring smile. Everyone at the table knew what Trent was up to and no one was buying his line of bullshit.
I set the knife down. It was too much of a temptation. Gwen had already lured Trent into another conversation.
“Grace received a reward from her pre-school-” she broke off as Trent slammed his hand down on the table and crowed.
“That’s my girl! Good job! You’ve got your daddy's brains in there don’t you?”
Everyone was staring at him in startled silence.
He’d gone from taunting me to that outburst. As someone who understood highs and lows extremely well, thanks to all the bullshit PTSD the doctors claimed I had, I began to wonder what Trent’s excuse was.
I’d known him since he and Gwen had first started dating.
I’d never seen him act this way before. The boasting and antagonizing, yes, the self-centered behavior, absolutely.
But not the high energy and emotional outbursts.
Gwen seemed a little confused, but didn’t mention the switch up he’d just exhibited.
“What about you, Little Man?” Trent asked, looking over at Sean. Like Sean had suddenly appeared at the table and hadn’t been here for the last thirty minutes, Trent zeroed in on him. He pointed a fork dripping with mashed potatoes at my nephew.
Red started seeping into the edges of my vision as Sean sank down a little in his seat.
“Nothing,” Sean mumbled.
“You’re a Baker,” Trent stated. He didn’t have his pompous nose up in the air, but I could picture it thanks to his tone. “You should be excelling in every area of school and life. You’re not going to disappoint the family name now are you?”
“Trent,” Gwen said in warning. This wasn’t the first time they’d had this argument. That much was clear.
Anger rose up within me until I was almost choking on it.
Before I could say anything, Jordan squeezed my thigh again.
I hadn’t realized she’d left her hand there.
That in and of itself told me how much my rage was climbing.
A gorgeous woman had her hand mere inches from my dick and all I could think about was killing Trent.
“Kids, you’re excused from the table,” Gwen said.
Grace stared in shock down at her food. We hadn’t gotten very far into dinner. I could see her trying to figure out how she was supposed to get enough to eat if her mom was asking her to leave.
“I’ll make it up to you after,” Gwen said, catching Grace’s expression. Sean had already bolted out of the dining room and up the stairs. Grace followed him more slowly.
As soon as both kids were gone, Gwen glared at Trent. “What’s wrong with you?”
“What do you mean?” he asked, wiping his mouth on his napkin.
“That boy needs to learn that no one is going to give him anything for free in this life. If he doesn’t work hard, he’ll get left behind and end up being a loser.
” Trent’s eyes met mine. “I certainly can’t afford to have any losers near me. ”
“You calling me a loser, you fucking prick?” I growled. Fisting my hands, I waited for him to make the worst mistake of his life.
“Stop it,” Gwen demanded, then turned on Trent.
“You’re acting weird tonight. What happened to wanting to be in your children’s lives?
They aren’t going to want to be around you if you treat them this way.
Sean is eight years old. Eight!” she came close to shouting as Trent opened his mouth to argue.
He closed his pie hole and sat sullen in his chair.
“You can’t push him like that. He’s doing great in school here, making friends, and is very happy. ”
“Except when you come around,” I pointed out.
Trent was trying to swallow back whatever retort had popped up after my dig.
It wasn’t easy for him. “If you’ll excuse me,” he muttered, tossing his napkin down and standing.
We watched as he walked out of the dining room.
Instead of him going upstairs like I thought Gwen was expecting, we heard the front door slam shut.
Gwen lost her rigid posture and she sighed. “Jordan, I’m so sorry-”
“No need to apologize,” Jordan insisted, leaning over and giving Gwen’s hand a squeeze.
Guilt curled inside my gut. I was supposed to have made this dinner a little easier, but my sister knew I couldn’t stand that fucker. Still, now that he was gone I thought maybe I could have tried harder. “I’ll walk you home,” I told Jordan, rising with her.
She looked startled at my offer, then glanced over at my sister. Gwen gave her a soft smile. “Go ahead. I need a few minutes alone.”
I moved behind Jordan toward the door, looking over my shoulder at my sister. I didn’t like the sad expression on her face. Didn’t like that I’d helped put it there.
The fresh night air surrounded me as I stepped out onto the porch. Trent’s car was gone. Typical. Something doesn’t go his way and he runs. It was his way of doing things.
“That may be true, but you should give Gwen a break.”
I looked down into forest green eyes and frowned. Had I said that out loud? I must have. “I wasn’t trying to ruin her dinner.”
“She’s trying to do what’s best for her kids,” Jordan said as we made our way over to her house. “She’s willing to set aside the old pain that Trent caused if it means her kids would have their father in their lives.”
I hadn’t thought about it like that. “He’s kind of a shitty person.”
Her laughter filled the air. “I think you might be right. But isn’t it better for the kids to come to their own conclusions about that? Or should she keep them away from him? And risk them resenting her for it?”
“Shit. I don’t know.”
“Neither does she.” She smiled up at me. “She’s trying to figure out what’s least harmful for the children.”
Leaning against the doorframe, I waited as she unlocked the door.
I brushed a piece of her dark hair behind her ear, causing her to look over at me.
“You’re smart.” Her laughter filled the evening air and some of the tension inside of me eased.
I tried to shove the disaster of an evening to the back of my mind.
I pushed my way in after her, looking around her spotless living room.
“What are you doing?” There was wariness in her tone now.
“I should check and make sure no one is inside the house.”
She put her hands on her hips and arched a brow at me. “What kind of life do you think I live that people would be skulking around my home late at night?”
“You never know,” I told her with a mischievous smile. Stalking toward her, my grin grew as she backed up from me. I made her nervous. I sort of liked it. “You afraid of me?”
“No.”
“Then why are you backing up?”
She bumped into the wall next to the door and before she could move, I caged her in, arms on either side of her head. She stared up at me, her pink tongue brushing over her lips in a nervous motion.
Groaning, I lowered my head and took her mouth in a kiss.
I didn’t ask, didn’t have the ability to stop myself.
The only time I’d felt any emotions besides anger or pain over the last few days had been because of her.
If I wasn’t careful, I was going to become addicted to her. Strung out on the way she made me feel.
My tongue followed the path hers had, dipping between her parted lips. Her gasp had me gathering her up in my arms, pressing our bodies together while I deepened the kiss.
How long had it been since I’d kissed a beautiful woman? Too long. Just long enough. I didn’t know. Didn’t care. She was perfection there in my arms. I didn’t want to let her go.
Her tongue brushed mine as she started kissing me back.
I listened to the little moans she was making and promised myself I’d stop.
Still, I kept going. My hands skated down her back to grab her ass.
I squeezed, enjoying the feel of her curves beneath my palms before I released her and cupped her cheeks.
I softened the kiss before breaking it entirely.
We stood there, panting, staring at each other in disbelief. I could see the desire and confusion there in her eyes. I wanted her to be confident and sure the first time I took her. I needed her desperate for me.
Stepping back, I let her go, even though it was the last thing I wanted. “Goodnight, Jordan.” With that, I walked out her front door.
My dick was hard beneath my jeans and I adjusted it as I walked back toward my sister’s house.
A smile spread over my face and I paused, staring up at the stars overhead.
I hadn’t smiled this much in a long time.
A long damn time. Usually my grins were forced.
Not with her, at least not for the last fifteen minutes or so.
Shaking my head as I realized that Jordan was getting to me, I went inside to apologize to my sister.