by Erin Trejo
I understand. I’m a part of this world whether he wants to admit it or not.
“I know. I get it Dante.”
I bring my hands up to cover his and warmth envelopes me.
“No you don’t. I will kill him for touching you. I promise that he will suffer until he begs me to die. I will watch his life drain from him for having the nerve to come anywhere near you,” he says through gritted teeth.
His hands have tightened on my face until it’s almost painful. Then he leans in and kisses me roughly.
Chapter 6
Dante
My muscles burn as I move the crates of guns off of the truck and into the warehouse we use for storage. Tucker is off in his own little world still reeling from what happened to Bri two weeks ago. I can’t say that I can blame him either. I’m still pissed I have to hold my cards tight to my chest, right until we’re ready to go to war. It’s not that I honestly give two shits, I want that bastard’s head for what he did to her.
“I heard Jerry was at that party,” Rich, one of our guys, says.
“Yeah. Tucker dealt with him. I doubt he’ll come back around, but then again that motherfucker isn’t very smart either,” I say as I suck in a much needed breath of air.
We continue to move the crates until the truck is empty.
“How are we moving the powder this round?” one of the guys asks.
“We’re using coffee cans. Double bag that shit and stuff it deep down in the coffee. The dogs can’t detect it that way. We paid one of the café drivers to use his goddamn coffee truck to deliver it down there too. You can ride along if you like and make sure it all goes as planned.”
Rich nods his head.
“Coffee cans huh?” Smiley asks.
“Damn right. Dave can reseal that shit so that it looks like he’s just hauling his shit where it needs to go. They won’t suspect a thing.”
“The coffee delivery man delivering coffee,” Tucker chuckles.
I nod. That’s exactly what it is.
“I heard your girl was hurt the other night,” Rich says to Tucker.
His jaw ticks, but then again so does mine. She isn’t his. Not anymore. The more I think about it the more pissed I get. Something is going to have to give and a lot is going to have to change. I need to talk to Bri and see where her head is at, but I don’t want to put too much on her with what has happened.
“She’s fine,” he snaps back at him.
I watch him move around, his body is coiled tight. I wave my hand at the other guys so that they’ll leave us alone. I glance over my shoulder to make sure they’re gone before I turn back to my little brother.
“What’s with the attitude?”
“I don’t have one.”
“Nope. Not at all. Fuck off Tucker. What the fuck is going on?” I roar a little louder this time.
Tucker runs his hand through his hair before he turns to look at me.
“She’s isn’t herself. She’s acting off.”
“You expect her to go through what she did and just be back to normal overnight? What the fuck are you thinking?” I ask him before I light up a joint.
I pass it to him and watch as he takes a drag.
“I know that, but it’s been two weeks. She’s pulling away from me like she doesn’t want me around and shit,” he admits as he passes the joint back to me.
I don’t know if this is because of what happened to her, or if it’s because I keep kissing her. I think I’ve made it pretty goddamn obvious that I want her. At the same time, I don’t want to hurt Tucker either.
“She’s dealing with a lot of shit Tucker. Just give her some time to adjust.”
“She’s looking for a job,” he adds.
“A job? What the hell for? Her dad makes bank.”
We both laugh at that. It is what it is though. Mac makes damn good money being a killer for hire. Hell I thought about getting into that line of work myself, but I don’t like being out of town as much as he is.
“Yeah he does. I don’t know what’s up with her Dante. It’s like she doesn’t want me around anymore man. I don’t like that feeling. It’s like I’m losing her.”
“I thought you weren’t together anyway?”
“What the fuck difference does that make? She’s always been mine Dante.”
And there it is. He thinks he’s still with her. I don’t want to be the asshole here, but I will.
“She isn’t yours man. Maybe that’s why she’s pushing your ass away. You still cling to her like you’re lovers,” I chuckle.
“Fuck you. You don’t know shit.”
I inhale another lung full of air before I blow the smoke out through my nose.
“We need to get this crate secured before we leave. Get up off your ass and help,” I tell him.
He flips me off but jumps off the one he’s been sitting on. He pops the top open and picks up one of the ARs to look at it.
“This would be a good one to take that motherfucker out with,” he grumbles under his breath.
“Yeah, that’s a good one. I prefer up close and personal though. You know?”
Tucker looks over at me and nods.
“You’ve always had a thing for knives. Dad used to have to hide those motherfuckers from you when we were younger.”
“I remember that shit. I used to look for a knife to cut my food with when dad would disappear and come back with a steak knife.”
We both chuckle at that.
“Yeah. The fucker thought you were going to off one of us.”
That doesn’t surprise me. My dad raised me to be the man I am today.
“No way. I needed you fuckers too much to do that. Let’s get this shit finished. I’m hungry.”
“Have you talked to Bri’s friend anymore since that night at the warehouse?” he asks as I haul another crate over.
“Not since I found her and Bri. She didn’t really say much either. Why?” I look over at Tucker to see him stacking a crate.
“No reason. Bri just said she was really into you. Thought you might have talked to her again.”
“Since when do I do seconds?” I ask in a flat tone.
“Fuck Dante. You will never have a wife,” he teases.
“I don’t need one when every bitch in Chicago will bend over at my command.”
Chapter 7
Brianna
“Thank you,” I say politely as I hand the manager my application.
I’m so sick of sitting at home. I’m done hiding. I’m just sick of pretty much everything lately.
“What do you think your dad will say about you looking for a job?” Tracey asks
She has no clue what my dad actually does and I’d like to keep it that way.
“It doesn’t really matter. It’s not like he’s around much. I’m tired of being inside all day doing nothing. It’s boring as hell.”
“Can’t you just go to Tucker’s?”
I roll my eyes.
“If he’s home. You know how they are, they aren’t always around either. I just need to find something I can do.”
“Me too. My dad keeps talking to me about college, how I need to focus on my life, and figure out what I want out of it. I’m so sick of him always breathing down my neck,” she says.
“You should go you know? You were good at school. I thought you wanted to look into doing interior designing? You were really good at that type of thing,” I tell her honestly.
Tracey shrugs her shoulders as we walk down the sidewalk.
“I was at one point. Now I don’t know what I really want to do. I’m still on edge about what happened. Aren’t you?”
I shake my head and plaster on that fake smile that everyone is getting out of me lately. This is the me that everyone gets now, my nightmares are filled with them coming back to finish what they started.
“Not really. Dante said he’d take care of it and I believe him. He wouldn’t say that if he didn’t plan on doing it.”
The closer we get
to the house the more I hate it. I don’t want to go back there and sit in the darkness again.
“You ever think about leaving Chicago?” Tracey asks.
I shrug. I slide my hands into the pockets of my jeans.
“Sometimes, but with no job it’s not happening. Where do you want to go?”
“I’m not sure. Somewhere with warm winters though. Maybe Florida?”
“You should look into schools there,” I tell her as we keep walking.
I pull my phone out to check the few messages from Tucker when Tracey speaks, “Isn’t that your dad’s car?”
I lift my head and sure enough, I see his car parked in the driveway. I’m not like most daughters who would get excited about her dad being home. It’s hard to miss him when he never really wanted me to begin with.
“Yeah he’s home.”
We walk up the stairs and I shove open the front door to see him standing in the living room. I’m about to say hello when I notice that he’s not alone. He steps to the side and turns to face me when I see the tall, blonde standing there. She eyes me up and down like I disgust her. Well, the feeling is mutual bitch.
“Where have you been?” my dad asks and his tone is just as harsh as it always is.
“Out. Meet me upstairs,” I say looking over my shoulder at Tracey.
She nods and takes off for the stairs. She knows that she doesn’t want to be in the middle of this mess. I don’t blame her at all. I don’t look at my dad. I keep my eyes on the bitch that’s staring at me like I don’t belong in my own home.
“How long are you here for?” I finally ask and pull my gaze to my dad’s.
“What difference does that make? It’s my house Brianna.”
And there’s the dear old dad that I know so well.
“Now, where were you?” he asks again.
“You bother to come home once a month and then you ask where I’ve been? That’s real fatherly of you,” I snap at him.
Blondie shifts from foot to foot looking like she has something she wants to say to me.
“Who the hell are you?”
“You need to watch your mouth with me sweetheart. I don’t deal with petty kids,” she snorts in my direction.
“Petty? Well then I guess it’s a good thing I’m not petty then isn’t it Barbie?”
“Where the hell were you Brianna?” my dad roars louder this time and managing to break the tension that was about to explode between me and his most recent toy.
I roll my eyes and drag my gaze back to my dad.
“I was looking for a job.”
“Thank god she won’t be here all day,” Barbie mutters.
“Well neither will you so I call it even then,” I glare at her.
“What the hell do you need a job for? You have plenty of money in the bank. I always ensure that you do,” dad tells me.
“You think that’s all I need? I need actual human contact. You know someone to talk to? Oh, you wouldn’t know that since you’re never around,” I spin on my heel and stalk to the kitchen.
I grab a bottle of water when I hear my dad follow me, so I act like the bigger person and walk out the back door. I stand in the yard and uncap my water to take a long drink.
“Your little friend is still in there. I don’t like the idea of you working.”
I nearly choke on my water when it sprays from my nose.
“Since when do you care what I do? You are never here and the last time I checked that situation was working out just fine for both of us.”
I cross my arms over my chest and glare at the man that made me. He created me, but he never wanted me. He never wanted children period. I suppose given his line of work that I wouldn’t really want a kid around either, but here I am.
“You know what? I don’t have to tell you again that I don’t like you out of this house and doing shit that isn’t necessary. I put money in your goddamn account for a reason. Go shop, drink, or whatever the hell it is you do, but there is no reason for you to be out there working. Being in the same place every day? That just isn’t safe.”
As if his words hold any meaning to me, they don’t. I open my mouth to tell him about how safe I was the other night when I was almost raped, but I don’t. He doesn’t care and he sure as hell isn’t going to go after the asshole that put his hands on me. That thought alone makes my stomach churn.
“Maybe you should just leave. That’s what you’re so good at doing. Why do you even care if I live or die anyways? It hasn’t been a concern of yours for a long time now dad,” I make sure that the word dad is said with as much sarcasm as I can manage.
His eyes darken. I can see the monster that lives inside of him coming to the surface. I knew that the darkness lived in him, but I rarely see it.
“You are to do whatever the fuck you are told to do. Don’t make me regret keeping you around Brianna. I said no job and I mean no goddamn job. Don’t push me on this.”
With his teeth gritted he turns on his heel and storms back into the house. He slams the door for good measure.
Chapter 8
Dante
“A dog?” Tucker asks as he raises an eyebrow.
I shrug and pass the little fur bag over to him as we climb back into the car.
“Why a dog?”
Why I do what I do is none of my little brother’s concern. As close as we are there are just some things I need to do to clear my own head. This is one of those things.
“Why the fuck not?” I growl as I pull out onto the road.
Tucker doesn’t say much else. He just holds the dog like it might rip his heart out if he doesn’t. It’s almost funny to see him sitting there in the seat next to me. I shake my head and keep my eyes on the road before I speak.
“Shit with Northside is getting worse.”
Tucker blows out a breath and nods his head. He runs his hands through his hair.
“Yeah I know. We need to get a handle on things before dad gets back. Nobody needs his shit or his breathing down our backs.”
I do agree with that.
“What are you thinking?”
“That we should kill the motherfuckers. I don’t know Dante. I don’t think we should rock the boat with them too much. Sales are up, but at the same time I think they need to understand that they can’t just fuck with us,” he says this while tugging at his hair.
I agree with him on that too. Our business with Northside is strong, but our relationship with them? Not so much.
“Jenkins is a key player in all of this. If we go after him we are going to have some major blow back.”
“What other choice do we have?” he asks looking over at me.
“We don’t have one. I promised Bri I would take care of that bastard and I will.”
“You promised Bri huh?”
I can hear the accusation in his tone. It’s not that I give a shit, but I can still hear it. With everything else that’s going on the last thing I need is to be fighting with Tucker.
“She was a goddamn mess when I found her Tucker. Of course I promised her I would take care of it. I plan on keeping that promise.”
Thankfully the rest of the ride home is silent. I don’t want to fight with him, but I will. For her? Yeah, I’d do anything for her.
We pull into the driveway and I climb out. I walk around and grab the dog out of Tucker’s hands. I ruffle the fur on his little head.
“Her dad’s here,” Tucker says as he notices the car in the driveway.
“We’ll go around back then,” I tell him.
Tucker nods and leads the way. It isn’t the first time we’ve snuck into that house with her dad being home. Well, it was usually Tucker, but I have done it on occasion too. Especially through the basement. Her dad never goes down there. I don’t think he’d care even if he did find us though. That’s just how he is with her.
As we walk around the back of the house I hear her sniffles. I take a deep breath and try to get my emotions under control before I step in front
of her. Her head slowly rises and her eyes widen. She reaches up and wipes the tears off of her cheeks before she quickly stands up.
“You got a puppy?” she squeals.
She grabs him out of my arms and pulls him to her chest. The damn dog licks at her face and she pets him with a smile. She fucking smiles. That’s not something I’ve seen in a long time on her face. Tucker’s phone rings so he steps off to the side.
“He’s yours,” I tell Bri.
Her eyes shoot to mine and hold there. Her mouth hangs open, but I just smile at her.
“Are you kidding me?”
“Nope. He’s yours.”
“What? Why? I don’t get it. Why did you get me a puppy?” she asks looking confused.
There are so many reasons that I want to give her, but I can’t. I heard her fight with her dad. I don’t want to tell her that, but I heard it.
“Hey, I need to go handle something,” Tucker says walking back toward us.
I nod and watch as he leans in and presses a kiss to Bri’s head. My insides burn at seeing it. I want to kick his ass for putting his hands on her, but I manage to rein it back in. Once he walks off Bri raises an eyebrow at me still waiting for me to answer.
“Why are you looking for a job princess?”
She sighs and snuggles the puppy closer to her.
“I’m bored. I’m, I’m so alone. I don’t know what to do with myself anymore Dante. I feel like I’m slowly crumbling. I hate it.”
“You have Tucker. You’re not alone,” I tell her.
I watch her as she rolls her eyes. Damn it. I love it when she does that.
“Thanks.”
“I mean it Bri. You have Tucker. And, you have me.”
Her eyes come back to meet mine and I can see a heat sizzling between the two of us. I can’t think straight with this girl around. I reach up and take the dog from her. I set him on the ground at our feet before I move closer to her. I reach up and cup her cheek in my hand and lick my lips.
“You have me princess. You have me,” I whisper before I bite her bottom lip between my teeth.
I suck it into my mouth and she cries out. I can’t get enough of having her mouth on mine. I lift her up in my arms and she wraps her legs around my waist. I carry her into the door and down the steps to the basement. The dog trails behind us, but he’s not my concern right now.
