Between Family

by Erin Trejo

  When I taste more of her tears I pull away from her mouth and pull her head to my chest. I let her mourn the loss of her dog. I let her cry until her body can no longer hold itself up and then and only then do I climb out with her in my arms. I dry her off and put her to bed. With blankets pulled up high over the both of us, I sigh.

  “I’m falling in love with you Dante,” she whispers.

  Her breathing is even and I as peer down at her in shock at what she just said I see that she’s asleep. I press a kiss to the top of her head and lay back down on the pillow.

  “I know. I’m falling in love with you too.”

  Chapter 15

  Brianna

  I watch her as she packs up the suitcase that she brought with her. I have a huge smile on my face. I shouldn’t be so happy to see her leaving. Oh, who am I fucking kidding? I’m beyond fucking ecstatic to see Kerry go.

  “I would say that I’d miss you, but I really won’t,” I tell her.

  She lifts her head and glares at me. I smirk back at her.

  “I’m sure you’ll see me again. Your dad just wants me with him is all,” she says snidely.

  The thought of just shoving her out of the window has crossed my mind.

  “I’m sure he does. Well, it was nice knowing you.”

  I shove off of the bed, head into the hallway, and laugh.

  “What’s so funny?”

  I look up when I hear Tucker.

  “Barbie is officially leaving,” I tell him pointing over my shoulder with my thumb.

  “We should have thrown her a going away party.”

  “I’d rather saw off my own arm,” I add rolling my eyes for good measure.

  Tucker laughs and pulls me in for a hug.

  “I don’t think it would have gotten quite to that level,” Tucker chuckles.

  I pull back and look up at him. He stares down at me too and it unnerves me. The heat in his eyes is like I used to see, but he keeps looking at me.

  “Don’t let me interrupt,” Kerry says walking out of my dad’s room.

  I pull away from Tucker, but she keeps eyeing me.

  “You’re leaving?” I hear Dante ask as he comes up the stairs to stand next to us.

  He looks between the three of us strangely, but I can’t stop eyeing him now that he’s here.

  “Where’s the kid?”

  “Dad just picked him up. What’s going on?” Dante asks looking between us again.

  “Kerry’s leaving. We were just wishing her well on her voyage,” I say with a smile.

  Dante’s eyes leave mine and land on Kerry’s. There is something going on between the two of them. I can see it. I’m just not sure what it is, and that hurts. It hurts that I keep falling back into him, and now I have to worry about him cheating on me too.

  “Where the hell are you going?” he finally asks not sounding happy about her leaving.

  What an asshole. I’m standing right here. I huff out a breath, but no one notices me except for Tucker. He glares at me with no clue what’s going on right now. Join the club.

  “What does it matter to you? Are you going to miss me?” Kerry asks as she moves toward Dante.

  My eyes trail her across the floor. I want to snap her neck. She reaches up and wraps her hand around the back of his neck and pulls his toward her. My fists tighten by my sides as I watch them.

  “There’s nothing to miss. Now get your hands off of me,” he hisses.

  My heart leaps, but I can still see the storm simmering between them.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Tucker chimes in glancing from me to them and back to my clenched hands.

  Kerry pulls herself away from Dante and scurries down the steps.

  “Is anyone going to tell me what’s going on?” he asks once more.

  I don’t look away from Dante long enough to see the look on Tucker’s face, but Dante does look toward his brother.

  “What?”

  “What the fuck is going on around here? I thought you were fucking her,” Tucker asks pointing toward the stairs.

  My hands clench tighter. My nails are biting into my skin. If he did, I will absolutely lose it. My heart thumps in my chest as I wait for his answer.

  “What the hell? Why would you even think that?” Dante asks.

  “You’re here all of the time. You sleep over. None of that explains why Bri is about to lose her shit right now though,” Tucker tells him before he points over at me.

  “She looks fine to me.”

  “Look at her hands,” Tucker roars.

  Dante brings his eyes to my hands that I slowly unball at my sides. Small droplets of blood are dripping from where my nails dug in. He runs his hand through his hair and cusses under his breath.

  “Are you okay?” Dante asks me.

  I nod my head feeling like an idiot.

  “What the fuck is this?”

  Tucker moves closer to me, grabs my hands, and flips them in his. He examines the cuts before Dante moves in. He snatches my hands away from Tucker with a seething look in his eyes.

  “What the hell?” Dante tugs at his hair as I watch him.

  He’s debating something, but I don’t know what. I can see the turmoil in his eyes and I wonder what he’s about to do.

  “Fuck it. I’m done hiding shit Tucker. Bri’s mine.”

  My mouth hangs open and my eyes widen. We agreed not to tell him right now. What the hell? Tucker gasps and looks between us shaking his head slowly.

  “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “It means she’s mine. She isn’t yours anymore bro. I’m sorry it had to come out like this, but fuck. You need to keep your hands off of her,” Dante roars.

  “He’s my friend Dante,” I scream a little louder than I needed, but he doesn’t get to tell him that.

  “That’s why you’ve been pushing me away isn’t it?” Tucker asks directing both his gaze and his question at me.

  I open my mouth to respond, but Dante does it for me.

  “She didn’t want to tell you yet man.”

  “I’m not talking to you. I’m asking her,” Tucker seethes.

  “I. I didn’t know how to tell you Tucker. It’s just, with everything that’s been going on and Kerry being here. I don’t even know what’s happening right now.”

  And I really don’t. My head is a complete mess and I have no way to clear it. Dante wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his side.

  “No. Fuck this. You don’t care about her like I do. You’re nothing but a player. You’re going to break her heart Dante.”

  Tucker’s face is red, his jaw is ticking, and his neck is pulsing. He’s pissed off, and rightly so. I can’t blame him.

  “I’m not going to hurt her Tucker. I haven’t yet,” Dante says keeping his calm.

  “You haven’t yet? That’s really fucking nice of you. Yet? You will and you know it Dante. It’s always the same thing with you. You don’t go back for seconds, remember?”

  He’s seething mad right now and I hate it. I didn’t want to hurt him.

  “I love you Tucker. I really do. I just don’t love you the same way that I used to. You’re still my best friend,” I tell him.

  “That’s what I end up with? I’m still your best friend?”

  “We haven’t been together in a very long time Tucker. You know that.”

  “Not because I haven’t tried. All of this time you were with him? Of all fucking people you pick him?”

  “What the hell does that mean?” Dante stiffens next to me.

  “Just what I said. You aren’t shit for her. You can’t be. She deserves to be loved Dante. That’s something you’re just not capable of doing.”

  Before I know what’s happening Dante moves. His fist slams into Tucker’s jaw which causes his head to snap back. It doesn’t seem to faze him though. Tucker comes back at Dante swinging. My heart sits heavily in my chest as the two people I love most in this world fight in front of me. I can’t handle this. I just can’t
do this. I scream at both of them to stop before I insert myself between them. When they notice I’m there they each take a step back.

  “I can’t do this. Stop this. I won’t come between family,” I cry.

  “It’s a little late for that,” Tucker hisses.

  “Fuck off Tucker. There’s no need to be a jealous little boy,” Dante eggs him on.

  “Stop it! I mean it. If this is what’s going to happen then I don’t want either one of you around me.”

  I run to my room with tears falling down my cheeks. I hate that I’m what caused this between them. I hear them talking, but I ignore what they’re saying and sit on the toilet seat with my head in my hands. This is nothing like how I pictured my life. I hear the door creak shut, and when I look up Dante’s eyes find mine.

  “I can’t do this,” I tell him again.

  He nods his head and walks over to the sink. I watch him turn it on and splash water on his face. Red tinted water drips off of his chin which makes me want to reach up and run my fingers through it. My palms itch to touch him, but I keep them to myself until I just can’t stand it any longer.

  “Sit down,” I tell him as I stand up.

  We switch places when I grab the washcloth and wet it with warm water. I move to stand in front of him and reach up to clean the cuts on his face.

  “I didn’t mess with her princess. I just wanted to see who the hell she was and why she was here. She’s been sneaky.”

  I wipe the blood from his eyebrow and ignore everything about her. I don’t want to hear about her. Dante reaches up and grabs my wrists to halt my movements.

  “Let me finish it.”

  “No. You need to listen to me. Since I’ve been with you I haven’t touched anyone else. I know what you saw her doing and I shouldn’t have let her, but there is something going on and she knows about it Bri,” he tells me with a serious look in his eyes.

  “What then?”

  He shakes his head.

  “I don’t know. Whatever it is that she’s hiding, she’s hiding it from everyone.”

  He looks up at me before he pulls me into his lap. I straddle his legs with mine on either side of his as he cups my face in his hands.

  “Do you trust me Bri?”

  I swallow hard because trust for me is one of the hardest things to do. My dad has made me so unstable over the years that I have no idea who is good and who is bad anymore. Deep inside of me I do trust Tucker and Dante more than anyone else I’ve ever known though.

  “I trust you,” I whisper.

  He leans in and kisses me gently. My heart thunders in my ears. His hand slips around to the back of my neck so that he can pull me closer. I can feel his cock harden in his jeans, and I want nothing more than to feel him deep inside me. There’s a lingering feeling in the back of my mind telling me to stop. I need to make sure that Tucker is okay about all of this. When Dante can feel the tension in me he pulls back and looks me in the eye.

  “Don’t worry. I know you worry about him, but he’s fine Bri. I know that he was your first love, but he will be fine.”

  “I don’t want to hurt him.”

  “You’d rather hurt me?”

  His eyes are darker now and I find myself falling into them. I shake my head slowly, lean forward, and kiss him again. Everything about Dante turns me on. Everything about him sparks heat inside of me.

  Chapter 16

  Dante

  The tension in the air is thick. Bri sits close to my side, right where I want her. Tracey sits across the living room glaring at me. I know she pissed that I didn’t go back for round two with her, but it is what it is. Tucker flicks through his phone not really saying much. Things have calmed down between Tucker and Bri. He knows where he stands now and I think he’s finally accepting it.

  He still thinks that I’m not good for Bri. There are days I think the same thing. It’s not because I feel like cheating on her, but rather just because of who I am in general. I’m not the good guy you read about in love stories, but I’m not exactly the bad guy either.

  My phone rings which breaks the awkward silence. Bri climbs off of the couch as I slide my phone out.

  “I’m going to go get some lunch,” she says.

  I nod and smile at her as I watch Tracey stand to follow her out of the room.

  “Yeah,” I answer my phone.

  “Where are you?” my dad asks into the line.

  What the hell does he care?

  “I’m at Bri’s. Why?”

  Tucker looks up from his phone when he notes my tone.

  “There’s something going down Dante. I don’t have many details, but I do know that it has something to do with her dad.”

  That catches my interest. I shift on the couch and sit up a little taller.

  “What do you mean?”

  Tucker narrows his eyes and I motion for him to come and sit next to me. I don’t turn the phone on speaker because I don’t want Bri to overhear, although I do turn up the volume so that Tucker can hear too.

  “I don’t have all of the details, but it seems something is going on between her dad and Northside.”

  As soon as that leaves his mouth Tucker and I share a look. This isn’t good. I can feel it through to the pit of my stomach.

  “So what do we do?” I ask.

  “I don’t know. You’re there. You need to go out and check on things. Ask around. I don’t know what any of this means yet, but if I hear anything more I’ll call you.”

  The line goes dead as I pull the phone away from my ear. I curse under my breath as Tucker stands. He’s pacing the room and tugging at his hair.

  “What the hell does that shit even mean?” he asks more to himself than me.

  “I don’t know, but I don’t like the sound of it. We need to get out there and see if anyone has heard anything,” I tell him before I start dialing numbers.

  I put out a ton of calls when Bri and Tracey walk back into the room. Bri passes me a plate as Tracey passes one to Tucker. We all sit and eat our lunch in silence. My nerves are on fire. I don’t like not knowing. The unknown is where mistakes are made and lives are lost. I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand before I pull Bri toward me.

  “I need to go handle something. Lock the door behind us and don’t open it for anyone.”

  She nods her head when I grab her face and kiss her. Tracey huffs, but I don’t care about her. She can huff all damn day if she feels like it. I release my hold on Bri and stand up from the couch as Tucker stands as well. He walks over and presses a kiss to the top of Bri’s head. He and I had a long discussion about what’s acceptable now that she’s mine. I told him that he needed to back off and stop trying to get back with her. He agreed. I know it’s hard for him to see us, but she’s mine and nothing will change that.

  “You have a bad feeling about this?” Tucker asks as I pull the door closed behind us and walk toward the car.

  “Yeah. It’s something bad. I don’t fucking know what it is yet, but I can feel it.”

  We climb in and take off through the neighborhood. We quickly make it over to where the guys are and park. When we climb out we’re greeted by smiles and handshakes. I let my eyes linger over every wrist to where the crown tattoo sits. These guys are family to me. They have been for years. I shake my head as I’m not sure what I was thinking about and look up at them.

  “We’ve been hearing shit. You guys heard anything new lately?” Tucker asks standing with him arms crossed over his chest waiting for an answer.

  “Heard some shit about Northside upping their manpower,” one of them says.

  “Yeah, I heard that too,” another agrees.

  I move my eyes over each and every one of them until Tucker speaks.

  “What kind of manpower?”

  “Heard that, shit man. I heard that Brianna’s dad is a hitman.”

  As soon as the words leave his mouth Tucker and I share a glance.

  “I heard she’s in the middle of some shit.”
/>   That’s all I hear when I turn and run to the car. Tucker leaps in on the other side and I take off.

  “You don’t think they’d touch her do you?” he asks.

  I hold the steering wheel even tighter as my knuckles turn white.

  “If they’re smart they won’t.”

  “Jenkins isn’t smart Dante. Fuck, we just left her there.”

  “I fucked up man. We should have stayed with her. Fuck.”

  I pound the steering wheel as I speed through town. I can’t get back to her house fast enough. I inhale deeply trying to calm my nerves but I can feel my body beginning to tremble.

  “She’s going to be fine Dante.”

  I glance over at Tucker and see the look in his eyes. He knows I care about her. He can see it now.

  “I will kill them all man. I will fucking kill every one of them myself,” I hiss the closer we get to the house.

  My pulse is pounding inside of me and I can’t do a thing to control it.

  “You won’t be alone in that. If they did anything to her, I’ll be right there with you.”

  The silence in the car settles when the house comes into view. I throw the car into park, but Tucker is out before I even do. We both rush to the door, but as soon as we step onto the porch and can see the door cracked open, we know.

  Something dark resonates inside of me. I pull a cigarette out and light it up as Tucker runs inside and yells Bri’s name. She isn’t here and we both know it. I pull the burn of the smoke into my lungs and let the world slowly settle around me. I blow smoke into the air as pure hatred and revenge seep into my pores.

  “She’s not here.”

  “I know that.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “Kill them.”

  Chapter 17

  Brianna