Join the Club (SWAT Generation 2.0 Book 7)

by Lani Lynn Vale

  She pulled away, but when she looked at her father, there was no surprise or choking involved when she introduced me again. This time as her fiancé.

  David’s lips thinned. “My contacts didn’t know that you were engaged to be married.”

  Delanie shrugged.

  I was annoyed that he had ‘contacts’ that told him anything about Delanie.

  What kind of father gathered data about his children from other people?

  Certainly not the good ones, that was for sure.

  If my parents wanted to know something about me, they’d call me and ask.

  David’s first thought was to call a fucking ‘contact’ and ask them if they’d heard anything about his daughter.

  Who the hell did that?

  “Yep,” Delanie chirped, completely playing the game for all that she was worth. “Since Booth and Dillan are engaged and having a baby, and since I’m currently carrying our love child.” Delanie gestured to me. “We thought that it’d be best to go ahead and get married so as not to show any confusion on who was with who. Since, you know, we’re both twins.”

  Oh, she was laying it on thick, but I’d play her game.

  Well, my game.

  Whatever.

  “You’re… what?” David said, looking confused. “I’m so confused.”

  Delanie laughed and swung the door open wide.

  “We’re all going to move in together and raise our children together,” Delanie continued. “We’ve always hated that Asa has to go back and forth between our houses. Now that we’re all ‘together’ we’re going to go ahead and make it official.”

  I snorted out a laugh.

  “Y’all are… I can’t believe this.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Are y’all swingers?”

  Had she said that?

  Honestly, she’d put a lot out there about it, but I didn’t think that specifically had ever come out of her mouth.

  “Oh, no.” Delanie shook her head. “No, not quite that far. But we’re going to raise our child in a household of love, for sure.”

  I wrapped my arm around Delanie’s shoulders when she neared me, squeezing her a little tighter than necessary.

  “You’re really laying it on thick,” I teased, speaking so soft and low in her ear that there would be no way for David to hear.

  “When are you getting married?” David asked, sounding like he was very put out that it was happening at all. “I was hoping to introduce you to a…”

  “No.” Delanie’s happy-go-lucky attitude changed. “Don’t even think about it. And, while we’re on the subject of me being pissed at you, how about we talk about how you bailed out a man that tried to kill my sister. Your daughter.”

  “I think we should all sit,” David suggested, gesturing to the couch.

  Delanie sat, then pulled me down with her.

  I landed on the couch’s arm, then pulled her in so that she was close enough to me to touch. Or to grab if she decided to launch herself at her father and strangle him.

  With a deceptively calm tone, she launched right in.

  “So tell me.” Delanie leaned back in her sofa cushions, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Pushing her boobs up and together, and momentarily making me lose focus. “Why did you bail a man out that tried to rape your daughter? For a second time? Did succeed in drugging me? One who caused a lot of problems where there should have never been difficulties seeing as we’re fucking family.”

  David’s face went ruddy red.

  He rolled his eyes. “You can barely call what happened rape.”

  Delanie shot forward, her hands planted on the coffee table between the two of them.

  “Oh, really?” she said. “Then, please, tell me what your definition of rape is? Because I have to tell you, I think that our understanding of the word is off.”

  “This is not why I came here.” He swept his hand through the air as if he was clearing the air between them. “I’m here because I heard that you left the meetings with Governor Bryan early.”

  “You’re not here to apologize for something you did wrong. You’re here to talk to me about a meeting in which you want insider information? Is that what I’m getting from this conversation?” Delanie asked.

  David crossed his own arms over his chest and went into a defensive posture of his own.

  “I’m running for governor,” he said.

  Delanie had guessed correctly.

  “And?” Delanie asked. “What do you want me to do about it? I haven’t talked to you in years. You don’t even know what your grandson looks like.”

  “I know he looks like him.” David pointed at me without making eye contact at all. “I also know that your sister is giving you money to sustain that lifestyle.”

  Delanie shrugged. “I haven’t taken money from her in over a year. But yes, I did. I used it and opened my business with it. I’d do it again in a heartbeat if it meant making enough money to support my son.”

  I pressed my hand to Delanie’s neck, my thumb absently rubbing up and down the length of her pulse.

  It was racing with her anger.

  I pressed my hand against her neck and slowly started to work my fingers through the tightened muscles there.

  She instantly relaxed.

  “I know that,” he said. “Now it’s time to pay me back.”

  Delanie scoffed. “I’m not paying you back. Sorry.”

  “I’m only asking that you play the devoted daughter at a few appearances,” he started, but Delanie was already shaking her head.

  “No. I’m not.”

  “I want to see my grandson, too,” he continued as if Delanie hadn’t just denied him. “I’d like to start visitation this weekend. I can spend some time with him from two to three-thirty Sunday afternoon. I can bring him back to you if you’ll drop…”

  “The weekends belong to Booth,” Delanie interrupted. “And, sorry to say, but Booth isn’t going to give him to you just like I’m not. Asa doesn’t know you from Adam.”

  “Who is Adam?” David asked.

  “Exactly,” Delanie said. “I’m not going to expose him to your brand of rot. I’m sorry.”

  David shook his head. “Rot. When did I ever treat you like a piece of trash?”

  Delanie stood up, her anger palpable.

  “How about when you used to slap us around when we were kids when we didn’t do what you wanted fast enough?” she said. “Or when our grandfather died, you refused to allow us to go home to his funeral? Or, what about when our mother died, and instead of allowing us to keep anything that belonged to her, you forced us to throw it away?”

  I gritted my teeth to control my anger, but it was a hard thing.

  I really, really didn’t want the man anywhere near Delanie.

  Even more, I wanted him gone and to be completely out of our lives.

  “I…”

  “I think it’s time to leave,” she said. “I got what I really wanted.”

  “And that would be?” David asked, rising stiffly.

  “The confirmation that you really are a large piece of shit that I never want anything to do with again,” she said stiffly. “Thanks for stopping by. I hope we can go another five years without doing it again.”

  David rolled his eyes. “Always the dramatics with you.” He stood up, buttoning his suit jacket as he went. “I’ll have my secretary call you mid-week to see about setting up a time for me to see…”

  “Don’t. Bother,” I said, finally entering into the conversation. “She’s already said that she won’t be allowing you visitation with Asa. Now, I think it would be best for you to take it as gospel. Delanie doesn’t want anything to do with you.”

  David shrugged. “We’ll see.”

  He stopped at the door and turned to look at Delanie, his eyes weird and oddly focused.

  “I really do want to get to know my grandchild,” he said. “And I will.”

&n
bsp; With that, he left, not once looking back.

  “Five years.” She shook her head as she watched her father walk down the path to his vehicle. “He waits until now to do anything about it? Do you know what it’s like to have a father that just doesn’t care? Like, seriously. He knew we were struggling when Asa was firstborn. My sister basically had to pimp herself out. It was awful.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us?” I asked. “We would’ve helped.”

  She looked at me then. “It was embarrassing. I wanted so badly to just be able to do it on my own. And y’all did help. I went to school, remember? Y’all watched him so much it wasn’t even funny. Even now, y’all are there. Hell, just yesterday I asked Priscilla to keep an eye out for him while I made a quick trip to the grocery store. I wasn’t sure I’d make it back in time to get him off the bus.”

  “That’s not depending on someone,” I said. “That’s just family. Family is always there. Willing to help when needed.”

  She shook her head. “No, that’s just your family. My family was never like that. To me, that’s being dependent on other people.”

  “Have you never heard the term ‘it takes a village to raise a child?’” I asked. “Because there’s nothing special about my family. Any of the families I’ve known do the same. Take Dax and Rowen. Two different families. Hell, technically speaking, I’m not even family. But if they called me right now and needed help getting to the hospital because Rowen was in labor, I’d be there. In a single heartbeat. I don’t care what I’m doing. That’s just because that’s the type of person that I am. Your father just isn’t like that. He’s not the good type of person. He’s the bad. The kind that you wouldn’t call because you know it wouldn’t do any good. I’m sorry that you grew up with that, but it’s time to realize that we love you and Asa. That you are ours to take care of.”

  Her breathing hitched and she shook her head, smiling lightly.

  “Well,” Delanie said. “We’re going to have to go ahead and get married now. And go ahead and get working on that kid. He’s going to follow up. If I’m not pregnant and married in a few months, he’ll be back. Plus, I’m pretty sure he’s already written it into his campaign speech. His twins marrying twins. Though, I’m not sure how he’s going to spin Asa. He’ll probably just hope that Asa will be thought of as yours. That way it doesn’t hurt him in any way.”

  I looked at her with a quirk of my lips.

  “He won’t do that.” I chuckled.

  Her brows rose. “Bet.”

  She held out her hand and waited for me to shake it.

  I took her hand and pulled her to me, dropping my mouth down onto hers.

  “I’ll protect you from your moron of a father,” I said. “Do you want to…”

  The familiar squeal of bus brakes sounded and Delanie sighed. “Asa is almost here.”

  I dropped a quick peck to her lips and walked outside.

  Delanie joined me a few moments later with Moses.

  Moses came to my side and sat, making my brows rise to my hairline.

  “What the fuck did you do to my dog?” I asked, genuinely pleased with the results.

  I’d been working with him for weeks and weeks and had kind of, sort of, maybe just a little bit given up on him for now. He was just super, duper hyperactive. And I didn’t see that ending any time soon.

  “I worked with him on sitting and heeling on the left side,” she said. “He’s such a smart boy. Aren’t you?”

  Moses’ tongue lolled out, as if he agreed with her completely. He sat nicely. Prettily.

  Beautifully.

  Until, that was, Asa got off the bus.

  Then all bets were off.

  Because if there was one person on this planet that Moses loved, it was Asa Pena.

  The moment he stepped off the bus and started our way, Moses lost his training and his cool.

  He ran full tilt for Asa, and Asa ran all out for him.

  They collided in the middle of the yard in a tangle of limbs.

  Asa laughing, and Moses barking his happy puppy yips.

  ***

  Delanie

  I grinned and walked up to Bourne’s side.

  “I think that he loves you until he sees Asa,” Delanie said. “Then, not so much.”

  I snorted and reached for my phone, snapping a quick photo of the two in front of me.

  Grinning, I shoved it into my pocket and pulled her into my side.

  That was when Priscilla and my sister, Bell, came out of the house across the street and stared.

  Bourne’s head went their way when there was loud whispering.

  “You’re not going to be able to keep this a secret from your sister for long,” he murmured.

  My brows lifted. “Bell’s trustworthy.”

  “Yeah,” Bourne agreed. “Sunday is our dinner day. I’ll give you until then, at the longest.”

  I looked up at him.

  “Friday I’m going with Booth to the doctor,” she said. “I’m going to talk to him then, okay?”

  I nodded once. “Friday is perfect.”

  Asa finally picked himself up off the ground, his hand scrunched up in Moses’ fur as he walked toward us.

  “I’m hungry.” He looked at Bourne. “Can we order pizza?”

  Bourne looked down at me. “Yeah, Mom. Can we order pizza?”

  “Can we have pizza?” Priscilla asked loudly.

  Bourne’s eyebrows raised in question.

  I sighed and nodded my head. “Yeah, we can have pizza.”

  Priscilla did a funny, jumping fist pump and made her way across the road. Bell came, but at a much more sedate pace.

  She stopped when she saw me, her eyes narrowed. “When you and Bourne have children, your babies are going to look exactly like Asa. And it’s going to be super confusing for the Kilgore citizens.”

  Bourne snorted. “We just started dating, Bell. How about you give us time to get to know each other first before you have us having babies?”

  “But I thought…” She paused. “I heard you talking to David earlier. You told him that you were pregnant and that you were getting married.”

  “We did,” I confirmed. “But only because our dad’s a dick. It was a joke.” My eyes went thoughtful. “How, exactly, did you hear that when we were inside?”

  Bell scrunched up her nose. “I eavesdropped. Oh, and you might want to tell our mother that then. I think she might be out buying y’all a congratulatory present right now. I’m sorry. I thought for sure you would’ve told her first. I sent her a text telling her I was mad at her for not telling me. I’m always last to know.”

  Bourne looked over at me with his brows raised as if to say, ‘see?’

  I rolled my eyes.

  “We’ll just call her and explain,” I suggested.

  Bourne snorted. “Yeah, you just go right ahead and do that. While you’re doing that, I’m going to order pizza.”

  But he never got the chance because his phone started to ring just as he was pulling it out of his pocket.

  “Shit,” he grumbled as he read the number that was calling. “It’s work. SWAT callout I’m sure.”

  “You have a SWAT call?” Bell asked, her eyes showing her displeasure.

  He laughed and kissed her nose, then pulled away. “Yeah. But I’m sure that it’ll be fast or a false call. I’ll be back in no time. In the meantime, why don’t you order pizza?”

  I wiggled my phone. “I have the app for that.”

  “Good.” He pocketed his phone and immediately started heading for his truck.

  I gestured toward the house. “Let’s go ahead and get those pizzas started. Who wants to watch a movie?”

  Bell followed in at Asa’s side. “Asa, how are you liking summer school? It’s a new program, right?”

  “It is,” Asa confirmed. “I like it. It’s much harder than real school, but it makes me think harder. I’m glad that we qualified.
”

  I had to apply for the program. Asa had to test into it.

  And low and behold, my smarty pants had gotten into it.

  For the length of the summer, Asa now got to go to the school and learn even more.

  He absolutely loved it.

  I missed him like crazy.

  “I always liked class, too,” Bell said. “I just didn’t like the people in those classes.”

  As Bell and Asa spoke, I ordered pizza.

  I then started to clean up around the house while also keeping an eye on the front door and periodically texting my sister.

  I felt somewhat guilty for keeping this information from her and wanted to tell her.

  Might have if she’d answer my freakin’ texts.

  ***

  Bourne

  I dreaded the call I was about to have to make. Even more, I wished that I could do what I was about to do in person.

  Looking at Dillan, strangled, hurt, and crying, I placed the call and hoped that Delanie didn’t freak out.

  Oh, and whatever relationship she was still somewhat considering with her father? That was definitely out the window now.

  Chapter 11

  For someone short of breath, you sure do talk a lot.

  -Delanie to Dillan

  Delanie

  I marched into the hospital on a mission.

  My eyes took in all the police officers, firefighters, and paramedics milling around, but I ignored them all.

  That was until my eyes lit on Nico Pena.

  My gaze seemed to develop tunnel vision and all I saw was him.

  “Is she okay?” I asked, sounding just as angry as I was.

  Nico had seen me coming and had already ended his conversation with the woman he was talking to. A young blonde nurse that looked like she was someone important.

  I didn’t care about her or what I’d interrupted.

  All I cared about right then was finding out whether my sister was okay.

  “She’s fine.” Nico paused. “Beat up, shaken, pissed as hell, but she’s fine.”

  I gritted my teeth.

  “And that piece of shit Kerrie? Is he fine?” I asked.

  Nico’s eyes flicked to the room that was at the end of the hall. The one that had two uniformed police officers standing outside of it.