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Eleven
Playing it Safe
Byron
Don’t do it. Just let it go. It’snoneof your business. So, you’ve exchanged a few earth-shattering kisses. She doesn’t owe youshit.You’renotgoing there tonight. It’d been the internal discourse Byron had been preaching to himself ever since he gave into kissing Vannah and had felt the instant overwhelming entitlement. It’s why he’d called her back and made plans to see her so soon. Despite his head reminding him that she’d been more than upfront and honest with him about not doing the boyfriend thing, there was no way he was buying it now. Maybe she hadn’tbeforetoday. But her feelings still couldn’t be the same. Not after what he felt and knew shemustbe feeling each time he’d kissed her.
There was no understanding it and Byron certainly wouldn’t be able to explain it if anyone were to ask him to. But there was something about their connection. In hindsight there’d been something about it from the moment their eyes first met. Hell, there’d been something about what he felt from the moment he firstheardher laughter—evenbeforehe’d laid eyes on her. Yes, the innocence behind those big brown eyes and that sweet laugh reminded him of Lizzette. But he’d since decided there was more too it. Especially after he’d gotten a taste of that mouth, he’d known even beforehand that he’d never get enough of.
Still, he’d made a pledge when he decided to ask her out tonight that no matter what, he wouldn’t push for anything or say anything stupid like he had that first night.
“All three of my brother’s kids . . .” He squeezed her hand shaking off his thoughts, determined not to be an idiot and blow this. “Mean the world to me but my nieces own my heart. They’re our little princesses and there’s nothing my brother orIwouldn’t do for them.” She smiled, her eyes going all bright—andbeautiful. “So, I totally get where your parents are coming from. If either of our girls decide to go away for college someday, we’ll for sure be all over trying to make sure they’re as safe as possible.”
“Yeah, it was tough for them,” she said as they reached his car, and he opened the door for her.
He walked around the car once he’d closed the door for her, glad he’d been able to steer the conversation onto something completely unrelated to herfriendMichael, who’d openly admitted to having planned on coming over and hanging out with her tonight.
When Byron got into the driver side she went on about her family. She told him about how out of her three other siblings she was the first to leave the nest. Byron was just making a mental note about her family’s dynamics as they drove onto the street—a sister and two brothers. Since she was the first to leave the nest, he immediately assumed that meant she was the oldest. He was about to ask her about it, just to confirm when her phone rang.
“Sorry, I gotta take this.” Byron nodded bracing himself as he continued to drive. “Gordo, what’s up?”
Gripping the steering wheel a little tighter, Byron pretended not to eavesdrop. Which was stupid because unless she started whisperingreallylow, there was no way he wouldn’t hear every word she was saying.
“This week? What day?”
Byron could hear the guy’s voice on the other end just couldn’t make out what he was saying. Already the mental lecture was starting up again. He refused to blow this, no matter how tempted he knew he’d be to hear about the plans she was clearly making with this dude whose call shehadto take while she was out with Byron.
“Okay, well let me know. I’m sure I can tweak my schedule. I do have school, but I’ll figure it out. Anything foryou.”
She had two brothers. Byron rationalized in his head. She’d just told him so. This could be as innocent as that. No need to get all worked up about hearing her talk so syrupy sweet to another dude while on a fucking date with Byron—and he wouldn’t. Even if she didn’t bother to explain.
“Okay, I’ll talk to you then. Miss you. Love you, too.” Byron had just turned to her nonverbally—because it’d be the only way he’d do it—demandingan explanation. “My brother.”
Everything she said after those first two words were a bit of a blur. Byron was too busy chastising himself about how easily he could lose his cool over this girl he still knew so little about. Her brother was going to be in town in the next week, but Byron couldn’t even say for what or how long. It’s how mentally distracted he’d been by the alarm of how inept he was at keeping his shit together when it came to this.
“Speaking of brothers,” she paused from her comments about hers. “How’s it feel to have such a famous one?”
“Pretty cool.” He turned to her feeling the tension that’d builtwaytoo fast drain slowly. “I actually didn’t even know I had a brother until I was sixteen.” He almost didn’t add the next part, but it couldn’t be helped. “Didyouknow that?”
As expected, seeing her face flush was enough to have him smiling and helped defuse his earlier concerns. Curse his inherited short fuse. He could do this, damn it.
“No, I didn’t,” she said biting her lower lip.
Keeping to himself about his other brother, so they could keep the conversation on the positive, he stuck with telling her about Beast instead.
“It’s a long story—”
“We have time.” She sat up straighter turning her body to him. “And this sounds interesting. If . . .” She paused suddenly. “If it’s not too personal that is.”
Well, maybe he would have to tell her more than he’d initially intended. But she looked so sweet and bright eyed, how could he refuse?
“No, not too personal. Just long and convoluted. I’ll give you the short version. Basically, our mom married into trouble. She said she had no idea he was even involved in the Mexican cartel until after they married, and my brother was born. She knew his family members were involved in some shady shit when she first fell in love with him, because he’d let her in on that much. But she had no idea it was as bad as the cartel. By the time she knew the whole truth, leaving him or divorce was out of the question. Only way she’d be allowed to leave was without my brother and that wasn’t happening. She eventually did finally manage to leave with my brother and disappeared for many years until her husband hunted her down and punished her.”
Byron frowned looking out the window as he remembered the vague stories his mother told him to protect him from the harshness, but he knew the reality. It wasn’t hard to decipher what little his mother had been willing to share about what she’d gone through but needed him to know for his own protection.
Deciding he didn’t want to kill the mood, Byron gave Vannah a watered-down version of the rest. She listened intently even if the watered-down version was pretty fucking gruesome. But he left out that as the years passed, Byron was convinced the only thing he’d gotten from his piece-of-shit excuse of a dad was his short fuse.
“Ultimately we were reunited with my brother. It’s when Beast confirmed that not only was our father gone for good, Beast had killed him himself. We were finally free to live out and about in the open, without the fear of being hunted down.”
