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“She’s Lorenzo’s daughter,” Katrina corrected her. “And what the hell is up with this ‘stick to your own kind’ bullshit?”
“Trina, let’s just...breathe,” Lorenzo said to her, his eyes pleading with her to stop.
“Bring Miranda out here now,” Emily demanded, “before I get the police involved.”
“There’s no need for that, okay? I’ll go get her. Trina? Could you come with me, please?”
Katrina hesitated, the urge to knock Emily on her ass one that was increasingly difficult to ignore.
Until Lorenzo took her hand in his.
“We’ll be right back,” he said to Emily. “I would appreciate it if you wait out here.”
“I’ve already seen the dive you had her meet you in. At least it’s better than your home, or hey, even better than those fight rings I know about,” Emily said, continuing her tirade even as Lorenzo led Katrina back inside, the music hitting her full force when he opened the doors. She could feel the bass and the beat within her, wreaking havoc on her already frazzled nerves.
“Could you wait here?” He asked the question in her ear as she stood by the bar, and she nodded. While Lorenzo went to get Miranda, Katrina motioned her brother over.
“A shot of whiskey and another beer,” she said, a sad piece of nostalgia closing around her heart at her brother’s elated smile while he fulfilled his part of the dream.
It was a dream that Katrina was shut out of.
A dream that died a little more as Lorenzo walked with his daughter, hand in hand, towards the exit.
“Please come with me,” Lorenzo said to her. “I don’t want to be alone with her. I don’t know what story she could come up with.”
Katrina’s hand still tingled from the slap she’d gotten in and she wanted to tell him no, wanted to leave, but she didn’t have her own car.
Instead, she nodded in agreement and followed Lorenzo and Miranda outside, where Emily stood, arms crossed.
“I don’t know what made you think you could get away with this—”
“Isn’t my dad the coolest?” Miranda cut Emily off. “I got to meet Jase Warner, and Damien, and all the guys from his band! And I had a Shirley Temple and some pizza bites and—”
“Get in the car.” Emily had the back door opened to the car that had a driver in place. “And your driver has been fired.”
“Why? He just did what I asked,” Miranda was saying as she began to walk to the car, but she stopped, turned, and threw her arms around her father. “Thank you.”
There was no mistaking the tears in Lorenzo’s eyes as he held his little girl. “I’ll see you soon,” he promised.
And then Miranda turned to Katrina.
Her mind screamedno, no, no, but her arms went around the little girl who hugged her tight.
It felt a little too right.
But this little girl wasn’t hers to love.
“I said get in the car!” Emily snapped.
“Hey!” Katrina cut in. “Stick to bullying your own kind.”
Emily’s eyes narrowed, but she said nothing as she slid into the backseat beside Miranda, closing the door before the little girl had a chance to finish shouting out her goodbyes.
***
“Okay, that was awesome,” Justin was saying as the last of the patrons left. “The place is a mess, but that was awesome.”
“I’d say it was a success,” Judith agreed.
