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“Suureit's not,” he answers, stretching the word out. “If you think so. Be my guest and have at it.”
Why do I feel like I’m being set up for failure? As soon as that question floats through my mind, I’m in a shocked state, speechless, when Shayne draws back her right leg and kicks Julius as hard as she can in the shin. When he bellows and lifts his leg up to rub it, she goes in for the kill. My jaw hangs when Shaynie uses all of her might and shoves both of his shoulders, causing him to topple to the ground.
“Wow,” I praise, then whistle. “I’ve never seen her do anything like that before. She’s usually so mild-tempered and has never physically attacked anyone as far as I’m aware. Ever.”
“See what I mean?” Luca whispers, making sure I’m the only one who hears him. “Brutal, with a capital B. Her hormones are spiking and she’s at that stage where she’s not going to take shit from anyone, including her man.”
“I see this. I’m still surprised by what she just did,” I admit. “A little in awe as well. And if I’m being completely honest with you, I’m traumatized too. I may have post-traumatic stress disorder and am scared from watching that tantrum unfold. I never want to open my mouth around her again… at least not until she pops that baby out.”
His head bobbles. “Definitely. What are her favorite snacks? I have the urge to be her favorite person on the planet and stock her up,” he confesses. Then, words I never thought I’d hear leave Shayne’s mouth, cause me to gasp. “Did, uh, did she just call him a sexist motherfucker?”
“Yep,” I answer, bobbing my head. “Are we in another dimension? Someone’s snatched my sister's body and has taken over. She’s a pod person. We need to have Matteo do a scan of her brain, immediately! She may have a flesh-eating amoeba in there, eating her brain cells, and filling it with bacteria. We have to save her before it’s too late.” In a way, I’m joking. But in another, I’m being one hundred percent honest. With every ounce of scrutiny in my body, I think she needs a brain scan before she has a complete personality change.
“Oh, shit. Now, things are getting dicey, she called him a prick. Maybe we should give them some privacy to hash this out,” Luca suggests.
“Good idea. I’m onboard with that,” I say. “I’m ready to get out of here, as quickly as possible, before I somehow get dragged into it.”
“Mera! Tell him I’m right about this!” Shayne yells.
“Dammit,” I mutter before twisting my body and asking her, “Right about what, sweetie?” Acting dumb is better than her knowing I was here and didn’t step behind her back and help her argue her points.
“We have to go with them. Tell him,” she rumbles. “Go on. He needs to know he’s being pig-headed and the only two people those kids will trust is you and me.”
“Uh. She’s right?” I state more as a question than an answer, fearing for the sanctity of my shins and ass. I don’t want to be shoved down and land on my tushy like Julius was.
I’ve just gotten rid of my bumps and bruises—I’m not looking to add new ones on my flesh. But the way she’s placed me in the middle, and the fact that she’s right, has me squaring my shoulders.
“Wish me luck,” I utter to Luca as I put one foot in front of the other, heading their way.
“Luck,” he murmurs, and I nearly giggle when I notice that instead of walking with me, he’s trying to be nondescript by slowly stepping backward to put as much distance between himself and Shayne as he can. When I lift my eyebrows in question, he shrugs his shoulders and whispers the words,brutalandvicious.
“Julius. When she told you that the kids would never leave with you, she was right. They won’t. For one, they don’t know you, any of you. And for two, their fight or flight instincts will kick in, and my money is on them hauling ass. There are hiding places in that mausoleum that you'll never locate. They could stay hidden for weeks without any trace of them being detected. We should know, we taught them. However,” I pause, knowing I’m fixing to upset Shayne, I continue, “Shayne should stay back. I can handle them. They trust me, and they’ll come with me if I ask them to.”
“Traitor,” Shayne harrumphs. Turning her head as a tear falls, ignoring me.
“I’m sorry, sis. I am. I’m not trying to go against you and your wishes, but you’re carrying my future niece or nephew, and he or she is more important to me than you getting to come along because you want to. Forgive me?” I ask, sending her my best puppy dog eyes. Imploring her to understand where my logic is coming from. Not from a place of malice, but from a place of love. For her. I’d do anything to keep her and that baby protected. Even place myself in the line of fire.
Just like she’d do for me if our roles were reversed.
“Fine,” she says, tossing her arms up into the air. “Do whatever you want to do. I’ll just sit here and be pregnant.”
Well, hell. It seems a knocked-up Shayne is a smartass. Good to know.
Luca
As we meeteveryone outside in the driveway, I’m pulled aside by Julius, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him, but Gunner is the one that holds my steadfast attention. “Before we head out, we have a surprise for you, uncle.”
“Yeah?” I ask, getting choked up by the sincerity in his eyes. He and I have had a rocky relationship in the past, but the way he’s looking at me now has me feeling… foreign things. “What’cha got for me, nephew?”
“We voted and have decided that you may not have bid for a place in the club, but you're a member, our family, nonetheless. So, Charlee had this made for you.”
As Gunner reaches his hand out, Charlee girl holds out a brand-new leather cut. It’s crisp and I can smell the oil from the cowhide from here. As she takes the shoulders and holds it flat out for me to see, I laugh. “Hangman, huh?”
“It was fitting, wouldn’t you say?” Kruger asks, his lips tilted upward in a facetious smirk. “It’s not every day that a member gives himself his own road name, but it was too good to pass up. We voted, and we all decided it’s perfect for ya. What do you think?”
“I’m honored,” I reply as Charlee passes over my cut to Mera so she can slide it over my shoulders. With prideful tears in her eyes, she plucks it from Charlee with a gracious smile and holds it like it’s made of the finest silk as she treks toward me. “This will change a lot of things for us, Curly Sue. You up for it?”
She shoots a beaming smile my way before stating, “Like sand through the hourglass. I don’t expect the grain to fill the basin until it’s flipped back over, and time resets itself. Things have never been predictable or traditional when it comes to us. Any adventures you’re up for, I’ll be by your side, Luca. If you want to do this, then I’m ready.”
