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“Buddy, that one’s really hard. I’m sure Jack can’t win the prize,” Skylar said seriously.
Okay, now I was just offended. I didn’t need to prove myself with a stupid game, but this was a question of my manhood. I knew damn well I could ring that bell, and I would prove it to her and all the dads around here who watched with their cocksure attitudes.
I held out a five-dollar bill and picked up the hammer, stretching my arms before stepping up to the bell.
“This is such a waste of money,” one of them sneered.
“Who does he think he is?” another whispered loudly.
“He thinks he’s Superman,” another laughed.
I swung the hammer over my head, slamming it down with more force than was necessary. The ball zipped to the top, clanging against the bell. It rang throughout the park and lights flashed with the sirens, signaling I’d won.
Parker jumped and cheered, running up to me like I was his hero. I swooped him up in my arms and walked past the other dads, knowing they could never do better.
“That one!” Parker shouted. “I want the Flamingo!”
The lady grudgingly walked over and grabbed the life-size Flamingo, handing it over. I hadn’t considered that I would have to walk around with the fucking thing the rest of the day, but when I saw how happy it made Parker, I didn’t really care.
The rest of the dads shook their heads at the new guy—that would be me—probably pissed off that I showed them up. I felt slightly bad for their kids that they weren’t strong enough to play the game. But not bad enough to stick around and commiserate with them.
“Where to next?”
“The monkeys!” Parker shouted. I slung the kid over my shoulders, grinning as he laughed and wrapped his hands under the bottom of my chin so he didn’t fall over.
Skylar walked beside me, linking her arm through mine as she leaned in closer. “Are you showing off for the other dads?”
“No,” I scoffed, completely ignoring that she saidother dadsas if I was a dad.
“Right,” she laughed. “It was all for Parker.”
“I mean, come on. You practically egged me on with that wholehe can’t do itroutine.”
“I would never do something like that. I was trying to save you the pain and humiliation if it couldn’t be done.”
“Do I look like a guy who can’t ring the bell?” I teased as I turned to her, but memories of sliding between her legs this morning came rushing back, reminding me of how much I wanted her.
Her smile faltered as she looked anywhere but at me. And that’s when I saw the fucker, right across the park, wearing all black and blatantly staring at us. He was one of Baz’s men. I knew it without any further proof. He was probably having her followed, and since I was here, this fucker probably thought he had something to go back to Baz with.
“You know what? I gotta take a leak,” I said, hoisting Parker over my head. “Why don’t you head to the monkeys and I’ll meet up with you.”
Skylar followed my gaze, but the guy was already gone. She wasn’t an idiot, though. She knew something was wrong. “Are you sure?”
The fear in her voice almost made me change my mind. I didn’t want to scare her, but I had to take care of this now. “Yeah, I’ll just be a minute.” I leaned in, whispering in her ear, “Stay around a group of people.”
She nodded and took Parker’s hand, pulling him in close. “Do you want me to take those?” she said, motioning to the stuffed animals.
“No, keep your hands free.”
I watched her walk up to the group of people just entering the exhibit. She bumped into one of them, then started chatting them up, introducing Parker to the other kid. When I was sure she was as safe as I could make her, I headed across the zoo.
I disappeared into the crowd of people, taking off the button-down shirt and setting it on a bench, along with all the stuffed toys I’d won for Parker. When the seller from the street cart wasn’t looking, I grabbed a hat, pulling it down over my eyes. The man was ahead of me, searching the crowds for us. I snatched the sunglasses off a nearby table and slid them over my face, then circled around the fountain, meeting up with the guy on the other side.
He passed right by me without noticing a thing. I turned and grabbed him by the back of the neck, steering him to the bathrooms at the other end of the snake enclosure. He hissed as I yanked his arm up behind his back as he reached for his weapon. When we were out of sight, I slammed him up against the bathroom wall, never allowing him to see me.
“What’s your play?” I hissed. “What are you after?”
He smiled through the grimace on his face, so I torqued his arm even higher. “You, asshole.”
