“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in. I do believe it’s my lucky day.”
“Oh, Cassandra, you know a love like ours would never last. But oh, would it be beautiful.”
“You’re right,” she beamed, chuckling.
“The kid here? He hasn’t been answering his phone.”
She nodded, leaning over the counter. “Been in with a full back tat most of the day. He should be finishing up if you want to wait.”
“Nah, I’ll interrupt.” I smiled wider, winking, and she shook her head, knowing there was no stopping me.
I walked to the back, ignoring the other employees as I made my way to his studio. The door was shut, and I could hear music coming from underneath. I didn’t bother knocking but turned the knob, stepping into the room. Nicco was crouched over, the full tattoo of a fallen angel on display. He glanced up at me briefly, but went back to what he was doing. I leaned against the wall and watched him work. Nicco really was talented, and it was no wonder his business was such a success.
Five minutes later, he finished, turning off the gun and setting it to the side. I didn’t give him time to do anything else before I delivered the message I’d be sent to do.
“It’s Loren. She needs us.”
Turning, I strode out of the room, nodding briefly to Cassandra, and made my way to my bike. The back door opened as I was snapping on my helmet, and Nicco stood there, breathing deeply.
“Fucker, you can’t just say that shit and then walk away.”
“Sure I can. Check your phone, dumbass. She’s not in immediate danger, but some shit is going down, apparently. Clean up and then head there; cancel the rest of your day if you care about her. That’s all I’m going to say. It’s your choice from here, Nicco. I did this as a courtesy to Spitfire.”
He was still breathing hard, but his anger had left, and he nodded before stepping back through the door. A second later, my engine purred beneath me, and I tore out of the space, making my way to her place. Finally, I could hold her and figure out what all this shit was about instead of trying to figure it out in my head. I wasn’t doing well with the unknown, and a panic was rising in me.
I pulled into the garage, parking in one of the guest spots, and strode into the building, barely even stopping to acknowledge the old man at the door. He’d gotten used to us over the past few months at least and knew we were there to protect Loren, some of us more closely than others.
I was tempted to take the stairs as I pushed the button for the elevator, the need to be up there with Loren riding me hard. Fuck! I’d never felt this much for someone before, and while that should scare me, it only made me want to be with her more. It felt like once I quit being a dick and opened my eyes to the beautiful creature in front of me, nothing else sufficed. Loren had become my whole world, and when I wasn’t orbiting around her, my entire existence felt off kilter.
It probably wasn’t healthy, but I never claimed to be mentally stable to begin with. Doubt there was any way to be stable when you had to kill as part of your job. There was something you either had to shift or ignore to keep it from haunting you. In my case, my morality lay with Mas and now with Loren. Whatever I had to do to keep the people I cared about safe had no limits.
When the elevator finally dinged, I exhaled in relief as I stepped onto it. I heard footsteps running toward me, the cadence familiar, and the asshole part of me wanted to hit the close door button. As the doors began to shut, I sighed, rolling my eyes, and hit the button to hold them open. Nicco slid to a stop a second later, looking at me in relief as he sagged against the wall to catch his breath.
Grumbling, I stabbed the door close until they shut, finally moving upward. We didn’t speak to one another; there wasn’t anything to say. Nothing outside of Loren would help either of us at this moment.
When the doors opened, I used my size to take longer steps, eating up the space quicker than stumpy legs. I didn’t knock, doors holding no value to me at this moment, and entered her place. Atticus was pacing in the living room, his head snapping up to meet mine when he heard me.
“She’s, um, dressing.” He grimaced, and I laughed, feeling better knowing she wasn’t destroyed. Nicco walked in a few seconds later, nodding to Mas before taking a seat. He spread his legs, leaning back as he rested his head on the cushion. I looked at him, realizing how beat he looked.
“Kid, how long had you been working on that tat?”
He rubbed his temple, but kept his head back and his eyes closed as he answered. “Six hours and something. I’m beat. You going to tell me what’s going on now, old man?”
I walked around the island, opened the fridge, and ignored his comment. At this point, it was how we showed we cared for one another, anyway. Grabbing a glass out of the cabinet, I filled it with juice Loren had. Taking an apple out of the fruit bowl, I walked over and sat it down next to him before I sprawled myself out on the couch. Kicking him with my foot, I waited until he opened his eyes, peeking at me. I nodded toward the food, and he sat up, a smile on his face.
Ignoring his glee, I sat back myself, stretching my arms out. Atticus sighed, coming to sit next to me. “While we wait,” he started, addressing Nicco, who was sipping the juice. “I got the results back from the lab.” Nicco sat up, his entire focus on Mas as he waited. “I’m still not convinced it’s Dayton, but whoever Loren met with, he wasn’t wrong about the fact Benny isn’t your father. We’re brothers, Nicco.”
A wide grin spread across the kid’s face, and he launched himself out of the chair, surprising Mas in a hug. Atticus glanced over at me, a wide-eyed look on his face as he awkwardly patted Nicco. “Ah, big bro, I’m going to have so much fun with this.” Nicco pulled back, and I could tell that he really was excited about the news despite his jokes.
“You’re brothers?” Loren’s voice asked as she stepped into the room, taking in the scene. I sat up, noticing their wet hair and the two dogs trailing after the three amigos. Barkley spotted me and rushed over, nuzzling into my side. Fort might’ve been a grumpy fucker, but Barkley, she was pure sunshine. I’d grown fond of the dog and had started carrying treats around in my pocket to give to her when I’d see her. Patting her head, I scratched behind her ears, giving her some love while Atticus conveyed what he’d just told Nicco.
“How do you feel about it? Both of you?” she asked.
“I’m cool. They’ve always been family to me, so it’s not a big stretch for me,” Nicco exclaimed before taking a bite out of the apple I’d given him.
“It’s different,” Atticus started, and I turned to him, curious as to how he felt about it. “I’m not against it; I’m just not sure how to feel about it yet. It makes me wonder what Dayton had planned and why he never revealed it before. There had to be a purpose.”
“Outside of that, though, it must be nice to have a brother?”