To think I had considered them good influences. They had owed me for that though, and had been fantastic babysitters when I had finally decided to drink for the first time, keeping track of me as I attempted to explore all of Wildberry drunk on champagne. It was only fair after trying to keep all of them from getting in trouble that night.
“And we still did,” King grunted. “My dad was so pissed. Mostly because my mom was upset, so of course he made it far more of a big deal.”
“To be fair,” Yates measured, “if our kids did something stupid and Dahlia was upset, I would probably be more mad than if she wasn’t.”
My mouth fell open as King offered him a nod, the two of them both walking out the door as if… I mean, I wasn’t crazy, the man had just said… Were they being real here? I tilted my head, watching them walk towards the stairs, laughing about something, as I ran a hand over my face and looked back at Dermot.
… who was sitting up now and offering me a pained expression.
“You okay?” I walked towards him as he stood up and ran a hand over his face, wincing when he touched his busted lip.
“I fucking hate Yates,” he stated with no heat. “Bastard nearly busted my face open.”
I leaned forward and cupped his jaw, my touch seeming to jolt his memory, guilt passing over his features. I was really glad that King had given me a heads up about where he was mentally, because when he sat down, detaching from my touch, I probably would have been offended.
“Dermot.” I sat on his knee, and he looped his arms around me almost automatically. “You have to stop. That was one hundred percent not your fault. If anything, it was mine. I wanted to go. I put us in that position.”
“I should have predicted that,” he muttered, inhaling and exhaling slowly.
“You did. You were trying to get us out of there,” I pointed out as he grunted. “Seriously, D. You did everything you could. The guy had a gun to your head and was choking you out. We got out of there, and that’s all that matters.”
“I want them handled.” He inhaled sharply and stood up, lifting me so that I was in his arms as he walked out of the office, keeping me against him.
“Where are we going?” I asked curiously.
“Bed for at least an hour,” he muttered. “I need a clear head.”
My smile grew. “Yeah, wouldn’t want you thinking taking on an entire gang on your own was a smart idea.”
His chuckle was authentic as he kissed my neck gently. “I would still do it. I’d do it for you, Dahlia.”
I believed him, and that was the scary part.