Snark chuckles. “It worked for King, Hero and Wild Child.”
“What?”
Viking glares at him, but even the corners of his lips curl a little. “No. That's not how we work. Fine. You can stay here for now, but we're going to be fucking close. You're going to be seeing a lot of us. That’s our fucking baby too.”
“But—”
“But what?” Hawk's tone warns me to think very carefully about what I say next. It makes my spine tingle. “You're a fucking liar. That's our goddamn baby, and you kept it from us. I'm going to stick around to take care of her and make sure she's cared for and safe. That she grows up knowing her fathers. But you?” He scoffs and tightens his mouth as if he's keeping himself from saying even worse. “Fuck you. You're not going to keep her from us.”
The dark accusation in his hard gaze is crippling. Viking sounded hurt, but Hawk's so much more than that. Angry. Heartbroken. Deadly.
“No. No, I'll never do that. I swear. But you guys can't just keep coming here either. Even this one time can get me in trouble. No offense, but you guys don't exactly blend in in this neighborhood. People will see you. Neighbors will gossip. Those bikes, people will remember those.” God, if anyone in my family learns of it, I'm so screwed. Then again, maybe that's better than whatever Hawk's going to do to me if I cross him.
“You're ashamed of us?” Bear asks.
“No, I'm just—” God, I don't even know what to say. I was so not prepared for this.
Viking snorts. “We're leaving, but we'll be around. You bet your sexy ass. Come on, guys. We'll see you soon.”
They leave with a whole range of emotions on their hardened faces. Viking is angry and determined. Bear looks hurt but sympathetic. Snark's mostly curious, while Hawk—God—Hawk watches me with a death glare as he leaves. He scares me. As the door slams behind him, I clutch Izzy close, using her warmth to ward off my terrified chills.
And here I thought things were bad enough. Nothing like getting caught in a lie—even if it was a lie of omission—to make life even worse.
Things are going to hell fast, and there's no turning back now.
8
ALESSA
“But seriously? All four of them? Like, they're all, yeah, we're all the dad? In what kind of screwed up romance fantasy does that happen? I've been reading the wrong books.” Bea laughs behind her large latte with double caramel, a squirt of whipped cream, and a sprinkling of cinnamon and toffee bits. Even her coffee order is a little extra, but in this one thing I’ve got her beat.
We're at the coffee shop on the corner down from the apartment, tucked into our usual booth in the back corner, where I can nurse without everyone walking by and judging me for having the gall to feed my baby in public. Underneath the blue diamond print receiving blanket, she's chugging a latte of her own. I've got a hot chocolate, but I’m longing to go back to full strength drinks. As much as I’m glad to be nursing, it’ll be nice to have my body be completely my own again.
“Yeah, I can't quite believe it either. I was worried they'd drag me straight to a paternity test, but instead, they're all like, 'it's all of ours, and we'll fucking destroy anyone who gets in our way!' ” My imitation isn't exactly perfect, but it gets the point across.
“God, that's sexy,” breathes Bea before she takes a sip. A dot of cream sits on her nose, that she hasn't noticed. I don't tell her. “To be in the middle of that much… man. I can't freaking imagine. I was so jealous of you that night, even though Trucker was plenty gifted.” She grins.
“That was his name? Trucker? In a biker gang?”
“I didn't ask. Listen, I need to ask you a favor.”
“Of course, I owe you big time. There’s no way I’d still be in school without you.” We're besties. There's nothing I wouldn't do for her, and that was even before Izzy.
She hides behind the cup of latte, not meeting my eyes. “Do you mind covering rent again this month? I'm so sorry. I’ll do some extra babysitting if you need it. I'm just having a bit of a hard time making things work out this month.”
“Sure. Is everything okay? I thought your parents were covering for you.” Not everyone in the Family is as well off as the Giordanos, obviously, but they should be able to cover things like Bea's rent, no problem. “Not that it's my business,” I tack on quickly. I don't want to make things too awkward.
“Yeah, it’s just a bank thing… Dad'll get me some soon, and I'll pay you back. Promise.” Her face is beet red, something I'm definitely not used to. If there's anyone who's the total opposite of a shrinking violet, it's Bea.