“You're right,” says Bear, his voice surprisingly gentle. “It’s going to take time. She doesn't understand, but she's trying her best. What's better for our little girl in the end? That we argue and place blame, or try to work together with what we've got? Fuck, you should've seen little Izzy today. Cute as a fucking button, and she's all of ours.”
“Izzy?” asks Viking.
“It's what Alessa calls her. Next time we all go. Hiding my cut is fucking embarrassing, but you know what? I'll do it to keep our little girl safe.”
Viking nods. “You’re right. We have to think practical. If Alessa needs a place to land, we need to be that fucking place. She thinks she's safe in her apartment, but if Snark found her, the Family can too.”
“If she wants my damn trust, she's going to have to fucking earn it. As it is right now, all I fucking care about is the baby,” says Hawk bitterly.
“Seriously?” He's taking this shit too far. “Hawk, man, give her a break. She tried to find us, remember? Even if we didn't know it.”
“She should've fucking tried harder.”
“We're not getting anywhere,” breaks in Viking. “We're going to process this shit in our own ways, and I can't fucking tell you guys how to feel. But here's what I've decided. I can't change the fucking past, much as I'd want to. We've got a kid now. We all agree on that, right?”
He looks around. We all nod and agree, even Hawk. Of course we fucking do. “No one's ever disagreed on that. She's fucking ours,” I confirm.
“Just setting the baseline. Alessa is our baby's mother. Nothing about this shit is easy, but we can choose whether or not to make it harder. I'm going to build bridges rather than tear them down. If you ask me—and I know you fucking didn't—we’ve got nothing to gain by making more difficult than it needs to be.”
Bear and I nod, but we’re not the ones who need convincing. Hawk's eyes are as black as his mood. “I'll keep it civil. You're not all wrong. But she's not all right, either.”
“That's fair,” says Viking. “But we're in this together now, and we need to make this work. Find a way to come to terms with her. Your road doesn't have to be my road, but find a road we can share when we have to. I don’t want this shit making problems for our crew.”
Hawk nods, but he doesn't look happy about it.
11
ALESSA
I MISS YOU, ALESSA.
Another message from Dario. I'd freaking block him on socials, but then he'd demand to know why, and I'm not ready for that conversation. But that means that I keep hearing from him, and that's the last thing I want. I look up, making sure I'm not about to run the stroller into the road as I take Izzy to the park.
My phone dings again.
Why don't you fucking answer my messages anymore?
Yeah, guess why. Dario could do with just a little bit of introspection. And maybe a few years in jail. Whatever keeps him off my back.
Come see me at the Tower. Fuck your classes. You won't need them anyway.
Maybe he's right, maybe he's not, but it sure as hell isn't his decision to make. I drop my phone into the mesh bag under the stroller handle and look up just in time to not ram a woman sporting a big hat and a death glare. She curls her lip at me. “Watch it,” she snaps.
“Sorry,” I say, more to get her off my back than out of any real remorse.
“You should be.” She plants herself in my way, determined to have her say. Awesome. I turn the stroller past her, but she follows, walking next to me to continue her tirade. “You kids can't keep your face out of your phones, and it drives me crazy. Your baby is right there and you can’t even pay attention.”
I give Izzy a meaningful look, where she lies, clutching the little bear with the denim jacket. “She gets plenty of attention, but thanks for your input.” That's the problem with living in a large city. If it's not one crazy, it's another.
“I bet you—”
“Is there an issue here?”
Both the woman and I swivel our heads towards the road, where a familiar black van is coasting alongside us as we walk. Resting his powerful arm out the open window, Viking is driving, his features deeply suspicious as he takes in the woman next to me. In the passenger seat Bear grins. Behind the van, a car honks.
“Who are you?” The woman isn't nearly as snippy with him as she was with me, but then again, I don't look like I’m about to dock up and plunder the village.
“Not your problem unless you make it. Are you bothering the young lady?” There's just a hint of a growl.