“He spoke with you?”
I nod.
“What did he say?”
“I have until Friday.”
“For what?”
“To go back. The longer I take. The worse it will be.”
He doesn’t say anything, and silence hangs in the air, like a heavy grey cloud before a storm.
At that moment, the door opens and both Dante and I look. Ren walks in, his eyes meet mine and stay focused on me. His mouth presses into a hard line, and I see fury brewing behind his eyes. Then he turns his head to survey the room.
“What happened here?” He still hasn’t lost the anger that was raging from earlier.
“Lilly had a family reunion,” Dante says, standing.
That doesn’t help Ren’s mood.
“Your dad did this?” His eyes roam over my face and body, checking me over, his jaw locked with tension.
“No need to worry about your girl. Should have seen her. Was gold watching her put that piece of shit in his place.” He turns to me. “No offence.”
I wave it off because it’s true after all.
Ren’s eyes stay locked on mine, taking a few steps toward me. “You, okay?”
No, but I nod.
“Alright.” Ren takes a deep breath and straightens his jacket. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
I frown, not expecting that. “What about the party?”
“You wanna go back?”
“Um, not really.” If I do, I might stab my dad with a steak knife.
“What about the families?” Dante asks.
“Let them eat and drink on our dime, but I’m no fucking puppet, Nikolov isn’t pulling my strings.”
Dante nods, accepting that.
I cringe because he pulls mine, and I dance. Or so I used to. Or might again. Who knows what will happen on Friday?
But I am ready to go home, so I stand and follow Dante around the table. Once I’m close enough, Ren places a hand on my lower back and leads me to the door.
“Meet us back at the house with the boys. We need to talk,” he says and gently ushers me out of the room and out of the building.
I follow in silence to the car. We don’t talk when he pulls out of the carpark. Anger is still very present between us, so I just turn on the music to quell the silence and look out the window all the way home.
29
Ren
Ican’tfindanywords. I don’t trust what will come out, and the fury that burns is too strong. I’m man enough to admit it, and Lilly certainly doesn’t deserve to deal with it.