I’ve retired to my room for the night, and after checking to make sure I’m alone, I pull an unopened bottle of whiskey from the loose floorboards. Taking a few drinks from the bottle, my system begins to calm and the tremble in my hands falls away. I’ve felt like shit all day because they’ve all been up my ass, so I haven’t had anything since my mid morning sneak away. My phone vibrates in my pocket. Pulling it out while readjusting the floorboards reassuring that my stash stays hidden, I read the screen before scrambling to hit accept.
“Mac Byrne.” Okay, that was so fucking douchey. Pull it together, she’s just a girl. Even as I think it, I know I’m full of shit. Warmth filled my veins yesterday when I saw her. I haven’t been able to think about anything else but her since.
“Hey.” Riley’s voice comes out small, almost weak. What the fuck? Also, yes, I did say Riley. Again, I’m not stupid. I know she’s Riley. She knows she’s Riley. I’ll just play her little game as long as she needs me to until she tells me why she’s so scared to tell the truth. It’s a plan I came up with this morning while ignoring Rowan’s lecture.
“Beautiful… What’s wrong?” My heart rate starts to pick up.
“Nothing, I just get anxious before bed sometimes. You saidto call, so I called.” I can’t help the smile that takes over my face. She was worried, and she called me. Shecalledme.
“Yeah? I’ve heard it’s a good voice.”
She chokes out a laugh, “I have no complaints. Tell me about your day?”
“Well, my brothers were up my ass all day, as they typically are. I played with my nephew, and my sister-in-law tried to mother me about everything under the sun.” I can’t help but grin about Clara fussing over me. She works hard to hold the title of ‘Mama Bear’ that we gave her years ago. “How about you? What did your Sunday look like?”
She’s quiet for a minute before she answers, “Well, my Papa came over this morning for breakfast. He does that every Sunday. Then I took the day to myself before having to go to my parents house for dinner.”
My chest pangs when she calls them her parents. I mean, I guess they are at this point. They’ve had her longer than Rossi did, but still. I want to know why she stays with them when she knows she’s Riley. I mean, I could be off about that, but I doubt it. She’s smart enough to find her birth parents even if the Fischer’s didn’t tell her. I’m unable to demand answers because this is her life to live, and I can’t make her talk when she doesn’t trust me, yet. I know enough about what she went through to know I’ll never be another man who takes away her choices. So I’ll be patient, and we’ll take this at her pace.
“Do you do that often? Go to your parents house, I mean.”
“Yeah, my family is really close. I actually see most of them daily. The only exception to that is my little sister, Annie. She’s in college, so I only see her about once a week. Thankfully Princeton isn’t too far.”
My ears perk at that little bit of information.
“Your sister goes to Princeton? So do my little brothers. I wonder if she knows them.”
She laughs sweetly into the phone, causing my cock to twitch at the angelic sound, “You forget our older brothers were best friends. My family knows who yours is, Mac.”
“Then why didn’t I meet you until last night? Your Da has done business with my family since I was young, and though we know you guys stay out of that, I still know who Jakob and Dieter are.”
“Right, but you’d never met me before, and you’ve never met Annie. I’d even hedge a bet that you’ve never met my Mama either. Use your problem solving skills, Byrne.”
She’s teasing now, and as much as I hate to admit it, she isn’t wrong. I’ve never met any of the Fischer women. Lukas keeps his loved ones so far away from this shit that if you didn’t know the man on a deeper level, you’d assume he was an eternal bachelor. Not because he runs around on his wife, he would never. He just presents himself as a one man band.
“So Lukas likes to keep the pretty girls locked away. Got it.” As soon as the words leave my lips I want to take them back, it was the exact wrong thing to say.
“My Papa doesn’t lock us away, he and my Mama just want us safe. A thing that not everyone can say about their parents.” The annoyance in her voice is undeniable, and the dig at Rossi rings clear.
“I’m sorry, I worded that incorrectly. So you had dinner with your family. How’d that go?” I’m grasping at anything to keep her talking.
She yawns on the other line, “Yeah. It went well. Minimal drama, and I got the snuggles of my sweet niece.” I can hear the smile in her voice at the mention of Dieter’s daughter. Adaughter that I only know exists because I’ve been to his shop while she was there before.
“You ready for sleep, Lee?”
“Mhm.” She’s almost asleep. The sound of her sheets rustling as she snuggles into her bed makes me smile.
“Goodnight, beautiful.”
“G’night, Handsome.”
I stay on the line for a few minutes longer, just listening to her steady breathing. That is until I hear someone walk into her room and pick up the phone.
“Byrne?” Jakob Fischer’s voice slides through the line.
“Fischer. What are you doing in her room right now? Could give someone the wrong idea.”
He growls deep in his chest in frustration, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Stay the fuck away from my sister, Mac. She goes through enough without dealing with you and your family’s shit.”
