“Of course he does.” Who wants to deal with someone clearly having an episode of some sort? No one wants her around, and that’s all because of her actions and the decisions she’s made in her life, which affect everyone else. “She’s clearly going through something.”
I can’t feel sorry for Katie. She should be in jail. She deserves it after what she did last night. But I have no dog in this fight. Whatever her husband, Wylder, and Thumper want to do is fine with me. Does that make me a heartless bitch? I don’t care.
“It’s all of her own making,” he says with no remorse. “Anyway, you coming over tonight?”
“We’re having a girls’ night and heading to Chinatown.”
“Well, if you want to drop by afterward, send me a text, princess.”
“You miss me?” I ask, teasing him.
“Always. And I know the girls would like to see you too.”
“Way to guilt me, handsome. You know I’m a sucker for those two.”
“You like them more than me, don’t you?” he asks.
I smile to myself. “Maybe,” I lie.
“I’ll take whatever I can get.”
“Maybe I’ll see you later. Give the girls a hug from me.”
“Will do, princess. Have fun.”
“Later, Wylder.”
“Later,” he replies before I hitend.
“You better go to that man’s house afterward,” Gigi tells me as she walks back into the front, waiting for her next client. “You both need each other after what happened last night.”
“We’ll see what the night brings.”
“It’s going to bring your ass to his place,” she tells me as she plasters a giant smile on her face to greet the woman walking through the door.
“Welcome to Inked. I’m Gigi. Can I help you?”
And just like that, the conversation is over.
13
WYLDER
“It’s a pretty day,”Ma says as we watch the girls play on the swing set I built last year.
“Can’t beat the summertime,” I say to her, kicking back in my chair with a glass of my mother’s sun-brewed sweet tea.
“Where’s Tate?” Ma asks.
“She went out with the girls last night so she’s running behind.”
“Hello.” Shadow’s voice carries through the backyard.
I turn, confused as to why he’s here. “What the…”
“So, I may have invited your siblings over,” Ma says, not looking me in the eye. “I thought it would be a nice way to spend the day. I heard you and Thumper made some headway in finally moving beyond your differences.”
If she weren’t my mother, I’d argue with her. Our idea of differences is not the same. We don’t disagree on the definition of love or the color of the sky. Thumper has spent his entire life making mine miserable. Shadow is better, but not by much. He’s never set out to do bad to me, but he isn’t the kind of brother I can always depend on. He is more worried about his own cock than his family.
