She shoves the dog in the back seat. “Guard,” she commands, then propels Henri into the front and slams the door behind her. “I’ll handle my shit, you handle yours.”
As she roars out of the parking lot, I turn to Oscar. “What the hell just happened?”
Oscar scowls at me. “It’s what I’ve been telling you, dad.”
Chapter Two
Selkie
I’ve never been so pissed at someone in my thirty-two years of life, and I’ve faced down a shitload of pricks.
I can barely look at Henri and she won’t look at me, the stubborn little spawn of Satan.
I want a cigarette so bad, I’d trade a kidney for one. Right now, I can’t remember why I decided to quit.
“Hey!” Sadie kicks Henri’s seat. “Let me go, you goddamned bitch!”
“Cut it out,” Henri snaps. “Or I’ll tell Brambles to bite your face off!”
Fucking Sadie! No manners. I kicked his ass, which wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I had to get Brambles involved to keep the bastard down while I caught my wind. Brambles is a guard dog, but not really a fighter. I bring him along to look tough and keep the assholes respectful. He’s kind of my wingman that way.
And then! As if my day wasn’t bad enough, I get a call from Henri’s school, telling me Mrs. Summers wants to see me as soon as possible.
I freak. “Is Henri hurt?”
“No, she’s in trouble again,” the secretary says. The woman dresses like she’s the fuckin’ Princess of Wales. The old one, not the new one.
“I can’t come in right this minute,” I tell her. “I need an hour.”
Sadie’s in the back seat of my car. It’s as hot outside as Bradley Cooper in a speedo and if I bring the Blackbeard biker in as a charbroiled corpse, I’ll be out my bounty and more than likely, in a jail cell.
“I think you should come right away. Henri’s waiting for you in the principal’s office,” the princess replies sweetly.
When I get there, fucking Mrs. Summers treats me like I’m a kid. I hated school, spent more time in detention than I did in classrooms. Like Henri. The kid needs a tune-up, I decide, which won’t do any good. She’s too much like me.
Then that smug, fucking biker walks into the office like he owns the place. Worse than Sadie, because Sadie doesn’t pretend he’s anything but who he is. But Nathan Brody! Mr. Self-Righteous chauvinistic asshole! I’d never met him before today but already knew more than I needed about him because I keep tabs on all the bikers in the area. They’re my bread and butter. Mostly.
Eight though, his rep is that he’s tall, dark, and tight-lipped. Apparently that doesn’t apply to me and Henri. And now my kid’s expelled because of his kid and Mrs. Summers won’t let them return to school until they learn to get along.
“Shit!” I bang my hands on the steering wheel, making Henri jump, Brambles growl and Sadie swear. What the fuck am I going to do? The principal isn’t just punishing my kid, she’s punishing me. How the hell will I get Henri to bond with Brody’s kid without spending time with that blasted biker?
And we didn’t resolve a single thing in the parking lot, other than establishing that Brody was born in the 19th century. Now one of us is going to have to call the other. Play chicken. Which kid’s gonna drive their parent crazy first? Henri’s no picnic and I’m certain Oscar’s a handful too because why the hell would he be such a fucking bully if Brody was able to control him?
My tires squeal as I take a hard right turn towards home.
“Where’re we going?” Henri exclaims as she grabs the dashboard.
“Where do you think,” I reply. “I’m not taking you to the cop shop. Your grandmother would have a fit.”
“She’s gonna have a fit anyway when she finds out I’m expelled!”
“No point in making it a twofer,” I grumble.
“Let me the fuck out,” Sadie snarls. “Then you only have one reason for the bitch to scream at you.”
Brambles barks at him. Henri balls her fists, and I keep my eyes on the road. “Sorry, asshole. Gonna have to be a twofer.”
“You should let Brambles bite him for calling gramma a bitch.”
