Thankfully, my man had a somewhat decent head on his shoulders, so he knew what to tell my dad without me having to coach him, “No.” A bit of a white lie, but a necessary one where my dad was concerned.
His next question was, “Who went after who?”
This one I took to answering: “It was mutual, but I pushed. Dad, don’t be upset with Kieran. If you have to be mad at someone, be mad at me.” As I said it, I watched his shoulders slump to new lows, and he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Are there any other boyfriends I need to know about? Are you dating half the city?”
“Dad,” I said, though beside me, Kieran coughed—probably thinking about his dad and how I found him attractive. “I’m not dating half the city. Just Mike, Fang, and Kieran. They allknow about each other. I didn’t want to tell you about Kieran because…” I slowly sank onto a couch across from the one my dad was in, and Kieran sat beside me. “There’s a lot of history there, for both of us.”
The sigh that left my dad was earth-shattering, the kind you felt in your bones. He took another sip from his glass, wincing before he said, “You’re old enough to make your own decisions. I know that. Just… please be smart about things, okay?”
He would have an aneurysm if he knew I went out with Lola and watched her kill someone. He’d just about die if he knew I had my own set of knives made into a gauntlet that I’d used to torture someone with. My dad was a decent guy, but he had no traces of darkness in him, so he would never understand my cravings or why I was with Kieran, Mike, and Fang.
“Sir,” Kieran started, “if you’re worried about me, don’t be. I’d gladly give my life for this girl. Tessa is as good as dead to me. My loyalty lies with Laina, and therefore you.”
Dad gave him a tight smile. “I know. She’s just… been through so much. The world forced her to grow up faster than she should’ve.”
“Dad, I’m right here. And I’m fine,” I told him. “Kieran makes me happy. Can you accept that?”
Raising his mostly-empty glass in the air, he gave me a tight smile. “What’s one more age-inappropriate boyfriend?” He finished the glass. “Just… try not to be handsy in public. The last thing I need is a scandal involving my daughter and her choice of boyfriend. Boyfriends.”
I got up and wandered over to him, giving him a hug. “Thanks. I love you.”
He gave me half a hug in return, only because he still held onto the empty glass with his other hand. “Love you too, kiddo.” When the hug ended and I pulled away, he said, “Man, the parenting books didn’t talk about this at all.”
I grinned at him. “No chapters about what to do when you find out your daughter is dating multiple men?” The tired look he gave me told me it was a little too soon to make such obvious jokes.
Honestly? He took it better than I thought. He did go back for a third drink, but with everything else going on, all of that couldn’t be simply because of me. Tessa and the pregnancy had to be a part of it, too.
I held out my hand to Kieran and walked him out.
Well, at least the conversation was over. That was one I’d been holding off on having for a long time, mostly because I didn’t know how he would take it. Glad it was done. We had too many other things to worry about right now, like Tessa and the upcoming paternity test.
Chapter Fourteen – Mike
Viper and Maddox invited me over for a workout session. It was something we used to do together a lot when we had to live together, way back when I was Lola’s bodyguard and she was nothing more than the Luciano’s newest pet serial killer.
Times had changed, definitely.
The Lucianos had a great workout room, full of machines and weights of all kinds. Viper didn’t work out nearly as much as me and Maddox, but my brother still took good care of himself.
I’d heard from Laina. She’d given me and Fang the rundown on what happened—Jason was Kieran and Tessa’s father, and he was now hesitant to help Tessa after finding out the extent of her crimes against her own brother. It was a line in the sand I understood; I would never, ever do anything that would harm a hair on Viper’s head, and he would show me the same respect.
Without family, what did you have? Nothing. You had nothing, and you were no one.
Maddox was busy busting out some chest presses, while Viper was bent over doing curls. I was on the treadmill getting some cardio in.
Viper spoke, “So, how are things going with Laina?” I didn’t keep my brother completely in the loop when it came to us, but he knew the basics: that I’d tried to keep myself away from her, and that I’d failed spectacularly and now couldn’t picture my life without her.
I’d gone from bodyguard to simp really fast, and you know what? I didn’t care.
“Good,” I said. They knew things were a little crazy with Tessa and all that, so I didn’t bother bringing her up.
“I bet it’s nice having her back in the city,” my brother commented. “Driving to and from ACU must’ve been so annoying.”
“Not really. I didn’t mind it.”
Maddox finished his set and hooked the bar on its prongs, sitting up and wiping at the sweat that had gathered on his forehead. The man was half-covered in tattoos. My brother only had ones of snakes all over his body, but Maddox’s designs did not discriminate. “I think what he’s trying to ask is—” A dark smirk tugged at his mouth. “—how’s the fucking?”
