The pizzas arrived a few minutes later and took the focus off of our little show. Normally, I would have been embarrassed, but for some reason, I wasn’t. I don’t know if it had to do with the alcohol I’d consumed or if it was because it was Jonah, or a little of both.
While we were eating, Kennedy asked the question I’d been waiting on, though I thought it would have come from Jonah. “How is it that you can throw knives like a fucking ninja, but you can barely hit the target with a dart?”
I had wondered that myself several times, so I gave her the only answer I’d been able to come up with. “Each one uses a completely different technique to get the projectile from your hand to the target. I’m good at one and terrible at the other.”
She nodded like what I was saying made perfect sense to her. “So, can you teach me how to throw knives? I want to be a ninja badass like you.”
I laughed, a full-on belly laugh. “I can try, I guess. It’s not something I learned to do or something that someone taught me. It’s just something I can do.”
“How’d you find out you could do it?” she asked.
I wiped my mouth with my napkin and reached for another slice of pizza. “Funny story. I grew up poor, and we didn’t live in the best conditions. After school one day, I was in the kitchen doing my homework, and I saw this big ass bug crawling up the wall. For whatever reason, a steak knife was on the table, and without thinking about it, I picked the knife up and threw it at the bug. I didn’t really expect to hit it, but the knife pierced through it with a disgusting crunch and stuck into the wall. That’s when I grabbed my shit and ran to my room. When the bug was discovered later that evening, I pretended I didn’t know anything about it.”
“So, you were just good at it from the get-go?”
I shrugged. “Sort of. That lucky shot sparked my interest, so I started practicing,” I said and went back to my pizza.
Jonah leaned close and nipped at my ear, “My badass little ninja.”
Chapter Eighteen
Judge
It was all I could do to keep myself from carrying River to my room to finish what we started before the pizza arrived. The more time I spent with her, the more intrigued I was by her.
She giggled when I nipped at her ear and turned her head to kiss me before grabbing another slice of pizza.
“I’ve never seen someone so small eat so much,” Kennedy casually observed and I felt River stiffen.
She swallowed and wiped her mouth. “Yeah, I only allow myself to splurge every once in a while. I’ll have to get an extra run in to work off all these extra calories sometime this week,” she said and placed her half-eaten slice of pizza on her plate.
“Eat, sweet cheeks. I’ll help you work that off later,” I said low enough for only her to hear.
I reached for another slice of pizza and nudged River with my elbow. She had just taken a bite when Copper walked into the common room and motioned for someone to turn off the music.
He whistled loudly to get everyone’s attention. Grinning widely, he shouted, “Brothers, it brings me great joy to announce the arrival of another Blackwings family member. Mere moments ago, Dash and Ember welcomed Raven Rose Lawson into the world. Mom and baby are both doing great.”
Copper raised his beer in the air and the room erupted in shouts and cheers. I raised my own drink and clinked bottles with Batta before we both shouted our own congratulations into the air. I turned to tap my bottle to River’s glass to find her seat empty.
My head shot up and I started to scan the room for her when Kennedy waved her hand in front of my face. “She went that way,” she said and pointed in the direction of the bathrooms. “She looked upset.”
“Thanks,” I said and wasted no time going after her.
When I reached the door to the bathroom, I stopped and took a minute to think about what I was going to say to her. She was obviously upset about the news of her brother’s baby, but since she hadn’t told me what happened between them, I had no way of guessing why the news upset her.
But the why didn’t matter. So, I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
“Go away, Judge,” River said followed by a quiet sniffle.
Fuck that. “Not happening,” I said as I opened the door and stepped inside.
She rolled her eyes. “Good thing I wasn’t actually using the bathroom,” she mumbled and tried to covertly wipe the few tears from her cheeks.
I reached for her hand and brought it to my lips before I gently pulled her to her feet and circled my arms around her. With her head resting against my chest, she said, “I’m sorry, I ju—”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I’ll gladly listen to anything you want to share, but don’t feel like you have to.”
She remained silent for several minutes before finally saying, “I don’t want to talk about it right now, but maybe one day. And thank you for not pushing me about it.”
