“No. I’m not working today, but I will still be coming. I’m sparing with the girls today, if they still want to, of course.”
“Of course they will.”
I offer him a genuine smile. This guy is so easy to get along with. I’m not sure if it’s his youth or his calmness, but he’s the least intimidating of the bunch of them, after Ambros, of course.
“You got a family, Con?”
A sharp look of agony crosses his face before he quickly masks it. “The MC is my family.”
I offer him a smile, not pushing. I know that kind of pain and no way do I want to drag him back to hell. I just hope the MC accepts him as a fully patched brother because something tells me it’s the only thing holding him together.
“They’re a good family to have.”
“The best,” he agrees quietly.
“You know what you said about being there if I need you?”
“Of course. What do you need?”
“You have to know that it goes both ways. You need a friend or someone just to sit and listen? I’m your girl. No questions, no judgment.”
He opens his mouth before closing it again. I wait him out, watching as his face softens, making him look so fucking young it makes my heart hurt.
“Thank you, Citi. I appreciate it.”
“You trying to steal my girl, prospect?” Ambros asks as he walks in, looking all sleepy and sexy. He places a kiss on my temple before stealing the seat next to mine.
“No, sir. I wouldn’t dream of it,” Con says as I offer Ambros a pastry from my plate.
“I’ll get on my way.” He moves to stand, but Ambros holds up his hand to stop him while he chews.
“You on duty?”
“Not until tonight. I’ll have a four-hour shift at the gym later, too.”
Ambros nods to the chair. “Stay for a while then.”
Con looks from him to me and swallows. “Really?”
Lord, he’s going to make me cry in a minute. It also makes me wonder if Ambros was listening in for longer than he let on. Before he can answer, Star walks in, her hair a crazy riot of curls sticking out all over the place.
“Hey, baby. You hungry?” Star looks at me and nods before looking up at Con.
He grins down at her. “Hey, pretty girl.”
She holds her hands up to him, and he doesn’t hesitate to pick her up and sit with her in his lap. It never ceases to amaze me how comfortable she is with these guys and how she turns them all to mush the second she reaches for them.
Ambros makes a plate of food for Star first before making one for himself, and I feel the last of my fear over yesterday leave me. I can’t live in terror all the time. Fifteen years of feeling likemy bones would break from how stiff I held myself, and I’m done with that shit. I don’t want that for me or for my daughter.
“You guys mind if I go take a shower real quick?”
Ambros waves me off. “Go do whatever you need to. No rush. Me and Con are more than happy to have a meal with a princess.”
“Heck yeah, we are.”
With a chuckle, I leave them to it, not needing to be told twice. When you’re a mom, solo showering is a treat.
I step under the warm water and let it soothe away some of the tension left over from the week. I need to find a way to cope with everything other than letting it eat me up inside, or it will slowly kill me. I know logically speaking that I’m allowed to be freaked out. Anyone would be in my circumstances, and given my history, things are bound to be more extreme for me. But I’m also in an odd position of knowing how to navigate the darkness better than most. I’ve played all the roles I needed to stay alive—the innocent, the vixen, the goddess, and the slave. I know how to adapt, and more than that, I know how to lie, cheat, and steal to keep both me and Star safe. I might not be in that house anymore, but it’s no excuse to forget the extreme lessons I learned. If I let this person weaponizing my trauma against me win, then everything I went through and survived was for nothing.
