Or maybe she's just impossible not to love with those plump, flushed cheeks.
Casper tilts his head back and lifts his brows above his dark glasses. "Oh, hey, the kid returns. That's the one, Prez. Cute, right? When I told him someone actually brought one here, he couldn't believe it."
At his grin, I swallow thickly. Even more so when Dante turns his eyes on me for a minute.
Killer and Cassia lift their gaze before she's gasping when she's waved to next. "Oh my goodness. Killer,look."
While Killer's reminding her that he already met them, Penny's letting out a shaky breath.
"This is Leliah." She steps aside to introduce her daughter. "Thank you for having us. Um, I'm Penny."
Hearing her say her own name to my family does something to my chest. Like she's becoming real here. Like she's becoming mine in front of everyone.
While Cassia is awestruck and trying to beckon the girl to come her way, I'm shifting closer to Dante and Casper. Leaning over the couch, I'm thankful when Penny creeps toward the couple. "I need to leave them here for a couple of hours. Maybe a little more."
Dante's scowl is right back in place. "Not exactly a good place for a toddler."
Casper swipes his hand toward him but misses completely. "Ignore him. Better to ask what kind of shit you're about to stir up. You're not about to bring trouble here, are you?"
"Of course not. I just need to... pick up a package and deliver it to those Outlaw assholes. That's all. Simple as simple is."
Dante seems to disagree from the way he stands. Rounding the couch, he slaps his hand on my back and makes me take a few steps away, much to Penny's dismay.
My wink doesn't reassure her in the slightest. I'm not about to get chewed out by the scariest dude here, am I?
"Want to tell me why I had Axel breathing down my neck about a few of his rats with broken noses?" He smiles at me then, and I think it's far worse than his frown. "As much as I wish I could’ve been there in person, you know how I feel about that asshole complaining to me."
"I brokeonenose." Trying to defend myself, he squeezes my shoulder tighter and makes me wince. "In my defense, I explained why I was there, and they chose violence first."
Do I throw Killer and Devil under the bus? Their knuckles were as bad as mine.
They touched what's mine. They got what they deserved. I wanted to kill them for scaring her, and showed mercy instead. I deserve a gold star or something, damn it.
He sighs and releases me when my smile returns. "When you went there, I thought you were settling something."
"It's a work in progress. Oh, but there's an update. Hex found him, so I'm going to go deliver. Smoke's busy with the casino, so how about you just give me a couple of guys, and we can wrap this up."
I don't need an army. I just need enough to make sure I come back to her.
He stares at me for a moment before lifting his gaze, and I know he's staring at Penny. His brows pinch together. He's going to say no. He's going to tell me to put her somewhere else. He's going to—
My smile tightens, and I shift in front of him to take his view. "They're special to me, Dante."
Dante's eyes narrow on the brief agitation that crosses my face before he looks like he's weighing something heavier than club rules.
"Special," he repeats, flat. "That's what you're going with?"
I’m not the kind of man to bite his tongue, but for Penny, I’m forced to stop myself from saying something snarky.
“She’s mine.” Saying the words out loud feels so much better than repeating them in my head. “Therefore, she’s special. They both are. I'll do this on my own if that's what it takes to get the job done, but I'd rather have someone watching my back.”
If he wants to be such a rule follower, then he knows we protect our own. If that means getting Johnny out of the picture to do so, then he should be able to see why this is important to me.
Or, maybe he’ll just think I’m impulsively jealous of the guy, who knows?
He stares at me for a long, heavy moment. Long enough to make me uncomfortably shift from one foot to the other.
Finally moving, he lifts to pinch his brow. “Don’t start anything and stay low. I don’t need the cops sniffing around for a kidnapping.”
