“That’s not his job. Plus, I don’t know him—no offense, Pez.”
“None taken,” his gruff voice says. “If it helps, whatever you tell your brother, he’s going to tell me. I need to know, but I promise you it won’t go any further.”
Cammie’s head jerks and she narrows her eyes at Pez. “Why would my brother tell you about our private conversation?”
“Because he has to go back to California, but I’ll be here and I’m going to take care of you and little Cammie. You can think of me as a second brother, if it helps.”
I jerk slightly at his description. If he thinks he can friendzone my sister, he’ll need to recalculate. Even I can feel the attraction between them. It might be weird for a brother to say, but I want my sister to have a good man, and in my book, there’s none better than Pez. As I turn my attention to my sister, I have to fight my grin as I see my sister’s eyes go wide.
“I don’t need anyone to take care of me. I’m a grown woman,” she huffs.
For almost the first time in my life—and definitely the first time since Nora fucked him over—I see Pez give an honest-to-God smile. “Trust me, I know you’re a woman not a child. I also know you need help and I’m going to be the man that gives you that.”
She stares at him a moment. “Why? You saved my brother. If anything, my family owes you—not the other way around. If you?—”
“I’m not doing it out of duty.”
“Then, why would you even bother? Besides, you’re not doing it all. I don’t want anyone taking care of my daughter or me. That’s my job and I’m doing it,” she says stubbornly.
“Argue if you want, but you won’t stop me,” he promises, and I cough to hide my laugh.
My sister gives Pez a hateful look, and I find myself sad that I won’t be around to watch what happens between the two of them. She’ll be a good woman to Pez, if she lets herself. I need to try and soften her heart a little toward him before I leave. She may try to shut him out because he’s a biker and compare him to our father. I need to make it clear that he’s not like that.I hope like hell I can.
“Your friend is weird,” she grumbles, still looking at Pez like she wants to knock some sense into him. Pez just laughs. “If you must know—not that it’s any of your business—Dane apparently has been cheating on me.”
“With who?” I ask, picking one question out of all of the ones that are swirling inside me, as anger fills me. I kind of expected her answer, but I was hoping like fuck I was wrong.
“The list is long, I think, since his latest conquest took great pleasure in telling me that she wasn’t the first, but for some delusional reason thinks she will be his last because she’s pregnant. The bastard admitted to me that he’s been cheating on me just a couple of months after we got married because I don’t satisfy him. He took great pleasure in telling me that in front of his latest whore.”
“I’m going to fucking kill him,” I growl, anger like I’ve never known filling me.
“You’re not. He’s a lawyer. He’s got most of the court system in the palm of his hands. You know how small-town justice is. It all depends on who you know. The last thing you need is to get into trouble here.”
“Who’s your lawyer?” Pez asks. Apparently, he’s the only one of us thinking sane.
“I have several lawyers. The main one is a woman from Hyden.”
“What do you mean by several lawyers? Did you hire a firm? How did you afford that on your salary? Damn it, why didn’t you ask me for help, Cammie?” I ask, angry that she’s trying to do it all on her own. My sister decided to stay at home with Cammie when she was born. She worked at a bakery when she got married. She never wanted much out of life other than to be a mom and have a happy family. It kills me that this fuck-wad destroyed that dream for her. I should have suspected it when she went back to work about six months ago and put Cammie in daycare.
“Cap,” Pez warns, and I look at the tears that are glowing in my sister’s eyes.Shit.
“I’m sorry, Daphne. I’m just pissed at that asshole.”
“It’s okay,” she mutters dabbing at her eyes, while staring at her daughter. I can only see a part of her face but the sadness there, guts me. “I have a government agency—Legal Aide—helping me, so it’s not costing me anything. They’re not the best, but it doesn’t matter. Dane will get whatever he wants. His buddies in the system here will see to that. Hell, he and his whore had dinner last week at the Circuit Judge’s house. That’s the judge over our case. I’m prepared for the worst,” she says forlornly.
“You talk to his mistress?” I growl.
Daphne laughs, but the sound is anything but humorous. “I blocked her, but I still see her in town. She makes a point of coming into the bakery to taunt me often.”
“Who is she?” I ask.
The look that hits my sister’s face makes my gut clench. There’s so much pain there, it’s plain to see. It looks wrong on her face. There was a time when Daphne was nothing but smiles and laughter. To see how broken and hurt she is, nearly destroys me. The two of us have always been close and somehow, I feel as if I’ve failed her.
“That’s the kicker. It’s Serena.”
“You’re fucking kidding me,” I snap, my voice rising and causing Cammie to groan in her car seat.
“I wish I was,” she says quietly, tears thick in her voice. “Keep it down. You’re going to wake Cammie.”
