“My kitten’s a sweet man. He idolized this idea of a father. And now his heart’s broken.”
“And?” PD shot back. “Listen, I feel for Oli, I do, but that’s life. Parents disappoint you. From what I’ve heard from Barber, you understand that.” He cursed under his breath and scrubbeda hand along his jaw. “I’m going to tell you something that is none of your fucking business, but you need to understand. Cain never wanted kids. Permanent. Full stop. When Oli’s mom found out she was pregnant, he asked her not to have the kid.”
Will nodded in agreement as PD spoke.
“She told Cain she wanted the baby and didn’t expect him to be part of the kid’s life. He accepted that. Hell, he even sent her money during her pregnancy to help out. But he was under the impression Oli would never find out who his father was.” PD’s hand cut through the air with a finality. “Then, Oli’s mom changed her mind. After Oli was born, she tried to push Oli on Cain, even though he was clear he wasn’t father material and never wanted to be one. She told Oli who he was. She tried to feed into this fantasy that Cain needed a good reason to be a father, as if Oli could change his mind. She made Oli believe he would come around, but there was no chance of that ever happening.”
“We’re not blaming Darla,” Will said. “But she was trying to go back on an agreement. She had a change of heart and he didn’t. She made Cain out to be the bad guy. There’s a reason he never wanted to be a dad. He’d be bad at it. He’s selfish as hell, for one. All he wants to do is get laid and drink beer.”
PD snorted out a half laugh. “If I ranked my brothers as to who’d be the best dads, Cain would be on the bottom. The very fucking bottom.”
“So, that’s it?” I glanced between them. “No chance of him stepping up to the face-off circle?”
Will raised his eyebrows. “Not unless you want a stick to the face. He’s a violent fucker and doesn’t play by the rules.”
“So, the complete opposite of Oliver.” I carded my fingers through my hair. “Fuck.”
“There is no world where Oli will get the dad he’s imagined. Cain is just not fit to be one.” PD shrugged, but despite thecarelessness of the action, sympathetic understanding flashed across his face.
Godfuckingdamn it. If I could bury the man six feet under, I would. Maybe I needed to focus my revenge plan on Cain instead. Destroy his life.
The thought made me smile.
“No.” Oliver’s eyes flashed in warning. “We got over this revenge bullshit. No more. Not even with deadbeat dads. He’s not worth the hassle, Ren. I don’t want this.”
“But—”
“No,” he said more forcefully, slapping his hand against my headrest. We were sitting in Shakira outside Black Out, and I’d chosen to broach the topic of retribution on the way here. Oliver, apparently, was not having it. The dark violet neon lights from the sign over the club’s entrance gleamed on the windshield and caught in his eyes.
“All I’m saying is I have a private investigator who isn’t afraid to do some sketchy shit.” I held up my palms when Oliver leaned around the seat to slap me on the shoulder.
He pointed at me like I was a misbehaving child. “No, Ren.”
“Ren.” KC gave me a gentle, amused smile. “The revenge is over. You were the one who told me anger is exhausting. Oli decided to leave his dad behind.”
Did he? I didn’t believe it. No one could build up years and years of fantasies about hanging with their dad only for it to be destroyed, then just let it go. I’d spent the same amount of time imagining destroying Luke’s life. Then again,I’d blown up my plans and thrown them in the garbage, hadn’t I? All for these two sexy men.
What a disaster.
Maybe I’d been waiting for a reason to forget all the anger and pain, and they’d given me the out I hadn’t realized I was looking for.
“Fine.”
Oliver opened his mouth, but I shushed him with a finger to his lips.
“But, I feel like I need to do something.” I ignored the unimpressed eye roll I received from Oliver and the suspicion that crossed KC’s expression. I slid one of my silver rings off my right pointer finger. It wasn’t anything fancy, merely an angry skull embedded in the metal, but it was platinum and one of the first things I’d ever bought with my own money.
“Give me your hand,” I said to Oliver.
“What?” He blinked at me and, without arguing for once, held out his hand. I slid the ring onto his pointer finger before I turned it and laid a kiss on the palm. “You don’t need him. You have me. I’ll take care of you.”
Oliver melted right there in the seat, his body flopping against leather as affection and surprise flooded his face. “Oh.”
“I’d kiss you, but I can’t reach you.”
He surged forward and slammed his mouth against mine, humming delightfully, pleasure and happiness buzzing between us. After another short kiss, I turned to KC. “Your turn, Kansas.”
I slid another ring off. This time it came from my left middle finger and was a braided silver band that would match KC’s style perfectly. I slipped the ring on the same finger as Oliver’s.
