Page 32 of Praying for Thunder

In the morning, I woke to Ani giggling. I was on my back, my head by their hips, cradled in Dio’s arm, his large palm holding the back of my head.

I was surprised to feel my foot by his face when he asked Ani, “Is this something I have to get used to?”

After a yawn, I peered up to see him staring at her with a lifted brow, my big toe in one of his nostrils.

Finding that to be hysterical, I rolled over and crawled up Ani’s body. I lay my head on her chest and smiled. “Hi, Dio.”

His hand cupped my face. “Hey, Thunder.”

It was time for more very important questions, so I asked, “Do you like cereal?”

“Right out of the box.”

“Whaaaat?”

Laughing, Anita put a pillow over her face. “Here come the bad habits!”

Sure enough, cereal out of the box is a thing. I got to crawl onto Dio’s bare back and have a ride to the kitchen. On the way, studying our 12x12 living room, he asked, “Where’s the TV?”

“Only in the bedroom. It’s not safe out here.”

“Uh-oh.” He took two steps to the left, which put him in the dingy kitchen. Reaching for the refrigerator handle, he stopped, pointing at my drawing on the front. “Who is this, Thunder?”

“Mi, mama—Oops! My mama.”

“Ani draw this?”

“No. I did.”

“Get the fuck out.”

“Where? From here?”

He laughed, opening the refrigerator. “You’re an amazing kid, you know that?”

“Yes. Aunt Moola says I’m also a badass. I pooped on Candy.”

After a chuckle, he admitted, “I guess you’re ‘full’ of talents.” He pulled milk out of the refrigerator, surprised to find the cereal in there, too. When spotting a bug crawling across the counter, he didn’t have to ask why. That didn’t stop his body from tensing with frustration.

Facing Ani as she joined us, he said, “I’m curious.” Dio quickly learned to navigate the art of talking to Ani without triggering her. “With that bod, you don’t make mad cash?”

Caress the ego. Smart man.

She sat on a barstool. “I do.”

When she offered no more, he dared, “Keep trusting me, Tiger.”

Her lips twitched before she forced them to work. “Here, at this apartment complex, I was able to buy my way free of contracts.”

He rubbed some fingers together to silently ask if she was speaking of a ‘cash’ buyout.

Proudly, she lifted her chin. “Yes, with money. Not to say I wouldn’t have or haven’t offered more to get what I needed.”

Shockingly, he chuckled. “Still trying to push me away, eh?” He started opening the box of cereal. “Silly little tiger. If you think offering your body for the better good is going to scare me off again, you have no clue who you are dealing with.” He winked at her. “It’s going to take a mallet to the back of my head to get me to leave you now.”

Her jaw ticked. “Noted.”

Why was she still trying, at times, to shake free of Diablo? That answer was simple, yet full of hurdles that were deadly. Deadly to Dio’s body, and to Anita’s heart. To protect it, she kept trying to convince herself it was wrong to use Diablo for security. She was in denial, trying to convince herself that was all this was.