Slow Burn 2 (The Archer Brothers)

by Rose Harper

  Jacob looks toward me, horror etched across his features. It’s like he can’t believe Drake, a little child, just said that to him, which is pretty priceless. Seeing Jacob go rounds with a nine-year old and losing makes me want to howl with laughter. Especially since the little tyke is my flesh and blood. I couldn’t be prouder of the little devil putting Jacob in his place. It’s about time someone did.

  “Why are you smiling, dick?” Jacob asks in disbelief.

  “If you even have to ask that, then I feel sorry for you,” I retort, chuckling.

  “He’s nine, Declan. There’s no way I could have possibly known he’s some sort of financial genius. He just figured out how to fund an entire goddamn build … without the help of prospective sponsors! This is no laughing matter! Caleb and I have been trying to figure this out for months, and this little kid comes in and solves it within a half hour!”

  It’s actually pretty funny if you think about it. My child schooling his uncle in the game of finance. I’m barely keeping myself together at the thought of it. It’s hilarious how Jacob is reacting. Needless to say, I’m pretty proud of him in this moment. It appears he gets his wit from his mother and his savvy business smarts from me.

  Not to say that Sparrow isn’t smart; she’s one of the keenest women I know. However, her smarts are for a different thing entirely. When it comes to having good business sense, Sparrow isn’t as cutthroat as a person needs to be to survive in the game.

  “It’s not my fault my son schooled you at your own game. I actually think it’s pretty hilarious.”

  “You would. Jackass,” he deadpans, leveling a glare in my direction. The only thing I do is stare back at him silently, mischief glimmering in my eyes. He knows I’m right, and there’s nothing he can say on the subject, which makes it that much worse.

  Commotion at the entrance of the sitting room has all of our eyes snapping in that direction. Sparrow and their parents stride in, her mother going straight for Drake. The little boy in front of me looks carefree and happy as he has no qualms about letting her pick him up. By his actions, it appears like he’s known them his entire life, when really, he only met them for the first time earlier this morning.

  It still irks me that they took him away from Brandy without telling her, without telling any of us. Like they had all the right in the world to do such a thing. Their actions caused a whole lot of ruckus for nothing. A lot of worrying and stress that we all didn’t need.

  “So do one of you want to let me know what the fuck you were thinking by picking up our son without his mother’s knowledge?” I’ve never used such harsh words toward the Jamesons before, but they had no right to do what they did, and they need to see the error of their ways.

  Her father, with his blistering, scorching gaze glances over at me. If looks could kill, I would be dead. But I don’t care. I’m all too familiar with what that look means, and it’s lost on me if he thinks to scare me with a tactic like that. I may have encroached on someone he sought to protect when we were younger, but to me, it doesn’t matter. She was eighteen. She didn’t have to answer to anyone, just like I don’t.

  “Do you really want to go there, son?”

  “You have no idea, Peter. You had all of us worrying about what Drake could be facing out there—alone, hungry, fighting off someone that could potentially hurt him. Yet, you had him the entire time. You had Sparrow crying for no goddamn reason,” I spit out, my fury igniting as everything rises to the surface once more.

  The fear. The terror. The unknown of whether he was hurt or not.

  Sparrow is terrified my mother may do something, but she hasn’t stopped to consider her parents may as well. I know her parents wouldn’t take Drake and use him against her, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t use him to tug on Sparrow’s heartstrings. She may appear to be the cold calculus bitch everyone thinks she is, but I know the truth. She is just as much the soft spirit she was when she was in high school.

  I can see it already. They’re going to use him against her, and she’s not going to see it until it’s too late.

  Well, fuck that. She’s not doing this by herself anymore. She has me right by her side, and I refuse to allow anything bad to happen to either one of them. Sparrow and I may not be on good terms, but that doesn’t negate the fact that Drake is my son, and I will take care of him.

  “Did you even stop to consider how Shelly and I felt getting a call from him?!” His voice booms through the sitting area, forgetting Drake is front and center for it all. “We had no idea he even existed. Sparrow keeps everything under lock and key when it comes to her life in Kentucky. The only time we see her, speak to her, or have anything to do with her is when she considers it acceptable. How would you feel if your own daughter distanced herself away from you? How would you feel if you had to watch her cower in on herself, become a shadow of what she used to be? Your actions solidified her decision to distance herself away from us!”

  Shooting up out of my seat, the blood simmers in my veins. “Shelly, I suggest you take Drake out of the room. Now.”

  Pacing, I place my hands on my hips as I walk back and forth in front of the sofa, trying my best to tamper down the rage clawing at my insides. It’s been so long since I’ve lost my temper, and in the span of five days I can’t even begin to count how many times this family has pushed me to the breaking point. Without saying a word, she gets up from the sofa and dashes from the room with a flailing Drake in her arms.

  My eyes never stray from Peter’s. “You will not pin this shit on me! It takes two people to fuck and make a child, which means you are completely forgetting the fact she’s the one who came into my room that night. She’s the one who begged me to hold her while you two were screaming your heads off at each other because a fucking storm was raging outside. How was I supposed to know our night together resulted in a pregnancy?! She was supposed to be on birth control, for God’s sake!”

  Something I say causes Peter to still, his face draining of color. “What did you just say?”

  “Which part?” I ask, exasperated. What the fuck is he playing at now?

  “The part about birth control.” He looks between me and Sparrow, his brows continuing to furrow in confusion.

  “Yes, she said she was on birth control. I don’t see how that’s a big deal.”

  Gulping harshly, Peter’s back turns rigid as he turns on his daughter. “Sparrow!” he scolds.

  “I …” she stammers, backtracking away from her father. I watch the encounter silently, confused as to what’s going on. “I didn’t mean for it to come out, it just did,” she declares softly.

  At her omission, that’s when it all clicks into place. My vision tinges red, everything fades around me as my eyes train on the girl I thought the entire world of. The girl, who no matter what, still holds my goddamn heart in the palm of her hands. The same heart she’s fisting as the tightness in my chest becomes almost unbearable.

  “You were never on birth control, were you?”

  Tears slowly trek down her cheeks. “No,” she sniffles without meeting my eyes.

  So that’s the real reason. It wasn’t because she was scared of my family or scared of hers. It was because she didn’t want me to find out what she really did. The lie she told me that night to get me to bend to her will. It almost makes me sick to my stomach knowing Sparrow could demean herself to do such a thing. The Sparrow I know wouldn’t have tricked anyone into doing anything. The Sparrow I know would have been truthful and upfront about it all.

  “I loved you,” I seethe, tears dancing in my eyes. “I fucking loved you, and this is the thanks I get! You lie to me—to everyone! It was never all about my mother, was it? This entire sham was because you didn’t want people finding out who Drake’s father was! What the fuck, Sparrow?!”

  “I can explain.” She hurries forward.

  My eyes burn through her, relishing the thought of leaving their mark on her creamy white skin. How could she be so deceitful? Such a goddamn
liar!

  Her time for an explanation would have been before I slid my dick inside her. I don’t give a rat’s ass if you are caught in the moment, you don’t intentionally try to trap someone, and that’s the exact way I feel.

  She tried to trap me, to keep me here under lock and key as if she’s my master.

  Well, the fucking joke is on her. I’ll get my payback, and it’s going to start right now. I refuse to be made a fool of, and that’s exactly what she’s done—and so much more.

  “You had your chance, Sparrow. The time for explaining what you did is over. Just remember, you brought all of this on yourself,” I spit through clenched teeth, turning my back on her as a plan already forms in my mind.

  Now, all I have to do is go through with it.

  I know what I have to do now. I swore nothing would ever bring me to this point, but the thought of her raising my son, putting bullshit in his head is more than I can take. She may hate me for what I’m about to do, but as God as my witness, I won’t allow her to get away with this. I will punish her for every single lie that’s fallen from her plump, traitorous lips.

  She may think I’m the same guy who walked out ten years ago, but she couldn’t be more wrong. I don’t have that level of innocence I had back then. That’s been tarnished by my actions on the West Coast, along with what little patience I have left for her.

  She’s about to see the real Declan Archer—the version of myself people in my town fear the most. No more of this fluffy bullshit I’ve been spoon-feeding her since I got here. She wants to act like a conniving bitch, I can sure as fuck treat her like one.

  Chapter Ten

  Sparrow

  You had your chance, Sparrow. The time for explaining what you did is over. Just remember, you brought all of this on yourself …

  He will never know how sorry I am for all of this. How every time I look into his molten brown eyes, seeing the pain resting in his irises, it feels like a knife carving up my soul.

  Jesus, I’m such a bitch. There’s nothing worse than making someone feel as if they’re trapped in a situation they don’t want to be in, and I did just that to Declan. I can’t even fathom the shit twisting around inside his mind right now.

  Hatred. Anger. Torment.

  The memories from that night, swirling around inside his head on repeat.

  It’s probably eating him up alive, knowing I didn’t tell him the truth. That I knew there was a possibility I could become pregnant and never told him.

  That I did become pregnant and left him in the dark.

  With fury settling in my heart, I take off toward the kitchen to gather up my things. If we stay here, it’s just going to grow even more uncomfortable. Everyone will look at me like they don’t know me anymore, and you know what? I won’t blame them a bit. Fuck, I don’t even recognize myself half the time.

  I’ve been telling lies and half-truths for a goddamn decade to make it through family gatherings. And I’m absolutely spent. There’s no way I can do this anymore; no way I can lie to everyone I love. My entire family will probably disown me after this, and again, I can’t blame them for it. I just wish there was a way I could make this up to them—to Declan.

  He’s the one I hurt the most. I used his trust against him in the heat of the moment. There’s no way I regret having my son, because it’s been only him who got me through the years in one piece. However, I do regret the lie I told to get here. The fib I voiced to Declan so he wouldn’t cast worry about sleeping with me ungloved.

  Rage, sickness, and worry are a tonic blitz through my mind as I step into the kitchen. My eyes glisten with unshed tears at the thought of taking my son away from the family he finally got to meet. But there’s nothing I can do about it now. My secret is out; the lies I told to get to this exact spot in time exposed.

  Nothing will ever be the same after this.

  My father said it’s Declan’s fault, but he couldn’t be further from the truth. Every single bit of this is mine. I know for a fact Declan would have never slept with me without a condom if he knew there was a chance of getting me pregnant. He’s a good guy—or at least he was until he went to California.

  Now he’s a stranger. A jerk. But a man who still causes a slow burn to encompass me.

  He wouldn’t knowingly leave me with a responsibility that was his, too. It’s why I never sought him out over Drake. It’s not the only reason, but it is pretty high on my list.

  Birth control may not be one hundred percent in preventing a pregnancy, but I do know the chances of becoming pregnant on birth control is almost slim to none. He knew that as well, which is the whole reason he took my innocence without the fear of leaving a part of him behind in his wake.

  “Drake, honey, go get your things,” I whisper, emotion deepening my voice.

  My mother glances up at the sound of my voice, devastation written all over her features. It pains me to slice through her heart right now, but I think us leaving is for the best. It will give everyone a chance to calm down. He and I will still attend Derrick’s wedding on Sunday, but I feel it’s a great decision to stay in our small town’s local hotel until then.

  Putting us all in the same house is just a means for disaster. Declan harboring his rage for the things I did. My father and mother, hurting from keeping all of this a secret from them. And my brothers, looking at me as if they no longer know who I am. At least, before they found out they didn’t treat me any differently. Now, they treat me with irrelevance, which pains me the most.

  “You can’t leave, Sparrow.” Tears build in her eyes, the pain spearing into the very core of me. “We only just got to meet him.”

  Clearing my throat of emotion, I reply, “I think it’s best if he and I stay at a hotel until it’s time to go back to Kentucky.”

  “No.” She cries softly, running her fingers through Drake’s onyx-colored locks. “Please.”

  “Come on, Drake. Maybe we’ll stop by McDonalds on our way to the hotel. They have an indoor swimming pool there. Won’t that be fun?”

  I watch silently as Drake crawls down from the barstool with his head tilted toward the floor. He exits quietly and I prepare to retreat myself, when another voice catches me off guard.

  “You’re not taking my son anywhere,” Declan seethes, stepping into the kitchen.

  Taken aback by his forcefulness, irritation begins simmering inside me. “How dare you say what I can or can’t do with my son. I don’t give a shit who you are to him, you will not tell me what to do.”

  Glancing over to my mother, Declan’s features soften. “Shelly, would you please go tell Drake he’s staying here? I’d really appreciate it.”

  My mother glances between us, before locking eyes with him again. “But …” she whispers, wiping the tears from her eyes.

  “Shelly,” he growls in the back of his throat.

  Her gaze drifts between the two of us before she quietly steps from the room. He waits until my mother’s out of hearing range before he advances on me. His steps are sure, determined, and his posture is rigid. Just from the sight of him alone, you can tell he will get what he wants, and he doesn’t give a shit what he has to do to obtain it.

  “That’s where you’re wrong. You tricked me. You fucking lied just to get what you want, even though we both know I would have hung the goddamn stars just to see you smile.” Stepping into me, he forces me backward. His strong chest grazing against the front of my breasts is almost too much stimulation to resist, even if he is angry with me.

  “Here’s what’s going to happen. You had your fun. Now, it’s my turn. You will not do anything with Drake without my consent. I don’t give a flying fuck if you like it or not. You made your bed; now you’re going to lie in it. Prepare yourself, Sparrow, because the days of you calling the shots are over.”

  “Who the fuck do you think you are?!”

  Smashing his chest against mine, a sharp intake of breath rocks me, his nearness affects me just as it did the last time we were this clos
e. My entire body heats, and I’d be lying if I say I’m not wet with need. Ten years without any sort of intimate contact will do that to a person, especially when the person you’ve been secretly lusting over is the man invading your space.

  It doesn’t matter if my mind hates him, my heart breaks because of him—my body will always win out because it remembers the way he played her like a fiddle.

  “When I said things are going to change, I meant it. Don’t worry, the moment I left you and your father in the sitting room, I already started the necessary preparations. I don’t give a shit if we can’t stand the ground either one of us walks on, I will be in my son’s life the way a father should be.”

  “What necessary preparations?” I ask, confusion clouding my thoughts. “What are you talking about?”

  It feels like everything is closing in around me, and no matter how much I try to fight, he’s already three steps ahead. I’m in the complete dark, and I don’t like that feeling one little bit.

  “Do I really have to spell it out for you?”

  I nod, mute by the fiery gaze he’s glaring daggers at me with. I’ve never seen that look come from Declan before, and I have to admit, it frightens me to know what’s going through his mind.

  Just as he starts to reply, a ding comes through on my phone, causing a devilish grin to tug at his lips. I have no doubt it’s Brandy getting back to me with the text I sent her earlier. She’s been so distraught believing she lost Drake. I knew just as soon as they walked through the door I had to tell her, give her some peace of mind. But why the fuck is he staring at me like the cat that ate the canary?

  Shaking my head, I roll my eyes at Declan and step away to gather my phone from my back pocket. However, the moment my finger slides across the screen and I start reading a text from Brandy, my entire world starts caving in around me. The walls I built to stay strong, crumble into nothing more than dust and rubble around my feet.

  How could he do this to me?!