Between Family

by Erin Trejo

  Fuck. Why does he have to be so damn hot? With his shaggy, dirty blonde hair and those deep, brown eyes of his.

  “I sure as hell am,” Tracey chimes in as I shake my head and laugh.

  “What about you Bri? You ready to have a little fun?”

  “I think I’ve had plenty of fun for one night.”

  “I don’t think you have. In fact, I’m pretty sure the party is far from getting started yet,” he says eyeing me up and down.

  Just as I’m about to open my mouth Tucker wraps his hands around my waist and pulls me back into him.

  “Who do you think called that shit in?” he asks Dante.

  “Hard to say. I’ll find out though. Then we’ll have a little fun with the prick.”

  Dante’s eyes darken when Tucker leans down and kisses my neck. He reaches for Tracey and pulls her into his chest. She yelps at the contact, but this is something she’s wanted for a long time.

  I want to say no. I want to protest and stomp my foot like a goddamn baby. I can’t do that though. If I do that then Tucker will know that I like Dante, and Dante will get a thrill out of it. So, I lean into Tucker’s touch instead. He groans near my ear before he runs his tongue down my neck. Dante’s eyes are darker than I’ve ever seen them before and he smiles at me. With a smirk in place he drags Tracey with him toward the tree line.

  “I guess they didn’t want to party with us after all,” Tucker chuckles.

  “I guess not. Let’s get a drink,” I tell him as I pull out of his arms.

  I’m aggravated, hot, and pissed off. Mostly I’m just horny as hell, but the one that I have been thinking about all night is now off banging my best friend. I sigh in defeat as I drop down next to the small fire that someone has built. Tucker passes me a beer and lights up a joint. He sits down next to me and we all pass it around. After what feels like hours I stand up and brush my ass off.

  “Where are you going?” Tucker asks looking up at me.

  “I’m going to go find Tracey. I’ll be back.”

  He nods his head and goes back to his conversation. I ignore the little voice telling me to leave them alone. I’m on edge and I just want to go home and get some sleep.

  I traipse through the trees when I hear the moans. When I’m close enough that I can see them I gasp when Dante looks up at me while he licks her pussy. Tracey has no idea that I’m standing here watching them. Heat courses through my veins and I think Dante knows. I watch him. His eyes are on mine as he continues to make her scream. I should just walk away. I shouldn’t be watching this, but Dante raises his hand to me and holds up two fingers. I’m confused by his meaning until he spreads them apart and motions between my legs. I shake my head no, but his eyes are lethal.

  I slowly spread my legs, never taking my eyes from his. I can see him smirk when he nods toward me. He wants me to finger myself. I know what he wants, and just because he wants it, I do it. I slide my hand between my legs and find the dampness that is already there. I open my mouth as I pant and match my rhythm to his. My eyes flutter closed as I take myself higher. When I hear Tracey yelp I open my eyes to find Dante staring at me. He shakes his head slightly and brings his fingers to his eyes and points at me. Damn him. He wants me to watch him while I get off.

  I’ve never done this in front of anyone before. Sure, I’ve touched myself in front of Tucker, but never like this. The more I finger myself the more I feel the burn in my stomach. Within seconds, my eyes still locked on Dante’s, I fall apart biting my own lip to try to keep quiet. Every wave makes me wish it was his mouth rather than my fingers. When Tracey screams I pull my hand out from under my skirt and spin around quickly to go find Tucker. I do find him. I slam right into him.

  “You okay?” he asks.

  “Yeah. Can you drive me home? Tracey is still busy,” I tell him feeling like the biggest fool.

  Dante is a player. He has girls lined up at his door only to fuck them and then toss them aside. I should have known better.

  “Yeah, come on.”

  Tucker pulls me into his side and we walk back to the car. As I climb in I see Dante coming out of the tree line. He smirks at me and blows me a kiss as we pull out.

  Chapter 4

  Dante

  The party was a success the other night. I found what I was looking for. Well, my boys did at least. Now I’m wandering the streets of the south side of Chicago taking in my territory. Not many would dare to walk these streets at night, but I’m not just anyone. I own these fucking streets. This is my home. This is my birthright.

  “Hey Dante.”

  I glance over and see Smiley. He’s one of our dealers. I walk over to him and nod my head at him. I look down to see the crown that sits on his wrist. That’s my symbol. Each and every member of the Kings has the crown tatted on his inner wrist. It shows who he is and that he’s not to be fucked with.

  “How’s shit going out here tonight?”

  “It’s a little slow man. What are you doing walking around out here? It’s after one in the goddamn morning.”

  “Isn’t that the best time? Shit. The only time the streets are silent. Right?” I ask him as Smiley nods his head.

  “Yeah you’re right. There’s not much happening tonight though. A few parties over on South Second, but that’s about it,” he tells me.

  “A few huh?”

  He nods.

  “I might go check them out. See you on Monday night.”

  I turn and walk away wondering who in the hell is having a party right now. I don’t really give two shits, but I just don’t want any drama going down that I should know about. It’s not like they have to ask my permission to have a party, but I want to be in the goddamn loop.

  When I step out onto Second I’m shocked at the sight in front of me. I nearly lose my footing. The air rushes from my lungs. What the fuck is going on? I walk closer when I realize who it is.

  “Bri? What the fuck?”

  She doesn’t turn to look at me. She just keeps holding the gun in her shaking hands aimed directly at the man in front of her. My gaze moves to his.

  “What the fuck are you doing over here?”

  They’re Northside Reds. I can’t believe that he has the balls to be on the South Side right now. Jenkins knows better. He’s a fucking rival that I wouldn’t mind blowing a goddamned hole in, but I can’t. We have too much history and too much money is invested between us.

  “Get this fucking girl off of me Dante.”

  “You just shut the fuck up,” Bri screams.

  I move closer up next to her and that’s when I see Tracey. She’s curled into herself and her clothes are ripped. I look between the three of them when I notice that Bri’s clothes are ripped too.

  “What the hell is this?” I ask motioning toward the girls.

  “We were having a little fun. It got out of hand. You know how that shit goes Dante,” Jenkins slurs.

  I know he’s fucked out of his head right now, but that doesn’t matter to me. I want to know why Bri’s clothes are torn half off of her body. Thoughts are circling through my mind and none of them are good.

  “You lying fuck,” Bri screams.

  “Bri. What happened?”

  Her hand shakes, but she keeps the gun pointed at him.

  “It was nothing,” he roars.

  Bri moves even closer. I mimic her steps and step even closer to her. My eyes keep darting around the three of them as I try to piece this shit together.

  “Was it? Maybe for you it was nothing,” she screams louder.

  I move to stand behind her. I wrap my hands around her and reach for the gun.

  “Brianna just tell me what happened and I’ll take care of it. Let me have the gun,” I whisper in her ear.

  This isn’t her. She isn’t this type of person regardless of who her father is.

  “I want him dead. I. Want. Him. Dead,” she cries.

  Nothing in this situation is right, but my cock is hard as steel and pressing into her. Fuck. Seeing he
r like this is messing with my head.

  “Why? What did he do princess?”

  “I didn’t do shit,” the idiot yells again.

  “You lying shit. You and your little friend tried to rape us.”

  What the fuck?

  I move quickly from behind her and straight towards Jenkins. My fist collides with his face more than once. I don’t give a single shit who he is. He put his hands on something that wasn’t his to touch. Each punch only drives my anger higher. It isn’t until I hear the gunshot that I stop. When I look up I see that Bri’s eyes are wild. That bullet could have easily hit either one of us.

  “Bri. Baby look at me,” I tell her as I stand from the ground and wipe blood from my lips.

  She isn’t focused. She isn’t here. She’s lost in her head. She can’t see what’s right in front of her.

  “Get the fuck away from me,” she screams as Tracey cries next to her.

  I walk in front of her. I walk between the gun and Jenkins.

  “Look at me baby. Please? Just look at me,” I demand this time.

  Her eyes slowly move up to meet mine. It’s almost as if a wall has fallen and now she can see who is calling out to her.

  “Dante,” she says my name so softly that I nearly lose it.

  I nod my head and step closer to her. The gun is now pressing into my chest.

  “It’s me. Let me have the gun Bri.”

  She shakes her head, but when I reach for the gun she lets me take it. I shove it into the back of my jeans before I pull her into my chest. Bri sobs as her body shakes.

  “I want him dead,” she cries harder.

  I suck in a breath knowing in the back of my mind that I want him dead as well. I wish it was that easy.

  “I know.”

  I release her and turn to Jenkins as he pulls himself off of the ground.

  “If I ever see you on this side of town again you are a dead man. I will fucking cut you into pieces and sprinkle you on your mom’s front steps. Get the fuck out of here.”

  He doesn’t hesitate. He turns and runs.

  “How could you let him go after what he did? You bastard.”

  I slide my phone out to call Smiley. I let him know that I need a car and I need it now. In under a minute a car rounds the corner and stops in front of us. I usher to the two girls into the car.

  “Keep an eye out for Northside.”

  “Is that what happened to them? Fuck Dante. I didn’t know.”

  “I know you didn’t. Jenkins was over here too. I don’t know who was with him.”

  “I’ve got this. I’ll shoot to kill if I see anyone.”

  “Good.”

  I walk around and climb into the driver’s seat and drive off.

  “What’s your address?” I ask Tracey needing to get her the fuck out of this car so that I can be alone with Bri.

  Chapter 5

  Brianna

  “Is your dad home?” Dante asks after we dropped Tracey off at her house.

  I didn’t want her to go, but she insisted that she would be fine. She didn’t look fine. Dante asked if we wanted to call the police, but we all know how that works around here.

  “No.”

  “Then you’re staying with us,” he says.

  I don’t bother arguing with him as I wouldn’t win anyway. Instead I just nod my head and keep looking out the window as the houses fly by.

  I can’t believe this happened to us. Tracey said that she knew the people that were having the party. That’s the only reason I went. The thought of that man ripping my shirt open causes me to shiver. I’ve never been afraid of anything in my life. Who and what my dad is created a sense of safety, I had never really felt fear before now.

  When we pull into the driveway I look over to my house. It’s dark. There are no lights on. It’s dark just like my family.

  “Come on,” Dante says before he climbs out of the car.

  He walks around and helps me out. He pulls my shirt back into place when it slips. I can see the fire burning in his eyes. He’s pissed. His jaw is clenched tight even though he’s not saying a word. He wraps his arm around me and leads me inside, flipping on the lights as we go. He ushers me upstairs and I silently go with him. I’m not sure where my mind is at. I’m not sure what I feel; I’m just a void. I’m a space in time that has no real meaning right now. With that thought another sob escapes me.

  “Fuck,” Dante mutters and pulls me into his arms once more.

  I let him hold me as I inhale his scent. I’ve never wanted to be closer to him in my life. I wrap my arms around his waist and just hold on.

  “I’m sorry princess.”

  His words cause even more tears to form. I’ve never been weak. I’ve never felt this way before, but after being nearly raped I don’t know how I should feel.

  When I pull back, Dante leads me into his room. He pulls out a t-shirt and turns to me. With fire still blazing in his eyes he moves slowly toward me. He sets the shirt on the bed before he moves to the hem of my torn one. The look in his eyes is so torn that it pains me to see it there. Why is he looking at me like that?

  When he lifts my shirt up over my head and tosses it to the floor I gasp, his hands come to my shoulders as his fingers caress me while he runs then up and down my arms. I shiver from his touch. When our eyes lock I nearly lose myself. Dante licks his lips, shakes his head slightly, and grabs the shirt off of the bed.

  “Put this on,” he says holding the shirt up for me to take.

  I slide my arms through and he tugs it down. I’m about to say something, although I don’t know what I’m going to say, when I hear Tucker.

  “Did you hear about the shit that was goi-”

  He stops when he walks into the room and looks between us.

  “What the fuck is going on?”

  “Shit went down on Second,” Dante tells him.

  His eyes jerk to mine and stay there.

  “That was you? Fuck.”

  His voice softens before he reaches to me and pulls me into his arms. I want to cry, but I don’t. I don’t want this to break me. So, instead of letting him cuddle me I pull away.

  “Just stop. I’m not going to break.”

  “Jesus you were almo-”

  “I said stop! Just shut the fuck up Tucker! I wasn’t raped okay? Just stop.”

  I turn and run out of the room. I can hear Tucker and Dante talking as I go. It doesn’t take them long before they find me curled up on the couch.

  “I ordered pizza,” Dante announces.

  “They don’t deliver pizza this late,” I tell him sarcastically.

  “Well, for me they do,” he smirks.

  Of course they do. Tucker turns on some action movie and plops down onto the couch next to me. He doesn’t make a move to touch me this time. I almost feel bad for yelling at him, but I can’t keep crying over this.

  I should never have gone out with Tracey in the first place. I should have stayed home like I’d planned on doing to watch movies. Thoughts start to get jumbled in my head when a piece of pizza is slapped in front of me. I didn’t even hear them bring it in.

  “Eat,” Dante demands.

  I pick up the piece and take a few bites before leaning back against the couch.

  “This is the stupidest movie I’ve ever seen,” I mumble under my breath.

  “Are you shitting me? This is action baby,” Tucker snaps.

  “This is some of the fakest action I’ve ever seen. Did you see how that car blew up? That’s not how it happens,” I say crossing my arms over my chest.

  “How the hell would you know?” Dante asks me with a smirk.

  “Because you two idiots blew up Miss Margo’s car when you thought it was Northside’s.”

  “Oh shit. I remember that,” Dante smiles.

  It’s a rare sight to see him smile and I’m glad that I was here for it. Tucker yawns and closes his eyes as the movie continues on, eventually I fall asleep too. The dream is very vivid and doesn’t st
op, as if it’s on a loop. That asshole had his hands on me. I jerk awake and look around to find Tucker passed out on the couch next to me. I don’t see Dante anywhere. He must have gone to bed. I shove off of the couch trying to be quiet so that I don’t wake Tucker. I walk through the kitchen and out of the back door when I smell smoke and see the tip of a cigarette glowing in the dark.

  “You couldn’t sleep?” Dante asks.

  “Bad dream.”

  “Come sit with me.”

  I walk over and take a seat on the wicker sofa next to him. It feels strange to be sitting out here with him when it was Tucker and myself so many nights before.

  “Do you love him?”

  His question should shock me, but I saw it coming.

  “I’ve always loved him.”

  “That’s not what the fuck I’m asking you here princess and you know it.”

  “What difference does it make?”

  “What happened tonight?”

  I think about telling him to fuck off, but I don’t. Instead I take a deep breath and start talking.

  “Tracey said she wanted to go to this party and that she knew the people. Came to find out, she didn’t. She heard about the party and when we got there we found that guy and his friend. We stuck around for a little while because they didn’t fuck with us at first, but that one just kept looking at me like he knew me. It was just weird.”

  “Then what happened?”

  I can feel Dante tense up next to me.

  “We were dancing when they walked up to us. They tried to dance with us, but we told them no. They didn’t listen. It got kind of heated after that. The one guy pulled Tracey outside and the one that was there when you got there pulled me outside. They tried to, well they didn’t get that far. I grabbed his gun when I felt it and the other guy took off.”

  I can hear him take a deep breath and blow it out. He takes another drag from his cigarette and then flicks it through the air. I watch the glow of the tip until it lands in the yard. Dante pulls me so that I’m facing him and grabs my face in his hands.

  “We have deals with him. I couldn’t kill him on the spot. That would start a war that we’re not ready for yet,” he tells me.