Between Family

by Erin Trejo

  I watch Dante as he walks over and takes a seat in between the two of us.

  “What makes you say that?” he asks.

  “She’s still here,” I state the obvious.

  “True. What are you drinking?”

  I hold up my bottle of Fireball and shake it in his face. He chuckles.

  “Do you have anything worth actually drinking?”

  I give him a look but he just laughs. I shove out of my seat and head toward the door. When I step inside I can hear Kerry talking. It’s hard to make out what she’s saying until I get closer.

  “I’m getting closer. Yeah. No, they are always around. I think this is going to be easier than you think to handle the problem.”

  When I hear her heels clicking on the floor I slip back into the kitchen and grab a bottle out of the cabinet. She rounds the corner a second later and eyes me before she smiles.

  “We should talk,” she says.

  “No we shouldn’t. I have nothing to say to you.”

  “Your dad and I are close Brianna. I think it’s time for you to accept that.”

  I almost throw up in my mouth when I hear her say that. They can be close all they want. That has nothing to do with me. My own father doesn’t like me very much, so why should Barbie?

  “I think we are beyond accepting of each other, don’t you?”

  I spin on my heel and head back outside when I hear music playing softly. I smile at Dante knowing that it’s coming from his phone.

  “I found your drink,” I tell him as I hold up the bottle to see him smile at me.

  “Now that’s more like it. Come sit,” he tells me as I set the bottle down on the table in front of him.

  Dante lights up the joint and passes it to Tracey before he picks up the bottle. Just as he’s bringing it up to his lips I hear the back door click. I look over my shoulder to see Kerry walking out. I roll my eyes and turn away from her.

  “What are you kids doing?” she asks.

  “By kids I assume you’re including yourself?” I ask sarcastically.

  “I’m plenty old.”

  “Yeah. You’re what? Maybe twenty-four?”

  I don’t know why I want to push her buttons, but I do. I can’t stand her or the way she thinks she can run this house just because my dad is banging her.

  “What difference does my age make?” she asks as she looks to Dante and says, “You look like you’re all man though.”

  Her eyes move over Dante slowly. He doesn’t blatantly stare back at her, but he is watching her. His cell phone pings on the table which breaks their little showdown. He huffs out a breath before he tosses it back on the table.

  “Everything okay?” I ask.

  He looks up at me and nods. His shaggy hair falls into his eyes. I want to reach over and tug it, but I can’t. Not right now anyway.

  “Dante? That is your name isn’t it?” Kerry asks in a sultry voice.

  Tracey giggles as she’s no doubt tipsy after the amount of alcohol we’ve consumed.

  “Yeah. What do you want?” he’s short with her which makes me grin.

  Take that you Barbie bitch.

  “I was having a little issue inside. Would you mind being a man and helping me out?”

  I open my mouth to protest when his eyes meet mine. He’s telling me with his eyes not to say a word. I don’t know why he gives me that look, but I see it nonetheless.

  “What do you need?” he asks now looking up at her.

  “Well one of the outlets pulled loose in her dad’s bathroom. We wouldn’t want there to be a fire with Brianna in the house now would we?” she asks fluttering those damn fake eyelashes again. My insides heat. Anger coils inside me and I want to yank that fake hair off of her head. Instead, I wait to see what Dante will do. I’m shocked as hell when he stands up and motions for her to lead the way.

  “Dante,” I snap.

  He raises his hand to silence me and follows her inside. My stomach drops and everything I’ve drank tonight starts to swim in my stomach. Bile rises in my throat as I close my eyes and try to keep it at bay. I won’t cry over him. I knew he was like this. I should have never slept with him.

  “I’m going to sleep,” Tracey slurs as she climbs from her seat and heads inside.

  Me? I stand and run off of the porch and through the backyard. I can’t deal with this. How could he do this? As tears fill my eyes I run toward the side of the house when I slam into someone.

  “Jesus,” Tucker hisses as he grabs my shoulders.

  What do I say? Oh, by the way, your brother is cheating on me already. I can’t do that to him.

  “What happened?” he asks.

  I shake my head and bury my face in his shirt. Why did I do this to myself? Why did I think he would be different with me? He is who he is.

  It doesn’t take long for the back door to slam shut once more. I can hear the thud of someone walking across the yard before I hear him.

  “What’s going on?” Dante asks from behind us.

  Tucker shrugs, but doesn’t let go of me.

  “No clue bro. I just got here.”

  “Dad called. He wants us home Friday night. He said he had some news and we both need to be there,” Dante says, but none of it makes any sense to me.

  I don’t care what their dad has to say. I don’t care about anything right now.

  “What the hell is that about?”

  “I don’t know. Hey, I need you to run down and check on Tim. I heard that after what happened to Ralphy that he’s been acting weird.”

  I hold onto Tucker’s shirt tighter hoping like hell that he won’t leave me here with Dante. I don’t want to talk to him right now. I don’t even know what I’d say.

  “I’m a little busy man.”

  “I’ll deal with her. You just go before it gets too late and the asshole heads home.”

  Tucker leans down, presses a kiss to the top of my head, and then pulls back.

  “I’ll check on you in a little bit.”

  I look up at him with pleading eyes. I don’t want him to go. I don’t want to face Dante after he was in there with her. So, reluctantly I nod my head.

  Tucker releases me and I watch as he walks away. It only takes a few seconds before Dante grabs me and pulls me into him. His nose is in my hair and he’s inhaling my scent. His hands caress my stomach through my shirt and my body shudders. He chuckles before he turns me around to face him. His hands come up to rest on my cheeks before he kisses me. His lips are warm and full of want. He tugs my bottom lip with his teeth and I moan. I can’t stop what I feel for him. I don’t know how to turn this feeling off.

  “I need you,” he whispers which confuses me even more.

  If he was in there with her then he wouldn’t need me would he? Why I nod my head is beyond me, but that’s the only invitation he needs. He grabs my hand, drags me through the back door, and pulls me inside. We’re up the stairs quickly. He shuts us in my room as he rips at my clothes, in no time at all we’re both naked.

  “Ride me,” he says as he lays on my bed and looks up at me.

  I shake my head and wipe the last of my tears when he raises an eyebrow. I move toward him slowly and climb on the bed. Dante holds the condom between his fingers as he stares at me. I can see the heat in his eyes. I wonder if she got to roll the condom on like I get to. Thinking about that makes me sick and pisses me off.

  I grab the condom and tear it open and roll it down his length. Dante hisses between his teeth. I climb up and straddle him. I position his cock where I need it to be. That’s when everything changes.

  I slide down on his cock roughly which causes him to growl loudly. I smirk and ride him hard. It hurts, but I want him to know what he did to me. I want him to know how me make me feel without me having to tell him.

  “Christ,” he grunts as I take him even harder and faster.

  Dante lifts his hands to my hips and in seconds he flips us so that he’s on top. I glare angrily up at him, but he just smirk
s that wicked smile and reaches for something.

  “Arms up,” he says.

  I shake my head no. Fuck him. I’m not doing what he says. He came in here with her and blatantly ignored me. How dare he?

  “Now,” he growls once more before he leans down and sinks his teeth into my chest.

  I scream his name and jerk my arms above my head. He chuckles low in his throat, grabs my wrists, and secures them to the headboard.

  “What are you doing?” I ask as I jerk at my arms only to see that he used my bra to secure my arms in place.

  He licks his way down my body stopping to suck my flesh into his warm mouth. Moans escape my lips, but I want so much to be mad at him right now. He isn’t letting me do that though. I arch my back when he comes back up. His cock hits my entrance.

  “You’re always so wet for me princess. Why is that?” he teases me.

  He grabs his cock and rubs it against my clit. I want to scream. I want to beg, but I don’t do that either. I pant and watch him. I’m waiting for him to be back inside of me. I need him inside of me right now.

  “I won’t let you come Bri.”

  My eyes jerk to his and the darkness I see glistening in them turns me on even more.

  “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “Yeah. I would. Now, tell me. Why are you always so wet for me?”

  I swallow hard and look into his eyes again. He seriously wants to know.

  “Because you make me that way,” I say as I squirm.

  Dante smirks and thrusts into me hard. I gasp and hold onto my own hands as he takes me harder than I was taking him. He means business right now. I know that I started this, but he’s the one that’s going to finish it.

  Chapter 12

  Dante

  “You sure this is a good idea?” Tucker asks as we walk into the warehouse.

  It isn’t ours, which is why he’s so on edge. I can’t say that I blame him either. My nerves are shot and I can’t seem to shake the look in Bri’s eyes the other night. Something was bothering her and I can’t figure out what it was. She looked both hurt and pissed, but I’m not sure why.

  “Not really,” I reply as I bring the cigarette back up to my lips and inhale as I tug at my hair with the other hand.

  I’m tired as hell and this is the last thing that I want to be doing, but we have to. After I fucked Bri on every surface of her room the other night I got a phone call saying one of our guys had been shot. He was in the hospital and it was up in the air as to if he was going to make it or not. After the shit that happened with Ralphy it got me to thinking. I’m not sure how all of the dots connect yet, but I’m pretty damn sure that none of this is a coincidence.

  “Then why are we doing this bro?” Tucker asks.

  I stop walking and turn to face him and say, “Because I’m in charge Tucker. That’s fucking why. What’s with the questions? Since when do you ask me about everything, huh?”

  His eyes flick with regret briefly before they harden again. That’s the Tucker I know.

  “Fine. You’re in charge. Lead the goddamn way,” he snaps and motions to the center of the room.

  I turn on my heel and walk when I see Jenkins with a shit eating grin on his face.

  “Nice of you to come. Now what the hell do you want?” he snaps quickly.

  “What a nice way to greet your friends,” I say mockingly.

  “Are we friends now?”

  “Not a chance in hell.”

  “I didn’t think so. So what can we do for the Kings?”

  “You can start by telling me where my shit is,” I growl.

  “What shit are you referring to? I don’t dabble in shit,” Jenkins muses.

  I want to rip his fucking head off. I want to just shoot him between the eyes and watch him die. Not here. Not yet.

  “Stop playing games Jenkins. Everything you dabble in is shit,” Tucker roars.

  “Our missing coke Jenkins. I’ve heard that you have a hell of a product out there right now,” Tucker adds.

  I want to break him. I want him to snap. I want to be on the receiving end of it so that I have a reason to snap his neck. I want to do this for Bri you know?

  “We got some good shit in. Did you want to discuss your buying options?”

  I chuckle loudly. I turn to look at Tucker and he can see the look in my eyes. He gives me a short nod before he turns back to Jenkins.

  “The thing about buying options is that the product would have to be yours to start with. Seeing as how that shit is ours I don’t think we’ll be paying for a goddamn thing,” I hiss at him as I pull out my gun.

  Tucker walks up next to me as Jenkin’s guys pull up to him. I smile darkly at him. I knew it would end this way, and to be honest I’m okay with that. If this is my time to go, then so be it.

  “You made a mistake Dante. You’re in my warehouse.”

  “Nope. You made a mistake Jenkins. It’s neutral ground here. Were you thinking you could take this warehouse too?”

  His eyes flicker around the room where a few more of our guys are now stepping out from where they were hiding.

  “You are making a huge mistake,” he says once again.

  In seconds the entire warehouse erupts into chaos. Bullets fly. People scream. Blood is shed. I move to hide behind a crate when I feel a bullet skim my arm. I hiss in a breath and look towards Tucker. He’s firing shots off left and right when I start doing the same. We back them out of the warehouse which is the smartest plan of action right now. We follow them out of the side door while still shooting as we go until their tires squeal on the pavement and they speed out. We can hear sirens in the distance as we rush back to our cars. I jump in and start driving with Tucker in the passenger seat next to me. He’s looking out the back window to make sure everyone got out of there.

  “They clear?” I ask him as I take the next turn, he spins in his seat to buckle his seatbelt.

  “Yeah. They’re out.”

  He doesn’t say anything else on the ride back home. I’m glad too. I don’t want to hear his bullshit right now. He didn’t want this meet to happen, but I am sure that Jenkins is the one that stole our coke. I had to see his reactions with my own eyes though.

  I pull into the driveway and see that my dad’s car is already there. Tucker and I share a glance before we climb out to head inside the front door.

  “Well, this should be fun,” Tucker mumbles.

  I reach over and finger the spot that the bullet grazed and bring my hand back in front of my face to see the blood on my fingers.

  “Oh shit. You got hit?” he asks turning to stand in front of me. “Let me see it.”

  Tucker pulls me sleeve up to assess the wound.

  “It’s just a flesh wound,” I tell him.

  He shrugs and keeps looking at it.

  “It’s a little worse than that. It probably needs stitches right here. Looks like you’re going to get another badass scar though,” he says grinning up at me.

  “No doubt. Let’s go see what this shit with dad is about,” I tell him as I nod toward the house.

  We walk up the steps and when I open the door I come face to face with my dad. He isn’t looking at us, but at something in the living room. Tucker clears his throat and grabs his attention. He turns his head to see us standing there with a smirk across his face. At forty-six my dad is very good looking, and in excellent shape. He has dirty blonde hair and the same dark eyes that I have. Just looking at him wearing his dark t-shirt and jeans you would never guess him to be that old. He could easily pass for our brother.

  “You got hit?” he asks nodding toward my arm.

  “It’s not that bad. What’s going on?”

  I want him to get to the point of why we’re meeting and exactly what it is he wants.

  “There’s a situation,” he says nodding toward the living room.

  Tucker and I both walk over and glance into the living room. We see a little boy sitting on the couch with a book in his hands.

&nb
sp; “Who the hell is that?” Tucker asks.

  “You remember Octavia?” he asks.

  We both turn to look at him.

  I scratch my jaw and ask, “The Asian bitch?”

  He nods.

  “What about her?” Tucker chimes in.

  “She contacted me. Says he’s mine.”

  “Are you fucking serious? A fucking kid?” I hiss.

  “I don’t know if it’s true or not.”

  “What exactly does that have to do with us?” Tucker asks as he crosses his arms over his chest to glare at our dad.

  I can’t say that I blame him for the attitude. Dad just dropped a fucking huge bomb on us telling us that we have a brother.

  “I have to go meet up with the Columbians about the coke. We refused payment to them when it got stolen and Javie isn’t very happy about that. He’s threatening to send people up here to us.”

  “Shit,” I hiss under my breath.

  “Shit is right. I need to go talk to him face to face. He’ll be in Florida the end of this week. I need to head down and handle this in person to keep shit flowing smoothly.”

  “Again I ask you… what the fuck does that kid have to do with us?”

  I almost laugh at Tucker and his attitude.

  “You are becoming a very mouthy little fucker. You know that? I need you to take care of him until I get back,” dad says casting us a sideways glance.

  Like hell that’s happening.

  “No. No fucking way. We’ve got shit going on. I don’t have time to babysit some little offspring you accidentally had.”

  “Then take the kid with you. It’ll be a family bonding experience and shit,” Tucker adds.

  This time I can’t help it. I do chuckle.

  “I can’t have him meet Javie. You two are watching him. Just fucking deal with it until I get back.”

  With that he turns and walks out the front door the same way the son of a bitch came in.

  “You can watch the little shit,” I tell Tucker as I stalk toward the kitchen with him following closely behind me.

  “What the fuck am I supposed to do with him?”

  “I don’t know. Talk to him?”

  I grab a beer, pop the top off, and take a long pull.

  “Talk to him?”