As Eve and I are having a Mexican stand-off, Bridget comes out practically skipping with her dress bag in hand. See, hormonal bitches. I can’t handle this shit.
“Alright Trig…” Bridget says as she trails off and notices that I, yet again, must have pissed Eve off. “Anthony Robert Hebert! What the fuck did you do?” Bridget yells as she makes her way behind the counter to give Eve support. Eve’s the one with the fucking attitude, why is she being coddled?
“I didn’t do shit but offer to take her out for a drink. That’s when I realized she has her ol’ man’s name tattooed across her fucking tit.” I’m beyond pissed at this point and I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to hold my inner instinct in for much longer. I can feel the heat coursing through my veins, which means it’s only a matter of time before the beast comes out. This is the second-time Bridget has run to this bitch’s defense and I’m sick of it. What happened to family first?
Bridget is whispering to Eve, telling her she will come by later when she drops the dog off. Really? Did she seriously just tell her that? Fuck her! Yeah, Eve is fucking gorgeous but this stuck-up attitude she has is just enough to make me stay away. I don’t have patience for that shit.
Bridget walks around the counter towards me and is practically pulling me out the door. When we finally hit the humidity of New Orleans, she shoves me up against the wall of the store. I can feel the bricks on the wall crack from the force of her. It’s only a matter of time for her before her temper gets the best of her, as well.
“You have got to be the biggest asshole I know. What the fuck? Like seriously, who does the shit you do?” Bridget yells while poking me in the chest with her finger. I put my arms up in a surrendering kind of way. I will never put my hands on a woman, especially my sister. When I finally open my mouth to talk, she turns her back towards me and starts walking to the bike to retrieve her helmet.
“All this over her ol’ man’s name on her chest? Seriously? Go change your tampon, Bridge and get over it. I got to get back to the club house,” I snap back causing her to stop in her tracks.
She turns around to face me and walks up to me again, “You men and your fucking assumptions. This is what gets you guys into trouble.”
“What are you talking about?” I say annoyingly. This shit is getting old too fast.
“That name you saw, Alec, that’s not her ol’ man, dumbass. It’s her son.” Bridget says as she puts her helmet on. Fuck me. What did I just do?
I must have stood there for a good ten minutes thinking of how big of an ass I am. I didn’t even hear my sister talking to me. I could see her lips moving but I wasn’t comprehending anything she was saying. “Earth to Tony. You in there” she asks while waving her hand in front of my face.
I finally snap out of it and nod my head. “Good, you can make it up to her later. Right now, I have plans and so do you,” Bridget says as she climbs on the back of the bike. I climb on and start it up, so much shit running through my head. I look back at the store knowing Bridget won’t let this go I really am going to have to make this up to Eve. We ride off down Bourbon Street, but something doesn’t feel right. I pull off for a moment just to see if I can get a sense of what is throwing my instincts off. Maybe it’s how I have been acting that has my nerves on end but something just isn’t sitting right. And I’m not leaving until I know what it is.
Eve
Today was supposed to be my easy day. All I had to do was a final fitting and pull the summer dresses off the racks and put the winter ones on. The mannequins could wait another day. I really hated dressing them. Bridget called earlier asking if she could come in for her final fitting so naturally I told her yes. She’s one of those girls who doesn’t judge and has a heart of gold until you piss her off, then it’s game on. I’ve seen that in action and about died from laughing so hard.
Her appointment was at 10:30 so that gave me time to finish my beignets and coffee and get everything ready for her. As I was sitting there watching The View and eating my breakfast, my phone goes off. I unlock my phone and open the messages to see a message from my ex.
Max: You bringing the boy by?
Why can’t he call Alec by his name? That annoys the shit out of me, he knows Alec is his son and is only forced to see him because of his mother. She’s an amazing woman but I’m not quite sure where she went wrong with Max.
Me: I can’t, I’m working today. If you want to swing by the daycare and pick him up, let me know and I’ll let Loretta know you’re coming to get him.
I know for a fact that won’t end the conversation. He never wants to make the hour drive from Houma to come get Alec. It’s always me, and even though his mother gives me gas money, it’s not the point. It takes two to make this co-parenting shit work. So why does it feel like I’m the only working at it?
My phone goes off again. Yep, I knew it before I even opened the message that he was going to throw a tantrum at my response. Opening the messages, I’m not shocked at all by what I read.
Max: Listen here, you selfish bitch. When I say bring me the boy, you are expected to do that. I’m not driving an hour to go pick him up when I have better things to do. So, fuck you and your job and while you’re at it fuck that kid. He was never mine to begin with.
I put the phone down and just stared at the screen. This is not what I needed this morning. Is it so hard for people to be in a fucking happy mood anymore? I know the answer with Max, nothing I ever do has ever been right for him. I decide that I’m not even going to respond to that message. I’ve had it with his shit and quite frankly, I’m done with how he treats Alec. Alec doesn’t need a father like that. I put my phone on silent and put it in my back pocket while making a mental note of the shit I have to now do after work.
I hear knocking on the front door. Fuck, is it 10:30 already? I stand up and take on last sip of my coffee before I make a mad dash to the front door to unlock it. I glance at the clock on the wall behind the counter, sure enough it was 10:32. Shit.
“I’m so sorry, my baby. I didn’t even realize it was that time,” I say as I let Bridget in. The man with her though, caught me off guard.
“That’s ok, babe. We aren’t in any hurry, are we Trig?” she asks turning to the man that came in with her, as he holds the door open for Bridget. He just grunts and proceeds to check out the place. Seriously? Who grunts like that? I can’t help but notice how fucking sexy this man is though. His arms are sleeved with tattoos and I can even see the start or end of one on the back of his neck. His biceps look like they are going to tear his shirt at any moment and his jet black hair is formed into a Mohawk but somehow suits him well. When he turned and looked at me, I found it hard to not pull my gaze. His eyes made that part difficult. He has these ice blue eyes and I could tell if I didn’t stop now, I was going to be lost forever.
He didn’t want to be here, that was quite obvious, but he made the most of it. At first, he was sitting in the chair playing on his phone and the next thing I knew, I wanted to rip this guy for how he was talking to me and to Bridget. When he questions why Bridget never mentioned me, I went on the defense. Max used to pull that shit with me when I would make new friends and it got to the point where my friends no longer wanted to be around me. If Bridget is hanging around with this guy, she’s going to need someone to be there for her when shit hits the fan.
I was shocked when Trigger fired back with the brother comment. I mean, they look nothing alike, there’s no way. Compared to Bridget’s blonde, hazel eyes and being my height, I still can’t believe that they are brother and sister. When Bridget comes out of the dressing room, you can definitely tell shit was going to go down with her. If it’s one thing I know about Bridget, it’s she doesn’t like it when her friends are attacked and she’s like a momma bear coming in to protect her cub. Watching Bridget put Trigger in his place was comical, though. He didn’t cower, but you could tell that she knocked him down a few levels. As he sat back in the oversized chair, it looked as if he was too big for
it, you could see the anger in his eyes and what sounded like a growl. Ok, I firmly believe now this guy was raised by dogs.
I let Bridget know that I need to take the dress up again. I swear she is either shorter every time she comes in or my measurements are really far off, which doesn’t happen too often. I was raised in this business so I know what measurements are needed and more often than not, every customer has their dress walking out the door with them after two fittings. This is fitting number four and I’m really starting to question my ability. Bridget steps out of the heels, hikes up her dress, and stomps off. Lovely! Now I’ve pissed her off. Can’t this day be like any other day where shit goes right?
I put the shoes back in the box and head to the counter to put them away. I grabbed a Post-It note and write Bridget Hebert, Friday. I didn’t need the reminder but my other co-worker Cara might and the last thing I need is that ditzy blonde selling these shoes before Friday and then Bridget’s really going to be pissed at me. I’m bent over, restacking shoes, when I have this sudden feeling that someone was watching me. I whip around and see that Trigger is there. I didn’t even hear him come across the room. I mean he has boots on, so I should have heard him, right? I guess I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts to know what was going on.
I’m not quite sure what he wants. I mean, wasn’t he just being a total dickhead to me not 15 minutes ago? Of course, I wasn’t exactly polite either. I’ve really toughened up since getting out of the situation with Max, which meant that I was never going to be treated like some piece of trash just so he can go out and get his dick wet. At that rate, I’m better off single. Trigger though, there was something mysterious about this man, secrets he’s not willing to share or can’t share. You can see it in his eyes.
“Can I help you?” I ask inquisitively.
The next words that came out of his mouth completely threw me off. I never expected him to apologize, let alone say that even though he is protective over his sister it was still no way to act.
“Well, I can tell you that she is right about one thing, we aren’t sleeping together.” I tease. Did I just say that? “But you don’t need to hover over her like you do. She’s her own person, let her make her own decisions.” I continue with a hint of a smile. Nothing wrong with being nice, right? Or flirting. I continue on and tell him that he doesn’t need to be so overbearing with Bridget, she is fully capable of taking care of herself.
A few moments pass in silence. We’re just staring at each other and I swear it was like the world just melted away. What is wrong with me? I just met this guy, who is in fact an asshole but what is he protecting? His sister or himself? And I definitely shouldn’t be acting like some middle school chick who just realized she got her first crush.
I walk back over to my work area and start the paper work that my boss, Elise, needs me to do. I’m a procrastinator and she knows this but I have pushed it off long enough. Things need to be ordered and bills have to be paid. At least she can trust me to get that stuff done.
Trigger is still standing there looking at me. I can see him out of the corner of my eye. And is that a smile? Holy shit, the man can smile, I think to myself. He’s been quiet for a few minutes now and I’m not sure if he’s done talking or if there is more he has to say.
“I think we have established I’m an asshole, so why don’t we go and talk it over drinks or something?” He says as I jump back a little. The silence must have gotten to me because I didn’t expect him to talk again let alone ask me out.
I’m contemplating what he just asked me. I would love to go out for drinks with him but what about Alec? The only reason Bridget and I went out last week was because Max agreed to take him as long as I brought him out. And as much as I hate the drive to Houma, I really needed some time to myself to regroup. Max most likely won’t take Alec again this weekend, and I can pretty much anticipate being interrogated if I tell him I am going out with a guy. Until I have shit figured out, I can’t go out again.
“I don’t think so.” I say as I bend down to put paper in the printer for the bill that I just paid. I hear that growl again. What the fuck? That’s not the only thing I notice. I can feel the tension in the small store which made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I could also feel the heat. The A/C is set at 67 degrees and no one has come into the store since Bridget and Trigger, so why in the hell is it so hot in here?
The next few minutes happened so fast that I still can’t wrap my brain around it. Trigger thinks I have an ol’ man but why would he think that? Does he know Max? Is Max still telling people we are still together? Shit, I can feel my anxiety rising. What the fuck am I going to do? My first thought is Alec. I’m going to have to get to him once Bridget leaves. Who knows what Max has planned, and I’m not sticking around to find out.
Bridget is pulling Trigger out of the store and I swear the building just shook when the left. Without putting much thought into it, I call Loretta and tell her I’m on my way to get Alec to have him ready.
“Is everything ok, Child?” she asks on the other end.
“Of course, I’ve just had a bad day and really need to spend some time with him.” I answer. I don’t want her caught in the middle of what Max is up to and I don’t want her to worry about me, she has enough to worry about. I’ll tell her later when things settle down a bit, if there is a later.
As I am closing up the store, I can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right. Everything in the store is secure and the alarm is set. It’s still daylight out, so why do I have this uneasy feeling? I make my way to my car when my phone rings. It’s Bridget. Leave it to her to call right after seeing me most of the morning.
“Hey girl, you ok?” I can hear the concern in her voice.
“Yeah, I’m good.” I lie as I unlock the car and get it. I immediately lock the doors and look around. I don’t see anything out of the ordinary.
“Are you sure? I know Tony can be an asshole and all but he really is a good guy…” Bridget trails off as if expecting me to cut in.
“It’s ok, really. I need to get to the daycare and get Alec, I can swing by if you want.” I’m trying to reassure her that this has nothing to do with Tony. But it does, it is what he said that makes me question who all Max knows and what lengths he will go to make my life a living hell.
“You don’t even have to ask. You know I love seeing my little Beast Boy. Plus, I’ve got wine.” This girl knows me too well. She knows when I’m having a bad day my go to is wine and a good cry movie.
“Great. I’ll see you in a few.” I tell her as I start up the car and put it into drive. Now to hammer out a plan to get the fuck out of this city.
Trigger
“You so owe me,” Bridget says to me as she hangs up the phone and goes to the kitchen. “I don’t like sneaking behind her back for your satisfaction, Tony.”
“You should be used to sneaking around,” I tease and follow Bridget into the kitchen. I need to make it up to Eve. I shouldn’t have assumed that she had an ol’ man. Bridget told me earlier that if that was the case, she would have told her. How could I be so stupid?
“Not the point, Tony. And you know it.” She says as she leans up against the counter. “Look, there are things that you wouldn’t be able to wrap your head around when it comes to Eve. She’s been through a lot but her main concern is that little boy. And she is a packaged deal. So, if you’re not intending on sticking around, don’t get involved with her.”
I have never seen Bridget get so defensive over someone like this. Sure, she has defended people before but this was a whole new side to Bridget I have never seen. There are so many unanswered questions that need to be answered soon or I’m going to end up going crazy over someone I barely know. I’m standing there in silence not knowing what to say.
Bridget walks up to me, puts her hands on my biceps, looks straight at me and says softly, “Just give her some time. I know patience isn’t your strong suit but loyalty is. Follow your instincts, th
ey have never steered you wrong before. And don’t push her. When she is ready to tell you she will, but she has to do it on her time not yours.” Bridget walks away to grab her purse and phone. Lock is here to escort her to the clubhouse and I need to get things ready for Eve for when she gets here. This could either go really good or really bad and I’m hoping like hell it’s not the latter.
About an hour later, I have gumbo put on and Supernatural playing on Netflix. Bridget texted me and told me that Eve was on her way, that she had to swing by her place and get somethings for Alec. From what Bridget told me, Eve only lives a few minutes away so I grab a beer out of the fridge and head over to the couch to watch T.V. until she gets here.
Ten minutes later, I hear the buzzer ring. I don’t even bother to ask who it is. I don’t want to scare Eve off if she thinks Bridget is going to be here. I can hear a child in the hallway laughing and calling for what sounds like Bridget. Then the knock at the door. Here goes nothing.
I answer the door and judging by the look on Eve’s face, I don’t think she expected to see me again. A little boy, who looks to be about two, is with her and based off his looks, I’m guessing that’s her son. He’s got the same wavy blonde hair and blue eyes she does, and his face has her written all over it. He’s struggling in her arms trying to get inside which causes her to drop everything in her hands.
“Shit.” She mumbles as she bends down to pick everything up. I bend down to help her and she stops and looks at me like I have grown a second head. I help her get everything back into the bags she brought but she continues to stand there not sure of what to do. She looks at me with confusion written on her face. “Bridget here?” She asks
“No, she went out with Rush.” I tell her as I gather the bags and take them to the couch.
Trigger's Salvation: Hellfire Dogs MC #1 (Hellfire Dogs MC Series) Page 2