by Racquel Reck
I bend down to Shay’s ear. “You want me to throw him out? Say the word and I will.”
She shakes her head and stares back at her computer screen, her bread bowl completely forgotten. “He won’t hit Bebe. Trust me. She’s pissed him off way worse before.”
“You’re supposed to stick with me. We’re blood.” Gary grinds his jaw. “You owe me.”
Bebe stands, takes off her gloves, and abandons her station. “I owe you? I owe you nothing.”
“You owe me everything!” Gary pushes her.
Bebe’s ass hits the black-and-white tiled floor with a crack.
Sasha jumps up from the chair.
I bolt across the room and stand between Bebe and Gary. “You should leave.”
Gary cocks his head. “Or what, pretty boy?”
“Or I’ll throw you out.”
“You’re an asshole, Gary.” Bebe brushes off her hands like Gary’s push didn’t even faze her.
She’s used to it?
Shay comes around from behind the counter and helps Bebe stand. I don’t want her anywhere near this asshole when he’s like this. Every muscle inside me goes taught, ready to spring into protection mode if this fucker makes the wrong move.
Douche bag sneers at Shay.
“Hey, Fuck-face. Eyes off my woman.” I step to his grill. Anger coils hot in the pit of my stomach.
“Your woman?” Gary laughs and steps back.
“Yeah, fucker. My woman.” I’ll claim her a thousand times if it will keep him away from her. He doesn’t want another beating from me. I’d kill him. That’s the only reason I’m not kicking his ass right now.
“Funny. I think you should check that. ’Cause…Shay’s everyone’s woman.” He tries to peep around me, but I block his line of sight. “Isn’t that right, Bay? How many times did you fuck around on me?”
Asshole’s lying. Shay would never do that. I wanna strangle the hell out of his voice box.
Gary nods toward her.
I look back and Shay won’t meet my eyes. It means nothing. She’s scared of him. He hurt her somehow. I don’t know what he did, but given what he just did to Bebe, I can take a wild guess. My body trembles with the need to throw the fucker through Shay’s shop window. Not gonna, though. Ben and Dani are upstairs and don’t need to see me lose my cool.
“But you always come back to me don’t you, Bay?” He steps toward her.
He’s not going to intimidate my woman. I shove him hard.
He flies into the metal frame on her shop’s door and raises his hands with a smirk.
“Not this time.” Shay’s voice is a whisper. “I’m over you, and I’m pregnant with Morgan’s baby.”
Bebe squeals and hugs her. “Oh my God!” She bounces a little. “That’s so awesome! Congrats.”
Why the hell did she tell him that? I know why, but damn. Why walk across glass if you don’t have too?
Gary glares at Shay. “Not this time?” He lifts a brow. “All right.” He nods. “You have your little messed-up family with pretty boy, here. I’m taking my son back.”
Oh, hell, no. I lunge toward Gary, but stop when Bebe jumps in between us.
She shakes her head. “Not today, slugger.” She pats my shoulder then turns toward Gary. “You are no longer allowed in this shop. And if you think about taking Ben, I’ll head over to the cop shop and report all the illegal activities I’ve seen you do over the years.” She points a finger in his face. “And you know I’ve seen a lot.”
“You can’t kick me out.” He glances around her to Shay. “It’s Shay’s shop. And she wants me here. Right, Bay? You want me to be a father to Ben.”
This asshole’s psychotic. One minute he’s belittling her and threatening to take her kid. Then the next he’s acting like Mr. Nice Guy. Yeah, ass-wipe must be high on something.
Shay moves to my side and hugs me tight like I’m her life support. “Bebe is part owner now. So technically she has the right to throw you out. And you were never a father to Ben, so it’s no loss to you.”
A vein in Gary’s neck bulges. “I have rights to him! I will get full custody. If you’re smart, you’ll ditch the loser and take me back.”
“You’ll never get it!” Shay comes around me. Not fearful anymore. She tries to step to him, but I pull her behind me.
My heart pounds against my rib cage. He won’t hurt her, ‘cause I’ll break his fucking hands. I glare at him, hoping he takes the warning. I don’t want to end up in jail tonight. But if it will keep her--
“You’re a druggie who’s out on parole,” Bebe yells. “No judge in their right mind would give you custody.”
Gary advances on Bebe and I pull her behind me too. She tries to get around me, but I counter her every attempt. God, holding these two back is equivalent to trying to stop lionesses from the slaughter.
Gary shrugs. “I have my connections. The River Rats have turned out a fine profit this year and made some inside friends. Just try me.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
All of our heads snap to the beaded curtain. Ben’s standing there mean-mugging Gary.
Shit. How much did he hear?
“Ben, honey, go back upstairs.” Shay moves toward him.
Gary laughs. “Yes, run along, son. Do as your mommy says.”
I whip back around. “Leave him alone.”
“He’s my son. I’ll talk to him how I want.”
“I’m not your son.”
Shay goes to put her arm around him.
He ducks out of her hold. “I need to tell him this.”
Shay’s arm hangs in the air, and she watches Ben cross the room.
He stops when he reaches my side. I don’t want him anywhere near this lunatic. But the kid thinks he needs to say his piece. I wish I could’ve said my piece to my bastard father.
“If you try to take me…” Ben sucks in a breath and lifts his chin. “I’ll kill you in your sleep.”
Whoa.
Gary busts out laughing.
I have no idea why he thinks this is funny. An eight year old should not be plotting the death of his dad. Judging by Ben’s tone, he’s fucking serious.
“Benjamin Samuel Kel—”
“No, it’s okay, Shay.” Gary sobers and steps toward Ben. There’s a gleam in his eyes and I swear it’s his sick version of pride.
I block his path.
His hands go up. “I’m not gonna do anything to the half pint.”
“I’ll kill you!” Ben screams. “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! I swear to God I will. I know things. Tryst showed me where to hit you. I can kill you with my fists.”
Shay comes up and grabs him by the arm, pulling him into her embrace.
He shrugs out of her grip and glares at Gary.
Shay’s face falls, hurt and worry painted across her pretty face, but she grabs Ben again and turns to Bebe. “Bebe, take Ben upstairs, please.”
“No!” Ben struggles to get out of her hold. “He has to know! I’m not going anywhere with him. He’s not my dad.”
Gary claps his hands. “Gotta hand it to the kid. He’s got spunk. He’s going to make an awesome fighter one day.”
Turning my back on Gary, I give all my focus to Ben. He needs to calm down. Shay is hugging him, petting him, and whispering in his ear. His face is red, every muscle in his little body tight as tears fall from his face.
I bend down and look him in eyes. “No one is going to take you away from your mom. I promise.”
“Yeah, keep feed—”
“Shut up, Gary,” Bebe says. “You’re not helping. Can’t you see he’s upset?”
“He needs to suck it up.”
Fucking prick. “I promise.”
Ben studies me for a second, then wipes the snot and tears from his face. “Okay.”
I nod.
Shay combs back his hair. “Why don’t you go get your stuff? Your snow pants and boots.”
Ben looks at me. “You’re still taking me?”
“Of course, bud. I never break a promise.”
“Well, aren’t you fucking special,” Gary says from behind me.
I grind my teeth. This asshole is really asking for it. He must like pain. In that case, hitting him will solve nothing.
Ben smiles weakly and disappears into the back.
Shay stands, her body visibly shaking. “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me yet. That was some heavy shit.” I pull her in for a hug. “You need to talk to Tryst.”
“I know.”
“Hate to break up the love fest.” Gary’s phone buzzes. He checks it. A grin paints his face and he shoves it back into his pocket. “But I gotta go. Think it over, Shay. Do you want a pussy-ass bitch?” He nods in my direction. “Or do you want to stay loyal to the man who has given you everything since you were fifteen? Think quick, your answer will affect our son.” He turns to Bebe. “If you think ’cause you’re my little sis that you’re immune to my gang, think again. You spout off more shit about going to the pigs and I’ll make sure you never make it to that farm.”
I take a step toward him, protecting the women in the shop my sole motivation. This cock-less fucker isn’t going to harm either one of them. “You fucking hurt—”
“Come on, Sasha.” Gary holds his hands out to Bebe’s customer.
With everything going down I forgot she was here. She’s been crouched next to Bebe’s chair the whole time, and she’s shaking as she stares at Gary’s hand. She looks at us and takes it. He helps her stand.
“Leave her alone.” I grind my teeth.
Gary gives me a fake smile. “They’re not all yours. And this one lives with me.”
I feel sorry for her.
Sasha nods and follows him out the door.
As soon as he leaves, Bebe slams it and locks it. "Ugh. That fucking prick."
Shay lets go of me, lets out a breath, and runs to hug Bebe. All of a sudden, it’s a cry fest. Black tears are leaking down Bebe’s face, and Shay is petting her hair. Rivers of green and black fall down Shay’s ivory cheeks.
Awkward. Do I hug them both? Offer a little comfort? Everything in me says I should. Somehow, I feel as though they need this—this sisterly bonding crap that women do. "I’m going to go check on the kids."
Shay sniffles and unlatches herself from Bebe. She wipes her nose with the back of her hand and nods. "You should. Keep them up there until Bebe and I calm down. I want to see Ben before you take him today."
Take him sledding. God, I can’t even think about sledding at a time like this. Gary left, and women are nothing but property to guys like him. He’ll be back.
Leaving them to their cry fest, I climb the stairs to the loft. Gary’s a little bitch, and Shay isn’t anyone’s property but her own. I’m going to make sure she knows that tonight.
Shay
Breathing in deep, I try to settle my racing pulse. It’s throbbing and constricts my heart. I can’t believe Ben said that to Gary. Of all the messed-up stuff that happened just now, that sticks out the most. I need to have a talk with Tryst. Showing Ben self-defense moves is okay—I want him to protect himself-—but using it to purposely hurt someone is a different story. I shake myself out to get rid of the energy playing hockey in my system.
I did it. I really did it. I told someone I was pregnant. And not just anyone, the worst possible one I could tell. Once again I let my mouth be controlled by my nerves. When will I ever learn to stop doing that?
"So." Bebe lets out a shaky breath as she grabs some paper towels from her station—one for her, and one for me. She hands it over. "You and Morgan, huh?" She giggles, but hiccups from the waterworks we both just went through.
Morgan was so protective of me, standing in front of me so Gary couldn’t get to me. He stepped up to the plate, and when he called me his woman... Shivers run through me and warmth chases them. Even though I have no idea what he meant by it, it’s still a nice thing to dream about. But we both agreed to co-parenting and friendship. He’s not my boyfriend, even if he was just leading Gary on to protect me.
"Kind of." I flip our open sign to closed. Bebe and I are in no state to work on people.
"What do you mean, kind of?" She plops down on Gary’s old client chair and we both stare at it.
After a minute passes, I sigh and sit next to her. We share a short laugh. "The last thing I want to do is get into a relationship. I was with Gary for so long and–"
"Morgan is so far from my brother that their moral codes are in different time zones." She bumps my shoulder with hers. "Gary’s controlled you. Don’t let him ruin you for someone else who’s better."
I hug her. I have to. This woman just turned her back on her fucked-up family for me. Sometimes I wonder if Bebe was adopted. She’s nothing like her brother.
She hugs me back tight. A friendly warmth spreads through me. She backed Gary for so long that I seriously thought that, even though she thought he was an ass, she would be on his side. Bebe has always been my friend. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t know Gary, but I never thought of her as a sister like I do now.
We let go and share a laugh.
Bebe takes another paper towel and wipes my cheek. "Look at us. Blubbering messes over my fucked-up brother."
"What made you come to my defense? Not that I’m not grateful for it. But you’ve always been a neutral party."
Frowning, she goes silent for a second, then stands and grabs my hand. "Come on, let’s go clean up."
I want to probe her more, but I’m afraid that will put a damper on our bonding moment. We head through the beads toward the hall bathroom.
It isn’t until we’re both in front of the mirror, fixing our makeup, when she speaks. "I didn’t like how he was threatening to take Ben away from you." She opens her bottle of foundation, then looks at me through the mirror. "You’re a good mom, Shay." She grunt-laughs. "A hell of a lot better than him. I love Ben. And I don’t want him to have the same jacked-up childhood I had. I don’t want Ben to turn out like him."
Her words are everything that I have thought in the past. She loves my son, she’s been nothing but a positive influence in his life. And I’m glad we are on the same page here.
"Were you serious when you said I was part owner?" She applies some lip gloss.
Actually, I’ve been thinking about this for a while. When I open a shop in a good neighborhood, I’m going to need someone to take over here. Tryst was my first choice, but he’s had a career switch—one that will make him more money. "Of course. Who else is better?"
"Well..." She taps the unopened end of her eyeliner against her cheek. "Okay, I’ll do it. But you have to promise you’ll move soon. If I’m going to be a boss, I need my own space."
She bumps my hip and we both laugh then finish our makeup in a comfortable silence.
Bebe frowns into the mirror and sighs as she packs up her makeup and stashes it in her spot under the sink. She glances at me. I can tell she wants to say something, but doesn’t.
When we exit the bathroom I stop her in the hall. "What’s wrong, Bebe?"
"What makes you think there’s something wrong?"
I cock my head and roll my eyes. "We’ve known each other since we were thirteen. You’ve hidden things from me before, and I’ve always caught it. Now tell me."
"It’s just–" She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. "Why didn’t you tell me you’re pregnant? Does Tryst know?"
That’s what’s got her upset? "No one knows. And don’t tell Tryst. I’m not ready for him to find out yet. I wasn’t ready for you to find out. I wanted to wait until I was four months and knew this was a sure thing. But you know how I get. It slipped."
She takes a deep breath and smiles wide. "So I’ll be the only other one in our clique to know. Well, other than Morgan."
"Morgan’s very intuitive." I guess that’s what you’d call it. "He forced me to tell him because he had a feeling that I was."
"Oh." She laughs.
"I guess he’s sorta a condom freak and because the condom broke when we...uh. Yeah, He wanted to make sure."
She hugs me and squeals. "Oh my God! We have so much planning to do. I never got to throw you a proper baby shower when you were pregnant with Ben. So look out. I have the means and the artistic ability to throw one now."
Great. In Bebe’s world, that means color and a lot of glitz and pizazz. If there was such a thing as reincarnation, than Bebe was a drag queen in her past life. "I’ll agree to that, on two conditions. One, you can’t tell a single soul that I’m pregnant until I give you the okay. And you have to stick to two colors when planning the baby shower."
"Don’t worry, girl, your baby’s wardrobe is safe in my hands."
That’s what I’m afraid of.
"Baby?"
Oh shit.
Ben’s standing at the bottom of the stairs, suited up for sledding. "You’re having a baby, Mom?"
Eighteen
Shay
Staring at Ben, his eyes all big and questioning, I have no idea what to say. I can’t lie to him. Dammit, Bebe. I give her the stink eye. She’s leaning against the wall in my back hallway, next to the huge black-and-white picture of Detroit’s sky line. She arches a pierced brow and mouths sorry.
I smile. "Yes, sweetie. Pretty soon you will have a little brother or sister."
Ben frowns and fiddles with his gloves. He’s dressed head to toe in his black and green snow gear. "When?"
I take the gloves from him. "In a while. Where’s Morgan?"
"He’s helping Dani with her boots. The laces were tied in a tight knot, and he told me to come say goodbye to you."
"I’m going to make a couple of phone calls." Bebe pushes off the wall. "Have fun, Ben." She gives him a hug and exits through the beads into the front of my shop.
The damn gloves won’t go on. I shove a little harder and try to get his fingers in the holes. Did they sew the fingers in these blasted things closed? I push his gloves up and he wiggles his fingers into them.
Ben’s quiet. He’s frowning, and his eyebrows are pulled down tight. I wish I didn’t have to put him through this. Tryst warned me about sleeping with Morgan. Why didn’t I listen?