“Do you think you and that thing of yours will come to the wedding?”
“Paige…” Francis’s voice is a warning, but she brushes him off as she steps closer to me.
“You mean his daughter?” I ask, keeping my voice steady even though she’s pushing my every single button with that comment. She knows it too. I can handle runaway comments about me, but I will not stand to hear someone badmouth my child.
She blinks a few times, then puffs her lips. “Yeah, that thing.”
“I guess you would have to ask her father that question, now wouldn’t you?” I state with a big fake grin of my own.
“No, I will decide. That thing isn’t a boy, so as soon as I give him that, the two of you will be long forgotten.”
“If you say so.” I widen my grin and send her a wink.
When Roberto steps in next to me, she can’t help herself. “It must feel real shitty being a charity case. I mean… look at you.” Her eyes rake me up and down. “What is that exactly? A suit from Target?” She cackles away at her joke.
“It is. Don’t you just love it? Look how good my body looks in it.” I do a small spin for her, and when I face her again, her cheeks are red and it’s clear she’s angry. Her hand lifts and she slaps me across the face, hard. So hard that I fall backward but manage to catch myself on the edge of the bar. My hand comes up to my face, feeling the burn, my eyes water then they find Roberto.
“I want you to remove her hand,” I tell him, but he doesn’t move or even acknowledge me. “Did you not hear me?” I ask. “She slapped me. Keir would have done worse if I were him. Now, cut that thing off.” Blood be damned, I don’t fucking care. This bitch needs to know she’s not a queen, and she cannot treat people the way she does because of who she is, or who she’s going to marry.
“I can’t.”
Paige smiles at Roberto’s answer, and she steps back up to me, invading my personal space.
“You and that kid of yours will be gone before you know it.”
Goddammit! I’m not a violent person, I swear. But her face irritates me so much that I can’t help but slap her back. And when I do, I know I shock her because her eyes go wide when the sound echoes through the room. My hand stings so bad I have to shake it before I pull the gun from the holster at my hip and point it straight at her face. “You ever think of speaking ill of my child, or even mention her again, I will fucking end you.”
The bitch doesn’t move, she simply stares at the gun.
“Sailor, lower the gun,” Roberto says calmly.
“If you touch me, I’ll shoot her, I don’t fucking care! One person I know has died here, right in that alley. Why not make it two? I always like things to be even.”
Hands touch and snake up my arm. The gun is removed from my fingers, and when I turn around to swear at whoever it is, Keir is standing there putting his gun back under his suit jacket.
“Where is my daughter?” I ask him outraged.
“With my mamma. And what did I tell you about ‘my,’” he says.
“What you forgot to mention was that you’re actually engaged. To a fucking puttana *whore* at that,” I snarl, making sure I get right in his face. “And all your men are fired. Fuck them all… and fuck you.” I turn and get right in Paige’s face. “Fuck you the most, you pathetic cunt.”
Chapter Nine
Keir
“Sailor.” I follow her as she storms off.
Of course, I do. Why wouldn’t I?
“Keir.” Paige’s voice echoes from behind.
We both turn, Sailor stopping at the door as she looks back. I’m not far from her and Paige is not far behind me, following us.
“That’s right, Keir, go back to your fiancée,” Sailor says, sneering, tearing off her jacket and throwing it to the floor as she continues to the exit.
“Target trash,” Paige says, and I know Sailor hears her, but she continues and walks out.
Turning to face Paige, I take a deep breath. “You have no boundaries, do you?”
She steps closer, her hand coming up to my chest, touching it with her gaudy, painted fingernails and her acidic sweet smile. “It’s what you like about me. I didn’t hear you complain when you fucked me.”
I remove her hand, then glare at Roberto. “Did you know she was going to be here?” I ask him.
“No, boss.”
I look to her cousin, but he shakes his head as well.
“How did you know Sailor was going to be here?” I ask.
Paige taps her fingers on my chest. “Silly! I know your every move, as a good wife should.”
I yank her hand away from my chest. “You are not my wife,” I reply, pulling away from her and going toward the door.
“Yet. Remember that as you chase that hussy,” she screams after me.
I open the doors, scanning the area, but Sailor’s nowhere to be found.
“Boss.” I turn to Francis, whose hands are in his pockets.
“Now’s not the time,” I tell him as I walk to the car. The driver holds the door open for me, but Francis is right behind me.
“She was good, boss. Stayed calm. Didn’t bite at Paige’s words, until…” He glances back over his shoulder. “What I’m trying to say is, she’s nice.”
“I don’t care if you think someone is nice, Francis. Since when has nice had a place in what we do?” He shakes his head. “What did Paige say that set her off?” He looks down to the ground, not wanting to tell me. “Francis, I can either pull it from your lips or you can tell me.”
“She spoke badly about her daughter… said she was a thing.”
“She what?” I state, not quite understanding. But I shouldn’t be surprised. Paige is all kinds of fucked up.
That’s why she would be my perfect partner.
She would have no boundaries, as I don’t.
But I do have a boundary now.
Wren is a boundary you don’t cross.
Licking my lips, I shake my head. Removing my jacket, I walk around to my driver dropping the gun I removed from Sailor and hold out my hand. He places my trusted weapon in my hand, and Francis looks to both of us before he steps out of the way as I make my way back to the club.
Paige is standing there, two of her goons on protection detail on either side of her. One is her brother. His hand looks all nice and healed since our last altercation.
“I can’t shoot you,” I tell her, smiling. She smiles back at me, relief flooding through her. “But I can shoot them.” I aim the gun and shoot her cousin first, and as he drops, Roberto swears from somewhere close behind me.
“Keir, what are you doing?” she screams.
“Word to the wise, Paige…” I aim the gun at her brother. His eyes are wide with fear, and I hate him. Every time I see him, I think of when I saw Sailor broken and bleeding with his filthy hand on her shoulder. “Don’t ever talk ill of my daughter again, do you understand?” I snarl at her.
Paige looks to her brother before looking back to me.
“That child isn’t a boy,” Paige says, and her brother curses under his breath. “You shouldn’t care.” Her hands come together, and she purses her lips.