“Syd has never shot a gun. Do you think the pepper spray and taser will be enough?” My question is directed toward either guy to answer.
“She’s right. I don’t want a gun. I’m afraid of them.” Hopefully, Deacon doesn’t push the gun request. If Sydnee ever had a desire to go shooting, I might have encouraged her to take my brother’s gun. But she’s always been a firm no when I’ve asked her to join us when we went to the range.
“Let me take you to the range. You don’t have to shoot if you don’t want to, but I’d like you to at least watch as my sister puts rounds through her cardboard perp.” My brother is trying to persuade Syd, and just when I think she’s going to lay into him for pushing the issue, she agrees to go to the range with us.
“Really?” I ask, staring in disbelief at my best friend who hates guns.
“Yeah. But you have to be there.”
“That’s a given,” I reassure her.
“Excuse me,” Kade interrupts as he gets up from the table. As he walks away, he says something to Finn, and he nods. Kade disappears down the hallway leading toward the restrooms. A few minutes later, Finn returns to our table with another round of drinks. My brother was much nicer to Finn this time around and apologized for being ill-mannered earlier.
I glance over my shoulder in the direction of the bar and notice Destiny isn’t there. My stomach turns, knowing damn well she followed Kade down the hall. If I get up and go to the restroom, Deacon will assume I’m meeting with Kade, so I sit silently.
After some time passes, I take my chance and head to the bathroom, leaving Sydnee and my brother. When I turn the corner, I walk into the chiseled frame that is Kade. Looking up at him, my hands move up his chest until I hear a door slam, which takes my attention away from Kade’s face and directs it around his body. That’s when I see Destiny straightening out her clothes and fussing with her hair.
“Brit, it’s—”
“Stop. It’s none of my business.” Stepping away, I move past him and continue to the women’s bathroom. I stay in the restroom long enough to take a few calming breaths before exiting. I get my hurt feelings in check and compose myself before reaching the table.
Sitting down, I take both my and Sydnee’s Jameson shots without the pickleback. Grabbing my beer, I chug until it’s half empty.
“Are you okay?” Sydnee asks.
“Let’s go shoot some pool,” I respond without answering her question.
“Not like that, you’re not,” Kade barks out.
“Excuse me?” I snap back.
“You heard me.”
“Bro, what the fuck?” Deacon chimes in.
“Look at her top, D. She leans over, and her bare tits will be on display for the whole bar,” he responds in defense of his remark. My brother looks in my direction and down at my top and then back up to meet my eyes.
“Sorry, sis. You are not playing pool in that top.”
“Un-fucking-believable. You two have a good night. Syd, let’s go somewhere else.” Pushing back from the table, I grab my jacket.
“Al—” Sydnee begins to answer before Deacon interrupts her.
“No can do, sister. We just told you there’s cartel one city over and you want to go somewhere else? Hard no. If you want to go somewhere else, then we’ll go with you. Get used to it, little sis. Our days off are going to be with you two.”
“Fine, we’ll go home. Thanks for ruining our night out.” I make eye contact with both Deacon and Kade, making sure they know I’m mad. Before I turn to leave, I grab my beer and down the last bit of it.
Both men stand and insist on walking us out. Since I did most of the drinking, Sydnee offers to drive us home. She slides into the driver’s seat while I do the same on the passenger side. She pushes the start/stop button, and my Shelby GT 500 roars to life. It’s not long before we’re back at home, in our pajamas, with snifters filled with Blanton’s bourbon.
“Are you sure you’re okay with going to the gun range? Don’t let Deacon bully you into going.”
“I’m sure. Besides, if D decides to press me into taking one of his Glocks, I think it would be wise to know the basics of handling and shooting a gun.”
“More importantly, the safety aspects,” I add.
“That’s a given, Brit.”
We turn on the television and agree to watch Food Network. It’s not long after we start watching Diner, Drive-Ins, and Dives when someone knocks on the front door. I glance at the clock above the fireplace to see that it’s almost nine o’clock. How pathetic are we? It’s a Friday night, and we’re already home and ready for bed.
The only person who would show up here this time of night is my brother. I cross the family room, making my way to the front door when there’s another knock.
“I’m coming, D. Calm down.” Before opening the door, I check the peephole, and to my surprise, it’s not my brother.
Why is Kade at my house?
7
Kade
After sitting in my car for what felt like hours, I made up my mind that I needed to see Britney and explain what she thinks she saw. Yes, I can see how bad it looked, but it wasn’t me in the storage room with Destiny. Britney walked off before one of the pub’s regulars exited the room after Destiny.
The longer Britney sat across from while we were at the pub, the harder it was to keep from reaching out to touch her. No, not just touch her; I wanted to feel her body next to mine or sitting on my lap. I wanted every asshole in the place to think she’s mine; that is until my best friend decks me for touching his sister. So, I had to put some distance between Britney and me.
That single kiss has me craving more of her, so here I stand at her front door, hoping she’ll at least let me tell her I wasn’t the one with Destiny. Even if I can’t have Britney, I can’t have her mad at me for something I didn’t do.
“Why are you here?” she questions.
“Booty call,” Sydnee yells from the family room, followed by a laugh.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Britney turns her head and snaps back. “Well?” Her head whips around as her focus is back on me.
“That scene back at the pub, it wasn’t you think,” I begin to explain.
“I already told you, it’s none of my business. So, why don’t you turn around and go back to the pub to finish what you started.”
The hurt I’ve caused is written all over Britney’s face, and it’s gutting me.
“Destiny was in that room with some random guy. I was in the bathroom. I needed space.” Brit’s features soften as she processes what I’ve said to her. She won’t question if I’m telling her a lie, because she knows I have no reason to lie to her.
“Why did you need space?” she counters.
“Because I wanted to finish what I started—with you.”
Britney’s eyes grow wide with disbelief. Coming here might be a huge mistake, but I need her to know that she’s not just some random female. She’s so much more, and I can’t do dick about it because of her brother.