Throughout his life, he’s had nearly every bone broken in his body at one point or another. There’s not a lot of torture we can apply that’ll break him.
For now, I pretend to believe him. Anders has been loyal since he defected from the Killing Joes Motorcycle Club, a violent thirty-man organization out of northern Ohio. They’re mostly scattered now, lacking a leader since Anders chopped the old one’s head off and brought it to me in a duffle bag.
After Wyatt’s temper and Anders’s lies, I’m ready to go home. I still stick around for another hour, just to be seen. I don’t want any of these men thinking I’ve gone soft because of Lana and Carina.
But I am going soft. That’s why I breathe a sigh of relief when I return home to find my five ladies chilling in the family room. Lana walks around, bouncing a cranky Carina. Her blue eyes widen at the sight of me. Then she smiles as if she’s filled with the same relief I feel.
“Daddy, we rode our bikes,” a sleepy Sidonie says from the floor where Desi also dozes.
Summer doesn’t say a word, but she holds my gaze for long enough to ensure I know she’s cool with everything. I take Carina from Lana, giving her a break. She doesn’t sit down until she gets a kiss, though. It does feel as if I’ve been gone for too long.
Once she’s on the couch, Lana is joined by Desi who looks sick.
“I played too much,” she mumbles when I ask if she’s alright.
“Too much time in the heat,” Lana adds as Desi rests her head in her mother’s lap. “We’ll need to be more careful.”
Sidonie watches them, looking uncertain. Lana gestures for her to sit on the couch. My daughter rests her head against her adopted mom’s shoulder while Lana strokes Desi’s back.
That’s how everyone stays for the next half hour. I pace around with Carina who finally gets out a few nasty burps. Then she takes a bottle and sleeps like an angel. Desi and Sidonie doze off against Lana while I’m putting Carina down. When she walks them upstairs to get tucked into Sidonie’s bed, I check on Summer.
“Good day?” I ask her as she makes herself a snack.
“Sure.”
“Did Lana get on your nerves?”
Knowing what I’m asking, Summer rolls her eyes dramatically. “She’s nice. I like her. Whatever.”
“Yeah, I knew you would soften up,” I tease and force her into a hug.
After relenting to my affection, Summer escapes to her room. Then Lana returns and asks if we can go to bed. I smile at her subtle request for sex.
We shower and mess around for a long time before sleep finally comes. I plan to lounge like an old-timer tomorrow. Pretend I got no worries, even if I have plenty.
Then sometime after midnight, I wake up, thinking Sidonie’s crying in my dark bedroom. Sitting up, I realize the door’s still shut. The sound quiets as I move, and I recognize Lana’s the one crying. I flip on the light to find her sitting at the end of the bed. She doesn’t look back at me until I touch her back.
Looping my arm around her waist, I gently tug her back over the mattress until she’s sitting next to me.
“Bad dream?” I whisper against her ear.
“No.”
“Then what?” I ask and kiss her bare shoulder.
“I don’t want to get ganged up on.”
“Who’s messing with you?”
Lana wipes her eyes and shrugs. Cupping her jaw, I force her into a kiss while wrapping her in my arms.
“Is this about the past or present?” I ask and kiss the tender spot below her ear.
“Kids used to make fun of me for wearing the same clothes all the time. I had these cute shoes from the thrift store. I loved them so much, but they got paint on them. The kids laughed at how I didn’t get new shoes. My mom could barely keep up with the regular bills, so I wore those ruined shoes for a year. She did her best, but the kids still mocked me all the time, and I just let them.”
“What’s got you thinking about the past?”
Lana glances at me but says nothing.
“Did Topanga upset you?”
“I know Kenny cheated on me, but I didn’t know-know. I didn’t have to see the women.”
Frowning, I’m not sure how we got from bullies to cheating. Then I remember who spent the afternoon with Lana and how that person never stays on topic.
“I want you, Lana.”
“Cheating