abandon his child anyway, so we may as well get something out of it.”
“Although if it is his kid, we'll need to figure out a way to get rid of Brittany,” Victor muses, just casually pondering the fate of some random teen like he wouldn't lose a minute of sleep over separating a mother from her child.
I always knew they were monsters, nice to see that I wasn't just running from shadows.
Everyone falls quiet for a moment, me sucking on my milkshake, Vic downing his booze-laden cola. Callum eats his French fries in silence while Hael sulks and Oscar crunches ice. Brittany arrives just fifteen minutes later, right on time.
Today, she's wearing a pretty yellow dress with an empire waist. It hides her growing baby bump admirably well.
“Hael,” she says, looking right at him and refusing to acknowledge the rest of us.
“Sit and let’s talk, Brittany,” Vic says, and I get chills all over as I remember him saying the same thing to me as he kicked out a chair from under the library table. Alright, Bernie, sit and talk. “Let's discuss price.”
“This better be something fair,” Brittany whines, moving over to sit next to Hael. He scowls, but doesn't move, clearly resigned to his fate. Our eyes meet across the narrow space, and I feel a tug inside of me. It's one-part jealousy and two-parts regret. If we'd been able to reconcile our differences just a little bit sooner, then he wouldn't have slept with Brittany, and maybe she wouldn't be pregnant.
“Are you questioning us?” Vic asks, looking at her in just such a way that most people would probably piss themselves. Giving credit where credit's due, Brittany just shifts slightly and looks away, refusing to make eye contact with anyone—even me. “Here's the deal: you're asking a lot. You're asking for a man's lifetime commitment.”
“But it's his kid!” Brittany blurts, whirling around to look at Vic and then cowering back slightly. “If he didn't want to make a lifetime commitment, he shouldn't have slept with me.”
Hael just folds his arms over his chest and refuses to look in her direction, leaving the interaction up to Vic and Oscar. Aaron and Callum are quiet, too, and I can't decide if that's just because they don't like Brittany or if there's something more to it. Aaron is still hurting from his GSW, I know that, and Callum … he's probably hurting on the inside, even if he won't admit it.
“We want you to get a DNA test as soon as possible,” Victor says, nodding his head in Oscar's direction.
“I can get you in for an appointment at the Northwest Pregnancy Project in late November.” He looks up from his screen to find Brittany staring at him. She has goose bumps all over her arms as she swings her attention over to me. I'm honestly surprised—but pleased—to see her shudder in horror. A grin spreads across my lips as I lean back, resting my elbows on the surface of the table. The pink demon tattoo on my chest catches the sunlight, and Brittany fixes her gaze on it. Probably safer to look at my tits than my face. If I were her, I'd avoid pissing me off if at all possible.
Bernadette Blackbird has a very short temper.
“So for the next few weeks,” Vic says, lifting up two fingers, “you'll have Hael as a partner, regardless. He will speak to your father with you; we will kick the shit out of whoever it is you want beaten up. You can even go on a fucking date together tonight.” Vic ignores me as I narrow my eyes, turning my glare onto him. Some part of me recognizes that he's doing this shit on purpose.
He's jealous of Hael, no doubt about it. My eyes end up sliding over to Aaron's, and something unspoken passes between us. We need time to talk, just me and him, whether Vic likes it or not.
“Okay …” Brittany starts, putting her hand on her belly. “So then what's my price?”
“If the baby is Hael's, we're going to give you one of two options,” Victor says with a smile. “One, you take on a very special mission and you get to keep Hael for yourself. For now though, we'll keep that mission a secret. If the time comes, and the DNA test agrees with your assessment, we'll re-evaluate things. You can take that deal, or you can choose option two.” Vic’s smile turns into a feral grin. “That is, you