Destroy For Her - R.B. Hilliard Page 0,18
sitting, plucked her from the chair, and settled her back onto his lap. He’d missed this, missed everything about her, including the little girl tantrums. She may be Gibby’s kid but he was the one who’d helped raise her. He was the one who diapered, bathed, and rocked her to sleep night after night. He taught her how to ride a bike, shoot a B.B. gun, and spit spitballs through a straw—something Sage still hadn’t forgiven him for. Not being near her these past months had been hell, a hell he never wanted to experience again.
A weight settled on his chest as he dipped his head to catch her eyes. She’d been through so much. “I know you’re angry, Sweet Pea.” “Do you wanna hear a secret?” At her nod, he whispered, “I’m angry, too.”
Her little brow furrowed. “Why are you angry?”
“Well, because you left without saying goodbye but mostly because I missed your birthday.”
“Yeah,” she sighed, “I didn’t even get a cake.”
This surprised him. Sage loved birthdays. That she didn’t make Petal a cake was unlike her. He would bet his life dickhead Carlos had something to do with it.
“Want me to make you one?” He didn’t know shit about making cakes, but if Petal wanted one, he could sure as hell figure it out.
She made a funny face before declaring, “Boys can’t make cakes,” through a fit of girly giggles.
“You’re right about that,” he murmured, which only made her laugh harder. It was a sound that warmed his heart. He pulled her in and kissed the top of her head. “How ‘bout we get one from that bakery that does those horrible frosted sprinkle cookies you like?”
“They’re not horrible! she gasped. “You ate seven of them, and Momma was mad because she had to go buy more!”
He laughed. “Okay, so they were kinda good.” She settled against him with a sigh. Fuck, he’d missed this. “I need you to do something for me. I need you to take it easy on your mom right now. Do you think you can do that?”
Her head moved back and forth against his chest in a jerky nod.
“Where’s my girl?” a voice called from the doorway.
“Aunt Lucy!” Petal shouted. Pushing from Ax’s lap, she hurtled across the floor toward a smiling Lucy.
As Lucy wrapped her arms around Petal, her eyes connected with Ax. “We need to talk,” she mouthed over Petal’s head.
Yes, they fucking did. Lucy was just as mad at Sage for leaving as he was, yet, she didn’t tell him about the phone call. He wanted to know why.
“Did you bring baby Jade?” Petal asked.
Taz and Lucy had three kids—two boys and a girl—all under the age of five. Jade was just a few months old when Sage and Petal took off for Mexico.
“No, but I promise you’ll get to see her tomorrow at the bonfire. She’s grown so much. Wait until you see her little baby teeth.” They talked about Jade’s teeth for a few minutes before Lucy announced that she was going to grab some things for the two of them. “Is there anything special you’d like for me to pick up?”
“Candy,” Petal said with a grin.
“I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, your mom is waiting for you in the kitchen.”
Petal’s face scrunched. “She wants me to take a nap. Naps are for babies.”
“Naps are for kids who want cake later on,” Ax interjected.
“Fine,” Petal sighed. They laughed as she raced from the room.
The moment she was gone, Lucy’s expression changed. “Did you see what that asshole did to her? I’m going after him. I’m going to wreck that fucker’s world.”
“Why didn’t you tell me Sage called you?” he quietly asked.
The question must have caught her off guard because she opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. Finally, she said, “I don’t know. You were getting on with your life. I didn’t want to set you back.”
It was funny how everyone thought they knew what was best for him. He was beginning to resent it.
“I can’t believe he beat her.” Her pained whisper struck deep. “If I’d known, I would have gotten her out. I would have—”
He cut her off. “Don’t go there.” He’d already been down that rabbit hole. “You want something to do? Talk to her. Get her to tell you what happened. See if she needs to talk to someone about it. Be her friend.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What aren’t you telling me?”
It wasn’t his place to say. “Just talk