Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

Viper

Christmas is supposed to be a happy time. A joyous occasion. But, I'm not feeling it.

Not at all.

I'm sitting in the bar when the phone rings.

"Hello," I hiss.

"Dad," Allegra says.

"Hey, Allegra. Are you okay? Where are you?"

"Yeah. No, I'm fine," she says, and the pain in her voice makes my heart skip a beat. "Look, I'm sorry. For everything."

"Me, too," I say.

"Can we talk? Face-to-face. Soon," Allegra asks, and the hope in her voice is almost enough to break me.

"Of course. What's going on?"

"I just want to talk. There's so much we haven't said," Allegra whispers.

"Yeah. There is," I nod, and the silence is deafening.

"Jaxon's leaving town. Going to work at a different club," Allegra says, and the words make my skin crawl.

"When?"

"A week. Two," Allegra says.

I don't want to say it, but this is good.

Right?

She can move on.

Be free.

She'll come home, and things can go back to the way they were.

"I can pick you up. We can talk," I say.

"No. I'll meet you at home. In the morning," Allegra says. "Okay."

"Yeah, okay. I'll be there," I nod.

"Okay," she says.

"Bye," I say, and when the call ends, the relief hits. I don't know what she has to say, but the fact that she's reaching out is a good thing.

Right?

"Everything okay?" Rosa asks, and the look on her face tells me she's not happy.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think so," I nod.

Rosa rolls her eyes. "Good. Because, if you don't mind, I'm trying to run a business. This isn't a social club. You know the clients here don't want to see a whole bunch of people sitting around."

Desire House undeniably runs with more discretion, but…it's understandable why.

I didn't feel like heading over to Satin Dreams and watching women dance, strip, or flirt.

It would all remind me a bit too much of Iris.

"I'm just sitting here, drinking. What's the big deal?" I ask.

"I've been here for hours. If you're gonna be here, you might as well offer to help," Rosa says.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you needed help."

"Well, I do. Iris went over to Satin Dreams to get everything sorted for the night. Another set of hands would be fabulous," Rosa hisses.

"All right. Sorry. Let me help," I nod.

Rosa rolls her eyes in aggravation. "About damn time."

"I apologize, Rosa, but damn. Take a chill pill, will ya?"

What the fuck has gotten into her?

When my eyes land on Jaxon, it all makes fucking sense.

Rosa shifts the conversation and asks me something I'm not anticipating."So, something happen with Iris lately?"

I arch a brow. "Why would you say that?"

"She didn't want to be here tonight, so," Rosa shrugs.

I don't owe Rosa any explanation. "That's not a reason to jump to conclusions."

Rosa laughs, "So, you are still sleeping with her?"

"No," I mutter.

Rosa cocks her head and puts a hand on her hip. "You're a shitty liar. Anyone ever told you that?"

I push my empty glass toward her, and without another word, she refills it."Thanks, Rosa. Anything else you want to say to me?"

The anger in her eyes is making me uncomfortable. "Yeah. How about that I'm tired of cleaning up your messes."

"There are no messes. Not anymore," I say, and when she's across the bar, her eyes meet mine.

"There will always be a mess, Viper. It's like you make damn sure of it," Rosa says, and the disappointment in her voice is palpable.

"I know," I mutter, and before I can say another word, her arms are crossed over her chest.

"Fix it with Iris," she snaps. "And while I might not necessarily like your daughter, you should fix this shit with Allegra fast too, or you'll lose her forever. Do you understand me?"

"Rosa," I whisper.

"No. Don't. Don't 'Rosa' me. Fix this. I don't know how many more chances either of them are going to give you," Rosa says.

"Yeah, yeah. Got it," I mutter.

"And, don't sleep with Iris anymore. It's not worth the trouble unless you're gonna be with her," Rosa adds.

"I didn't. I won't," I say, and the second the lie falls from my lips, the pain is too much.

Rosa huffs. "Liar. Just stop now, while you still can."

"I'll try," I say, and as she's turning, a customer catches her attention.

It's not like we planned it.

Not like it was intentional.

I never meant for this to happen with Iris.

Never.

I can't fix the past, and I can't change the future, but if Allegra comes home, maybe I can stop things from getting worse.

Fuck this.

Rosa's phone rings and out of nowhere she's panicked. "What? I'm on my way!"

She looks over at me, "Viper, come on. Someone attacked Iris at the club."