Chapter 12

Slate

“A re you sure Mommy is gonna be alright?” Ashlyn looked up at me with worry-filled eyes and all I wanted was to make her feel better.

I sighed heavily, part of me wanted to lie and say of course everything’s gonna be all right, but I thought back to my own childhood and wished that adults would’ve let me know when the shit storm was coming so I could’ve been prepared, or at least not so devastated by it. Was five too young to learn the cold hard truth? I wasn’t sure, so I tried to sugarcoat it the best I could without lying, “Your mommy is probably going to be all right, Ash. But I can’t say that for sure because sometimes adults get shi- stuff wrong.”

Her lips curled into a smile. “You were gonna say a bad word.”

“I was, but I didn’t.” I flashed a small smile at her and punctuated it with a wink. “Don’t tell your mom.”

Ashlyn mimicked zipping her lips. When a loud pounding knock sounded on the front door, the little girl jumped, and fear clouded her blue eyes.

Instinctively I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. You stay here, yeah?”

She nodded. “Okay.” The world left her lips barely above a whisper and that pissed me off.

I stomped to the front door with a frown on my face and yanked it open. “Yeah?”

A slender man stood before me with dark brown hair and green eyes that looked too big for his face. He was a few days past a good shave and the way he stood on the doorstep was beyond aggressive. “Who the hell are you?”

I shook my head. “Nah. You’re on the wrong side of the door to ask that question. Who are you and what do you want?”

He weighed his options, probably wondering if he should try his luck with me and I kind of wished he would. As the Tech Captain of the MC I didn’t get enough opportunities to kick somebody’s ass. “I’m Mark, Alex’s brother.”

“Alex isn’t here.” And he wouldn’t be ever again.

“And just where the fuck is Emma?” His brows dipped into a dark frown.

My arms hung at my sides, and I stared at the asshole, waiting for him to make his move. My shoulders were blocking the doorway so if he wanted in, then he was gonna have to get past me first.

“Well?” He took a step forward but not close enough to be threatening so I didn’t so much as flinch. “Where is she? Where the hell is my brother?” He took another step forward. “What did she do to him?” He held up his index finger and poked me in the chest, which was his first mistake. “Ow, what the fuck?”

I grabbed his finger and yanked it down and around until I had one hand pinned behind his back and his face pressed up against the front door. “Looks like you have the same problem as your brother. You can’t keep your hands to yourself.”

Mark struggled against my strength, but I didn’t loosen my grip at all. “What did she do to him?”

I laughed. “She didn’t do anything to him, unlike what he did to her. But you don’t care about that part, do you?”

“She’s a liar,” he spat out.

“My mommy’s not a liar,” Ash shouted from her spot in the living room.

“Ashlyn! Hey, tell this asshole I’m your uncle.” His smile was more of a grimace and Ash didn’t look at all comfortable around him.

“You said a bad word, you shouldn’t say that.”

The little girl was full of fire, and I respected the hell out of her for it. I kicked the door to the living room shut because she didn’t need to hear or see anything that came next.

“Get the fuck off me or you’ll regret it, asshole. Ow, stop!” he yelped as I twisted his arm.

I yanked his arm a little higher behind his back, forcing him off-center. “What exactly will I regret Mark?”

“This. You won’t get away with it.”

I smiled. “I haven’t done anything but prevent a strange man from entering a home he doesn’t own.” I grabbed his wrist, turned him towards the driveway and shoved him away, giving him a kick in the ass for good measure. “Show up again before your brother comes back and I’ll put a bullet in your ass.” I made a mental note to look into Mark Edwards. Soon.

“My brother wouldn’t leave without a word, and he wouldn’t ever leave Emma alone for more than a few days.”

Because he was a controlling asshole. “Then maybe you ought to be out there looking for him instead of harassing a woman and child with your unfounded accusations.”

He smiled but there was no joy in it. “Just because you’re fucking Emma doesn’t mean you get to tell me what the fuck to do.”

“Watch your mouth.” I took a step forward and he took two back, damn near fell off the porch. “Just because you have a fucked-up view of women doesn’t mean I’m here because I’m fucking Emma.”

“Aren’t you?”

“Are you here because you’re fucking your brother?” I arched a brow and smiled as he contemplated swinging on me. “This isn’t your house, is it? No. It belongs to your brother and his wife.”

“She doesn’t own shit!”

I shrugged. “Neither do you, so get the fuck out of here before I break your ribs and shove them up your ass.”

“This isn’t over asshole.”

I shrugged because it didn’t matter to me either way. “I don’t even know what the fuck this is, but I know if I see you around here making trouble for Emma or Ashlyn then you’re gonna fucking regret it.” I closed the door and watched him through the window to make sure he left.

He did but not before snapping a photo of my license plate and flipping the bird towards the house as if he knew I was watching him.

Mark Edwards had no way of knowing but he had just become my latest obsession. Before the sun rose on a new day, I would know everything there was to know about Alex’s brother.

“You swear a lot,” Ashlyn said, her face bright with a smile when I opened the door to the living room.

“You caught any of that little chat me and your uncle had?” I asked.

She nodded, then said, “He’s not really my uncle. He’s Daddy Alex’s brother.”

I think I’ll get a pass on what I said to that fucker, but going forward I gotta try and get a handle on my vocabulary when Ashlyn is near, “Sometimes you need to season a sentiment just to let someone know you really mean what you say.”

“Can I season my words?”

I laughed. “Probably not until you’re at least eighteen, but you should definitely ask your mom.”

“She’s gonna say no.”

“But you’ll be a grownup a lot longer than you’re a kid so you can season your words all you like when you grow up.” There was something else she said though, that I wondered about. “Why do you call Alex, Daddy Alex and not just Daddy?”

“He’s not my real daddy and he doesn’t want to be.” The sadness in her voice only made me angrier at that man, to have a precious little girl like Ashlyn and make her feel unwanted was just shitty and pathetic.

“Well it’s his loss because I think you’re pretty fu- freakin’ great.”

Laughter sparkled in her eyes before it erupted from her lips.

“I didn’t say it though.”

At those words, she laughed even harder.