Chapter Six 255

Chapter Six

Dominic

As I argue with Mer, I can’t see the woman I grew to love fifteen years ago. This isn’t her. I know I’ve fucked up. However, I thought we were clear on what was at stake.

“You knew the risks. You loved the money and wanted me to climb that ladder.” I slap the countertop in frustration. “You wanted me to keep moving up the chain of command so you could keep getting my money.”

Her eyes well with unshed tears. Unshed tears for the money, but none for Swayze? Whose care did I leave my little girl in?

“Where did all the money go, Mer?” She quickly looks away but not fast enough for me to not see the gears turning in her eyes.

“You don’t know how much money it takes to raise a kid. That shit goes quick,” she hisses with indignation.

I know she’s lying, but I try to keep to the point, preventing her from veering off the subject. “Well, that’s something you don’t have to worry about now. Things will change around here.”

First, is her having a job? This is something my colleague forgot to include in all of my updates. I guess not everyone is as thorough as they should be. Is that why she had to repeat her junior year? Because she had to work so much?

She scoffs, turning toward the sink to fill a glass with water. “Why is everything always about that girl? You were never concerned about me. If you had to choose, it would only be her. Fuck me, right?”

“ Her , meaning our daughter?” I ask because there’s no way she’s saying this to me.

She faces me with dead eyes. “No, I mean your daughter. She’s no daughter of mine.” Then she stomps past me toward the bathroom. “But I kept your dirty little secret. She still believes I pushed her out of my cunt.” She continues to fire shots at me in her retreat. I rub my hand over my aching heart. It feels like I’ve been shot by Merideth’s words.

Yet another thing she’s going back on. She treated Swayze like her own and promised to keep doing so while I was locked up. What happened to change all that?

Mer pauses at the bathroom door to give me a glare. “She’s at the diner on Greenfield and Main. Why don’t you do something useful and give her a ride home? It’d be nice, for once, if my food was hot when she brought it home.” With her hand on the knob, she adds, “And fill my fucking gas tank,” before slamming the door.

***

After this morning’s hellstorm, I spent the day riding around in the trash bucket that’s Mer’s ride and connecting with old contacts. I planned on picking Swayze up after learning she had to walk to work, which had to be at least two miles. This isn’t how her life was supposed to turn out .

I moved up in the ranks while in prison. When you work with the drug lords and the mafia, your obligations don’t go away because you’re behind bars. There’s always someone to be threatened. Someone to be killed. I’m no stranger to violence. It was part of the reason my sentence was extended. I never got caught for anything on the outside, even murder. Consequences are for men who don’t think ahead. Between the money I received for the jailhouse hits and the large sum Archie gave me for taking the blame, Mer and Swayze should be living comfortably in a lovely little house with a white picket fence and whatever else fucking suburbanites need to keep up with the Joneses. Regardless, Swayze’s not going to be living with Mer anymore. After Mer stopped visiting me in jail, I had one of my trusted colleagues purchase a home for me and Swayze. He’s keeping it in his name until I give Mer the divorce papers .

The sky is getting swallowed by the horizon, and I know Swayze will be getting off work soon, so I turn the wheel in the direction of the diner. The ride was short since I was already in town. When I pull up to the small diner, I see her. Even through the large dirty window, her smile is radiant, and her ponytail gives her a playful air compared to the hardened woman I saw last night. Cutting the engine, I stride inside the building, hoping to sit in her section.

The red and white checkered floors bring back the memories of when I was young and would stop by after school for root beer floats. Sitting on one of the plastic red bar stools, I grab a laminated menu from its holder.

“Wow, I didn't expect to see you here. What’s it been eight… nine years?” I peer up to see Emily Hazel. I haven’t seen her since high school. She looks different now, but I’m sure I do, too.

“About twenty-five years, actually,” I correct, smothering a smirk.

“Way to make me feel old,” she huffs, but there’s a shit-eating grin on her ruby-red painted lips.

“Nah, we aged like fine wine,” I tease .

That makes a blush blossom on her cheeks. “Anyhow, what can I get for Mr….” she lowers her voice, “Horsecock?” She wiggles her brows and runs her tongue over her teeth.

The old nickname makes me cringe. I clear my throat when I catch Swayze watching us with an arched brow. I hope she didn’t hear that. “I’ll take a medium-well burger with a side of fries.”

She scratches my order down, batting her lashes at me. I wish she would stop. Not in front of Swayze. “And what to drink? I know you’ve got to be as thirsty as a bear in this heat wave.” She rests her tits on the counter, chewing on the end of her pen, which looks as if it’s taken one too many licks but keeps on kicking.

“What about a root beer float,” I add, trying not to focus on the weird things she’s doing with her mouth. “For old time’s sake.”

She gives me a wink. “I’ll put extra whipped cream on top.”

When Emily retreats, Swayze plops her pad down in front of me before leaning on the counter, replicating Emily’s stance. Propping her head in her hands, she observes Emily flirting with the cook .

“Horsecock, huh?” Comes from my Zair-Bear’s lips, and I want to cover her mouth and erase that nickname from her brain. Then she makes it worse. “More like Whalecock if you ask me.”

I tense at the reminder of what she walked in on last night. The mere thought of her staring at me with her arousal-coated fingers in her mouth and calling me Daddy sets off an inferno in me.

“Swayze Marie Solace!” I growl in a low tone so no one else can hear. She needs to stop. It’s only making our moral dilemma worse. And what are these women doing? With all the animal references, I feel like I’m at a fucked up zoo.

She pays no mind to the severity of the highly inappropriate predicament she’s putting me in. Nope. Instead, she picks up her pad with a shrug and smirk on her pretty pouty lips. “Oooo, now we use my full name. It looks like I’m getting under your skin.”

What the fuck am I going to do about this? Who is this girl standing in front of me? What the fuck did Mer do to her? It doesn’t matter. This is on me. I need to take responsibility for everything, even the way she’s reacting to me. This has to be a punishment for leaving. Whatever the punishment is, I deserve it. Guilt slams into me like a Mac truck. I’ll have to swallow this bitter pill I created.

Luckily my food is brought out without any penis references, and I’m able to eat my burger in peace. I drink half my float before growing tired of it and push my leftover fries around in the plastic wicker basket with its paper lining the bottom. Swayze doesn’t throw any more crude comments my way, but I do watch as she clears tables. When she catches me staring, she takes that as a cue to flaunt her ass which I have to force myself to look away from.

I finish my food and decide it’s probably safer to camp out in the car. The employees begin exiting the building a while later, signaling closing time. I begin worrying when the lights are turned off, and Emily is locking the front door. The blood in my veins runs cold. Where is Swayze? Has someone from my past taken her?

I exit the Mer’s station wagon and grab Emily’s elbow before she walks away. She gasps, slapping her hand over her mouth. I’m an idiot. Apparently, prison life has erased all of my common sense.

“I’m sorry, Emily, I didn’t mean to frighten you. ”

Before I can ask about Swayze, she turns on the charm. “Did you want to go home with me tonight, Horsecock? You could’ve told me before when—”

I raise my hands, waving them in front of me. “No, no, sorry, Emily. I’m looking for Swayze. She’s my daughter. Do you know where she went?” I tamper down the panic in my voice.

“I had no idea that was your daughter.” Her penciled-in eyebrow arches at me skeptically. There’s a long pause before she purses her lips. “You know, if you like those younger girls, you could’ve just said so. You didn’t have to make up some fake daughter scenario.” She scoffs, shrinking away from me. “She took the back exit. Good luck with that one. She’s an absolute demon.” She walks away with her shoulder back and chin up.

I don’t even try to correct her. I don’t have time for her hurt feelings. My daughter is more important right now.

What has she gotten herself into?