Page 31

April

Oh no! Oh no!

No. No. No. No.

“Did you see his face?” Mercy giggles hysterically.

“Talk about hilarious,” Kayla says, bending over full out laughing her ass off. “He was totally pissed.”

“I know!” Mercy snorts, shaking her head. “Good call for picking a room in the guest hall.”

It was funny, I want to admit, but I’m not sure if it was a good idea that it was him who got hit by our prank. He didn’t look like he appreciated it at all. It seemed his brothers found it amusing, considering they’d laughed. JC and Lo who had been leaving the hall had turned around in time to see what happened and I heard them curse.

“Mercy, Kayla, April, I swear to fuck I’m going to throttle the three of you,” Twister remarks, finding us sitting outside by the swing set that was built years ago when Kayla and Mercy were just babies. The three of us all played here together loads when we were kids. We still come out here to hang out when none of the younger kids are around. “Do you three not know how to control yourselves?”

“I’m sorry, Daddy, but you know us,” Mercy says sweetly, batting her lashes.

“What I know is that you three are in a world of trouble,” Twister states looking at each of us. “You don’t know them. Your prank could have caused a shit load of problems for the club. You’re damn lucky they thought it was funny, and that JC and Lo were smart enough to give them a heads up.”

“Uncle Twister, it’s not like we did anything that was dangerous for them. I mean seriously, you know there’s a lot of other things we could’ve done besides shaving cream and glitter,” Kayla remarks brazenly.

I simply keep my mouth shut. As funny as it was, the prank that we played with them, it’s nothing compared to what we could’ve done. We’ve done a lot more for sure. And worse. Like the time we put hair removal cream in Lo’s girlfriend’s shampoo bottle two years ago. She was a total bitch to us when no one was around. Lo had been pissed with us, he knew what we did, but she’d finally shown her colors.

Twister looks at me and cocks a brow, “Not going to add anything to save your asses?”

I give Twister a small smile just as my phone starts ringing. “You know us,” is all I say and look at my phone. “Sorry, I need to take this,” I tell them and hop off the bench to move away while answering. “Hello.”

No one says anything at first, so I repeat my greeting.

Still there is only heavy breathing that I get in return.

“Look if this is some sort of sick game you’re playing, Samuel, then you can knock it off,” I snap quietly, not wanting anyone to hear me. Samuel was one of the guys at school. Him and his friends have been my tormentors this entire year.

“What will you do to get us to knock it off?” the bastard has the nerve to ask. “You know all you gotta do is. . .”

I hang up before he can finish what he was going to say. I pull the phone from my ear and take a moment to calm myself. I don’t want my friends to know what’s going on and the fact that one of my tormentors is calling me will definitely raise questions.

Shoving my phone in my back pocket, I turn back toward where my friends are and give them a bright smile that I hope they don’t see through. Twister’s still with them and he’s watching me closely. Far too closely for my liking.

I don’t like the idea of him watching me under a microscope. If anyone could read me it would be him or Horse. Well, my best friends could do it too, or maybe even their moms, but those men, they’re not stupid by any means.

Moving back to the group, I rejoin them on the bench. “Sorry about that.”

“Who was that?” Kayla asks, cocking a brow.

“Yeah, since when do you walk away to take a call?” Mercy adds.

“Nobody, just a guy from school.” It wasn’t a lie exactly. It was a guy. Just not someone I wanted to talk to or tell them about.

“A guy? Who?” Mercy demands. “You didn’t tell us you were seeing someone.”

“I’m not,” I tell her. “We’re working on a project for a class we have together. He was seeing if I’d stayed on campus this week or went home. It’s due the Friday after we get back.” A total lie. I mean sure, yeah, we have a project due, but I wasn’t working on it with anyone. It was just me and I already have mine completed and turned in.

“Oh okay,” Mercy says, watching me closely.

Kayla and Twister both just watch me far too close for my liking. I swear sometimes it’s eerie how alike their dads they are. Or maybe I should say my best friends are like their moms.

A throat clears behind us and I twist to see the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. I thought it when I saw him outside when they first got here, and I can’t help to think it now even with glitter still stuck to his hand.

“You need something, Fool?” Twister asks.

I do a quick glance to the patch that indeed shows the beautiful man’s name is Fool. It makes me wonder how in the world he got a name such as that.

“Yeah, wanted to meet the brains behind the sneak attack on my room.”

Twister nods and points to each of us. “This one is my daughter, Mercy. Next to her, my niece, Kayla. Then on the end, you got my other daughter, April.”

Other daughter?

Seriously?

I whip my head around to look at Mercy’s dad. Did he seriously just do that?

“All three of them are off limits. Spread that to your brothers. They get an eye for any of them, they won’t like what will happen.”

“Daddy,” Mercy snaps.

“Uncle Twister,” Kayla whisper shouts.

I just look at him in horror. I mean it’s not like I intend to go there with one of the guys at the clubhouse. I mean the men who are a part of the club, they’re family to me. Like brothers or cousins or something. I get Fool isn’t one of the members of the DRMC, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t mind getting to know this man. Granted I wouldn’t get to know him more than. . . yeah stopping that thought.

I’m still a virgin for a freaking reason and I’m sticking to it. I’m not going to be like my mom who didn’t mind spreading it for men. That’s not me. I promised myself as a little girl that I would never be like her. I wouldn’t give it away and keep doing it for just anyone. I want someone to want me for me, not because of what’s between my legs.

“Wouldn’t disrespect your club like that,” Fool remarks. “Just wanted to tell these three that it was a good prank, which pissed me off at first. Don’t appreciate looking like I got rubbed up on by a stripper, but it was a good one. Granted, I’m sure they could’ve come up with something better than shaving cream and glitter from what I’ve heard.”

“Don’t give them any idea that they could do better,” Twister grunts. “Need them to clean up the mess?”

“Nah, Cannon got one of the prospects to clean it up,” Fool smirks. “Just glad it ain’t me.”

Mercy and Kayla both snicker while I do my best not to stare at him like an idiot.

“Right,” Twister remarks and moves toward Fool. “You’re Hazzard’s brother, the one who was . . .”

Yeah,” Fool interrupts Twister with a curt nod. “Got out and Hazzard recruited me. Just got my cut not long ago. Hence, glad I’m not doing the cleaning and was able to get a prospect to do it.”

I glance out of the corner of my eye to Twister to see him watching Fool closely. “Got some brothers here, more than you’d think that served, you need a sit down with any of them, they’d be willing to talk and listen.”

It takes me a minute, but I realize what they’re talking about. From the look on Fool’s face, it’s not something he seems to want to talk about.

“Appreciate it, but I’m good,” Fool states calmly.

“Food’s ready.” We all turn in the direction of Kenny as she comes around the side of the building. “Kayla, can you and Mercy run over to the house and grab the box by the front door while April helps us set out the rest of the food?” she asks.

Please don’t let that box be something for me. The last thing I want is for them to give me something. They’ve already done enough.

“Sure, Mom,” Kayla answers and hops off the picnic table. “We won’t take long.”

“Thank you,” Kenny calls out, a beautiful smile on her face as she looks directly at me. “Come on, birthday girl, let’s get everything set out and then I’ll let you be.”

“Okay,” I say, then mutter softly to myself, “I should have just stayed at school. I hate my birthday.”

I didn’t realize though that I said this loud enough for not just Twister to hear but Fool as well. I also didn’t see the looks that both men give me as I make my way toward Kenny.

No, what I was doing was thinking about how things could’ve been different if I hadn’t been born to the woman who birthed me. It’s not on my dad the way I am. He’s just my dad, a man who, when he’s around, he’s the greatest, but he is who he is and there’s nothing that changes that. It’s a matter of the woman who didn’t treat me as a daughter but rather her nuisance. If I had a mom like Kenny or Izzy growing up, I wouldn’t have to be dealing with the troubles I’m having at school this year. I would be thinking about any of the things that I’m constantly thinking of.