Page 25 of Operation Annulment (Silent Phoenix MC)

Nate follows my gaze, and his jaw clenches. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Is this normal with your family?”

I take a deep breath, but there is no centering myself this time.

Namaste … and kick Dakota’s ass over this.

“Dakota Mae! Get out here now!” I scream at the top of my lungs, and everyone freezes.

“Holy shit, Hail Mary! You got some pipes on you.” Little Ricky nods approvingly before sitting down in a nearby chair. All he’s missing is a bucket of popcorn.

Dakota comes out of her bedroom with her arms crossed over her chest. Once she sees Jeremy, she smirks.

Do not hit a pregnant woman…

“Hey Jeremy, just in time! I think Nate was just leaving. Kate, did you say hello to Jeremy?”

Tears sting my eyes, but I refuse to cry right now. My hands are balled into fists at my side. I have never been so angry at my sister, including the time she drew superhero capes on every member of my N*SYNC poster to make them happier.

Jeremy takes in the situation. “I thought you said they broke up.” He looks over at Nate, “I’m sorry, man.”

Nate pulls his keys free from his jeans. His face is a mask, so I can’t get a good read on him. “Kate, I’ll be outside.”

“Bye, Nate!” Dakota waves and Zane looks to me for advice. I give him a look as if to say, She’s your fiancée. You handle it, but he just shrugs.

“Okay, I’ve had enough of this. Cut the crap.”

Nate pauses in the doorway.

She widens her eyes. “I don’t know what you mean. Is there a problem, Kate?”

I take a few steps forward, only to be stopped by Little Ricky. “Hold up, Hail Mary. ”

“Don’t touch her,” Nate warns, and I turn around to smile sweetly at my husband before kneeing Little Ricky in the balls. He drops to the floor with a groan. Yeah. What he said.”

Zane takes a step forward with his hands held out. “Kate…”

“Move out of my way, you big tree, or you’ll be next. This is between me and Dakota.”

“What—are we supposed to fight like Captain America and Ironman now? Because you have me at a disadvantage.”

I shake my head. “No, I’m not going to fight you, but I will give you a piece of my mind. And you’re going to listen to me. I’ve taken care of you for far too long now. I have sacrificed everything for you!”

“No one asked you to do that, Kate.”

My words are forced through clenched teeth.

“What other choice did we have when Mama took off? Seriously, it fell on my shoulders. You watched me go through everything with Benjamin and claimed I deserved better. I find someone who makes me happy, and where are you? Oh, that’s right.

You’re running behind my back, trying to sabotage everything. Just. Like. Nan!”

Dakota’s mouth drops open in surprise. “I’m nothing like her!”

“You are exactly like her, carrying on with this ridiculous revenge plot and screwing with people’s lives to get what you want. I’ve supported you as long as possible, but I can’t be a part of this anymore. What you’ve done tonight is probably the cruelest thing anyone has ever done to me.”

She puts her hands on her hips. “I have Zane and Little Ricky—I don’t need you. So, anything else before you show yourself out?”

I take a stuttered breath, adrenaline coursing through my veins. No wonder Nate’s addicted to this—it’s better than being drunk. I feel invincible.

And I may not be able to hit my sister physically, but I can get her where it’ll hurt the most. I smile. “Yeah, there is one more thing. I saw Suicide Squad and feel that DC has a much better lineup of superheroes. ”

She gasps and clutches her chest. “Y-y-you did not just say that. They’re not even superheroes—they’re villains! Get out!”

I wipe the tears that have begun to leak from my eyes and join Nate at the door. Little Ricky starts to stand and Nate gives him a look. “Don’t even think about following us out right now.”

Nate hands me a cup of hot tea and wraps a blanket around my shoulders. I can’t stop shaking.

“I-I-is this what being an adrenaline j-junkie is like? I hate it.” Gone is the feeling of invincibility. I now feel like I’m caught in a hurricane. So, it’s basically like being hungover.

He chuckles softly. “Yeah, you just put your body into fight or flight and dumped a fuck ton of adrenaline into your bloodstream in the process.”

My teeth clatter together. “H-how m-much longer w-will it last. I don’t feel good.”

He brushes the hair back off of my forehead. “I don’t imagine you feel great at the moment. You’re not in control of your body; it must be hard. Just inhale and exhale, slow and steady.”

I lean into his hand and follow his instructions. “Thank you for not leaving me there.”

He fidgets with his wedding ring. “Why’d you defend me against Dakota? You and I just met a couple of months ago.”

“I didn’t like the way she was treating you. We committed to this marriage for sixty days, so I’m going to do everything in my power to put you first.”

His jaw tightens, and he stands up quickly. “Okay.” His Adam’s apple bobs slightly as he says it, and I wonder if his ex-wife ever put him first in anything.

I’m going to assume no since he questioned why I would.

I tap the table. “Sit. Did you have Dakota thrown out of the hospital? ”

He sinks back down onto the coffee table and sighs. “Yeah. She posed as a doctor to get information on me. Things were going okay until she told me that you belonged with Jeremy. I lost my cool and had the nurses call security to escort her out.”

I can’t help myself, and I begin laughing. I wonder if this is fight-or-flight or if I’m just cracking up mentally. “Is that where Dr. Quinn, Woman of Medicine, came from?”

He tries and fails to hide a smile. “Yeah. I couldn’t believe she’d never seen the show. That was a nice call with the DC reference at the end. I think you got under her skin.”

I groan and put my head in my hands. “I’m an awful sister. I just wanted to hurt her as badly as she hurt me. Ever since she got arrested, our lives have been turned upside down. It would just be nice to have one thing go our way, you know?”

Nate looks down at the floor. “Is Jeremy? Were you two? God, what I’m trying to say is…”

Here goes nothing.

“Are you asking if we slept together?”

He nods, still looking down at the floor. “Yeah.”

“We did, yes. A year ago, I went to a chamber social event?—”

He moves to stand up again. “You don’t owe me an explanation?—”

I put my hand on his thigh, pushing him back down. “Please let me finish. I kind of need to start at the beginning, though. I dated a man for a year, Benjamin. On our anniversary last year, I went over to his house to surprise him. I guess I was successful—I walked in on him and his boyfriend.”

Nate’s head pops up in surprise, and I continue. “I went to the chamber social a few months later, where I met Jeremy. I was feeling reckless then and ended up going home with him. I had a one-night stand and lost my virginity. I didn’t see him again until right before I met you.”

He holds his hand up. “Wait, what did you just say?”

“I didn’t see him again until right before I met you?”

He shakes his head. “Before that. ”

“I had a one-night stand?”

He shakes his head again, his voice almost a whisper. “After that.”

I swallow past the lump in my throat. “I lost my virginity to him?”

He nods. “That was just last year. How many guys have you been with?”

“Including you? Two.”

He leans closer to me, his forearms resting on my thighs. “You were with him one time and then me? No one else?”

I nod, rendered speechless by his line of questioning.

Is this a big deal to guys?

“Fuck. I’m going to assume that you and Benjamin weren’t experimenting. How’d you manage?”

“I have an arsenal of battery-powered gadgets,” I slap a hand against my mouth in horror.

I did not just say that. That’s got to be the adrenaline, rendering my internal filter useless.

His eyes sparkle with amusement. “Show me?”