Tirone (The Night Skulls MC #2)(16)
“The fuck is the matter with you and that fucking phone?” Laius suddenly asked, his tone taking an edge. “I told you I’d get you a new one.”
“It’s not about that. I need—” I wished I could have explained, but Michele made me promise. “It has important number-s.”
A muscle popping in his jaw, Laius pointed at my own steamy cup of coffee he’d made me himself. “Baby, why don’t you drink your coffee? Get your head clear so we can talk about school over breakfast? I’m on a two-week ultimatum to save your ass. I don’t have time to waste.”
“Starting a new job as a front, while your dropout son acts as my student when he’s in fact going to be my bodyguard, isn’t going to save my ass. I’m not applying to any jobs until everything is sorted out,” I pushed the mug, “and I don’t drink black coffee.”
Tirone rounded the counter and went to where they kept the pots. “I know how you drink your coffee. I’ll make you another cup. Two sugar, one cream, right?” He subtly winked at me. “I’m not a dropout anymore, by the way. I’m going back to school for real.” He glanced at me, his eyes sad and genuine. “I only dropped out for you, not because I wanted to.”
“You didn’t.” I refused to believe that story because if it’d been true, I had no idea how I was supposed to deal with it. “I don’t care what lies you told everyone to convince them to give you that cut you’re wearing now, but you didn’t drop out for me.”
“It’s true,” Laius said. “I checked.”
I froze for a second, a lump forming at the back of my throat. “How did you check?”
“I called Delilah last night. She confirmed the whole thing. Armando Lanza went to their place and sat with Rex to make him rat you out. Rex refused, but McNamara was too much of a pussy. He tried to make my boy do it. That’s when they had that fight. That’s why he dropped out.”
My lips parted with a breath that was stuck in my throat as my stare yawed between Tirone and Laius. Tirone who all this time had been telling the truth about why he left. Tirone whom I thought had dumped me when he’d been nothing but genuine about protecting me. Tirone who had gotten into a fight with his stepdad because of me. And Laius who went to prison because of it. Because of me. Laius who thought I was worth saving that he was ready to put his life and the lives of his people at risk to keep me alive. Laius whom I fell in love with hard and deep as a result of a misunderstanding between me and my ex, his only son.
“You called your ex, again while I was sleeping?” I was being a bitch, but I needed to change the subject because I was about to cry, and my mind was unable to think of a good excuse for that without causing suspicion. Because it was swelling and pulsing with literal pain from what he’d just revealed.
“You fucking shitting me right now? I called to check Rex’s story. Besides, she’s the mother of my son. I’m allowed to call her without supervision.”
“Oh, because you co-parent much?” My voice shivered. I lowered my head as I walked past him, tears on the verge of spilling. “I… I have to get out of here.”
“Let me come with you,” Ty yelled after me as I walked to the front door.
“No. I want to be alone.” I ran down the couple of steps of the porch. The sun blared in my face, and I realized I didn’t have my sunglasses on. It didn’t matter. I had a spare in the car.
“The fuck you are. Jo, get inside,” Laius shouted.
“No. I’m going…shopping. Yes. Shopping by myself. I haven’t changed my clothes in two days because I don’t have any.”
“Your bags are in your car. I’ll get them for you and take you shopping later. Now, get back inside.”
“Fuck you. I’m not a baby in need of a babysitter. I’m not your prisoner either. I’ll go out whenever I want.” I stalked across the open yard. I didn’t know how the compound looked like until now. It was basically a plantation house in the back, an open yard with cars and motorcycles lined up everywhere, and a garage out front, all enclosed in gated walls.
When I found my car, I opened the door. Luckily, it wasn’t locked. I looked for the keys. They were inside, my spare pair of sunglasses, too. I hid my wet, burning eyes immediately and started the car. Tools banged from the garage as I headed down the gate. A few men with prospect cuts stood, unmoving, with their hands clasped over their crotches.
“Please, open the gate,” I said as politely as possible.
“Sorry. We can’t,” one of them said, his gaze awkward, as if he was sorry he had to do this or something. “Prez’s orders.”
What the fuck? “Please, move out of the way. I won’t say it again.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am.”
I banged the horn with my fist long enough to irritate the dead. “Laius! Tell your men to open the fucking gate!”
He didn’t answer me, and no one came out of the house or moved off the fucking gate. Fuck it. I blew out of the car, slamming the door. “I swear to God, if you don’t let me out now, I’ll run your men over and crash my car into the gate!”
I waited for five seconds. Nothing.
“I’m going to count to three! One! Two! Three!” When he still didn’t come down, I climbed back into the car and reversed it as far as the distance allowed, screeching the tires so he’d know I wasn’t bluffing. That was only when he appeared at the front door. I squinted at him in the rear mirror, switched gears and held the steering wheel tight, foot ready on the gas.