Page 57 of When Sinners Hate
“He was on your tail the whole damn way last time,” Mariana drops in. “I mean, maybe with you getting so old now he’s got a shot.”
“Little Bella’s getting ballsy all of a sudden,” Dante laughs out. “Getting your witch on, sister?”
“I’ve got plenty of witch in me. You all need to watch your back now I’ve got some training in. That track gets easier everytime I’m on it. Definitely now that I’ve got my Aston to play with.”
“That British piece of shit couldn’t catch a damn cold,” Shaw snarls.
“You’re such a dick,” she snaps, looking at him. “Or would be if you had one. Shame.”
We’re all fucking laughing at that. Knox damn near spits his tequila out and starts snorting liquor back up and choking on it.
“That’s settled then,” Mariana says. “Knox. When you’ve finished dying, get a date down. We’ll make a day of it. I’ve got brothers to beat. Wren, what’s your driving like?”
She looks up from her food. “Erm. I don’t drive.”
“What the fuck?” Shaw says. “Not at all?”
“No. Never needed to and–”
“She’ll wipe your ass on the way past by the time I’m done with her,” Dante cuts in.
Her head whips to look at him.
“She won’t if you teach her,” Shaw baits. “You’re as shit as you’ve always been. I’ll teach you, baby. Don’t worry. Can’t have you being driven permanently like some princess without her own set of balls.”
“Really?” she says.
“Yeah. You probably need some seducing anyway. God knows he doesn’t know the first thing about it.” She laughs at the look of fury settling on Dante’s face and leans into his side. “Calm down, Brother. I’ll be gentle with her. Promise.”
“Little shit thinks he’s Romeo all of a sudden.”
“Well, maybe he will be one day,” Mariana says. “When he grows a dick, that is.”
We keep on like this for the next hour or two. We talk. We bait. We laugh. We drink to excess. We act like the family we are, and we involve everyone at this table in it. Marianaswitches places at some point and sits next to Lexi, and whilst I don’t know what they’re talking about, I let it happen without any interference. This is what she needs to see and feel a part of. It might not happen a lot, but it’s the backbone of who we are, regardless of the life we live outside it.
It takes a while, but Dante eventually flicks his chin at me after the conchas and borrachitos. He walks away from the table and out onto the veranda, leaving Wren discussing something with Mother. I look back as I follow him out, eyes fixed on Lexi as she tries to get involved with what’s happening here. She blinks and looks up at me, smiling about something Mariana is explaining.
“So, she’s in?” Dante asks, as I get to him.
“For now.”
He sucks the sugar off his fingers and offers me a smoke. I don’t take it. “Lexi, huh?”
“Hmm.”
“And who is that? She still a devious bitch I need to worry about?”
“Probably. But she might be on our side rather than her own, so I’m giving her some room to breathe for a while.”
He leans on the barrier and stares out into the night, drumming his fingers on the wood to the rhythm still pounding. “You starting to care about her?” I don’t answer. Which should be enough for him to understand that I am. “That girl has got trouble written all over her, and you know it. What happened to finding vengeance?”
“I never did like them without a little trouble involved. You know that.”
Turning, he leans on the railing and chuckles as he stares back inside. “You still like those spiteful little bitches, huh? You never just want some peace?” Yes. More so lately than ever. Doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate an attitude, though.
Laughter echoes back at us, and I end up leaning there with him and watching Lexi actually laugh – that real laugh of hers – at something Wren said. “You think she’s worth trusting?” he asks, blowing out some smoke.
“I think she’s never had any of this before, and she wants it. It’s up to her how she takes my offer of becoming part of it. I’ll go straight back to where we were if she chooses wrong.”