Page 58 of When Sinners Hate
“Carmen said she turned damn bitchy on her.”
I chuckle at that. “Yeah. She deserved that moment, though. She earned it.”
We both stare for a while, taking in the atmosphere and the sight of it all. Dante smokes, and we stay in the silence that’s always fit us well. Never has been much need for more than that between us. We read each other without the need for conversation, and, unless he’s fighting me about seniority, which he’ll never damn well win, we’re the tightest of us all.
“How’s Shaw doing?” I ask.
“Still fighting it. Not physically. Little shit knows better than that now, but he’s just not up for it. Got zero fucking bite about him when it comes to the girls.” He pulls in some smoke and blows it out. “Too busy being a Romeo. Maybe it’ll come with time.” I doubt it. “He might need you dealing with him. We both know my tolerance for weak-ass behaviour.”
I frown and think on that while Dante keeps looking into the party. Not that I should be thinking about anything other than this night, but that kid needs some guidance to get where I need him.
“Gotta admit, she’s fine as hell,” he says.
“Hmm.”
“What’s she like?”
My eyes roll. “We’re not going there.”
He gets off the rail. “Yeah, but Wren does this thing with her tongue and goddamn … Drives me fucking wild.” I look athim, a smirk settling. “All the fucking pussy through the years and she’s the only one that I want.” I nod, acknowledging that with no doubt about it. “And she’s got this dark side. You wouldn’t think it, would you? Freaky little thing.” My brow arches. “And little hands, you know? Fuck that feels good. And when she’s–”
My hand goes up. “I don’t want to know.”
“Yeah, you do. Just like I want to know about those lips Lexi’s talking with.”
“Shut the hell up. That’s my wife.”
He laughs and turns his gaze at Wren, not remotely fucking interested in Lexi anyway. “Well, this could be fun,” he chuckles out. “Never seen a jealous version of you before.”
“Don’t make me play with you about Wren, Brother. You won’t like the game.”
He literally growls at me. “You leave her the fuck alone.”
“See? Don’t instigate it if you can’t take it.”
Mother gets up in our view, taking Knox’s hand and making him dance. And then Mariana’s up with Shaw doing the same. I smile at it all, happy to revel in something a little less tense for a while. That’s all it’s about for me. Spending that time inside and missing it, perhaps being envious of Dante and what he was achieving, made me all the more focused. Years went by with them all growing and me just rotting. I suppose it made me who I am, though. And I don’t regret a damn moment of killing that piece of shit.
“Go in. Be with Wren.”
He looks back at me and stamps down on his smoke. “You’re alright, though?”
“Yeah. I’m good. You know I like watching this. I missed too much. Go.”
He smiles and walks off, a tap on my arm as he goes. Doesn’t take long before he’s pulling Wren away from Lexi anddragging her into the middle of the room to dance. So, I watch my wife for a while, as she takes it all in, and consider that stark, blonde hair in the middle of all our dark features. Another fake thing. Although, that face is as soft as I’ve ever seen it. Maybe she is trying to maintain her icy front, but she’s failing. Who wouldn’t in there?
She catches my eye after a few minutes and just stares out at me with one of those light smiles of hers. It’s a moment for us. It’s a point in time where she sees what we’re all about and why, irrespective of that life we live outside of here, we’re as close as it gets. Each one of us would kill if anything threatened that. Not because it would be expected, but because it’s who we are.
My finger crooks at her, and I keep watching as she swerves the room to get to me. She’s not hurried about it, nor does she stop herself moving to the beat as she passes Shaw and he offers her the chance to dance with him. He spins her and pulls her tight in, saying something to make her laugh some more at the same time.
Typical Shaw behaviour.
No matter him being difficult to manage sometimes, he’s as much a part of us as everyone else is, and he’s damn good with women. If any of us can make her feel welcome by way of flirtation – he’s it. He can seduce anyone into anything. Women and men alike, if need be. Baby blue eyes from his father, with Mother’s heritage colouring his frame. Handsome as fuck features. Maybe he hasn’t got the savagery we older ones have, but he makes up for that in other ways. He just needs time to grow. And maybe some pushing of my own.
He winks at me eventually and turns Lexi away from him towards me, catching hold of Wren on a spin away from Dante. I watch her grab hold of a couple of drinks on the way to me and keep swaying to the beat. Her cheekbones glint in the lights asshe gets to me, and she’s part laughing at the show Mother and Knox have decided to engage in.
“Your mother can move,” she says, as she gets to me and hands me a shot glass. I nod. No denying that. “In fact, they all can.” She downs her shot and grimaces. “Not you, though, it seems.”
“I move just fine.”