Chapter 37

Animal

“Baby girl.” I rolled up next to her in the Hummer as I turned down my music.

Ember’s megawatt smile was blinding. “Hey, future husband.” She had her headphones in and was carrying a bag from a local boutique.

“You up to trouble?” I checked in my rearview to be sure I was out of traffic.

“Every day I can be.” She slid her sunglasses into her hair. She was rocking a high ponytail and bright red lips today.

“How about I give you a ride?” I leaned over and popped the door open.

“I only get in cars with strangers if they have candy.” She licked her lips and I rolled my eyes.

“Get in, jailbait.” She put her bag on the floor and climbed into the passenger seat.

“I’m perfectly legal. Legal to date. Legal to marry. Legal to…”

I put my hand over her mouth. “Stop. You’re the equivalent of my younger cousin.”

She kissed my palm with a loud swack and pulled the door closed.

I put the Hummer in drive and eased back into traffic. “Where you headed?”

Ember ignored the question and started opening the various compartments in the vehicle. I took breaks from watching the road and navigating traffic to keep closing the doors on her.

“You’ll blow your head off if you open the wrong thing. Hands in your lap.” I pulled one of her nosy paws off the console.

“Can I put them in yours instead?” She was laughing already at my headshake. I knew she was teasing me, but I sensed a little bit of a crush in her, too.

I was old for a girl like her. And Ember had oats to sew yet.

“I was going to hang out with Jet and Finn at that Speakeasy Coffee Shop.” She finally stopped fidgeting.

“They in school?” I clicked the blinker on, heading us in the direction she wanted to go.

“Nah. Jet thought about it, but never filled out the forms he needed to.” She pulled her phone out and started texting.

“Sounds like Jet’s a deadbeat.” I passed judgment.

She snorted. “Well, maybe he wants to be in your line of work.”

I glanced at her. That wasn’t an off-the-cuff remark. She was seeking.

“Ember, I have a degree. And I want to get more. I think Doctor has a nice ring to it.” I circled around the block, even though we were near the coffee shop. I’d wanted to have this conversation with her for a few weeks since she’d moved in.

“Damn. That’s great. Good for you. You’re a little bookworm. That’s so cute.” She blew a bubble and snapped it.

I looked over my sunglasses at her. “Nothing about me is cute, baby girl.”

She gave me her full pout. “Promises, promises.”

“You’re trouble. You’re living in my house, under my roof—for now. I need you to go back to school. The commute is reasonable. I don’t want you wasting these years.” I pulled into the coffee store parking lot and wrangled the Hummer into two spots. I pushed the lock button to reinforce the fact that we weren’t done having this conversation yet.

“Really? I thought that was my brother’s house?”

I pulled my sunglasses off and dialed Nix, setting the phone to speaker. I put my finger to my lips to encourage her to stay quiet.

“Yup, brother?” Nix answered the phone.

“Baby, who owns the house we live in?” I watched Ember as we both listened to Nix’s reply.

“Joint custody. You and me. Unless you want it. Then it’s all yours.” Nix sounded like he might be at a gun range, with low pops in the background.

Ember clouded up at me and spoke, “Nix, I think you’d just agree to anything Animal says.”

Nix laughed. “If Animal tells you something, just know I agree one hundred percent.”

“Later, Bones.” I ended the call and slid the phone into my pocket. “You happy?”

She huffed, “Yeah. Fine. I’ll see if I can make up the work I’ve missed. Or at least enroll in some late starting classes.”

“Another thing.” I hit the lock button again as she reached for the handle.

“Come on!” She slapped the window.

“You’re going to have protection. People know you’re with us, which means that you need to be protected.” I used my phone again to send a text to T. With as sexy as Ember was, I wasn’t looking forward to setting up one of my men as her bodyguard. And T was literally the best I had. “She’ll be here in five.”

I watched Ember perk up. “T?”

I nodded.

“Oh, that’s cool. I’ll take that in a heartbeat. Can she take classes with me?” Ember was excited.

I frowned while I thought about it. If T hadn’t graduated, I could find out what it would take for her to be enrolled. I knew she was intelligent, but I also didn’t want to insult her with the offer. It made sense, though.

“You like T?” I folded my arms across my chest.

“Hell yeah. She’s awesome. And she’s not a chatterer. Like when she talks, it’s real shit. I like her. I hope she doesn’t find me too annoying?” Ember bit her bottom lip.

“I’ve known T a long time. She dislikes assholes. And you’re a pain in the ass, but a nice one.” I looked around the area and saw Ember’s two friends in the coffee shop looking out. Jet had spotted us, but was pretending like he hadn’t.

He was a young kid, but had street smarts. If he weren’t involved with Ember, I would’ve probably dangled a few carrots his way to see if I could get him in my employ. If he was hanging around her, the less trouble he got in, the better.

I watched as a familiar Lincoln parked across the street. I looked from Ember to the old man and back as he got out of his car.

This wasn’t my intention, not today. Merck was crossing the road with a massive grin. Father and most likely daughter were about to meet, and there was no way of gracefully stopping it. Sometimes fate decided.