She pissed me off last night not responding to my texts. She’s blowing me off. I know the move. And I fell for it. The more she ignored me, the more I tried. What the fuck is happening to me? All I know is I needed to have some kind of interaction with her, and I know she read each one of my texts, so I kept going.

The next afternoon, I walk into my mother’s house, pissed and practically shouting. “We have a problem; Murphy Jr. is not a Junior. He is a she, and she wants nothing to do with our family or me.”

Once I notice that everyone is here, I sit down on the sofa and Mom starts in on me. “What do you mean he’s a she?”

“Just what I said, that’s why I couldn’t find him. He is a she! And she used another name. I was looking for a guy the whole time.”

“So, you’ve seen her?” Gabriel asks.

“Yep, and so have all of you.” With raised eyebrows set on their faces, I tell them, “Remember the redhead at the party?”

Liam asks, “The one with the body? The one that ran off on you?”

With a growl, I answer him, “Yeah, Liam, her. She’s Murphy Larussa, not a junior.”

Everyone starts laughing except Mom. She sits in a chair and crosses her legs. She looks deep in thought.

“Mom, what are you thinking?”

“I’m not sure yet. Did you tell her that we wanted to speak to her? Did she maybe try to get close to you because of who you are?”

“Not exactly. I plan on going back. I was too shocked. When she found out I was a Stern, she immediately seemed thrown off. I honestly believe she had no idea that I was a part of the family.”

“She could be a good actress, maybe it was somehow her plan to get close to you.”

Now I’m really getting pissed. “I’m telling you, that’s not what happened. First of all, I went after her, not the other way around. Plus, now she wants nothing to do with me!”

“I saw you on the dance floor; that’s not what it looked like to me. Then she left once she was finished with you.”

I stand. “Enough, you will not talk about her like that. Like she’s playing me. She’s not that kind of woman. She’s fiery and spirited, but she’s not manipulative. What I see is that she’s lonely down here. She’s confused about everything dealing with her father dying and now inheriting a debt she has no way of paying back.”

Everyone stops whatever they were doing; they’re frozen in their spots. I just talked back to my mom, and no one does that. Shit, I watch as my mom stands. “You dare to contradict me over a woman? Since when do you become so protective that you come after me like that?”

Fuck, I guess I have no way out, but I really don’t need one. I don’t know when it happened or why I’m taking up for Murphy, but right now I make my final decision.

“Since now. I know what you want from her, and I know you have the power to get it. But I beg you, let me handle her. Give her time to get everything under control, and then I will work on her.”

“Work on her, Zander? Haven’t you done enough of that already?”

She’s crossed the line with me. “You listen up, Mother. I don’t give a fuck about her casino, but for some reason I do care about what happens to her. You are not to threaten her at all. I love you, but don’t you press me on this.”

Mom’s mouth drops, and I know I went too far. I look at everyone surrounding us as they watch the shit show. I fucked up, but I’m not a man to regret my actions, and for some strange reason I don’t regret it at all. After the staring contest has ended, I rush out of the house as fast as I can.

I leave in a hurry, not knowing what the fuck I just did in there or where I go from here. I hit my steering wheel in aggravation. Why did I do that? Mom’s always just looked out for us, and she’s probably right, it could have looked like Murphy was trying to seduce me on the dance floor. All right, fine, she was seducing me, but I know why. She was taking control of the situation I put her in. That night, our connection was not a game, and how dare she try to tell me that I wouldn’t know the difference? Over the years, my brothers and I have had a lot of women come on to us because of who we are. But Red, she had no clue; it was an honest connection. Mom has fucking nerve. I mean, she even taught Fallon how to seduce my older brother.

I’m going to have to try to make amends with my mom. I just need time to calm down. I think I need to take a day or two before I talk to either Mom or Red. It might help all of us to just take a break. Work should occupy my time for a while; I have a few collections that are needing my delicate touch.