Maybe This Time (Maybe #1)(24)

Xander laughs, breaking the tension. “Keep your phone on you. Is it charged?”

“Yes, I will, and yes, it is. Calm down, baby brother,” I say, leaning up on my tip toes and kissing him on the cheek.

“I’m never having daughters,” he sulks, pouring himself a scotch.

I shake my head. “You’re an old soul, Xander. Must have been that time you did in jail,” I joke.

“Oh, come on. It was just one night,” he says, his lip twitching.

“Well, you sure know how to make a first impression,” I say dryly, causing his body to shake with laughter.

“Reid’s not gonna like this,” he states when his laughter subsides.

“Not his business,” I say, my voice wavering a little.

“There’s things about Reid you don’t know, I don’t think you should give up on him,” he says in a gentle tone.

“I thought you weren’t a fan of Reid and me?”

“I wasn’t. But he’s different around you. And he’s a scary mofo, he'll always protect you. I need my sister safe,” he says.

The doorbell rings, and Xander rushes to answer it. Everyone is hinting about Reid, but no one will give me answers. It’s driving me bat shit crazy. When I see it’s my dad at the door and not my date, Lyle, I frown.

“Good, I caught you before your date arrives,” my dad says, smiling evilly.

“This isn’t prom, you guys,” I say, rubbing my temples. I swear I feel a headache coming on.

“Yeah, but this is our first time sending you off with another man,” Xander scoffs.

“You look beautiful, Summer Ray,” Jack says, smiling happily.

“Please don’t use my middle name again,” I beg, causing both of them to laugh. “I’m serious. Summer Ray, come on,” I groan.

“It suits you.”

“Yeah, if I was a hippie.” I slip my feet into my hot pink stilettos and put on a black cardigan.

“You ready to go, Xander?” dad asks him.

“Where are you two going?”

“We have some business on tonight,” my dad answers. I walk into my bedroom to get my bag. When I walk back out I can hear them both whispering. I lean against the door straining to hear.

“Reid doesn’t know about her going on a date, right?” Jack asks Xander.

“Nope.”

“Good, he needs to be on his game tonight,” dad says, sounding worried.

“He'll probably come here tonight, though. He did last time,” Xander adds. I walk out, narrowing my eyes at the two of them.

“What’s going on tonight?” I demand. The doorbell rings, and they both look relieved. When they both head to try and answer the door, I grab onto their shirts.

“No way. Goodnight, both of you. You have some explaining to do when I get back.” I kiss them both on the cheek and then open the door. Lyle stands there, in dark denim jeans and a tight white top. I guess I’m a little overdressed.

“Hey, Lyle,” I say smiling. He returns my smile, but then it suddenly drops. I glance behind me to see dad standing there, an intimidating aura surrounding him.

“I’m Jack Kane, you heard of me, boy?” he asks Lyle. Lyle swallows and nods twice. “Right. Take care of my girl.”

“Yes, sir,” Lyle says, swallowing so hard I can actually see the bob of his Adam’s apple.

“Good,” dad says, the tension clearing. We walk to Lyle’s car, and I frown when he doesn’t even bother to open the door for me.

“Where are we going?” I ask him once we both get in.

“I was gonna take you out to dinner. But I got an invite for an event, so you’re coming with,” he says, glancing over at me like I should be happy.

“Okay.”

“After meeting your father, I know you’re gonna like it. Fuck, I can’t believe I’m rocking up with Jack Kane’s daughter,” he says, sounding almost giddy.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“What? Oh, nothing.”

“Explain,” I demand.

“It’s a surprise,” he says, turning up the music so I can’t talk.

Douchelord.

We stop at one of Lyle’s friends’ houses, where he makes me sit in the car for fifteen minutes. This is the worst date ever. I didn’t even have dinner. Lyle finally returns and we drive to a dodgy looking warehouse.

“What is this place?” I ask, my eyes darting around. We walk inside and I see a large crowd of people. Lyle hands the door guy two tickets, and my skin crawls when he puts his arm around me.

“Tickets are normally two hundred dollars each,” he brags.

“Good for you,” I mutter under my breath. Lyle leads me to a different section, and when I look up I freeze.

There's a caged octagon, similar to the one we have at dad’s gym, and right in the middle is Reid.

“Reid?” I whisper, my lips forming the word but no sound coming out. I watch as he faces off with another guy, who seems to be a tiny bit bigger than him.

“What is this?” I ask Lyle, who flashes me a confused expression. The fight begins and I close my eyes, leaning back onto a wall. I hear cheering, and yelling, so I take a peak, just in time to see Reid punch his opponent right in the face. I grin, but it only lasts a few seconds, because then Reid takes a hit to his stomach.