The Lies Between Us (The Devil's Dust #4)(59)

“Shouldn’t I come?” Cherry asks.

“Nah, not right now, darling. Let us figure shit out first.”

“I want my daughter, Bull,” Cherry blurts. My dick just took a nosedive, the reminder of her lying to me a complete turn-off. I bite my lip with anger. I never thought she would lie to me, that she could be so manipulative, and that pisses me the f*ck off. I became a *, and I let my guard down. Bull told me to be that f*cking Prince Charming, and I did, for a while. But when I got out of prison, seeing Cherry standing tall to be my woman, I just couldn’t hold up the act anymore. I wanted her to know the real me.

“First order of business: Cherry and this f*cking mess,” Bull states on an exhale. “If any of you are lost, here are the facts. Cherry got herself in a mess with Judge Calhoun, and he came to us to take care of it. I made Lip the distraction, and kept her in line. But apparently, our beloved Cherry has not been so honest with everyone. She was supposed to be gone, dealt with. But now they know she’s here and a problem, and now it’s our problem.” Bull clears up the confusion.

“I’m sorry, maybe I’m just the morbid one here, but why didn’t we just kill her ass or pay her off to go somewhere when this shit happened?” Old Guy questions. I grit my teeth at his boldness.

“Well, we were going to, but I know Cherry from when she was a baby.” Bull shakes his head. “I couldn’t kill her, or put her out there knowing she’d be killed, so I made the call and kept her under radar. So, now that we’re all up to speed, they know we didn’t kill her, and they’re going to come here with retribution.”

“What a f*cking mess, man,” Bobby mutters, running his hands through his hair.

“I agree,” I throw in.

“Shadow, find this boyfriend, or baby daddy, whatever the f*ck he is today. Find out what he knows, and who is after her exactly,” Bull orders.

“You got it.” Shadow nods.

“I’m coming with,” I state.

“No!” Bull points at me.

“What the f*ck you mean ‘no’?” My nostrils flare with anger.

“You’re too distracted, and I don’t need f*ck-ups,” Bull explains.

“I’m not distracted,” I scoff.

“I disagree, son. If you would’ve left the table last night and pounded your frustration out on some young piece of tail, maybe. But when I offered my room to you last night, or even a f*cking cot in the main room, you turned both down to be with her in your room.” He points at me with a steady finger. “That is f*cking distracted.”

“Agreed.” Shadow laughs, and I narrow my brows and level him with a ‘shut the f*ck up’ look.

“You stay, Lip.” Bull slams the gavel down. I flex my hands in irritation.

I’m so f*cking confused and angry. I hate Cherry. I want Cherry. I want to hurt her and f*ck her. I’m a complete f*cking mess.

I used to blame the job on my confused feelings. I tried to build a barrier of what was real and what was fake, but that dam I built of guarded emotions soon begin to crack, my affection and desire to care for her splintering through the wall that held me together. Now that the mission has been lifted, I can feel those small cracks spidering into something unstoppable. I care for Cherry, whether I want to admit it or not. She’s mine, and I’ll kill any motherf*cker who tries to step in front of that.


CHERRY

I place my empty plate into the sink and head back to the bedroom. I ate some, but I just don’t have an appetite. I feel like everyone is staring at me. A shiver runs up my spine with the sudden unease. Everyone knows I was just a job to Lip. They’re probably thinking, “That poor girl. She went and fell in love with him, and none of it’s even real.”

I slam the door behind me and grab the mattress, shoving with all my might to put it back on the box springs. After finally getting it in place, I crawl onto the bed. My eyes prick with the urge to cry. I inhale a steady breath through my nose and close my eyes. I will not cry. I will not cry.

The way Lip acted as if everything was just a job conflicts with my heart. I swore he loved me, the way he looked at me when we were together said so. The way he cared so much about my wellbeing, that couldn’t have all been because of him being ordered to take care of me… was it?

A small knock sounds at the door. I roll my eyes and sit up, folding my legs under me Indian-style.

“What?” I snap.

Dani steps in with Delilah, her youngest, on her hip, Doc following closely behind her.

“You all right?” Dani asks, sitting on the bed. She flips her hair over her shoulder and pins me with sad green eyes. I tear my gaze from hers and look at Delilah, who’s picking up a ripped-up poster piece.

“Shit, Delilah, no,” Dani scolds, grabbing hold of the poster.

Doc takes Dani’s place on the bed and reaches for my face. She takes hold of my chin and turns my head slightly, looking over the stitches in my eyebrow.

“How do they feel?” she questions, trailing her manicured finger over them.

I shrug. “Okay, I guess. They itch some,” I reply.

“Yeah, try some Vaseline. I’m sure with all these horny men around here, you can find some.” She smiles, and I can’t help but laugh.

“Are you going to hide in here the whole lockdown?” Dani spits, holding Delilah on her hip.