Where Lightning Strikes (Bleeding Stars #3)(47)

Her eyes bounced around to everyone. “Y’all just wait. I’m putting down bets. A hundred bucks.”

Zee hopped up and clapped his hands together. “I’ll take that bet and raise you a hundred, because there isn’t a girl in her right mind who’s going to stick around here long enough to put up with his ass.”

Ash smirked at Zee. “All except for you.”

“Dude…so not cool. Not cool at all,” Zee said with a slow, offended shake of his head.

Ash swiveled and pointed at Shea’s belly, and his voice slanted in artificial sincerity. “And in case you all hadn’t noticed, Baz Boy up and went and stole my girl…my dearest, Beautiful Shea. I had to bear the crushing news that baby’s not mine. All my chances have been shot to hell. Heart broken. Happiness gone.”

He feigned a gasp and a heart stab with a slow, agonizing death as he dropped to his knees.

On all things holy, it had to be Ash who was the nut job and not the girl.

Giggling, Shea ran her hand over her belly that seemed to have doubled in size since the wedding. Baz set his hand protectively over hers.

Tamar had her attention on Shea, focused on the two-intertwined hands on her belly. She smiled their way. It was soft, sweet Blue that shined through in her expression while I was doing my best to look away.

It wasn’t like I didn’t like kids. I f*cking loved Kallie, that sweet little girl who tagged around at our heels like we were the coolest things in the world.

She was always telling me wild stories about butterflies and fairies and all things unattainable, her tales always chasing after that absurd happily ever after. The kind she hadn’t been around long enough to know not a whole lot of people ever found. Funny thing, I didn’t mind listening. Maybe it was because she reminded me of my little niece.

But there was something about Shea’s protruding belly that left me feeling cagey. Itchy and agitated whenever she was around. Still, I’d gone and gotten stupid and gave her that damned bear like doing it could possibly be a good idea.

But this was Baz’s baby we were talking about.

And Baz deserved it.

He deserved it all.

I attempted to shake off the thoughts. That was one rabbit hole I didn’t need to fall down, even though lately Blue had seemed intent to drag me into it.

Instead, I tried to relax and stretched my legs out on either side of her. She wound her arm around my leg and pressed her head to the inside of my thigh. She shifted her head back and looked at me upside down.

Those big, blue angel eyes were wide and playful, and she whispered so only I could hear. “For the record, your friends are crazy.” She pointed at Ash. “That one…bat-shit.”

With the way she was looking at me? Everything inside went haywire. All abuzz and alive and excited.

Fuck.

I liked her.

“But you love them,” I countered, one corner of my mouth lifting.

Everything about her softened. “Yeah. I do.”

I touched her face and she sighed a breathy sigh, and my dick twitched again. Fuck, maybe it was me who was twisted. Because I wanted this girl in a way that just wasn’t right.

“I’ll match that, Zee,” Shea said, still messing with my crew. “Two hundred bucks says Ash is going to be painting all the upstairs bedrooms pink and blue.”

“You’re on,” Zee shot back.

Tamar’s smile was soft and hinting at things I didn’t want to see. At things I couldn’t give, and again I was wondering just what the f*ck I’d gotten myself into and how the hell I was going to get out of it.

Still, I got stuck there, in that warmth of those wells of blue, trapped by the body of a red-headed enchantress.

Temptation.

I felt it in my gut and trembling around my blackened heart.

I looked away, to the ground.

Loyalty.

That was the one thing I had. The one thing I got to count as good. I had to cling to that.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. Three times in quick succession.

Blowing out a breath, I dug it out and swiped across the screen. I tried to hide the irritation I felt flash across my face.

Motherf*cker.

I told this * not to bother me again. Appeared he didn’t get the message.

I scrolled through his texts.

Have you thought any more about our offer?

Have it on good word your boy Stone is about to split.

Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.

What the hell? This guy had to have been a used car salesman in a former life.

And it didn’t matter what he had to say. What he threatened Baz might do. Still, I felt it in the knots that suddenly tied my insides, this thick band of defensiveness for my crew all mixed up with a dangling thread of dread.

With a dry chuckle, I tapped out an answer.

Fuck off.

That was about as clear as I could be.

“Care to let us in on the joke?” Ash asked.

Probably should have before. In private with just the guys. But I guess now was as good a time as any.

“Joke is, this bastard Banik…the manager of Tokens of Time?” I said it like a question, talking while I looked down at my phone and pressed send. “He somehow thinks I’m gonna up and leave Sunder and pick up for their piece-of-shit lead who left the rest of the band high and dry.”

Funny they were basically asking me to do the same.