Page 130 of XOXO

His head tilted like it did when he addressed the waitress that night. His eyes narrow on me and then he smirks. Internally I roll my eyes because I know he’s gearing up to be a dick. Something all dicks do when they don’t know how to be a decent human. He pulls the whore closer. She snuggles into him and rubs him in places that make me want to rip her arm off. But he isn’t mine, and I don’t care what he does. With a chuckle, I shake my head. Yeah, keep telling yourself that.

“I came here as your friendly neighborhood PI, but now. I don’t give a shit to be friendly.” My eyes trail from him to the whore. “You have two choices, Dekker. You come with me on your own so we can get this shit handled. Or wait until the cops arrive, and you end up in cuffs, and they can deal with your ass.” I shrug. “Either way, I don’t give a shit. I don’t want your shit touching this club or my sister.” I give him a hard look.

There are a few what the fucks, and is this bitch for real? I ignore them. I may know these men, but they don’t know me. I’m Danika's sister, someone they tolerate. My eyes never leave Dekker's.

His eyes change, and the hostility is replaced with humor. His laughter fills the room. I don’t move or say a word. The whore next to him joins in, as did a few others. He looks at me like I’m a joke, as if my being here is a joke–it isn’t.

A voice comes over the coms. “We are on standby.” He doesn’t wait for a response before continuing. “I spoke to Officer Bradly. He’s giving us an hour before he comes in with the warrant. And you know he’ll have his boys looking for more if he can get away with it. It would be best if you were careful. I didn’t like the smugness in his voice. That prick has a hard-on for the club.” Jackson says. I can hear the annoyance in his voice. He wanted me to wait, but I thought I could come here and talk to Dekker and do this quietly and without fuss.

“Standby,” I say loud enough for Jackson to hear me.

Dekker's laughter dies when he sees the look on my face. He sobers and sits up. The arm around the club girl is now resting on the back of the couch as he stares into my eyes, probing and watching me, seeing if I am fucking with him. I’m not.

“So, you…” he lazily points at me. “…are you telling me you were here to take me in on some bullshit warrant? This has to be a fucking joke?” He looks around like someone is going to jump out, saying, gotcha bitch, they won't. “I mean, I know the brothers said you were bat-shit crazy. But this… fuck me.” He shakes his head and stares at me like I’m doing this with some fucked up ulterior motive.

My brows crease when my chest constricts. He isn’t the first to ever say something like that to me, and he won’t be the last. So why are his words affecting me?

“Like I said. Two options, Dekker.” My tone is cool, and my voice is low.

“Fuck me. I left one crazy stalker bitch only to be pushed toward another.” He shakes his head in disbelief. Believing his own bullshit, he continues. “My fucking gut said not to take Niro's money. My gut said that my brothers were fucking with me, paying me back for the shit I caused in Vegas. But fuck off, you all are taking shit too far,” He growls out. The anger in his eyes is palpable.

“Excuse me….” I shake my head. “You know what…” I huff out in annoyance. “…it doesn’t matter. I get it. But this isn’t that. Everyone here may think I’m some callus, unhinged chick who’s too loud, reckless, and not worth your time. Think what you want. I’m not a part of the club, don’t want to be, and give two shits what anyone here thinks about me. I’m here to do my job.” My anger, frustration, and annoyance don’t bleed into my words.

“That’s what you think?” Nitro's cold hard voice comes from behind me.

I don’t turn around. But I answer.

“Yes.”

My eyes remain on Dekker. “So, what’s it going to be?”

“Hold the fuck on. Wait a minute. How the fuck do you know before we do? You got something you want to say to me, Dalia?” This time, it’s Talon who speaks up.

I’ve not had a lot of interaction with him, but from what I know, he takes the safety of his club seriously after shit went down a few years ago between his then-wife and his now-old lady. He has tightened the reins. Breaking eye contact with Dekker, I turn my head, and my eyes connect with Talon’s. His brows crease as he looks at me. Before he or anyone else says anything, the whore pipes up.

“You take a psycho on one date. She’s so pathetic they had to pay you to take her on. And now she’s obsessed. Dekker, you know she’s probably lying about the warrant. You know what they say about her. She’s crazy making excuses to get you alone because you won’t give her desperate ass the time of day. Danika said she gets attached.” She looks at Dekker and then around the room, noticing what I do. Everyone is looking at me as if everything she said makes perfect fucking sense. No matter how much I bite into the inside of my cheek, no matter how much the taste of copper floods my mouth. I'm done.

I chuckle. And instead of addressing the president. I manage the whore.

“No, sweetheart. I work for a living. My job is to ensure that the really bad guys go to jail, cheating husbands and wives get their just deserts, and thieving pricks get what they deserve. I'm not a psycho for not being like my wallflower soft-hearted sister. I'm not a psycho because I don’t wait for shit to happen to the people I care about… let them fix my problem and act like they are the bad guys because of it. And I sure as shit don’t put someone else down to build myself up. I’m not my sister. But she is my sister, so I have everyone around her and Daria on a watch list to ensure that nothing and no one can do what my father and Jasper did. I'm not a psycho; I’m prepared, cautious, and capable of doing what needs to be done, which is why I’m here to do my job. So instead of trying to make me look like something I’m not, how about you shut your pretty little mouth around Dekker’s dick and stay out of grown folk business, Thanks.” The smile I give her is less than kind. And I turn and look back at Talon, ready to address him.

A breath hitches, and I know what I’ll see when I turn my head. My chin hits my chest. Fuck me.

“My office, NOW,”

Chapter Nine

DEKKER

“Being an asshole is not who I am.”

When I returned to the clubhouse, the guys and Danika were on me, wanting details. Of course, I played it like it was no big deal. I couldn’t tell them the truth. The truth is, I’m not sure if I can stay away, but I know i need to.. Dalia wasn’t what I thought she’d be. I didn’t expect to have so much in common with her. I saw in her eyes that she had layers to her, and I don’t think many people, including her sister, see more than she’s willing to show.

I’m not too proud to admit that the more time passed, the more the brothers spoke about her. Maybe it was a play, like she was hiding behind a mask. A few of the brothers kept talking shit about her, telling me stories about how crazy she was and how she was no different from Veronica. I think differently, but I also know having Veronica still lingering in my life I can’t start anything with Dalia even if I wanted to.

When she showed up with cold indifference in her eyes, it set me off. We saw each other in passing over the last two weeks. I wanted to talk to her, but with everyone watching us, I didn’t want to make shit awkward. So her being here giving me attention pissed me off. And I can’t even explain why.

The words were out of my mouth before I could think better of it. I felt like a prick. She did a good job not showing how they hit their mark. And because I’m an idiot, I leaned into it. Watching her being torn down by the whore Candy, she kept her composure until she spoke about her sister. That’s when I saw her, saw who she was. And everything she said about what the club thinks of her makes sense. She isn’t who she lets people believe she is, not at all. A pang of regret hits me in the chest. Her shoulders sag, and she walks toward Prez’s office without making eye contact with any of us.

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