Page 72 of Roses and Skulls

Dan stands up and puts his fist right through the wood of his front door.

Oh shit.

My dad closes his eyes and when they open again, I pull back. Jesus Christ. They are as black as coal.

Abruptly, I stand and slide away from him, jumping off the porch.

“Billie Rose,” he warns.

It’s then I decide to put them right the fuck in their place. I spin around, daggers shooting from beneath my brow. “Don’t even fucking think about it,” I growl, my voice low and full of venom. “He is mine. Mine.” I shove a finger in my chest. “You got the satisfaction of taking one down but the other, well, he is off limits.”

Raffe rises slowly, holding his hands out. “Let’s all just calm down.” He motions for me to take my seat as my dad starts pacing like a caged animal.

“Who is he?” Dan snarls, ready to rip someone’s limbs from their body.

Oh, fuck me, why did I think they would let me do this my way?

“I’m not telling any of you anything until you promise me that I get to handle this my way.”

My father pauses, his gaze sliding to mine. “And how do you want to handle this?” he tips his head.

I rub my palms together before steepling them in front of my mouth. How do I put this? “This man thinks I’m giving him a pass. I want him to trust me and then I’m going to smile in his face when he realizes just how big of a mistake he made by letting me live.”

Dan’s head is immediately snapping back and forth, and the other officers lean back in their chairs, unsure what to think.

“It’s him. Isn’t it? That fucking little prick, Draven. Those fucking Desert dipshits just don’t fucking learn. I’m going to burn every one of those motherfuckers to the ground.” My dad grinds his teeth together.

“He did it to hurt mom,” I say quietly. “He says he’s the son of Crow.” I place my hands on my hips, watching these men closely.

Gazes bounce off of each other. They are stupefied. This is news to them.

“No way. Crow didn’t leave any spawns behind. I made sure of it,” my dad says, running his hand over his head. His face contorts as he tries to figure out what is going on.

I throw my hands in the air. “Well, that’s what he believes. A father for a father he said.”

“We have to find out everything we can about this dude,” Travis, our very own club hacker, announces as he pulls his laptop out of his bag.

My phone is buzzing in my pocket and when I pull it out, I see it’s the man of the hour himself.

“Can I trust that you guys will keep quiet for five minutes?” I ask, my gaze bouncing over the men.

They all nod, my dad hopping off the porch and coming to stand a few feet in front of me.

This is my chance to show them just how good I can be at this.

He’s video calling me, so I tilt the phone so that all Draven can see is the bright blue sky behind me.

“Hey,” I answer, pulling my hair out of my mouth as the wind whips it in my face.

“Hello, little dove,” Draven greets.

I open my eyes wide, giving him my best innocent look, and sniffle. “I’m sorry about last night. I should’ve called.”

“No worries. How’re you doing?” He’s at the bar, laughter and music filters out through the speakers on my phone.

I rub my fingers over my head. “I-I’m okay. My parents are so pissed at me.”

“That’s what I heard. What did you do or not do this time?”

---