Page 27 of Out for Blood

“Oh my god,” she screamed out. “I am so sorry!”

Kirby straightened, only to realise everyone had seen him get clocked by a teenage girl. He slung his arm around her shoulder and whispered something to her that made her blush, but also made the men stop jeering at him. I had a feeling he wouldn’t live that down anytime soon, but I was so glad that the girls had the men looking after them.

“Hey,” I called Ryleigh over. “I wanted you two to meet Cooper properly.”

The girls looked up at Cooper, their eyes widening as they took in his heavily tattooed neck and arms. He stood a good foot taller than me and them so he was intimidating to look at, yet he was a giant teddy bear, especially to me. I could see why they would be scared of him, but I only saw the boy I fell in love with all those years ago.

It was in his eyes.

“Hi,” he said, meekly. I could tell by the tension in his posture that he didn’t know what to do. He’d probably never had to meet kids before.

“Cooper,” Ryleigh held her hand out to shake his. He smirked as he looked down at her hand and turned it over to display her red and swollen knuckles.

“We need to get some ice on that,” he said. “Come with me.”

Shauna rubbed her shoulder against mine and nudged me. “So you finally got to spend some time with your high school boyfriend, huh?”

“He was never my boyfriend, Shauna.”

“Is he now?”

“I don’t know, honestly,” I said, walking her back inside. “But right now, that’s not something I can focus on. I need to keep you girls safe.”

“Especially because of what tomorrow is?”

My mind went blank for a moment before I realised. “Oh my god, Shauna, I’m so sorry…with everything going on, I completely forgot.”

“It’s okay, ma,” she said with a shrug. “I get it.”

“No,” I said, angry at myself. “No, it isn’t okay. It’s your sixteenth birthday, that’s a big thing.”

“What’s going on?” Hawk asked, joining us at the door. “You girls okay?”

“Girls?” I squared off at him.

He threw his hands up in defense. “Shit, I’m sorry, a grown woman and her teenage daughter, okay?”

Shauna giggled, looking over at me with pure joy that I was getting sarcasm thrown back at me.

“I forgot about my daughters’ birthday tomorrow,” I said. “I need to go into town and get something for them.”

“Ma, it’s okay, really. I’d rather we just hung out playing pool or something.”

“No, it’s your sixteenth, Shauna.”

“Look,” Hawk said, putting his hands on my shoulders. “We got this. We can put something on for them without a fucking issue. Just tell us what you want us to get and we’ll go and get it.”

Ryleigh came over to us, a bag of ice on her knuckles. Ace joined us at the door, looking over at Hawk for the reason he was looking as if he were about to leave on a mission.

“We’re putting on a party, prez,” he announced, gladly. “It’s these two pipsqueak's birthday tomorrow. The big sixteen.”

“Pipsqueak?” Shauna rebutted. “Who are you callin’ pipsqueak?”

“That would be you,” Chains joined in from god knows where.

“Don’t you start,” she aimed at him.

“All right,” I held my hands up to stop everything from getting out of control. “Shauna and Ryleigh, get back to the cottage. You have homework to finish for tomorrow. Hawk, take some boys and get the shit you need. Coop, you take me into town to get some gifts.”

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