Page 50 of The Keeper

“Derek.” He reluctantly placed his hand in mine, his gaze lingering on my kutte. “Kinda ironic, isn’t it?”

I tightened my grip before releasing him. “What, me and Piper?”

He yanked his hand back, hiding a wince. “N-no. Ghost,” he blurted out, nodding to my kutte. “I mean, look at you. You’re kinda hard to miss. It’s the exact opposite of a ghost.”

“Yeah, that’s not why they call me Ghost,” I said, pausing to wipe a smear of chocolate off Avery’s mouth before turning back to him with a bemused smirk. “But good guess.”

The story behind my road name wasn’t all that intimidating or interesting. I was the youngest of Wolverine’s four boys and incredibly shy, so it was no surprise to anyone when my old man saddled me with the name Ghost.

But Derek didn’t know that, and I enjoyed watching the color drain from his face.

“Oh, yeah. Of course,” he quickly agreed.

Avery watched our exchange with raised brows before ripping off a chunk of my cinnamon roll and stuffing it in her mouth.

“You know, I always wanted a motorcycle when I was younger,” Derek said.

“That so?” I drawled, sliding the cinnamon roll out of reach. The last thing she needed was a sugar crash on top of the missed naptime.

He nodded. “Yeah, but they’re so dangerous. It’s not just the bikeeither—you’ve got to worry about everyone else on the road. One wrong move, and it’s game over.”

“No shit? I had no idea,” I said dryly.

Derek shrugged, unfazed by my sarcasm. “Don’t shoot the messenger,Ghost. I’m just saying it’s not something I’d do. Can’t imagine any family man taking a risk like that.”

The implication in his words was clear, and it took every ounce of self-control not to knock his teeth down his throat.

I ran my tongue over my teeth with a low chuckle before pushing back my chair to stand, using every inch of my height to tower over him. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Derek took a step back, clearly unnerved by my proximity. Good. Because of him, I hadn’t gotten to try a bite of my cinnamon roll before Avery decimated it with her grubby little hands.

“Speaking of risks,” I said, keeping my voice low and even, “Think it goes without saying that threatening Piper with fewer hours or a demotion to get her to come in and cover shifts on her days off won’t end well for you. Am I clear?”

His eyes widened, and he held up his palms. “Sure thing, man. She’s never mentioned you before, so I was under the impression she was doing it all on her own and needed the extra shifts to provide for this little one.”

He reached for Avery, and she jerked away with a whimper, burying her chocolate-covered face against my kutte. “Nuh-no!”

“She doesn’t like men,” I growled, pulling her closer. “And for future reference, Piper’s personal life is none of your goddamn business.”

“Hey, no problem, man,” Derek said, a condescending smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. The guy was slicker than a boiled onion. “My employees are like family. But if she’s got someone looking out for her now, that’s great.”

His placating tone only served to piss me off even more.

Keeping my upper body turned to the side to shield Avery, I stepped closer, invading his personal space. “Stay the fuck away from my family.”

The door to the back swung open, and Piper emerged, her cheeksflushed and wisps of dark hair escaping from her ponytail. Her eyes went wide when they landed on us. “Dane? What’s going on?”

“Hey, darlin’,” I said, trying to keep my tone light. “Your shift was supposed to end a while ago, so we were having a snack while we waited for you.”

“Didn’t you get my text?” she asked, her gaze darting between the two of us in suspicion. “I said I was staying a little later to finish up an order for tomorrow.”

“A-ma!” Avery squealed, nearly toppling out of my arms to reach for her mama.

Piper’s face softened as she scooped up our daughter, using her thumb to wipe the chocolate streaks off her face. “Hi, baby. Looks like you missed your mouth.”

“Fuck!” Avery bellowed with a giggle.

Shit.

---