Page 58 of Bear
“Hey, Ivy,” I chuckled. My eyes stopped on her round stomach. “Wait a goddamn minute,” I frowned, pushing the door open. “You’re pregnant…again?”
“No, Bear. I’ve been stress-eating. Yes, I’m pregnant. I told Titan not to tell you because you needed to bring your ass over here to see me so I could tell you myself.” She wasn’t too far along but anyone who knew Ivy knew the round pudge was out of place.
I rushed her with a hug, lifting her off her feet while she giggled against my neck. “Congratulations, Ivy.”
“Thank you. Now, maybe you’ll stop acting like Titan is the only friend you have.” She bumped me with her hip and I nodded, running a hand through my hair.
“Bear, what’s good?” Shadow rounded the corner with Sarah riding on his shoulders and my chest squeezed at the sight of her adorable face.
“Bear!” Sarah squealed, opening and closing her hands for me. I blinked in disbelief.
“She’s talking?”
“Yeah, Bear. They start to do that around this age,” Ivy sighed.
“I saw her the other day and she wasn’t talking.”
“Kids grow up fast. She was saying mama and dada but I guess she’s saying Bear too.” Shadow handed her over and I kissed her cheeks. My anger vanished a few seconds after being around so much love. I’d always heard tales of how love was so bright it burned away the darkness but I never experienced it until I realized I loved Cecily. She burned away every bad mood I had when she was around and now, the same thing was happening around Shadow and Ivy.
“Shadow, can I talk to you privately?”
“He’s not Shadow in this house, Bear.” Ivy corrected me while she took Sarah from my arms.
“Okay,Titan, can I talk to you?” It was hard for me to operate outside the streets that raised me. In the streets, we went by nicknames. Real names meant you were family.
Like he was reading my mind, Titan said, “Yeah, you can call me Titan. It’s cool. We’re family anyway.” He slapped my back and showed me to the parlor where we had a seat. “I’m assuming this is major since you drove your ass all the way down here to talk.”
“You mind if I smoke?” I asked him, flashing the cigar case.
“I don’t but Ivy would have a fucking fit if you smoked around her and Sarah. Don’t even bother.”
I put the gold case away and nodded.
“My father is coming home,” I said, cutting straight to the chase.
“I’m gonna say that’s not a good thing since you’re brooding.”
“Am I brooding?” I chuckled dryly.
“Like a motherfucker.”
“You should have seen me earlier when I first found out. I put a new hole in my study wall.” I reclined in my seat and fished my lighter out of my pocket. I flicked the flame on then off. “I don’t mind him coming home, Titan. Even though I hate to let the business go, I wouldn’t mind that either. He wants to fuck Cecily. I told him that was a no-go and now he wants to do it even more. He wants me to prove my loyalty. He wants to know that I’m not picking women over family.”
“Fuck that shit.”
“Exactly. He also wants me to get rid of Luanne.”
“As in…”
“Kill her.” I gave a sharp nod. “If he finds out that she’s losing her fucking memory he’s going to put the bullet in her himself. It would ruin Cecily and it wouldn’t make me feel too good either. Luanne is like my mom.” I slid my palms down my face and groaned. “There’s only one foreseeable course of action.”
“You already know,” he said.
“I have to kill my father.” Saying the words out loud made the room stiffen. Titan nodded his head slowly in agreement.
“You can’t let him touch her. You, of all people, finally realized you’re in love and now this shit?” He rested his elbows on his knees and shook his head again. “That one in there…” He gestured toward the kitchen where Ivy was. “I’d kill anyone if they even thought about touching her. She’s my heart and soul. Certain things you can’t let slide and that’s one of them. Plus…Luanne? Come the fuck on now.”
“You’re right,” I agreed. “I’ve always put my dad on this pedestal for not having a heart and for being able to get the dirtiest jobs done without batting an eye or turning emotional. I wanted to be like that. Shit,I wasuntil yesterday.”
