Page 42 of A Kingpin's Weakness
“Yes, really. Your hot ass hasn’t been home.”
“Yes, I have.” But the truth was, I’d been running from everything; from Noah, from Seth, from the mess of my own feelings.
“Where were you over the weekend?”
“None of your business.” I kept my voice steady, but inside, a knot tightened.
Jo pressed on. “You let Seth hit that yet?”
Heat rose in my chest. I didn’t want to talk about Seth, about us; not here, not now. “I’m not having this conversation with you.”
“Why not? I’m your mom. We’re supposed to talk about this stuff.”
“No, we’re not.”
Jo smirked like she knew some secret I wasn’t ready to share. “Seth’s a good man though. Fine and rich. I know he’s packing.”
I cranked the music louder, drowning out her words. The last thing I wanted was to talk about Seth’s package. After spending Saturday night and all day Sunday with him, I couldn’t get him off my mind. Part of me wanted to believe we could make something work, but another part was terrified.
Seth was a wild card, reckless and unpredictable. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, but the way he didn’t give a damn about anyone else scared the hell out of me. Was I ready for that kind of chaos? Could I handle it?
“Damn, Stormi, you can’t drive any faster? You’re driving like a damn grandma.”
“Jo, we’re here,” I said, pulling the car into the hospital parking lot, killing the engine.
My heart hammered against my ribs as we stepped out. Noah was inside, waiting. And I wasn’t sure if I was ready to face him or what it meant for him to finally be home.
“Jolene.”
The dark-skinned man called Jo by her full name the moment we walked inside the hospital. He was dressed down in faded blue jeans and a Miami Dolphins T-shirt. His head was bald, and he rocked a salt-and-pepper beard more salt than pepper.
Jo stood frozen, not saying a word. I never knew Jo knew how to shut the fuck up.
“Is this Stormi?” he asked, stepping closer and staring me dead in the eyes.
My heart skipped a beat. Who the hell was this guy? Why did he know my mom’s full name? And why did he look like he wanted trouble?
“Stay the fuck away from her!” Jo finally screamed, grabbing everyone’s attention.
“Jo, what the fuck? Who is this?”
The man opened his mouth to speak, but Jo cut him off.
“No fucking body.”
There was pure fire in her eyes, the look of a woman scorned, and I knew she was mad. Madder by the second.
“Hey honey, there you are.”
An older woman appeared beside the strange man, slipping her hand into his arm.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“You’re okay, honey. Just saying hi to an old friend,” the man said, eyeing Jo and me before grabbing his wife’s hand and heading for the exit.
“Who was that, Jo?”
“No fucking body, Stormi. Let’s get Noah and get the hell out of here.”
