Page 32 of Risk
“Hedoeshave a dark triad type of personality,” Croatia summarizes. “At the end of our relationship, I saw the signs which is why I started making plans to leave. At first I thought he had multiple personality disorder, but I met with a psychoanalyst and he’s the one who told me about someone who has a dark triad personality. He checked off every box on the list they use to determine if someone suffers from that disorder. His leaving made things easier, after a couple of years I filed for abandonment of marriage and got a divorce without it getting messy.”
“So what are we going to do about him?” Rev asks, brows drawn inward.
“We do what the law wasn’t able to do,” Regulator answers.
“We lock him away and toss the key,” I disclose.
“I’d prefer him to be in a pine box,” Croatia states. Glancing over at me, she adds, “You can do that for your mother-in-law, can’t you?” I don’t verbalize my response, instead, I nod my head because yeah, I can do that for her, for Kenna, for Phoenix, and for me without breaking a sweat.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
McKenna
Islaand I have been indoctrinated into the club, the old ladies club specifically. Isla isn’t with a member like Luna and Demi are but she and Hemi have danced around one another, and I have a feeling sometime in the future, those two are going to cause quite the explosion. But she’s young so I hope he gives her the time she needs to mature and find her path before stepping up and claiming her. Technically, I’m an old lady too, even though Risk and I have been apart for years now, so I don’t label myself in that category—it just doesn’t feel right to do so considering the circumstances, and I’m too afraid to ask him because I’m positive the answer will finish shattering what’s left of my heart.
I may have earned that title once upon a time, but it no longer feels relevant. Like Marshall did to my mom, I abandoned Risk so he has a right to rip away that brand.
It’s been two weeks since I was brought to the clubhouse and I haven’t seen Risk more than a handful of times. He and theguys are out on the streets, gathering intel and evidence against Marshall. I’m worried about them because there’s going to come a time when word on the streets gets back to him that there’s a group of men inquiring about him, and he’s not going to take that news well.
The older kids volunteered to watch the younger ones, even Luna and Kodiak’s precious son and my vivacious boy so us moms could take a mini break from the hustle and bustle of motherhood. Now that I’m under the same roof as Phoenix twenty-four/seven, he’s been attached to me like a leech which hasn’t made it easy to get Risk alone so we can have a conversation. But like always, his needs come before mine and since the shootout at Mom’s, he’s been having nightmares and has started peeing the bed during the night and having accidents during the daytime. We’ve reverted back to using pull ups full time since he’s pedaled backward in his training.
At some point, Risk and I need to sit Phoenix down and tell him that Risk is his dad. He’s never asked about this, but I know he has to be inquisitive about his father since his friends in his class all have one. My boy is a go with the flow type of guy, so he doesn’t ask the same sort of questions that normal kids his age do by voicing his innate curiosity. He shrugs it off and enjoys the love of those who’ve been an everyday part of his life.
“When are you and Risk going to sit Phoenix down and explain to him that Risk is his dad?” Demi asks, plucking the thought out from my mind.
“I was just thinking about that and the fact that it needs to happen sooner rather than later,” I admit. “I’m just not sure about the timing with everything going on with Marshall and then there’s the small detail that Risk actually needs to be around so we can do it.”
“You know that he’s not ignoring you, Kenna, right?” Luna questions, worry for me and how I’m feeling shimmering in her eyes.
“Logically, I do know that,” I reply.
“But emotionally, you don’t?” Isla asks for confirmation.
“It feels like when he is here he ignores me,” I confess. “After all the promises he made, it has me wondering.”
“Wondering what, McKenna?” Demi probes.
“If he was bullshitting me,” I whisper.
“The one thing I’ve learned about Risk, is that he doesn’t say anything he doesn’t mean,” Demi professes. “He’s a man of few words most of the time, but when he talks, everyone listens.”
“A man of few words my ass,” I say, snorting. “He’s always been vocal.”
“Maybe with you he is,” Luna counters. “But with us, getting words out of him is like pulling teeth.”
“You mean it’s like hitting our heads against a brick wall,” Demi parries. “But he did tell me about you and what he did.”
“When?” I ask, my head jerking back as I await her answer.
“The day we saw you in the supercenter,” Demi answers. “You can’t hate him more than he hates himself for doing that.”
“Doing what?” Isla questions. “From my standpoint, he thinks the sun rises and sets around you. I can’t picture him doing anything to hurt you on purpose.”
“It wasn’t–” I stall, not knowing how to explain something to her that I’ve had a hard time understanding myself.
“It wasn’t what, Kenna?” she continues.
