Page 41 of Hell of a Mess
The warmth in my face went up about twenty degrees.
“I was,” I insisted. “It’s a beautiful piece.”
He turned onto his back and cut his half-lidded eyes at me. “It is, huh?” he asked, amused. “It’s a tattoo, not a work of art.”
I disagreed. “No, it’s definitely art with an impactful message. Stunning yet a jarring reality.”
He shifted then and narrowed his gaze, appearing more awake. “What message is that?”
Did he not know? Had he chosen it because he found some sketch and liked it, not understanding the depth behind it?
“Well, the tiger—it’s magnificent yet threatening. Yet even it isn’t immortal. It, too, will face an end.”
There was a glint in his eyes. One that said he was impressed, that I’d surprised him.
“That is exactly what it means,” he said.
So, he did know. He’d chosen it for more than the way it looked.
“You’re the first female who has noticed or even mentioned it,” he said, then sat up. “But then I don’t normally fuck the smart ones. They require too much conversation.”
He stood up and stretched yet again. I held my breath, enjoying the view. When he started for the door, I sat up quickly, wanting to think of some reason to stop him. I wasn’t ready for him to go.
“Thank you,” I blurted out as his hand grabbed the doorknob.
He nodded his head once, then glanced back at me. “Let’s keep this between us, yeah?” he said.
“Okay,” I replied, although I wasn’t going to mention it to anyone anyway. It was embarrassing. I was an adult with a fear of the dark.
When the door closed behind him, I sank back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. Today, I would have to face all that I had hidden from yesterday. The lies, my truths, my future.
And my father…
Alpheus…wasn’t my biological father. The man who had given me half of my DNA was in the Mafia. I didn’t even know how he felt about this.
I’d left with Jayda and not come out of this room since. But I couldn’t stay in here forever. Even if I wanted to.
Seventeen
Luther
The sight of Gathe sitting in our kitchen, eating a stack of waffles, wasn’t really a surprise, although it was still annoying.
“Guess you heard that it’s a girl,” I drawled as Maui scrambled to get up from the floor, where he’d been watching Gathe eat with his best beggar expression.
The fluff ball wagged his tail as he stared up at me adoringly, and I bent down to give his head a scratch.
“Is she awake?” Gathe asked.
Yeah, but he wasn’t about to go barging in on her.
She’d had a rough night. At least until I went in there. She slept so damn deeply that she didn’t move after that. I finally gave in and lay down beside her, figuring it was a safe bet she wouldn’t end up snuggling against me. And she hadn’t.
I headed for the table, where Jayda was already taking my cup of coffee. “I don’t fucking know,” I replied and pulled out thechair I always sat in.
“You want to eat now or wait?” Jayda asked me.
“Just coffee,” I told her, leaning back as Maui placed his head on my lap. He was going to be disappointed that I wasn’t getting food. “Eh, go ahead and bring me some bacon.”
