Page 25 of Mimic
“Fucking punk ass kid.”
I swung my head around and glared at Johnny. “What’s going on between you two?”
He was only two years older than Mimic, but I had never seen Johnny angry like this. He was a good guy, always smiling and talking with anyone who sat down next to him. I knew he had a dark side; I could sense it despite his easy smiles and jokes. It was the reason I sat with him when I came in here. I knew no one would bother me.
“That fucking patch went to his head.”
I turned my head looking for Mimic and Winchester, who sat at a table with Shotgun. Women had already surrounded them. A feeling I’d never experienced in my life bubbled up inside me. I refused to name it for what it was. I’d felt jealousy before. But not like this.
Every time I saw a child in the park playing with their mom and dad, I was hit with jealousy, but also relief. I was jealous of their innocence, but thankful they hadn’t had it stolen from them. Jealous that their parents were able to protect them from the evil in the world, but also thankful they had been protected.
It was always a one-two punch. Jealousy—they had something that had been stolen from me, but gratitude for that very same thing.
As my gaze fell across the room, I was again hit with a one-two punch, only this was different. A woman with long dark hair stood close to Mimic, running her hand down his chest. The first thing I felt was jealousy that she was touching him. The next thing I felt was rage.
She was touching what was mine.
He must have felt my eyes on him because he turned and looked over his shoulder. His eyes caught mine, and he grinned. He grabbed the woman’s hand, removing it from his chest and placing it on the table. Then he leaned over and whispered something in her ear.
Her eyes followed his to where I sat. They grew wide comically, making me think of an old cartoon I watched as a child. Her eyes practically bulged out of her head as she nodded and walked away.
Mimic turned his back on me and gave his attention to the brothers he was with, ignoring me the rest of the night.
Chapter Ten
Mimic
A week had passed quietly. The Death Dogs had stayed in Wyoming; but I still snuck into Indie’s apartment every night to watch her sleep. I told myself I was protecting her.
Lies came fucking easily to me. Even when I talked to myself.
“Mimic!” Charlie came barreling at me, and I caught her just before her head took me out.
“Slow down, little sister.” She giggled as I lifted her in the air, and the sound sent a warmth I would never get used to spreading through my chest. I would kill for this little girl, and I wouldn’t think twice about it.
When I met Sam for the first time at the diner, the day Ace, Win, and I had been sent to watch over her, I didn’t trust her. The shit she pulled on Jack, sleeping with him while she was married, was a bitch move. I didn’t want to like her, let alone forgive her.
I would never say what she did was okay, but the connection I had with her now made forgiveness easy. She stepped in and became the mom I needed. The mom I lost. There was a lot of shit you could forgive a parent for.
There was a lot of shit I gave her that she forgave me for. With her came Charlie. She healed a crack in my soul that had been torn open when I lost my sister. And now there were two more little sisters that would be here soon.
I had a family. Something I never thought I would have again. I had my brothers, and they were important. But a guyneeded a mom. Someone he could talk to. Someone he could confide in. Someone he could trust without question.
“You wanna see my room?”
“I’ve seen your room, Charlie.”
“No, my new room.” Charlie’s eyes rolled back in her head. She was all sass, and one day she would grow up and give some guy a run for his money. If she ever found someone good enough for her. Which I highly doubted would ever happen.
“What new room?”
“Uncle Derek is all done building our new house. That means I get a new room and a new puppy!” Her little hands clapped in front of my face. She had been begging for a dog ever since Maureen, the sheriff’s wife, had shown up with one in tow. And now with Aspen’s dog always around, Charlie’s desire for a dog had only grown.
“Okay, let’s go see this new room.” I set her on the floor, and she grabbed my hand and tugged. As we passed by the kitchen, she stopped and yelled to my sister.
“Kytten, come on. We’re going to see my new room!”
“New room!” Rose exclaimed. “Let’s go!” She grabbed Charlie’s hand, and the two of them took off at a run. I looked over at Cash and gave him a chin lift to let him know I had Rose.
