Page 26 of The Air You Breathe

Dev didn’t look phased by Aiden, but he had expressed that the guys were people he wouldn’t fuck with. I wouldn’t mess with them either, especially Aiden. Nathan and Cal went back to their game of pool while Aiden and Dev got drinks for us.

That's when I noticed Darcy talking to some dude at the bar. She was laughing at something he said as he leaned a little closer to her. I clenched my jaw, feeling like I had gotten punched in the gut. It was an irrational response, but she wasmine. Then I started thinking about who she had been with these past three years. I kept an eye on her, but I knew I didn’t see everything. I knew for a fact she hasn’t had a serious relationship but just thinking about her being with other men had me on edge.

Dev nudged me, pushing a beer into my hand.

“Who the fuck is Darcy talking to?” I asked with venom in my voice as the dude got closer to Darcy.

“You’ve passed up that chance, man,” Callum replied.

I glared at Callum as he called me out on my shit. I knew I had no reason to be mad. “Still doesn’t hurt any less,” I said, feeling a little of my anger fade.

“Don’t be an ass. Just tell her how you feel,” Jane spoke up.

“She knows I haven’t stopped feeling something for her,” I said, feeling somber. “There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t regret what I did, but I’m also grateful I’ve kept her safe for so long.” I wasn’t going to regret the last three years because I had seen what Lucio did with the leverage he had over people and I would do anything to make sure she was safe. That didn’t lessen the fact that I hated that it was without me.

11

DEV

Ispotted Darcy as Aiden and I went to get some drinks. It was hard not to notice her when she was looking so carefree and laughing with someone. When I saw it was some dude, my hackles raised and I was furious. I clenched my hands in anger, stealing another glance at her seeing the douchebag slide closer to her.

Aiden handed me two beers, taking my attention away from them. I took a long swig of my beer trying to calm myself down. Why the hell was I so angry? She was Evan’s girl, well used to be but I knew he still had feelings for her. He watched out for her like she was still his. I glanced over at him wondering if he had seen her yet, finding him already locked in on her.

Son of a bitch.

Aiden said something to the bartender before we walked away, and I went straight to Evan. I tried to distract him with a beer in his hand but his mind was already spiraling. After he asked who the fuck was talking to her, Cal called him out on his shit while Jane tried to push him to just talk to her. Before things got too depressing, Cal’s sister Kelsey showed up.

She looked surprised to see me, but we were long overdue for a conversation. Since she had just had her baby, we hadn’t had time to catch up. I nodded at her before she said she only had an hour to enjoy herself. Jane dragged her to their table and Darcy joined us bringing that douchebag with her. She took a double take at Evan and me, giving me a smile and just nodding at Evan.

She didn’t introduce him, taking him straight to the table with the girls. If I were a good man, I would have felt sorry for the dude but all five of us were glaring at the poor guy and I knew he had to be uncomfortable. I’m sure he felt like a small fish in a sea of sharks.

The girls danced to a few songs, and he made sure he stayed really close to Darcy. When he put his hands on her waist a few times, I swear Evan was going to beat the crap out of him. Jane’s men and I were on edge, ready to intervene if we needed to.

It got to the point where I was ready to hit the guy anytime he touched her. The guy looked way too soft for Darcy. I couldn’t imagine her being with a guy like that, but she seemed like she was having fun with him oblivious to the looks Evan was giving her.

Once Kelsey’s hour was up, Jane also said they were heading out. She kept glancing at Cal, and he was looking like he was getting more and more uncomfortable. I took the opportunity to walk Kelsey to her car, but Cal looked like he wanted to pop my kneecaps. Thankfully Jane intervened and I saw that glint in her eye. I knew she thought it was because we liked each other but it was far from the truth.

Kelsey and I walked out of the bar into the cool Colorado night. I followed her to her car looking around to make sure we were safe. You could never be too careful especially when your father was a wannabe mafia guy. When we stopped at an older SUV, she didn’t turn around and look at me. I knew this was hard for her.

“We can pretend I didn’t find anything,” I said, trying to ease her emotions.

“I won’t be able to pretend you didn’t find anything,” she said, her voice full of emotion. “Rose deserves to meet her father and her father needs to know she exists.”

I nodded my head even though she couldn’t see me. Kelsey had a fling with an out of towner last winter and ended up getting pregnant. By the time she found out she was pregnant, he was gone and they never exchanged information. “He lives in Denver, and I found a number for him.”

She turned around abruptly. “A number?!” She yelled with panic on her face.

“I have a picture of his driver’s license and his phone number,” I said, pulling out my phone and looking for the picture. Once I found it, I gave my phone to her.

She took it with shaky hands, taking a deep breath before she finally looked at the picture. Her eyes immediately closed as her face looked devastated.

“Shit, is it not him?” I asked, bringing her into my arms. I tried to give her as much comfort as I could rubbing her back, letting her get it out of her system. I couldn’t imagine how hard this was for her.

“It's him,” she whispered as she continued to cry. “It’s Sebastian.”

I squeezed her just a little tighter. Kelsey and I had become friends unexpectedly last year when Ava needed a dress for homecoming. I had no clue what the hell I was doing. It was apparently a big deal and Ava said it was her coming of age moment, when we bumped into Kelsey and she saved the day. From that day on they talked regularly, saving me the awkward conversations I knew were possible with a teenage girl.

We live in a ski town, so when she found out she was pregnant from an out of towner dalliance, she tried everything to get a hold of the guy. So many people come and go during ski season that she had no idea where to start looking for him.

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