“I need to talk to Dolly.”
Her brown eyes squint at me as if she wants to argue. Instead she pastes on a plastic smile and swishes out. Crystal’s walk does nothing for me. As she huffs and shuts the door, I turn to Dolly.
“What happened today? Did you get her everything?”
She looks over my shoulder at Edge and then Axel. I glance at them.
“What? Is there some big secret?”
“Actually yes. Yes, there is and I would like to speak with you privately.” She plants her hands on her small hips and tilts her cute pixie head up at me.
My guys snort. “Okay, you heard our princess. She needs a word in private.” Axel pushes off the wall and leaves, whereas Edge drags his feet, still mumbling as he shuts the door.
I drop into my chair and put my booted feet on the table, interlacing my fingers over my abdomen.
“Spit it out and hand me the Jack. I barely got a sip.”
She flounces into a chair next to me and thuds the bottle hard on the table.
I raise an eyebrow. “Speak. I’m losing patience.”
“Why would you bring her here? Buy her all that stuff, brand her?” Her arms are animated and her face is turning red. Dolly always reminds me of the bad Smurfette when she gets fired up. “Only to keep fucking Crystal?” she spits out.
I reach for the bottle of Jack, unscrew the lid, and take a long, deep sip. That first burn makes me warm and happy for a moment.
“Dolly, I don’t even know that chick. She’s fucking beautiful and her dad is a good man who is dying. So rather than have to put a bullet in his head in front of her, I claimed her.” I take another drag from the bottle. I said these same words not an hour ago to a crying Crystal. The more I say them, the easier it is to believe them. Not that I owe Crystal an explanation. I’ve been honest with her from day one. But women are fucking crazy. They only hear what they want.
Dolly jumps up and starts to pace. The Bud Light sign flickers behind her. “You are so full of shit, Jason. I’ve known you for a long time. If you thought Eve was only beautiful, you would have given her to someone else. You claimed her! And she’s too good for you.” She slaps one of my boots off the table.
“Christ.” I lean my head back and gaze up at the yellowish ceiling. “I swear to God, I don’t need this tonight. What happened to make you fall in love with her?” I snap.
“A lot of things. She’s smart even though she barely knows how to read.”
I wince dropping my other boot to floor with a thud. “What?” I don’t know why my heart is beating fast. I barely know this girl, but school came easy for me. Reading is one of my guilty pleasures that I still allow myself. It keeps me human when this life wants to kill it out of me. If she can’t read, I need to teach her.
Dolly holds up her hands. “She can read. But I don’t think she ever went to school. She’s never had any friends, and she’s a fucking virgin, Blade!” She must not have wanted to say that because her red cheeks instantly go pale.
The silence in the room is broken only by the buzzing from the trashy beer signs that litter the walls.
I scrub my hands over my face, then start laughing. “She’s a fucking carnival rat. A gypsy. If you believe that she’s a virgin, well then you got played.”
She flops back into the chair and crosses her legs.
“Here.” Shaking my head, I hand her the Jack Daniels bottle.
She takes a swig then shudders. “God, I hate that shit.” But she takes a breath. “Fine, whatever, you will find out either way. It still doesn’t excuse you from removing her chance at having us as a family. You need to kick that ugly bitch Crystal to the curb.” She crosses her arms.
“I know how crazy Crystal can be and I know that Edge fucked up. But she deserves more than getting kicked to the curb.”
“No, she doesn’t.” Her face is completely deadpan.
I can’t help but grin. “Whatever, Dolly, you are not my mother and if I want to fuck a ton of women and keep Eve in my bed every night it’s no business of yours.”
“But…”
“I’m done. What else?”
“She’s a klepto.”
“A what?” Again, silence besides the buzzing.
“A kleptomaniac. You know, someone who has to steal. Even if they have…” I cut her off.
“I know what a fucking klepto is, Dolly.” I lean back. What the fuck? “How do you know? I mean you’ve only just met her for fuck’s sake.”
“Oh stop. You’re insulting me,” she snaps and takes another swig. This time her shudder is almost nonexistent.