Viper's Demands (Ruthless Sinners MC 8)

As soon as we reached the house, I used Rebecca’s hidden spare key to unlock the door, then led Cat inside. I’d hoped that being home would improve the kid’s mood, but she seemed even more somber as she made her way into the pantry. “Need a hand with something?”

“I got it.” Seconds later, she came back out with a bag of Goldfish crackers in her hands. “You want some?”

“Nah, I’m good.”

She climbed up on one of the stools and opened the bag. After taking a few bites, she looked up at me with a pitiful look on her face. “Is Momma gonna make me go see Daddy?”

“What?”

“I think she’s gonna make me go.”

I had a feeling that something was up with Rebecca’s ex, but I would’ve never guessed it had anything to do with him seeing Cat. After what they’d been through, I had no doubt that Rebecca wasn’t happy about it. “How you feel about that?”

“I don’t wanna.” Her eyes drifted downward. “He scares me.”

I walked over and sat down next to her. “Have you told your momma that you don’t want to go?”

“No.” She glanced up at me with a hopeful look in her eye. “Could you tell her?”

“Yeah, I could, but I think she should hear it from you.”

“Oh.” She let out a sigh. “Okay.”

Cat lowered her head, and her curly hair fell into her eyes as she sat there considering what I’d said. After several moments, she shoved another handful of crackers into her mouth. She’d barely started to chew when she suddenly looked up at me and announced, “I got a new Barbie.”

“Is that right?”

“Mm-hmm.” She hopped down from the stool and darted out of the room. “Wanna see?”

“Yeah, sure.”

I got up and made my way into the living room. I was expecting her to come out of her room with one single doll, but instead, she had a whole damn basket of them. I sat down on the sofa and watched as she pulled out the first one. “Her name is Kimber.”

“Mm-hmm. Nice.”

“And this is Darby, and this is Ken.”

I was surprised to see that Ken had black marker scribbled all over his head and chin. She was about to reach for another when I pointed to the doll and asked, “Hold up. What’s that shit on Ken’s face?”

“That’s his beard.” She lifted his shirt, exposing more scribbling. “He’s got tattoos. too.”

“Hmm ... How about that.”

A proud smile crossed her face as she held him up and announced, “He’s you.”

“Me?” I almost choked on my own words. “You made me into a Barbie doll?”

“Noooo, silly.” She shook her head. “Barbie dolls are girls. Yours is a Ken doll.”

“Ooh. Well, thank goodness for that.”

Cat studied me for a moment, then stood and walked over to me. Without giving it a second thought, she reached over and took a hold of my beard; then, she lifted it up and examined each side. “What do you look like under there?”

“What do you mean? I look like me.”

“Hmmm.” She twisted it in her little hand, then smashed it against my face. “I’m not sure I like it.”

“You don’t,” I scoffed. “And why’s that?”

“It’s too bushy and big. And it’s gray.” Her nose crinkled. “It makes you look old.”

“I am old.”

“Not that old.” She released my beard, then placed both hands on her hips as she announced. “I think you should shave it.”

“Shave it?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I hate to break it to ya, kid, but I’ve had this beard a long time, and I’m not looking to shave it any time soon.” I motioned my hand over to her pile of dolls. “Besides, if I shaved it, I wouldn’t match your Ken doll over there anymore.”

“Oh, yeah.” She scurried back over to her stash of toys and started pulling out more dolls. One by one, she told me the names of each and every one. “And this one is Samantha, my favorite.”

“You got a lot of dolls there, kid.”

“Yep, and I got a camper, too.” With that, she hopped up and rushed out of the room, returning moments later carrying an oversized Barbie camper. “Momma got it for me for my birthday.”

“Damn, you’ve got all the works, don’t ya?”

“Mmm-hmm.” She nodded proudly. “I got a dollhouse, too, but Momma said it’s too big and has to stay in my room.”

“Ahh, well, that’s probably for the best.”

Without saying anything more, she sprawled out on the floor and started playing like I wasn’t even in the room, which suited me just fine. I was glad to see that her mood had improved, and she was enjoying herself. I settled back on the sofa and closed my eyes as I listened to her play.

I don’t know how long she’d been at it when I heard her ask, “Are you my momma’s boyfriend?”

“Huh?” I opened my eyes and found her staring back at me. “Come again?”