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I blink. “What…? How did you…”
“How do you think I’ve lived as long as I have while doing the things that I do? Just because I like whiskey, substances, and men doesn’t mean I’m a fucking idiot. Those two things are not mutually exclusive. Besides, it doesn’t take a fucking genius to see that a man who carries illegal weapons and crashes in vacant homes while trying to stay off the radar is probably into some illegal shit, and if he’s going to do illegal shit, he’s going to want permission of the group that runs this town. That would be the Twisted Devils MC.”
“I misjudged you.”
“Most people do. But, before you give me that baby, give me a minute. I’m going to step around back and enjoy a puff from my vape before I take responsibility for that little one. Don’t look at me like that — pot’s legal here and it’s only a puff, just enough to keep me chill while I hold Charlie’s life in my hands.”
I look from Sophie, to Charlie, and back again, unsure if I can trust him to her, even though I know it’ll only be a few minutes before Emily takes over. Sophie might be smarter than she acts, but that doesn’t mean much when I’m holding in my hands the most important person in my world and the last link I have to my brother.
Then I see something through the windows of the store. Or someone, rather. Emily looks up from her place behind the pharmacist’s counter, sees me, smiles, and waves.
Before I know it, I’m returning her wave.
And Charlie might not see Emily — maybe he can, a baby’s development is a mystery to me — but I swear he can sense her, because he giggles and bounces, and a sniff of the air tells me Sophie isn’t anywhere nearby for her vape to give Charlie a secondhand high.
“What do you say, Charlie? You ready to spend a few hours with Emily and Sophie while I go set us up with the Twisted Devils?” He may not be able to speak yet, but he sure can smile. When Sophie comes back around the corner, I hand him over. “Take good care of him.”
“I will.”
“If anything goes wrong, if he gets hurt, whatever, I will hold you responsible, and I will punish you in ways that even you wouldn’t enjoy.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time. But if you’re so nervous, let’s trade numbers. That way, you can check in anytime you want.”
Fuck it, she’s right, it would be the responsible thing to do.
Still, her eyes get wide and I swear I see her salivate as I take my phone out of my pocket, which makes me question everything. I’ve given my contact information to crime bosses, drug lords, and hitmen, yet Sophie is the first one to actually give me pause.
“Don’t misuse this. I’m serious.”
She sighs and rolls her eyes.
“Relax, Hunter. You aren’t the first armed and dangerous man to give me a baby for safekeeping and threaten me with death if anything goes wrong. Now, shut up, be a good biker daddy and give me your phone number, and then get the hell out of here.”
Chapter Eleven
Emily
Sophie comes strutting in the store like she just won a million dollars, with Charlie cradled in one arm, while the other one holds her cellphone high like she’s doing an impersonation of the statue of liberty. She struts this way through the length of the store, straight to my pharmacy counter.
I frown at her as she gets close and point at Charlie. “You’re not supposed to hold him like that. He’s a baby, not a football.”
“Baby, football, same difference,” she says, though she still adjusts the way she’s holding Charlie. “Besides, you’ll never guess what I just got.”
“What?”
“The baby daddy’s phone number,” she says.
A tickle of jealousy runs through me. “Seriously?”
“He may have been uncomfortable handing the baby directly to me, and I may have used his discomfort to extract his phone number from him,” she says. Then she sighs. “I may also be high right now.”
“You’re high?”
“Mildly. Not in the clouds or anything, just, like, a foot or two off the ground. Say, do they sell burritos here? I could really go for some chicken chile verde right now.”
“Unfortunately, no. We’re a pharmacy, not a Mexican restaurant,” I say, trying to keep my voice even despite the whirlwind of emotions Sophie seems to have dragged in with her.
Sophie grins, unfazed. “Well, that’s just poor planning on your part. A burrito section would do wonders for business.”
