Seventeen
1677 Words
Silently, Skylar lowered her eyes to the table. The guilt she was feeling over the secret she was carrying since the night before ate at her. Finally, not wanting to hide the truth any longer than needed, she said, "This isn't actually recon training, Russ.”
He turned his eyes to her, the deep blue reflecting the soft overhead lighting. The emotions he was feeling were hidden too late as she caught the clear, yet fleeting light of confusion and fear in his eyes. “I don’t understand. Callum didn’t tell me anything about this except that he needed me to partner with you for training purposes.”
“Well, you see, I kind of talked Nix into asking his father. After I told Uncle Cal what was going on with my emotional state, he agreed to set this up for me to help me figure things out. He was, um, adamant that I keep him updated in order to keep my father on a tight leash. Dad wouldn’t have agreed to let me go out with you otherwise, so I took matters into my own hands." She admitted, her sun kissed cheeks adopting a pink tinge.
"I'll be damned," he muttered. “So, you and my nephew manipulated the adults around you into letting this happen? Why?”
It was her turn to be confused, “What do you mean: why?”
His eyes softening, he smiled as he nursed his drink. Setting the glass down to the table, he let out a heavy breath. He wanted nothing more than to know that this was really happening, that he was truly on an actual date with the young woman who captured his heart as a child and held it steadily for nearly eight years. Cautious, beautiful, and sweetly sexy, she was the kind of woman any man would be happy to have at his side. “After everything you learned about me, after everything I’ve done, why do you trust me?”
She smiled warmly at him. Shaking her head, she calmly relaxed the white-knuckled hold she had on the cloth napkin in her lap. She’d been clutching it since they sat down, using it to control her anxiety in plain sight without it being obvious. Licking her lips, she articulated her thoughts as best she could. "Russell, I know that there's a seven-year gap between us, but that's nothing but a number to me. Having a boyfriend is a touchy subject for me, but I really like you, Russ. I mean, um…"
Again, her face flushed an adorable shade of red.
Shocked at the confession, he reached for her hand. Lacing their fingers together, he met her gaze evenly, "I'm not sure what to say about that, Sky. I mean, your father told me to turn you away, but I can’t. I just… I don’t know how to tell you to leave me be or that you deserve better like he would rather have me do. I’m not stupid enough to run up against Dave’s bad side, not that I’ve ever seen it before."
"Daddy has his moments, but he’s just protecting his baby girl. Do you like me, though?" She asked softly.
“His protective streak is a heck of a lot more lethal than his aim, that’s for sure,” Russell joked, his azure gaze shimmering playfully. He leaned in closer, "I don’t like you, Skylar. I love you, and it started when we first met. I’m not into little kids and would never cross that line, so I waited until you were legal. I was curious to see how you would turn out; to find out if what I was feeling was nothing more than a teenage phase.”
“Was it?” She inquired, her voice was barely above a whisper as she digested his words. When he said he loved her, her heart soared to Cloud Nine in no time flat.
“It wasn’t. The more I watched you grow into who you are, the stronger the feeling got." Watching the tears gather in her eyes, he reached out to wipe his thumb over her cheeks to clear them away. "I’m sorry. I… I didn't mean to make you cry."
She shook her head. "It's not that.”
“Then please explain it,” he coaxed gently.
Skylar exhaled deeply, “It’s just that I thought you'd assume it was a silly school-girl crush and end up laughing at me."
"I wouldn't do that to you, Sky," he whispered as he kissed her hand. He looked across the room as the server made his way back to them. “Food’s here.”
Laughing, she nodded as she used her napkin to daub her cheeks dry. “So, um, what are we now?”
“So that I don’t inadvertently tick off anyone looking for a reason to pop a cap in my ass, I’m going to leave that decision in your hands,” he replied.
Several minutes after the server handed them their desserts, Russell heard something from a few tables over that made his blood run cold. Though Kennedy was constantly looking for reasons to end him, he was still defensive of the lithe redhead he’d come to care for as a little sister.
Hearing the men talk about ending her birthright so blasély, he felt an icy chill sweep through his body. There was no way he would be able to stand by and let anything happen to her. Not after everything she and Temperance went through to get where they were now.
He turned his eyes to Sky, who was busily tapping out a message on her phone. She knew, which meant the team would be aware of what was happening within minutes of her getting the information. "Are you warning Kennedy?"
"Yeah, and Don Callum while I'm at it," she returned, falling into her mafia role as an infiltrator. “I’m so sorry, but my sister from another mister needs me more than I need this date right now. Mind if we cancel?”
“Not at all,” Russell breathed. His phone rang a moment later. "Meistari Callum, what orders do you have for us?”
"I'm sending the location of the primary safehouse to your phones now. Nix and the others will meet you there," Callum said without preamble.
"Yes, Sir," Russ said as he signalled the server for the bill.
"Skylar is your responsibility since you’re her partner tonight, so watch out for her," the Icelandic Don replied with a snort. Russell's eyes went wide as he heard David scream obscenities at him in the background. Callum snorted a laugh, "You've proved your worth, but I still don't fully trust you. You know that, right? This is your one chance to prove that my father made the right decision. Fail me and you’re dead."
"Yes, Sir," Russell said as he swallowed his fear.
From the background, David yelled: "Bring my daughter back in one piece, or don't come back at all, asshole. You come back after she gets hurt, and I'm killing you!"
"I'll pull a David and take a bullet before I let her get hurt, Cal," Russell stated. He couldn't help grinning at the look on Skylar's face or the full-on rant about respecting his elders that her father was giving him.
An hour later, they pulled up in front of a house in the run-down part of town. Cautiously, they walked up onto the porch and knocked on the door.
The guy that answered took one look at Skylar and turned ghostly white. "We already sent the reports to you guys.”
"We’re not here for that, Keith," Skylar said as she pushed past him. "We overheard a plot to attack the clubhouse."
The other teen with Keith paled, "Dad, you need to come here right now!"
Sky dropped her handbag on the kitchen counter and sighed as she pulled out her sidearm. Checking the clip and the chamber, she made sure everything was working well before holstering the gun into the belt at the base of her back.
"Nix and the others should be here soon," she said. "We need to be prepared even if this place doesn't get attacked. Kennedy's not eighteen yet, but she's still the boss, so we follow her orders."
"What the hell is going on?" A man asked as he walked out of the back room. The reek of m*******a clung to the air around him as he walked over to talk to Russell.
Rolling her eyes, Skylar looked at Keith as she held up her weapon. "You know how to shoot one of these, right?"
"Duh," he replied. His eyes went wide as the barrel of her gun was suddenly pressed to his forehead.
"Don't ever disrespect me again, you little b***h. You're nothing but a guppy in a tank full of sharks," the girl said as she let the firing pin lock into place.
He paled, backing off a few feet, "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
"Damn right, it won't," Kennedy said from the doorway. "The others are checking the outer perimeter. Thanks for the heads-up, Sky. Sorry about your date."
Skylar shook her head, "Not a big deal, Ken. You’d do the same for me."
"Of course, I would. We're family," Kennedy scoffed. Since meeting her seven years ago, she'd been close with the brunette. So close, in fact, they considered each other sisters.
Phoenix walked in then, followed by Memphis and Markus. She knew that her brother and Lukas would be monitoring them and running security scans of the property from the towers.
"Kenni, this got inside job written all over it." Phoenix said as he checked his magazine. Satisfied, he snapped it back in place and pulled back on the slide.
Smirking, Kennedy nodded, "I guess I got to take over after all. Sorry, Boo."
“Hey, you’re still my best friend,” Phoenix grunted with a laugh. “This way, we get to be partners, too.”
- Writer
