Page 110 of Down & Dirty: Reaper

“A part of Vi’s life,” Jewel finished.

Dark brown eyes sliced over to Reaper as Diesel said, “As a Shadow.”

“Of course.”

“Don’t see the rest of ‘em sittin’ at the fuckin’ table. Where’s Indie?”

“She wasn’t invited.”

Yeah, like Reaper thought, the man assumed Vi had been screwing with him and trying to get under his skin that day at the Warehouse. Or had selective memory and had blacked that part out.

Diesel’s head jerked back and his eyes narrowed. “What the fuck’s goin’ on?”

Jewel sighed. Loudly. “You know what’s going on. Don’t be dense.”

The man’s gaze pinned Reaper in place. After a few soul screaming minutes, they shifted to Vi, who stared back at him in what looked like a dare.

Yeah, he wouldn’t be doing that.

“Explain,” was all Vi’s father said to her.

“Ask Mom. She’s the one who planned this.”

“For fuck’s sake, Diesel, I wanted to sit down and have a conversation with my daughter’s boyfriend.”

Reaper’s breathing seized.

Vi sputtered, “Who the fuck said he’s my boyfriend?”

Why did she sound offended?

“I used that term to be nice. Should I have used fuck buddy, instead?”

Holy shit! This family was fucking whacked!

He was now second-guessing whether he wanted Vi in his life for anything more than his boss.

Tonight might be enough to question their relationship, too.

Vi answered with a shrug, “It would probably be more appropriate.”

Reaper’s eyes flicked to Diesel who suddenly looked twice his size.

Don’t stare him in the eyes.

Remain quiet and still. Like when you’re about to pull the trigger on a long distance shot.

Any sudden move could fuck up everything.

Including you.

“Anyway, there are steaks marinating in the fridge and I need you to start the grill,” Jewel told her ol’ man, ignoring the sudden lack of oxygen in the room. She turned to Reaper. “How do you like yours done?”

It hit him then that the women in Diesel’s life knew exactly how to deal with his grumpy ass.

Most likely from experience.

But was it possible to stop an active volcano from erupting? Hopefully the answer was yes, but that remained to be seen.