Page 8 of Sleeping with the Dark (The Righteous 3)
“If I can get my ass out of the fire, I’ll take you with me, man.” He held out his knuckles for Ray to hit. “That’s a promise. I mean that.”
“Is the Ice Man melting?” Ray stood and touched his knuckles.
“Maybe. See ya, man. I gotta go. Stay Lysol.”
“Fuck off with your cheese, man,” Ray laughed, shaking his head as he jogged up the steps.
By the time Cody got back to the house, it was late afternoon, and the piece of shit thing he called a heart skipped a beat when he caught the sight of Trev’s Bentley parked in the driveway. That car alone could buy him his ticket out of town and a new life. The old him would have jacked that hot little bitch and run for the closest chop shop, but that was another life, another him.
He unlocked the door with the way too high-tech panel and let himself in—his heated skin both soothed and shivered as the air conditioning hit him. Cody stuck his head in every room but didn’t see anyone until the sound of laughter from the kitchen drew his attention. He followed the sound until he spotted Renee and Arek sitting outside in the backyard.
“Am I interrupting?” he asked as he stuck his head out the door.
Renee and Arek shared a look before Arek stood and gave him a shoulder squeeze. “She’s all yours. I have a few things I need to take care of.”
“I didn’t mean to chase you off.”
“You didn’t. Your timing is perfect.” Arek disappeared inside the house, and Cody dropped into the way too comfortable chair on the patio. The view was out of this world. In all his time alive, he never thought he would get the opportunity to relax in a pad like this. Well, at least not in one that wasn’t vacant while he was illegally crashing because that came with certain risks.
“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” Renee asked.
Cody looked over at his sister, and he’d never seen her more beautiful. They weren’t joking when they said women glowed when pregnant. She was radiant. Her eyes were unguarded and happy. Whatever he had to endure to make sure this life was possible was well worth it.
“Yeah, it really is.” He looked out over the picturesque green of the grass with the decorative shrubs and flowers. The pool sat not far off the clear water glittering in the sunlight begging for a swim, but he was happy to take a load off in the comfort of the covered porch. The shade gave a reprieve from the heat of the day.
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you,” Renee said.
“Oh yeah, what about?” he asked and tensed for the worst.
“Dad.”
“Dad? He ran off years ago. What about him?” Cody leaned over and opened the small bar fridge to grab a bottle of water before meeting his sister’s serious expression.
“Dad didn’t take off. That’s the thing.”
“I don’t understand.” Cody took a swig of the sparkling water with a hint of lime. He smacked his lips with the fizzy taste. Even the bloody water was expensive.
“It’s a long story, and one that, well, um, Arek found Dad.” Cody’s jaw fell open, but no words came out. “Before you freak out, I was angry at first, but once I got the whole story and even looked over the proof of what he was telling me,” Renee sighed. “Look, the point is, I’m rebuilding a relationship with him, and I think you should consider trying as well.”
“Has this place made you soft in the head?” he bit out angrily.
Renee’s eyes narrowed and gave him a steely glare that could rival any gang member he’d faced. “You talk to me like that again, and you’re going to see just how not soft I am.”
“Fine, but Renee, I’m not giving him a second chance to lie to me. He left us. No matter the reason, the result is the same. You can forgive him and go back to being daddy’s little girl, you always were his favorite, but you can count me out on any family reunions.”
“Why are men so fucking stubborn?” Renee huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Sis, it has been an entire lifetime with a world of hurt and pain since his ass left. I had to become the man of the house. Do you even know what that was like for me? All that responsibility on my shoulders to keep my family safe? I was a fucking kid myself.” He chugged the fruity water and met his sister’s steady stare.
“First, I know almost as well as you what it was like to look after the family. I had to do it when you cut off all ties. Whateveryour reasonswere, you still did it. Isn’t that the same thing he did?”
Cody made a disgusted noise and looked away from his sister, he couldn’t even comprehend letting that man back into his world.
Renee sighed and slumped into her chair. “Cody, I’m telling you that you’re mistaken about what happened, and all I’m asking is for you to look at all the facts before you write him off forever. He is your father.”
“My father died the day he left. Forget it. I’m not playing this game.” He stood and made for the back door.
“Don’t do something you will regret, Cody.”
