Page 76 of Defiant
Blinking, I stared at him. That wasn’t what I’d been expecting him to say. “That means you and I will have to get along.”
“Hey, we’re getting along now, aren’t we? Besides, it isn’t like I can kill you and hide your body. Without you, I won’t have a roof over my head.”
I frowned. If something happened to me, it’d be the last thing Dante ever did. He wasn’t from around here, so he didn’t know what my family was capable of. Let’s just say most everyone knew not to get involved with us unless they absolutely had to.
“And, anyway, if our girl gets into trouble, we’d best be there to help her out of it—”
At that, I had to speak, “Our girl?”
Dante chuckled. “Uh, yeah, that’s what I said, isn’t it? Our girl.” He stuck his hands in his pockets, old, worn jeans that looked almost vintage. Odds were all of his clothes were old, well-loved and worn-down. People like him didn’t do vintage, and people like me just didn’t give a shit. “As much as I hate to say it, she is our girl, you know. Unless she suddenly makes a decision and wants to cut ties with the other, she’s ours.”
I wasn’t sure that was how it worked…
“And who the fuck knows about Jacob.” Dante’s dark brows came together, and he shook his tattooed head. “No, I don’t want to think about Jacob right now. You’re enough.”
Tell me about it.
“So, we play nice, for her. No trying to backstab the other, not when a few little bitches still need their payback,” he told me, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one was around, no one would hear him say that.
I nodded once. “Do you have a time frame on that?”
“Soon” was all he said about it, before changing topics and bouncing back to the dance and sharing Jaz like some sort of thruple. “Believe it or not, I’ve never been to a dance before. Don’t we have to wear matching suits? Like, not the same for you and me, but match her dress or something?”
“I honestly have no idea. I’ve never been to one before, either.” I knew they held it at the local country club, renting it out for the day, but that’s it. Dances weren’t my thing, nor was dressing up.
“Huh. You and I have something in common, besides the girl and the tattoos. Go figure.”
Yeah, that was about all we had in common. Dante was far too wild and unreserved to be similar to me in any way. I was a Scott; I was taught from a very young age how to get things done, and done properly. I doubted Dante ever received such tutelage. A pity for him; he did have potential.
“Know any place around here that does rental suits for cheap?” Dante asked, looking about as awkward as I felt, talking about this. “I don’t exactly have one, you know, and I assume they won’t let me in if I come looking like this.”
That much was true. Dances were formal events, and the country club was always formal attire only, even when it wasn’t rented out for an event.
I eyed him up. “Get me your measurements, and I’ll get one made for you.” He was built like a wall; I doubted any old cheap suit would fit him right. Plus, if we were going to be there for Jaz, if we were to play nice and pretend she was our girl, we had to look the part. We had to look the part of slick psychos who would not hesitate to break bones if it meant we would keep our girl safe.
“Really?”
“Really.” My family had a tailor, not that I was going to tell him that. He did not need to know we also had our own in-house doctor, along with chefs and maids and others. He did not need to know my family held the biggest estate in Midpark, both with the biggest house and the biggest acreage.
I turned, starting to walk away, wanting to find Jaz and tell her our decision, but Dante was at my side, trailing after me, muttering, “Now, when you say measurements, what do you mean? What am I measuring? I assume you don’t mean my dick—that’s about the only thing I know how big—”
My eyes closed as I emerged into the main hall, wishing I could ignore him. I couldn’t, alas, so I had to tell him that I’d have someone go to his motel room to do the measuring for him.
To which he asked, “You know where I am, huh?”
“Of course, I do.”
“Should’ve guessed. You rich freaks know everything.”
I stopped, causing him to walk into my shoulder. I turned my head toward him, giving him a serious glare. The halls had emptied; I bet we’d missed our chance to catch Jaz by her locker. “You make whatever judgments you want about me, and I’ll do the same for you. Just know that I am not your typical Midpark brat. I might have money behind me, but that’s not all. My family is very old, very powerful, and their enemies tend to disappear off the face of the earth. Now, do I think you and I can get along? Maybe. Will it last forever? I doubt it, but I don’t expect you to stick around long. Why would you? You’re not even using your real name here.”
That was the most I’d said to him at once in a while; it also gave quite a bit away.
Fortunately for himself, Dante took me seriously. “You’re right. I don’t plan on sticking around.” He lowered his head, his voice a rough whisper as he added, “But if I have my way, neither will Jaz. One day you might wake up, and we’ll both be gone.”
If a stare could kill, I was certain my stare right then would drop Dante dead.
“But I assume you wouldn’t care too much,” Dante spoke with a shrug. “After all, you’re too stone-cold to care about anything.”
