Page 60 of Rebel

“Nikki, we need to talk.”

She yanked the door open and I stepped forward, but her palm slammed against my chest. “You haven’t had one fucking word to say to me in more than a week and now thatyouwant to talk, it’s suddenly an emergency? Guess what Logan? I don’t give a shit, go away.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Sure you can, you’ve done it perfectly for days now. I don’t want to talk to you.” She stepped back and slammed the door in my face. Again.

My hand balled into a fist, and I beat the holy fuck out of the door until it shook so hard I knew it was about to give.

“Rebel man, what the fuck?” Gio’s voice was the first I heard but it didn’t stop me.

“Step the fuck back.” Maverick’s hands curled around my shoulders and yanked me away. “Seriously, Rebel, stop this shit. Livvy can hear you.”

Nothing else could have stopped me but those words. My shoulders fell forward, and my fist loosened until my palm rested on the door. “Nikki,” I whispered.

“Just let her cool off,” Gio suggested. “She’s having a rough time.”

I laughed, the sound brittle and bitter to my own ears. “Yeah? In case you haven’t noticed I’m not having the easiest fucking time either.”

Maverick nodded as if he understood, but he couldn’t possibly. “Yeah, well she’s got people threatening to kill her and her kid, and the man who said he’d protect her is acting like he doesn’t give a shit if she lives or dies.”

“I’m not,” I insisted but hearing it put that way made it clear that was exactly what I was doing. “Fuck!” I turned towards the back exit in need of space. And breathing room.

“Everything okay, Daddy?”

I froze. The sound of Livvy calling me daddy would never get old.I’m an asshole.Even though I iced her out, ignored her and made her feel unsafe, Nikki had still broken the news to Livvy that I was her father. She hadn’t made a big deal about it, hadn’t even clued me in, but a few days ago Livvy started calling me ‘Daddy’ and it was music to my ears. I forced all the anger out of my body before I turned to face her. “Yeah Liv, everything is great.”

“Mommy sounds mad.”

“She’s mad because I yelled at her and I shouldn’t have.”

Livvy nodded. “You should say you’re sorry. Mommy likes that.”

Gio and Maverick tried to hide their laughter but not very hard. “Smart girl,” Maverick said. “You should listen to her.”

They were right. Nothing good would come out of talking right now. I went to Livvy and picked her up. “How about you have some dessert outside with me?”

“Okay!” Kids were simple. They accepted life at face value—no ulterior motives, or hidden agendas.

We grabbed a big slice of cake and a few cookies and headed outside. Livvy stayed on my lap while we ate, mostly in silence. She was such a good kid, surprisingly smart about reading people, which was unsettling sometimes. “Everything good?”

She nodded. “The cookies are so soft,” she added with a smile. “Daddy?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you happy to be my daddy?”

Damn, my girl knew how to drop the hammer. Luckily for me the answer was easy. “Hell yeah, I’m happy to be your daddy! Before I knew, I was jealous of the man who got to be your father, watch you grow up and learn new things.”

“Yeah?” The hope in her eyes just about undid me.

“Oh yeah. You’re smart and funny and so damn sweet, I’m lucky that I get to be your daddy.”

“Mommy said you didn’t know about me when I was in her tummy. She couldn’t find you, until I did.” She smiled at me, wide and bright. “She said it was my magic that found you.”

Yep, I was an asshole. She’d done me a huge favor, and all I’d done was ignore her and yell at her. “I’m glad it was you who found me.”

“Me too. I love you, Daddy.” She turned and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.

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