Page 38 of Tainted Love
“The fucker’s lucky your mum came home when she did. I know he’s the reason she left, and when I find out what he did, I can’t guarantee I won’t kill him.”
“Believe me, if he hurt her, I’ll be right there with you,” Asher mutters.
Kill shovels one more mouthful of potato salad into his mouth before tossing the fork in the sink and leaving the half-eaten salad on the bench. “Settle down, dickwads. You’re killing my buzz. We’ll all kick fuckface’s arse when the time calls for it. No one messes with Oli and gets away with it.”
I grit my teeth, because we all know Troy has essentially gotten away with something, only we don’t know what. But I’m thankful that my boys have mine and my sister’s backs.
We’re lugging Kill’s drum kit up to our music room when Bea finally makes an appearance, meeting us on the second-floor landing. Her hair is piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and she’s dressed in a pair of tight running shorts and a sports bra. I can’t help but run my eyes over her gorgeous curves.
“Where do you think you’re going?” I grunt out, placing the heavy case I’m carrying down at my feet.
Her cheeks flush, but she just crosses her arms over her chest and mumbles, “To the gym.”
“Didn’t get enough of a workout last night?” Kill quips, coming up behind me.
I wait until he passes and smack him on the back of the head. He snickers out a half-arsed apology and I inwardly curse him for being such a dick.
Her eyes blaze. “You told them?” she hisses as she stepscloser to me, watching him disappear into the music room behind Asher.
“Relax, Duchess.” I can’t help the grin tugging on my lips. I tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear and ignore the way she flinches at my touch. “He’s just fishing.”
“This is all just a game to you, isn’t it?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I say, despite knowing it will piss her off even more. “Care to enlighten me?”
I’m playing with fire, and I know it, but there’s something about her getting worked up that has my dick turning to steel in my pants. I want her to fight—it turns me on.
She opens her mouth to say something, but my phone rings. I pull it out and she pales as she looks at the screen. “Why is your mum facetiming you?”
I snort out a laugh at her. “Uh, maybe because she’s my mum, and she wants to check in. Chill, Duchess.”
“Don’t answer it,” she screeches, trying to snatch my phone as I move to swipe the screen. “How can you even think about talking to them after what we did last night?”
I ignore her protests and hold it out of reach as I do exactly what she asked me not to.
“Hey, Ma,” I say with a smile when her face appears on the screen. She’s dressed to the nines in a sleek red dress. Her hair and makeup make her look at least ten years younger. “You look nice. What’s going on? How’s the trip?”
“Oh, Eli,” she gushes. “We’re having the best time. Darren just took us to a Broadway musical. Attie was in her absolute element.”
She swings the phone around to point at my little sister who is sitting near the window of their apartment with Darren chatting animatedly. Attie is wearing a silver sequined dress, and a tiara sits on top of her head. They both wave, and something stirs inside me at the sight of my sister looking sohappy and relaxed with another man. She doesn’t remember much of Dad. He was in and out of lives a lot after she was born, before finally taking off for good when she was four.
“Sounds great.”
“Oh, it really was,” Mum laughs. “Your sister is now hellbent on becoming a Broadway star.”
“I’ll still remember you when I’m famous,” Attie calls out.
“I bet you will, squirt,” I say with a chuckle.
Mum turns the screen back to herself. “How was the gig last night?”
“Oh, it was very … eventful.” I grin, my eyes drifting to Bea, who is currently giving me a death glare.
“That sounds interesting.” Darren laughs as he comes to sit next to my mother. She relaxes back into him, looking so content. “Oh, to be young again. What’s that daughter of mine up to? I hope the two of you have been getting to know each other while we’ve been gone.”
Bea’s eyes practically bug out of her head, and she shoots me a warning stare.
“Who Bea?” I ask innocently. “Oh yeah, Darren. We’ve been hanging out heaps and getting to know each other really well. She’s an absolute peach, that daughter of yours.” Mum’s smile wavers, but I just broaden mine. “Actually, she’s right here next to me. Would you like to say hi?”
