Page 32 of Danger Close
Even my daughter looked at me like I was nothing. My own flesh and blood despised me. They always had.
“I don’t know what the hell happened in there,” Greg continued. “But I know what it’s like to get turned out by this group. I’ve looked at you all, and seen nothing but your backs for years. Now I’m watching you do the same to her.” He clicked his tongue, like he was ashamed of the company before him. “I don’t fucking like it.”
The groom, Kai Griffith, scoffed. “You deserved it.”
I bristled, wanting to speak—to defend Greg! My lips parted, but no sound came out.
“Maybe I do!” Greg shouted back. “Maybe I deserved every God damn thing. But you know what, Griff? You’ve got everything you ever wanted. You’re marrying a great woman, a good friend. You’ve got a family. You’ve always got everyone’s support. So maybe you can quit bitching about your ex-wife and focus on your fiancée.”
I stiffened; my eyes darted around searching for Trinity.
An ex-wife? No one had mentioned there was an ex-wife. No one mentioned there was animosity, or baggage. All at once, I wanted to find my daughter, and take her out of here. I needed to tell her that she was better than this. That ignoring the signs would end with her hurt, or worse! She could end up like me… and she didn’t deserve that.
Why wouldn’t a man focus on his bride-to-be?It had so many red flags, it was a carnival.
“I never turned my back on you.” Charlotte, or Mamma Mack, stepped forward, her eyes looked hurt by the accusation.
“No, you didn’t.” Greg’s shoulders slumped, his entire posture, from what I could see, softened. “But you’re turning on her, and you don’t even know her. That surprised the hell out of me, Mamma Mack. I didn’t expect that from you, of all people.”
Greg stepped to the side, letting all their eyes fall on me. He wasn’t being cruel. When I met his eyes, he was trying to encourage me to speak. But no words came. I opened my mouth, and shut it again, over and over like a fish. A useless fish on dry land.
I shook my head, begging him not to put me on the spot. He gently smiled, and put his arm around my shoulders. It wasn’t an embrace made to mark territory, or to make a point. It was meant to help me stand up tall, when I wanted to crumble.
It was the only reason I hadn’t shattered on the ground.
“Get your filthy paws off of her, pup!” Cobra growled.
I recoiled, but Greg didn’t react to him. He just kept on speaking when I was rendered mute. “You don’t care howhegot her here, do you? You’ve all decided she’s the bad guy, so you’re going to leave her flailing in the wind.”
He clicked his tongue again, reprimanding them all.
“He’s the good guy, she’s the bad guy. None of you care about the rest.” He squeezed my shoulder. “Sorry Taz, but I thoughtyouwere better than that.”
A tear slid down my cheek.
“Hey!” Trinity stepped forward, her sharp tongue ready with a retort, but was cut off.
“No, I’m not finished!” Greg continued, his voice loud enough to echo from the wilderness around us.
I almost reprimanded him for speaking to her that way, but I knew it was not my place. They were a family. I had no part in it.
“I get it, Greg ‘VD’ Vedder’s the bad guy who slept with his best friend’s wife,” Greg said, pounding his chest.
I was shocked. He didn’t seem like the type. He was empathetic, gentle-hearted. I could not reconcile what I had experienced of him with the sins he owned.
“Cool. I’ll be the bad guy.” Greg dropped his arm from my shoulders, stepping forward again, as if shielding me from their angry gazes. “What did she do other than get dragged out here for a wedding she didn’t know was happening? Did you give her a chance or did you hate her right away based on one person’s side of the story?”
“That’s enough.” That was the groom, whose heavy boots pounded on the porch steps as he came down. “Don’t you dare doubt Taz’s word–“
“I ain’t doubting shit!” Greg’s voice echoed in the trees. “Two people can have different perspectives and both be right. You know it. I know it. So quit circling the wagons against someone who’s got both hands tied behind her back!”
Greg squeezed my shoulder, as if reassuring me. As if he was saying “I got you”.
“I’m disappointed in all of you.”
Greg was so much like Joe, the boy Cobra had once been. Idealistic, and a white knight, through and through.
That was how I’d fallen for him in the first place. He wouldn’t leave me alone, and he stepped in like a prince.
