Page 99 of Perfectly Naïve
“Cussing in front ofmydaughter.”
“Please don’t fight,” Cici begs, wringing her hands, and I wrap my arm around her shoulder protectively.
“You’re scaring her,” I tell my sperm donor. “Is that any way to win custody?”
He rolls his eyes. “She’s being dramatic. What she heard was only a joke, no harm in it.”
Lalo leans across the table. “What exactly is funny about arranging her mating?”
“What do you care? She’s not even your daughter.”
Lalo shakes his head. “She’s always been my daughter, ever since the day she was born.” He nods at Cici, letting her know she’s okay, but she still presses into my side, trying to get away from George.
George notices and releases a warning growl. “What? Are you scared of me now?” he shouts.
“I–I–”
“You, you,” he mocks. “She’s lucky I’m finding her a pack! She can’t even fucking speak without stuttering.”
The waitress appears, eyeing George and the rest of us like we’re schoolchildren in need of correcting. “Is everything okay here?”
“You tell me,” George says, gesturing to all of us. “These three are trying to steal my daughter from me.”
“She doesn’t want to live with you anymore,” I counter.
“Like hell. Cici. You want to live with me, right, sweetheart?” His alpha bark is subtle, but I feel it crawling over my skin.
Cici’s lips slam together and her eyes water as she fights his command.
“Don’t answer,” Josh commands.
“Stop using your alpha barks on her!” I snap.
Cici sniffs and I curse, looking at the waitress. “You have the tab?”
She nods. “You’re all set. Do you want any boxes?” Ciciwas so excited for the food, but my main priority is getting her out of here, far away from this pissing match. The waitress senses my dilemma and grabs a to-go box from a passing busboy. “Here, I’ll pack the pizza for you.” She picks up the pan without a glove, sliding the pie into the cardboard container and giving George a scowl that would make weaker alphas cower. “Sir, if you’re not a patron, you need to leave.”
George scoffs. “Excuse me?”
“I’ll have to call the cops if you don’t get up in the next three seconds.” She hands me the pizza. “I hope you have a good night,” she murmurs to Cici.
“This is ridiculous.” George’s voice carries through the main room, but he stands up anyway, at least having enough sense to not get arrested. “Tell your boss he’ll be hearing from my lawyer.”
The waitress cocks an eyebrow. “I’ll be sure to let my Nonna Luciano know.”
My mouth drops open. The Luciano family has ties with the mafia, and it doesn’t take a genius to understand why she’s dropping that name. It has the intended impact. George’s face loses some of its color, and he mutters, “Fuck you” before hightailing it out of the restaurant.
She exhales and glances at us. “You all can stay if you like.”
Cici is still rattled, so I shake my head. “Thank you for the great service. I’m sorry about him.”
The waitressharrumphsand glances at my little sister. “You don’t know me and I don’t know you, but you need help, you come back here, understand?” My sister nods, and the waitress glances at our dads, some type of scolding on the tip of her tongue, but she looks at Cici again and thinks better of it. “Have a good night, honey.”
Once she departs, Cici and I slide out of the booth. Lalo and Josh follow us to the exit, on high alert in case George stayed behind, but he’s long gone when we get outside.
“I’m sorry for alpha barking at you,” Josh says, rubbing his neck. “I just didn’t want him to make you say something you didn’t mean.”
She shrugs, fiddling with her sleeves, and I can tell being commanded twice in a row bothered her. I don’t know a lot about being an omega, but I do know that the alpha barks can be used in good ways and bad ways. George was manipulating her. Josh tried to save her. I imagine it still sucks to realize that you’re at the mercy of an alpha’s whims.
