Page 67 of Damaged Prince
“Thanks.” Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve her. Not that I’m a bad guy, but Laney? Fuck, she’s just too good for the lot of us. That doesn’t mean I’m going to let her go. Over my dead body.
The day goes by pretty perfectly. The kids have the time of their lives, happy faces and laughing sounds fill the air.
We got Benny’s forehead painted so he didn’t risk getting the paint in his mouth. He got to pet some of the animals and even rode the pony. We left the other rides for the bigger kids, but still, he’s been having the time of his life.
Instead of gifts, because Benny didn’t really need anything, we decided to get a variety of toys and other things for the kids. They each got to pick something, and again, just watching their faces light up, so grateful for something so small, makes me want to do more things like this. I see why my brother likes to work with the kids. They’re pretty awesome.
Maybe I should look into something similar, but with football. I’ll have to see if E can help me out with that.
“Alright!” Laney says, bringing a tiny cupcake out with the number one on it. This is Benny’s personal cake. There are a few sheet cakes being served to the kids after this. “Time to sing Happy Birthday to the birthday boy.”
Laney crouches down, holding the cupcake in front of Benny, who looks at it with his big blue eyes like it’s the best thing he’s ever seen.
Benny squeals in excitement as we all sing to him. When he’s done, I crouch down on the other side of him and blow out his candle for him.
Now, it’s time for the fun part.
Melissa is snapping photos like crazy, getting every angle she can as Benny grabs the cupcake and brings it to his mouth. One bite and my man is hooked. Next thing we know, he’s devouring the thing.
We all laugh because it's adorable.
That's when a voice I unfortunately know brings this perfect moment to a halt.
“Glad we didn’t miss everything,” a gruff voice sounds. My spine goes stiff as Laney gives me a questioning look, like she’s wondering who the man behind me is.
Someone who’s not welcome here, not at fucking all.
“What are you doing here?” Getting to my feet, I turn around to see none other than Stacy’s dad. He’s not alone, some of his men and their women are here with them too.
“Go on, kids,” he says to the group of kids that are with them. “Go have fun. Everything is free.”
The kids take off running, leaving the adults behind.
“What amIdoing here?” he chuckles. “Boy, this is my turf, did you forget that?”
Honestly, I did. Fuck.
“Okay. Fine. But why are youhere? A kids’ party doesn’t seem like your kind of scene.”
He raises a brow. Stacy is the spitting image of him, only in female form. They share the same blond hair, same blue eyes, with the same evil twinkle in them.
“Normally, no. But seeing how this party is for my grandson, I thought it would be appropriate. Kind of hurt, Logan. Did my invite get lost in the mail?”
“No, but that’s because you weren’t invited.”
His lip curls, pure venom in his eyes now. He takes a step forward, and it takes everything in me not to take one back.
I’d love to say I’m not afraid of this man, but I am. It would be stupid of me not to be. He’s evil, a fucking monster. And his reminder that he shares blood with my son makes me sick. My son will never grow up to be anything like Stacy’s side of the family. Not if I have anything to do with it.
“Listen to me, boy. That is my blood. My grandson. You think you can just take him away from us? We went from seeing him every other week to nothing.”
“That isn’t my fault.” I grind my teeth, anger seeping into my veins. “That’s your daughter’s. She cared more about who was between her legs and what was being injected into her veins than the safety of her son.Myson.”
“Watch your fucking mouth before I do it for you,” he growls, grabbing me by the shirt.
“Let him go,” Laney demands. “Or I’m going to call the cops.”
Fuck. That's the last thing we need right now. I’m not looking to start shit with these people.
