Page 16 of Property of Riptide
“That’s Van and the little guy in her arms is little G, he’s Gage’s son,” Riptide announces.
Icer’s eyes narrow on me and he leans in closer for a more intimate inspection. We’re now practically nose-to-nose as he scans my baby. Instinctually, I place my hand over his head and tuck him in closer to me. “Back up, please,” I say through gritted teeth. I’m not used to this sort of invasion.
“Icer,” Riptide grunts. “Do as the lady asks.”
“Give her some breathing room, brother,” Zoey’s other half orders. I take a closer look at where his title is stitched so I don’t keep referencing him as Zoey’s man and see his name is Indiana.
“He’s Gage’s?” Icer asks for confirmation.
“He is,” I corroborate. I may not be proud of Gage and the way he treated these people, but I am of our son. “Did you know him?”
Icer huffs before turning a glare on me, and answers, “I did. For most of my life. He double-crossed us. I’m not a fan.”
“I’m aware and I figured,” I remark, hitting both of his key points in one sentence. “I’m sorry for what he did. I didn’t know that piece of him.”
He snarls at me and jabs his beefy finger in my face. “His dad may have been a traitor, but he was ours. Don’t take little G away from us or I’ll hunt you down.” With that, he turns away from me and plucks Elodie off the ground, hanging her upside down causing her to giggle in the way only toddlers can and walks off with her.
“Why do I feel like I just survived a war?” I ask the circle of people surrounding me, wiping a droplet of sweat off my temple. “That was intense.”
“That’s Icer in a nutshell,” Indiana justifies. “He’s not a man of many words, as a matter of fact, that’s the most he’s ever said to a stranger.”
“Not true, he did the same with me and Elodie,” Zoey reminds him.
“That was different and you know why,” he says, playfully smacking her on the ass which has her yelping.
“You alright?” Riptide leans over and whispers the question in my ear. Goosebumps erupt along my skin and I have the urge to rub them away. But I don’t want him to see the effect he has on me so I ignore them. Just like I ignored the way my heart sankwhen he rode away after he and Rio came to my rental cabin and told me all about my ex and his exploits.
I harrumph, untucking Gage from me, finally feeling safe enough to give him some breathing room. “I’m as okay as one can be after being stared down by a homicidal giant. What do y’all feed him anyway? Steroids for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?”
Zoey laughs at my question but the guys just smirk. “Believe it or not, his bulk is natural. It runs in his family because his dad was built the same way. It’s why he’s the perfect example of an enforcer,” Riptide tells me. “That and his take no shit attitude.”
I don’t feel like discussing my take on his attitude, my mouth has been known to land me in hot water on more than one occasion so I bite my bottom lip and pretend like there aren’t any derogatory words flowing through my mind to describe their friend. “Does his threat hold any merit? Am I going to have him show up on my doorstep one day? I have a job waiting for me that I’m supposed to report to in the next week and a half.”
“Where?” Riptide asks, and it’s the first time I’ve heard an ounce of displeasure coming from him.
“Canton. It’s a small town in East Texas as a matter of fact. Didn’t you say you were from that area, Riptide?”
“Small world,” Indiana snickers and then releases an “oomph” once Zoey elbows him in the midsection. It was a direct hit, right in the eye of the target. “What? I didn’t say anything wrong. It’s a fact, not a derogatory comment, baby.”
“Don’t forget, I know you better than that, Indie,” Zoey snarks. “That was all you being a smartass and you know it. Don’t try and deny it because I’ll call you out on your bullshit.”
Rio comes up, grabs Issy who’s been a silent bystander by the hand, waves at my boy, nods at me, and hauls her away. “As if that wasn’t obvious,” Riptide teases.
“He’s been hitting the keg, he’s feeling adventurous,” Indiana laughs. “They have a house not too far away but I’d be willing to make a bet that they’ll hit the tack room in the barn since it’s closer.”
“Y’all gossip more than a group of busybody women,” Zoey berates them. “I swear, the men in your club could run a column.”
“I can see the headlines now… Dear Kings,” Indiana says, his hands splayed out to his sides as his eyes glaze over. “We could start some shit.”
Riptide glowers at Zoey and says, “Look what you started.”
“Me?” she points at herself and huffs. “That’s not my influence on him.”
“You’re the one who brought it up and gave him the idea for a gossip column,” Riptide chides. As my boy begins to whimper, as if it’s rehearsed and he’s done it a million times, Riptide reaches out, snatches him from my arms and begins bouncing him.
“Ugh,” I stammer, completely gobsmacked. “Riptide?”
“Yeah,” he answers, never turning in my direction.
