"Shane! Put that back!" I scold my son after searching for him in three isles only to find him in the toy isle holding a neon plastic gun. God, what is Shank teaching him?
Shane places the toy back where he found it and shuffles his feet back to me. I place his small hand on the side of the worn out cart with a spinning wheel. A silent warning if what will happen if he lets go.
He carries the bag with the eggs as I balance the others in one arm to dig out my keys with my free hand from my bottomless purse.
I hear a thump and see shane has dropped the carton of eggs in the ground.
"Dammit, Shane!" I yell.
He immediately starts crying but before I can apologize for snapping at him, my phone rings.
"Hello?" I exhale in to the phone.
"Everything good, babe?" Schiz asks, his voice almost serious.
"Yeah- just Shane dropped all the eggs and now he's crying. Shane, its fine. Open up the carton and see how many are broken." I hold the phone between my shoulder and ear and run my hand over his brown hair.
Still crying, he does what he's told. All but 4 are broken. Great.
"See? Still enough to make a cake. And for you to have breakfast, okay?" I try cheering him up. He nods, still crying.
"Calm down, Annie." Schiz's calm voice soothes on the other end of the phone.
I take a deep breath but don't have a chance to reply as I notice as group of Latino men step out of a car and start for me and Shane.
"Shane! Give me your hand!" I tell him. He hurriedly starts to pick up the eggs. "Screw the eggs, Shane! Give. Me. Your. Hand!" I order him again. He drops the bag once again and grabs ahold of my hand in his yolk covered one. He uses his other hand to wipe at his wet, red face.
"Missy?" Schiz asks worriedly. I don't say anything.
"Cute boy you have there. What's your name, boy?" One of them with a cliche mustache steps in front of the others asks. The others start to circle us and shane latches in my my leg.
"He asked you a question, kid." One of the men snap behind us. The leader waves him off and just smiles down at Shane. His yellow teeth catching the sunlight.
"Leave him alone!" I jerk Shane from the man as he reaches out for him.
He stands up from his crouched position and glares at me. My phone falls from my ear and shoulder and to the ground with a cracking noise. The man scoops it up.
Then one of them makes a comment from behind me in Spanish.
She's cute. Now I see why two of them are after her.
I'd let her play with my little chicken.
They all start laughing. The leader glares at them and they stop instantly.
"Tell your boyfriends hello for me. See you later, doc." He smiles once again before nodding behind me at the other men for them to disperse into the store and let us continue to my car.
I hustle to my car, yanking poor Shane's arm out the socket in the process. Throwing the groceries in the back, I let Shane ride up front and racing to the club house.
On the way there, I pass a few of the guys speeding their way to where I just came from. I honk my horn once and watch in the rearview mirrors as half turn and start to follow me back.
Shane, recovering from his fear so quickly, races out to play with Mikey and Sydney on the playground with Margo. She notices my arrival and starts her way over here.
"Missy!" Shank shoves passed Lynol in the entrance of the door and makes his way to me. He glances over at Shane on his March.
"What the fuck just happened?" I ask him loudly.
Schiz makes his way over from his bike with Patch and Ed.
"You tell me!"
"I was just surrounded by a bunch of fucking Mexicans in the parking lot of the store!" I shout.
"What'd they say?" Schiz pulls me to him. Shank half looks like he wants to do the same thing. I think back to his comment yesterday about having love for me. Who even says that? Like he's incapable of saying it like a normal person. I love you.
I just shook my head and walked away to my car. I don't know where Schiz and I are going, but I will not let Shank get in the middle of it.
"Just to tell my boyfriends hello and then he called me doc." I answer and wrap an arm around Schiz.
He pulls me closer and breathes in my scent.
"He wants us to know he's been watching." Margo says.
Lynol glances around as he pulls his wife to him. Part of me wants to call out for Shane but that's just the dramatic part of me.
"So this is because of you? And the Mexicans your ex brought. The Mexicans that shot my brother in the back because he was there for YOU!" Shank turns on Margo. She shrinks back into Lynol, who glares at his Stg at Arms
I reach out and grab Shanks hand. He glares at me next, but after a second he takes a deep breath and yanks his hand away from mine, sending Schiz a look over my shoulder before going over to our son.
"Even if this is because of your ex, that was seven years ago. Isn't it extreme to be all mad about it now?" I ask Margo. She blinks in surprise first. Surprised I know. Probably thinks Shank told. As if.
Lynol sends a look to Schiz. "Just keep your phone close, doc. Something tells me we're gonna need you." Lynol answered for Margo, silently telling me this isn't my business.
My phone.
Shit.
"He has my phone. It fell. Its probably broken anyways." I turn to Schiz. He curses under his breath.
"That's probably not good. I'll shut it down by computer." Margo kisses Lynol's cheek before going in the club house.
I release my latch hold on Schiz to walk over to Shank. I place my hand on his hard shoulder and he tenses even more- if that's possible- before turning to face me, causing my hand to run down the length of his arm. The fire spreads through the both of us. I can tell because I see it in his brown eyes.
I catch his hand in mine and squeeze it. But I still don't let go. His eyes flick down to our joined hands but he doesn't pull away from either.
"You shouldn't have been so hard on Margo, Shane." I say gently. His hand twitches, and for a second I think he's gonna pull away, and he just sighs as he watches our son.
"You don't know what went down seven years ago, babe." I watch his jaw clench.
"Schiz told me." This time he does pull away from me, casting a glare back at my boyfriend.
"That wasn't his fucking place." He growls.
"Well, you weren't going to tell me. You never tell me anything. That's why we have fucking issues, Shank!" I snap.
He turns on me and starts stalking towards me, backing me up against the toy shed the kids have.
"Maybe because every time I try to tell you how I feel, you shut me down and walk off. You've done it twice now, Missy." He hisses my name in my face.
I shake my head, pushing him off. He grabs my arm and yanks me back against the shed. I watch Schiz start to make his way over to us, with a scowl on his face.
Shank holds his hand up to Schiz, stopping him. "This has nothing to do with you." He snaps.
"She's my girlfriend, yes the fuck it does." Schiz shoves shank off me. I feel my eyes widen. Because Shank is fucking huge. And Schiz has muscles, but shank is a muscle. A big ass one.
Shank grabs schiz's shirt and yanks him up to meet him nose to nose. I grab shanks arm and pull on him, trying not to get excited about Schiz calling me his girlfriend.
"Shane, please!" I plead with him. He doesn't spare me a glance.
"Take the kids inside, babe." Schiz doesn't look the least bit scared he's almost an inch off the ground. Barely breathing.
"Cam, I don't think this is a good idea." I know Schiz hates being called by his real name, but I'm serious. He just smiles at me.
"I'm fine, babe. We leave in Ten minutes." He reminds me of our date tonight.
I mutter under my breath. I call for the kids into the club house and immediately start calling for the second biggest guy in the house; Panik.
He comes out of the kitchen with food in his mouth. "Shank is about to kill Schiz please go stop them." I beg him.
He swallows his food, cursing before heading outside. I hear a few yells and 3 minutes later they come in. Schiz has a busted lip and the other two look completely fine.
"You are fucking crazy, Shane. What's wrong with you? Just start swinging everytime you have damn problem. How about talking?" I shout at him.
He glares at me then glances around. He's silently telling me not to do this here and disrespect him. "How about listening when I try?" He yanks me down the hall to his room.
"Ok, Shank, I'm listening." I put my hands on my hips and stare him down. He descends on me and pushes me against the door of his room.
My breath hitches at our proximity and the fact that we're alone. His breath fans my face.
"Shane." I breathe.
He buries his face in my neck, inhaling my scent.
"I am fucked up in my head, Missy. I can't..." He growls and punches the wall behind me. I jump.
"I- I can't feel and process feelings like most people. I am fucked up, Babe. Losing my brother and then Star right on top of that, it fucked me up. I didn't have a great childhood. But I had Kale. We had each other. And he's gone. Gone! No more! I didn't get to say bye! I hadn't talked to him in person in fucking years and I find out the day I'm released he's dead because of some over stepping bitch! But you-" He cuts himself off and takes several deep breaths.
"I saw you outside the lawyers office and I couldn't fucking believe it. I didn't know how much I needed you until I saw you and felt the need to fill you in on everything that you missed. To talk to you like when I was inside. I miss that. I miss you. But you ran. And I was pissed and angry and I hated us both. And our kid-" Another pause and more deep breaths.
"You guys are exactly what I need. I love you, Missy Anne. And our boy. And I want to be a family. Because Shane needs that. Babe, I need that." He cups my face and pulls out faces close together.
My heart drops to the pit of my stomach and runs there.
"You don't mean that. I'm with Schiz, Shane." I shake my head.
He doesn't reply, but instead, he kisses me. A deep, long, and slow kiss. None of our kisses have never been like this. Lost in the feeling, I wrap my arms around his neck and jump up around him.
His giant hands instantly go to my thinned fabric covered ass. He squeezes me and rubs us against each other, creating a sexual friction. I sigh into his mouth. He carries me to his bed and lowers us down into it.
"Stop!" I shove at him. He instantly pulls away. I jump off his bed and take rapid breaths. Shank stays out on the bed, dick bulging against his jeans.
His chest rises and falls. "I have to think. Bring Shane home later, ok." I rush out his room, not waiting for a response.
Not even looking at anybody, wondering how much was heard, I scurry straight for my car.
A loud crash sounds before I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn to find Schiz.
"I-" He cuts me off.
"Shit between you two is complicated and I knew that when I came to your house and left my number. So just let me know where we stand?"