Dump and Chase: Nashville Assassins: Next Generation Read online

  I walk into the house almost robotically. My limbs are stiff, and I feel like I’m about to pass out. Do I love her? Shit, wait, does she love me? She has had a crush on me since she was a kid. Did she fall in love with me? Wait, none of this matters. I can’t let this ruin what I’ve got, and I’ve got it good with Shelli. I can’t overthink this. I hate Asher. I hate him so much.

  I fall down into a chair in the living room, a bit frantic and needing to breathe. I lean forward, dropping my phone and keys to the table before falling back and kicking up my feet. I close my eyes as I listen to my family in the kitchen. I need them to stay in there for a minute because my head is all over the place right now. If she does love me, what does that mean? Does she assume I love her? Why hasn’t she told me? What would I say? Fuck. The ringing in my head is giving me a massive headache.

  “Is this Shelli?”

  My eyes fly open to find Stella with my phone in her hand, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. “It is! Why is Shelli—” Before she can finish, I’m up and out of my chair with my hand over her mouth and holding her to me.

  Her eyes are like saucers, and my heart is in my throat as I stare down into her gaze. “Shut up.” She mumbles something against my hand, but I refuse to move it. “I will give you all the money in my wallet—ow! Fuck! Stop hitting me!”

  I look over my shoulder to see Emery beating me in the back. “Let go of her!”

  When she kicks me in the back of the knee, I hit the floor with my hands up. “What the hell is wrong with you? You tried to kill her last week!”

  Emery shrugs as Stella goes to stand beside her. “I can hurt her, not you. What’s your issue?”

  Stella holds out my phone. I try to reach for it, but she keeps it out of my grasp. “It’s Shelli.”

  Emery’s eyes widen, and I cover my face. “Give me my phone.”

  “She has, like, no pants on,” Emery whispers, her eyes about to come out of her damn head. “Why doesn’t she have pants on? Are you sleeping with her?”

  “You know about sex?” I ask incredulously, and then both of them just stare at me.

  Stella whisper-yells, “She’s fourteen,” just as Emery says, “I’m fourteen!”

  “Touché,” I say, and then I snatch my phone, much to their dismay. “Stay out of my shit.”

  “Are you?” Stella asks, and then a smile spreads over her face. “Wouldn’t that be so sweet? She’s been in love with you for, like, ever!”

  That damn L-word!

  “Shut up,” I say, moving my hands frantically in front of my face. “Stop. Like, for real, stop.”

  Obviously, these two don’t know what stop means.

  “Does Mom know?” Emery asks, and her eyes go wider, much to my surprise. “There is no way because we’d all know.”

  “Oh my God, are y’all like hiding it? Like Romeo and Juliet?”

  When they both aww, I cringe. “No, nothing like Romeo and Juliet. Our families love each other.”

  Stella laughs. “But Shea will kill you dead.”

  I swallow hard. “Which is why you guys can’t tell anyone!” I snap, but apparently I’m dead wrong.

  They both look at me with such mischievous expressions.

  Emery looks like a cat with a canary in her mouth as she says, “Actually, we can.”

  Stella nods, looking more like Emery than the sweet girl I love. “We so can.”

  “But that money in your wallet could buy our silence,” Emery says, and when she holds up her hand, Stella high-fives her.

  Thick as thieves, these two.

  It’s easy to say when I enter the kitchen, I’m out four hundred dollars and my heart still hasn’t slowed down.

  “Aiden, baby, why do you look so pale?”

  I shake my head as I sit down. “Your daughters are criminals,” I mutter, and my dad laughs.

  “Especially the younger one.”

  I shake my head. “Because the older one trained her.”

  Dad laughs harder as Mom looks back at the girls, who are talking about how they’re gonna spend the money. Little assholes. Extorting their older brother. Way smarter than I was at that age. I was too obsessed with hockey to even know to do that. I was too obsessed with hockey to do a lot of things. I missed my whole senior year to go to college early. I don’t regret it. I wanted it. I didn’t need homecoming or prom or senior year crap. I wanted to go into the NHL, I wanted to be successful, and I did it. Because of that, I missed out on the whole having-a-relationship thing. Which is proving to be a bit of an issue now.

  While everyone sits, ready for the meal, I feel as if I have a billion Minions in my head, tearing up Gru’s laboratory. It’s a mess up there, and I don’t know what the hell I’m feeling. I’m freaked to the max, though my family has no damn clue whatsoever. We eat dinner as we’ve been doing for most of my life. Stella and Emery steal the show; they’re funny and witty. My mom loves it and jokes with them. Asher doesn’t say much, but when he does, everyone listens. I stay mute, and thankfully, no one notices. But I do notice that my dad looks happy.

  “What’s the grin about?” I find myself asking, and he squeezes my shoulder.

  “It’s good to have everyone home,” he says proudly, and my heart swells. It is nice, even if Asher is an asshole and Stella and Emery should be starring in their own episode of Law and Order. I love my family. They’re my rock, and Dad’s right, it feels good to be together.

  When dessert is served—my favorite, key lime pie—we’re arguing about how much skin Stella can show in her prom dress. Dad and I are pretty much on the same page—none—while Mom and Stella feel the stomach should be allowed.

  “You can just not go,” Dad says then, and Stella pouts.

  “That’s unfair.”

  “Life isn’t fair, sweetheart, and while you live under my roof, you’ll stay covered up.” He points his fork at her. “A guy won’t want the milk if he can see the cow’s udders.”

  I snort. “What the hell?”

  The fork comes at me next. “Shut it, you.”

  Asher gives Dad a look. “But Dad, I think we all know guys want the milk no matter what.”

  Dad slams the fork on the table as we all laugh. “Not my baby’s milk!”

  “Wow, okay, this conversation is done,” Mom announces loudly, shaking her head. When Stella starts to complain, Mom presses her hand into hers. “I’ll talk to him.”

  Dad leans in. “And I’ll still say no.”

  Mom gives him a look that says otherwise, but I don’t think anyone was supposed to catch that. That’s my mom and dad though, secret looks and sweet touches. When I notice a huge bouquet of red roses on the counter, I cock my head.

  “What are the roses for?”

  Mom grins over at Dad before he looks at me. “Just because.”

  “Just because?”

  He nods. “Yeah, because I love your mom. I wanted her to smile.”

  Oh. I want to make Shelli smile.

  Does that mean I love her?

  I lean on my hand as I eat my pie. I wish pie could tell me what I feel. Asher pushes his plate away. I watch as he leans on his elbows and clears his throat. Stella, Dad, and Emery keep eating, but Mom and I look to him.

  “What’s wrong, baby? Did you not like it?”

  “Mom, the plate is empty.”

  She grins. “Then why are you clearing your throat for my attention?”

  He crosses his arms over his chest. “Because I need it.”

  Dad finally looks up, and with his mouth full of pie, he says, “Well, you got it. What?”

  Asher runs his hand along his mouth, and I notice he’s nervous. What’s wrong with him? “I didn’t just come home because I missed you guys.”

  “Please don’t spare our feelings,” I say, but he doesn’t laugh.

  “Yeah, plus, none of us miss you anyway,” Emery teases, and I snort as I point at her. Though, Asher doesn’t find any of us comical. His eyes are on Mom, and he seems pretty serious.