Heathens & Hold Ups (Book 2 of the Heathens Duet)

Chapter 12- Callie

All my righteous anger flew out the door when I heard the way his voice strained to explain himself. I'm still annoyed, beyond, but that can be dealt with later when he's not coughing like an eighty-year-old chain-smoker. I'm not a monster.

Flopping down in the armchair, I have a perfect view of the room and three of the guys. I catch Dario's absence immediately. "Where's D-Cupid?"

"Dario? He's in his room," Jaxson speaks up.

My eyes dart to God for his reaction to the casual use of Dario's real name. "Are you really going to try and pretend you haven't known his name?" His eyes peer back at and I can see by the uptick of the corner of his mouth and his arched brow that he's not upset, just amused.

"How'd you-," I splutter.

"You talk in your sleep, Baby Girl. That and I know my brothers. If Dario didn't tell you, Jaxson definitely did."

"Guilty," the man in question chimes in unrepentantly. I almost forgot he was down there with my focus on my two knights. "I couldn't have her calling out 'Pretty Boy' in ecstasy," he shudders as if the thought is a cardinal sin. "Now if you all would refrain from dirtying my floors and trampling this highly impractical carpeting, I would be eternally grateful. As that seems unlikely, twenty-four to forty-eight hours will suffice."

My head is already reeling with the sheer amount of revelations that have been thrown at me today and more are coming. Without them around, my life has been so calm, peaceful. I thought that's what I wanted and I did, for a time. I needed it after so long on edge, but now I'm ready to face the chaos with them.

"So, does this mean I get to call you by your name now Sir?"

"If you wish, though I do love it when you call me Sir," he purrs and I almost melt into the cushions.

Focus.

"Well this is cute and all, but we have a limited amount of time before Princess' carriage turns back into a pumpkin and a lot of shit to go over," Kace interrupts. Good to know our heart to heart didn't result in a complete personality transplant.

"Aren't you just a barrel full of sunshine?" I give him a tight-lipped smile and narrow my eyes. All of the explanations in the world won't suddenly have me falling all over his perfectly sculpted arms. Not that I've been looking. Much. The car ride here was a bit awkward after his revelation and I had lots of time to admire my surroundings while I tried to sort out my feelings.

"I'll get him," I volunteer. "He hasn't done anything to annoy me today. Yet," I add and head off down the hall to his room.

Outside of his door, I stop to take a deep breath. Just because Kace and Riggs... just thinking his name is going to take some getting used to. He's always been God or Sir. Just because they upended everything, it doesn't change our relationship. He's still my Dario.

Knocking gives me no answer, so I open the door to a dark room illuminated by the harsh white glow from his computer monitors. Headphones cover his ears as his head bobs to the music I can dimly hear through them, his fingers flying over the keys in between moving his mouse over the multitude of windows pulled up on his screens.

I'm not trying to be sneaky or quiet at all, but poking his shoulder has him shrugging me away. "I already ate," he waves me off without a glance.

I stifle a laugh, loving the cute way he runs a hand through his mop of curls as he digs back into his work. My eyes roam over the information dotted around. It's mostly a jumble of code I have no clue of deciphering, though I recognize a few names. Damien Hamilton and various family members. I turn a blind eye. Not my business, if I didn't see it.

"Hey Superboy," I call out as I gently move his headset from his ears.

He jumps, scattering wrappers and crumbs everywhere from where they lay littered around his desk. I step back to avoid the chaos. "Jesus Christ!"

"Hi," I wave.

"Hey Callie Babe," he tries to blow it off like I didn't surprise him. "I guess it's time for the big meeting," he says.

"Don't make it sound so ominous," I laugh.

Deepening his voice, he repeats himself, trying his best to keep a straight face despite the twinkle in his amber eyes. "It's time for the big meeting. The boss won't like us being late."

I lean into him, his chair swiveled around to face me and play along, adding a seductive edge to my voice. "We wouldn't want that now would we," I twirl my fingers over his slowly heaving chest.

"Definitely not," he gulps.

A gentle kiss on his cheek and I step back. "You're right. We should get back out there," I back away further.

"You're still mad aren't you," he deadpans in his normal voice.

"Very much so. Y'all better hope this meeting goes well because I can't handle any more bullshit y'all decide to sling my way today," I sigh.

He perks up at that, eyes wide in surprise. "They finally told you?"

"Told me what?" I swear, I never thought I had a problem with secrets but theirs are just so elephant sized to be hiding. Next one of them is going to tell me they're married. They can't be married, can they? I should probably clarify that with them. There's so much I don't know, but what I do know I can only hope is enough to trust with my heart.

"You're not married, are you?" I blurt out.

"No...Where is this coming from Callie?" He asks cautiously, slowly getting up like I might strike at any moment.

"I don't know," I throw up my hands. "Maybe I'm just realizing a lot about you and it's pointing out how much I don't know."

"Callie Girl," he comes close enough to pull me into his arms and I sink into them, resting my head on his shoulder. Dario's hands rub my back in soothing circles and I breathe in his warm cinnamon and cloves scent. He smells like the human embodiment of fall and it's not fair how much I crave it. I tried a few air fresheners when they were gone to try and recreate their presence to no avail. Pathetic I know, but I was grasping at straws.

"It's stupid," I sniffle, more out of embarrassment than upset.

"It's not stupid, it's realistic. You didn't have a ton of time to really get to know us last time, but you know the important stuff. I'm the smartest and best looking of the guys," he smiles and nuzzles the side of my head until he catches my eyes and winks. "But seriously, if it bothers you my favorite color is yellow."

"Really? Why yellow?" I lift my head so he can hear me.

"It's a happy color. It's pretty much impossible to be mad or upset or anything when you're surrounded by sunshine in color form. It's kind of stupid when I point it out like that," he admits.

"No, I like it. It's very you." I nuzzle his neck. "You know I used to hate the color yellow. Bad memories," I keep my face turned so he can't see the mist clouding my eyes as I'm flooded with memories of the dozens of times I was clad in yellow and hating every moment of my existence. "Perhaps you could help change my opinion. Tell me more."

"My favorite food is noodles, basically any way I can get them. Spaghetti, ramen, chow mein, thrown in with some shrimp scampi, I'm not picky." He shrugs, jostling me around. "Any other questions? I mean I could always tell you my favorite movie, favorite book, favorite position," he waggles his brows at me. I think it was meant to be seductive, but it just looks goofy and has me cracking up.

"Thank you. You always manage to give me exactly the comfort I need, and a little push I didn't realize I did."

"I've got you Callie Girl. Always," he promises. "I hate to ruin the moment, but we really should head out there."

A booming knock on the door punctuates his words. "Stop fooling around and get out here!" Kace hollers. Yep, still an asshole.