\[Rosco’s POV\]
I stare down at Denali, taking in the look of resistance and hurt in her eyes, while her words begin to slowly wrap themselves around me like a fucking noose.
Until the doubt disappears.
Until the fucking doubt disappears.
And whose fault was it that she had this doubt? Oh, right, it was mine.
Slowly, I begin to sit up without saying a word, and once I’m standing, I turn and head out of the room, slamming the door hard enough behind me to cause a picture to fall off the wall.
“Where are you going?” My father asks as I storm past him while he is entering. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone and fucked up with your wife again.”
“How could I?” I huff, continuing to move until I reach my car. “I would have to be on her good side to do that.”
Slamming the gas, I head toward Charlie, my beta’s place, and when I arrive, I don’t bother knocking before I inside.
A gasp and then a dainty yell reach my ears as I make my way up the stairs and beeline for his room.
“If you’re not decently dressed, I suggest you fucking cover up,” I warn, kicking open the door to find Charlie and a red head together in the bed. “Another?”
At my words, the redhead's eyes grow wide, and anger flashes in them before she turns her gaze to Charlie.
“Another?” She repeats, lifting a hand. “So I’m just another one of your bitches?”
As she speaks, she lets her hand connect with his cheek before she and out of the room, only stopping long enough to grab her clothes.
Remaining silent, I wait until she is gone before turning back to Charlie and then let out a growl before covering my eyes.
“Put some fucking clothes on,” I huff.
“Why should I?” He snaps, being defiant. “You’re the one that barged into my home without bothering to knock.”
“If you aren’t dressed in the next five minutes, I’ll cut off your fucking dick, and we won’t have this problem anymore.”
“You gonna use it as your own personal toy?” He challenges as the sound of movement echoes around us. “I didn’t know that…”
“Finish that sentence and die.”
Once I’m sure that Charlie has something on, I uncover my eyes and wait until he is completely dressed before speaking.
“We’re going out,” I announce. “I need a drink.”
Frowning, Charlie remains silent, waiting for me to explain what exactly has gotten into me.
Well, he was going to wait, because even I wasn’t a hundred percent sure what it was. But every fucking time I let my mind wander, I saw the hurt and fear in Denali’s eyes again and again.
“Alright,” he finally sighs, running a hand through his wavy blonde hair. “Not like I have anything better to do now anyway.”
“And if you did, you would be canceling it,” I counter. “Now come on.”
Nodding, Charlie follows me out of his house and into the car so that I can drive to our favorite bar. When we arrive, it is mid-afternoon, so the place isn’t very busy, which is fine with me. The fewer annoyances, the better, especially given my current mood.
When we sit, I order a round of beers and then relax in my booth while Charlie watches me in amusement.
“Wife troubles?” He finally asks after our drinks arrive. “And here I thought you had already started your grand scheme of vengeance.”
As he speaks, he grabs a bottle and brings it to his lips while I continue to watch. After a long pause, I reach out and grab my own drink, then down it.
“She isn’t the right daughter,” I huff, slamming my empty bottle on the table. “Who the fuck knew that Emerald Moon had a real daughter?”
“Real daughter?” Charlie repeats, his gray eyes filling with interest. “What do you mean, a real daughter? Are you saying that brat Anastasia isn’t the real daughter?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” I sigh, grabbing another drink. “And what’s worse, the real daughter is her!”
I didn’t have to explain who her was since Charlie was well aware of the photo I kept on me at all times. I had a long night of binge-drinking to thank for that. The bastard took full advantage and rummaged through my things, and since I trusted him not to blab, I explained my stalkerish behavior.
“Her,” Charlie whistles, looking amused. “And let me guess, you did something stupid to fuck shit up.”
Rumbling in warning, I don’t bother arguing because that was exactly what I did. I treated her like absolute shit, and then I forced myself on her. There was no denying it, and there is no taking it back now.
“What should I do?” I huff, finishing off my second beer and moving on to another. “How do I even fix it?”
For a moment, Charlie doesn’t speak as he continues to examine me with amusement clear on his face. Dammit, he was enjoying my suffering.
“You actually care about this girl, huh?”
Care? That was too light of a word for how I felt. Denali came into my life when I was most vulnerable, and something about her existence just made me feel better. She didn’t know it, but she was like my guardian angel.
Sighing, I let images of that time start to flood in, but before I can really get lost in them, I snap back to reality and just nod.
“Yeah.”
“Then you need to properly woo her,” Charlie announces. “But what exactly did you do to mess up?”
“That doesn’t matter,” I snap, not wanting to reveal my sins. “Just tell me how the fuck I can get her to not doubt me.”
“Who would have thought the day would come that you would need my help with women?”
Letting out a growl of warning, I wait for Charlie to straighten himself out, and when he does, I pull out my cigarettes and offer him one.
“Before this sensei helps you,” he begins, taking my offer. “Are you serious about her, or do you just want to fuck her?”
“Do I really need to answer that?”
He knew my fucking character well enough to know I wouldn’t give two shits about winning any woman over unless I thought she was important. I could have whatever fucking woman I wanted.
“I guess not,” Charlie chuckles. “But isn’t it pretty simple what you need to do to get her to actually open up her heart to you? Woo her. Shower her with expensive gifts, take her on grand vacations, and serenade her with sweet words.”
Remaining silent, I consider his words. Would a woman like Denali like such things? Given the fact that she grew up being neglected, maybe she would. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try.