Craving Absolution by Nicole Jacquelyn

up. She leaned back on his knees, grabbing his leather cut in both hands as she started to sing.
    “ All my life has been a series of doors in my face, and then suddenly I bump into you!” she belted out, startling most of us.
    I had to bite my lips to keep the laughter at bay when she started swaying to the song, but what happened next wasn ’t funny. With an extremely embarrassed but bravado-filled glance at the adults, Dragon began quietly singing back to her.
    I didn ’t know what the song was, but it was pretty clear that they’d sung it before, because Dragon knew exactly when to cut in for his part of the duet. We couldn’t really hear Dragon, his voice was too low, but the picture they painted was enough. Dragon and Trix watched each other as they sang, and Brenna sat behind them, a smile on her face and a hand resting on the small swell of her belly.
    As we took in the scene, Cody leaned his head back into my lap and I ran my fingers over his shaved head, relaxing us both. It occurred to me that if the way she looked at her family was any measure of Brenna, maybe I’d judged her wrong.
    A while after Trix had scrambled off and the men decided that the burgers were done, my original opinion of Brenna was proved right as she got up from her chair and stopped in front of me.
    “ Hey, Farrah? Can you help me get the rest of the food out of the fridge?” she asked.
    I barely knew her, even less than the other women in the group, but she’d still asked me to help her. Shit. I was seriously rethinking my decision that she was halfway decent.
    I caught Gram ’s eye as I moved past her back into the house. We both knew Brenna was trying to get me alone, and a small shake of Gram’s head indicated she wanted me to stay calm. Easy for her, I thought, as I braced for the confrontation; she wasn’t the one in enemy territory.
    “ Here, let me set it all out on the counter and we can just dish up in here,” Brenna said as she leaned into the fridge. “It was nice of you to bring something, you didn’t have to.”
    “ I didn’t,” I replied flatly. “Gram made it.”
    “ Oh.” She looked surprised to find me standing right behind her, still wearing my sunglasses inside the house.
    I moved past, careful not to brush against her as I grabbed Gram’s bowl and set it on the counter behind her. I wasn’t going to play into her shit or give her an inch. She’d asked me to go inside with her for a reason, and I just wanted her to get to the point.
    “ Look, I know you don’t know me, and I almost didn’t say anything, but I just wanted to tell you that Casper is really important to me. To us. I know you’re friends with his sister and her loyalty is probably split, which complicates things . . .”
    “ Stop right there,” I ordered coldly. “You don’t get to say anything to me about Cody . . . or Callie, for that matter.”
    “ Actually, I think I do. He almost died trying to protect me. We’re close. So I just wanted to warn you that we’re behind him one hundred percent. I’m not sure what game you’re playing, but he showed up at the club last night, and there was obviously something wrong . . .”
    My blood ran cold and I slid my hands into my pockets to hide the way they shook. He r insinuation that he’d been complaining about me was like a bucket of ice water thrown in my face. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was. Cody knew how I felt about them, and how uncomfortable I was with the entire situation.
    “ You don’t know shit about our relationship. Nothing. You call him Casper , for Christ’s sake.” I worked hard to keep my voice from breaking, but I felt like I’d been blindsided. “Keep your fucking opinions to yourself. You got him shot, but I’m the one fucking him. You don’t have shit on me—”
    “ Farrah!” Casper’s angry voice cut me off, and it was the impetus I needed to snap my shield of complacency back into place.
    I stood silently, getting my emotions in