Brendan (The Doherty Mafia Book 4) by Kasey Krane (summer reads TXT) 📗

being an idiot, but I didn’t. Tristian was smirking because he was still convinced I was pranking him.

“We had a one night stand four years ago. I was too drunk to remember it clearly. I mean, I remember it now. She seemed familiar when we met that night at the bar.”

“That was why you were obsessively chasing after her?” Tristian said. I said nothing.

“And she had the kid and kept it a secret?”

I nodded. “Green eyes, freckles, the whole Doherty shebang.”

Tristian gulped like there was a lump stuck in his throat. He knew I was being serious now. There was no denying it.

“What did you do? What did you say?” he finally asked.

“I left. That’s what I did. And I’m not going to say anything. She doesn’t know I know and maybe I should keep it that way.”

Tristian let me have my silence while I sat at his breakfast bar, staring at the mug of coffee in my hands. We were both thinking, but I had a feeling we weren’t both thinking the same thing.

Eventually, he cleared his throat, warning me that he was going to say something.

“You know, Aidan didn’t know about his kid. Now he’s doing whatever it takes to find that kid and have a relationship with him,” he said.

I glared at him. “Aidan can do whatever the fuck he wants.”

“I’m just trying to give you an alternative option.”

“What alternative?”

“You could try and have a relationship with your kid too.”

“She doesn’t want me to know. I’ve been spending time with them. We’ve been sitting together at the breakfast table, eating. I walked that kid to kindergarten yesterday. Shit got real, and still, she hasn’t said a word.”

Tristian brushed a hand through his hair.

“You could ask her what’s going on.”

“I know what’s going on. She thinks they’re better off without me, and she’s right.”

“You would make a great dad,” Tristian tried and I growled at him.

“I would make a shit dad. I wouldn’t make any kind of dad at all.”

“You don’t know that until you’ve tried.”

I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. I tried hard to think of other things, but Davey’s face was the only one I kept seeing.

“And you said you’ve been spending time with them. You’ve never spent any time with any kid before. In fact, you actively avoid them. Clearly, you like this kid. You like her?”

I opened my eyes. Tristian stared at me expectantly, searching my eyes to see if he could find a clue.

“I thought I did,” I replied.

“So what’s changed? The fact that she’s the mother of your child?”

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel.”

Tristian stood up. He went over to the sink and emptied his coffee mug. Mine had gone cold too.

“I don’t think there’s a rule book for something like this, Brendan. You feel what you feel, there ain’t nothing you can do about it. All that really matters is what you do next.”

My brother spouted some bullshit in the hopes of appearing to be wise. I chuckled bitterly, expecting him to join in the laughter, but he didn’t.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

He shrugged. “If you choose to never see that kid again, you think you’ll be able to justify it when you’re sixty? And what if this chick is the one? You’ve been acting like a lovesick teenager since you met her. You think you won’t regret your decision when you’re drawing your last breath?”

“What the fuck are you talking about, man?” I growled, even though I knew exactly what he meant.

If I left Rosalie now and never saw her or Davey again, I would spend the rest of my life like a headless chicken. I just wasn’t sure if I was ready to admit it yet.

My phone rang just as Tristian was about to say something else.

It was for the best we were interrupted since I didn’t want to hear it.

I’d hoped he would give me a pat on the back and tell me I did the right thing by walking away.

“Yeah,” I said, answering the call.

“Hello, Brendan. You must be tired after the long night you had.” For a few moments I didn’t recognize the voice. I was about to ask who it was until I knew exactly who was calling.

“Hello, Aldo,” I growled.

Tristian heard the words and stood up from his chair.

“Good. I’m glad we’re on the same page. I wouldn’t have liked it if you’d forgotten about me,” he said.

“Well, I’ve forgotten what you look like since you’ve been hiding your mug for so long.”

He laughed, but he was being sarcastic.

“I’d love to catch up, but I’m only calling to tell you that your kid is cute. Very chatty. Sounds like he doesn’t know who his daddy is, but maybe I’ll tell him. I haven’t decided yet.”

My blood rushed straight to my head.

“You stay the fuck away from him,” I shouted. It only made Aldo laugh harder.

“That would be pretty difficult given that we are the only two people in the room,” he said.

“I’m going to find you and kill you. If you touch him, you’re dead,” I snarled.

“It’s sweet to see you being so protective of a kid you don’t even know, who doesn’t know you. But for my purposes, this works out great.”

“What the fuck do you want?”

“Nothing. That’s the beauty of it, son. I don’t want anything. I just wanted you motherfuckers to realize that I am coming for you. None of you are safe. None of your kids are safe, and your women…they better fuckin’ hide.”

Aldo ended the call before I could say anything more.

Tristian followed me to the door as I went charging after it.

“He has Davey. He took Davey,” I shouted.

“What the fuck?”

“Last night, some guy roughed them up outside their apartment. Rosalie thought he was some creepy stalker, it clearly wasn’t. Aldo has been keeping an eye on her. He knows everything. I should have been there to protect her. I should have been there to keep