Annoyed At First Sight (Gator Bait MC Book 4) Read online

  The words hit me like a hammer.

  My mom, the last remaining person in this world related to me, was missing. At sea.

  That was one of the worst things that could ever happen to her, truthfully.

  The sea was the one place that I loved. The sea was the one place that my mom hated.

  Why?

  Because she was terrified of it. She couldn’t swim well, and she saw it as a terrifying, never-ending, black hole.

  I’d always looked at it as limitless. As if it went on and on and on, and I could never be tied down as long as the sea was there for me to escape to.

  But her?

  God, how scared was she right now?

  Where was she?

  Was she alive? Was she dead?

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I was already shoving my feet into shoes.

  • • •

  Oberon was sober now.

  Hell, anyone would be sober after eighteen hours.

  Eighteen hours of looking for my mother, and nothing.

  We couldn’t find a single trace of her anywhere.

  It was Oberon’s laughter during the second worst time of my life that set me off.

  My fist was flying before I’d even consciously told it to do so.

  PROLOGUE II

  Morning forecast: slightly exhausted with a chance of needing a nap in about three hours.

  -Text from Alice to her grandpa

  ALICE

  Okay.

  That was really messed up.

  “I’m sorry, but can you repeat that?” I asked, sounding just as flabbergasted as I felt.

  “I said, I’ve been grading you on how you mother my son, and you’re not doing well,” my about-to-be ex-boyfriend, Werner, said.

  As if his words weren’t enough, he hit me with a double whammy.

  “And I’m sorry to say this, but you’re going to have to get over this little allergy thing,” he repeated. “My son’s more important. The doctor said the service dog was necessary.”

  No. No, he wasn’t.

  Werner’s son, Griffith, was twelve. He suffered from seizures that they were mostly able to keep under control with medication. Medication that Griffith hated taking, and Werner didn’t want to force him to take if he didn’t want to.

  The only reason they were even discussing a service animal was because Werner couldn’t control his kid. His kid was the worst, and he was one of the main problems I had when it came to Werner’s and my relationship.

  We’d been dating for about five months now, and not once in all that time had I grown to like Griffith.

  Werner was great when his son wasn’t around. However, it was becoming more and more prevalent since Werner’s ex-wife couldn’t handle their son either.

  “Werner.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “We can’t have this discussion again. I think it’s time for you to leave.”

  Werner didn’t live with me. At least, not officially.

  He stayed with me more often than not lately, but that was about to change.

  “Stop joking,” Werner grumbled. “This isn’t a joking matter. The dog will be here in two hours. You’ll be okay.”

  No, no, I wouldn’t be okay.

  I was severely allergic to dogs.

  As in, they got close to me, and I immediately got to the point where I felt like I couldn’t breathe or catch a breath. I carried an EpiPen, for Christ’s sake. Did he honestly think that I could just get over that kind of allergy?

  “Werner.” I narrowed my eyes. “I think it’s time for you to take a step back. Go home. Think about what you’re asking me to do. It doesn’t make the least bit of sense. If your son would just take his medication like he’s supposed to, he won’t even need a dog. But, honestly, it’s a moot point anyway. This isn’t going to work out for us. You don’t even like me.”

  And I sure the fuck don’t like you.

  I’d been giving it my all when it came to Werner. He’d been a good friend of my dad’s, and at first, I’d actually enjoyed spending time with him. However, those days were now over. I didn’t enjoy a single thing about Werner, and at this point, he was just a roommate and not a person I was supposed to be dating.

  Not to mention, I didn’t really like his kid. Anytime Griffith was there, my day got infinitely worse.

  Then there was the fact that Werner had recently lost his job. For a while there, I’d spotted him the money because that was what friends did when times were hard.

  But now, he was getting pissy if I didn’t give him enough money to float him through the week.

  Which was comical seeing as he was also on unemployment and got a check every two weeks from the government to help.

  “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” he asked, looking flabbergasted at my words.

  “I’m saying exactly what you think I’m saying,” I said. “I’m going to go to work. When I get home, I want your belongings out of my house. Please leave the key on the kitchen island.”

  I gathered my stuff.

  I didn’t need much since I was working at The Marina today. Dad usually ordered everybody that was at work food, so I didn’t even need to bring my lunch.

  That was another thing that annoyed Werner.

  He was a health freak. He hated the fact that I ate out almost every single day.

  Funny enough, that was the highlight of my life.

  Eating.

  I was, what you would call, a foodie.

  I loved food in any way, shape, or form. Even the healthy stuff.

  At least, healthy stuff that wasn’t cooked by Werner.

  “You can’t do this right now.” Werner crossed his arms and widened his feet in a defensive posture.

  “I can, and I did,” I said. “Go stay with your mother since you and her think it’s so cool to ‘test’ someone on their mothering to a kid that’s not even theirs.”

  Jesus, what a joke.

  A test.

  He’d walked in this morning and showed me a graded sheet of paper that rated me from one to ten on how he thought I handled his son.

  I’d failed at the ‘sympathetic’ one with a ‘zero.’

  “I can’t. My mom doesn’t have an apartment that allows pets. And the dog will be here in a couple hours,” he argued.

  I snorted. “Then I guess that’s something you should’ve realized or thought about before you fucked up.” I shrugged. “See you when I see you, Werner.”

  I knew he’d try to drag it out.

  I knew that when I got home, if I allowed it, there would be a dog in my house.

  That’s why I did the next best thing to calling the police.

  I called my big brother, Silvy.

  Silvy was actually Silvain Paradis the Third.

  But my dad went by Silvio, and my grandfather went by Silvain, so it was only natural for Silvy to be a Silvy.

  Grabbing my purse, I slung it over my shoulder and went next door to my brother’s place.

  We were only a few hundred feet from each other, but sometimes our schedules were so opposite that it could’ve been miles.

  I’d heard him come in earlier, though, so I knew he was home.

  Instead of knocking, I walked right inside, unsurprised to find him leaning against his counter with a cup of coffee in his hand and a scowl on his face at my intrusion.

  “Hey,” I said. “I kicked Werner to the curb. He’s supposed to be leaving before I get home. He should have plenty of time to clear himself and Griffith out. But I want you to make sure he doesn’t try to stay. Or bring a dog in.”

  Silvy blinked.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I said exactly what I meant,” I grumbled.

  “What do you mean if he tries to bring a dog in?” he asked. “Why would he do that when he knows you’re deathly allergic?”

  I threw up my hands. “That’s what I asked! He said that I can get over my little issue, but his son can’t.”

  Silvy shook his head.

  It caused his black, glossy hair to sway with the movement.

  Silvy was, like me, half Italian, half Persian. We both had long black hair that glistened blueish in the correct light, and sleek, glossy texture that always looked perfect.

  Silvy, with his five o’clock shadow, looked downright angry at my words, though.

  Silvy was also a cop.

  Which was why, when he pulled his gun from the counter, it didn’t alarm me anywhere near as much as it could have.

  “Don’t shoot him too bad,” I said as I backed away. “Are you working at The Pizzeria tonight?”

  Silvy tried to work there a few times a week to give Dad and Grandpa a day off, as did I.

  But him coming off a night shift like he just had, I wasn’t sure that was in the cards today.

  “No,” he grumbled. “It’s Monday, remember?”

  Monday.

  Shit.

  “Oh, yeah.” I sighed. “I really need to get a calendar or something.”

  “You really need to get the trash out of your house before it starts to rot.” He fixed his badge on his belt next. “I can’t believe you let it get this bad. I told you to take care of it months ago.”

  He was right. He had.

  But I was a sucker. I couldn’t even kick my own soul-sucking sister to the curb. How was I supposed to kick a man with a kid to the curb?

  I’d have done it a month ago, but then he’d lost his job, followed shortly by his apartment. He’d moved in with his mom but spent the majority of his time with me. Or, at least, at my place. I hadn’t been able to go as far as to kick him out of my life at the same time.

  “Come on. I’ll walk you down before I go have a talk with dumbass,” Silvy grumbled.

  “Your shirt’s wr
inkled,” I added as I followed behind his broad back.

  “I had a stakeout all night,” he rasped. “It was long, exhausting, and uneventful. I sat in the car for a full eight hours. If my shirt’s wrinkled, that’s why.”

  Silvy was all about appearances. He was the only person I knew that still ironed his clothes. Even his t-shirts.

  We took the steps that led down to the outside of The Marina.

  Our apartments were right above The Marina, though our entrances were on the opposite side of the front door.

  Meaning, when I saw the dog and the person headed up toward our front door, I knew exactly what was about to happen.

  “I’ll deal with it.” Silvy gave me a look that clearly said ‘stay put’ and headed out the clear glass front door that separated the foyer of our apartments from the outside dock.

  I watched as Silvy stopped well away from the man and the dog and called them to a halt.

  Silvy said something fast and sharp, pointing at me, and then did some motion, causing the man to back away with the dog.

  The man look confused.

  I felt bad.

  However…

  “No, what are you doing?” Werner pushed past me and out the door.

  The man with the dog took a few more steps back and was already shaking his head.

  Werner tried to call the guy inside, but Silvy had had enough.

  He barked something at Werner, and I chose to use that as my escape.

  Pushing out the door and going the opposite way of the commotion—I was a total coward for making Silvy handle that—I headed toward The Marina’s front door.

  The Marina—that was literally its name—was my dad’s pride and joy. Something that was his and his alone from his family.

  It was honestly one of my favorite places in the world.

  What it wasn’t was far away from all that bullshit going on behind me.

  “So you broke up with him?” Jaycee, my sister, asked.

  I rolled my eyes at her attire.

  She was in a bikini, with a pink drink, and standing outside literally about to head to her favorite lounge chair.

  “You gonna work today, sis?” I asked her, knowing the answer before she even gave it.

  “I’m gonna sit here and tan.” She shrugged. “Maybe enjoy the show.”

  The show being Silvy, Werner, and the no longer there service dog.

  I left her to it and got to work.

  Not once thinking about Werner the rest of the day.

  CHAPTER 1

  I don’t always whoop, but when I do, there it is.

  -Alice’s secret thoughts

  ALICE

  He was back.

  Oh, my god.

  He was back!

  I licked my lips and fixed my shirt, but nothing was going to hide the fact that I’d gained weight since he’d been gone.

  And he was finally back.

  I doubted he even knew who I was as he pulled up on his motorcycle.

  He was wearing board shorts—black and tight—and a cutoff black T-shirt.

  He had a hat on his head—one of those floppy ones that covered your ears and most of your neck—and he was sporting the best beard I’d ever seen in my life.

  It wasn’t long or thick like was popular these days, but nice and trim, covering the lower half of his face.

  His eyes, those beautiful, melted brown sugar eyes, were scanning the horizon for the boat that was likely what he was about to pilot out of our inlet.

  Cassius Ulysses Costas was the epitome of ‘holy shit, he’s hot.’

  When you thought of a man and everything that you wanted him to be, Cassius was it.

  He was tall, broad-shouldered, thick biceps, and had a washboard set of abs that you could bounce a roll of dimes off of.

  He even had a square jawline that wasn’t in appearance since he had that magnificent beard.

  Five years ago, when he went to prison for the assault of the rich dick everyone loathed, I’d never in a million years thought he’d come back here. I wouldn’t have. Mostly because that rich dick was still around, fucking up everyone’s life, making his presence known far and wide.

  I hadn’t blamed Cassius for what he’d done.

  When everyone—and I do mean everyone that had a boat in our small community—had gone out looking for his mom, there was one person suspiciously absent from the search party.

  What was Oberon doing?

  He was getting lit on his yacht, uncaring that just a scant day prior, Oberon had lost his girlfriend in the middle of the ocean.

  When Oberon had first come into contact with Cassius after they’d called off the search party, Oberon had been uncaring about it.

  He’d been all ‘oh, shucks. That’s a shame’ and had gone back to drinking as if he hadn’t just gotten the news that his girlfriend of months had been pronounced lost at sea.

  So, Cassius, having lost the very last part of his family—and man, what a tragic life he’d had after the loss of his dad and siblings—had unsurprisingly snapped.

  He’d beat the ever-loving shit out of Oberon. Almost to the point of death, but not quite. He’d had enough control to stop before it’d gotten that far.

  But since all of Oberon’s rich friends had been in attendance to his beat down, Cassius had never stood a chance.

  Then again, when he had gotten arrested and charged, he’d plead guilty. He hadn’t tried to hide his loathing and disdain for Oberon.

  From there, he’d gone to trial and had gotten ten years in prison, with a possibility of parole once he’d done eight years of his time.

  But why was he out so early?

  Those thoughts and more raced through my brain as I made my way toward Cassius.

  Would he recognize me?

  Would he…

  The moment I stepped onto the dock, my feet heading in his direction, Cassius’s gaze snapped up to meet and hold mine.

  In that moment, I felt like my entire world had shifted on its axis.

  Oh, yeah. He remembered me. Just like I remembered him.

  But where I would’ve expected his eyes to be warm and welcoming—which was kind of funny because they’d never been warm and welcoming even before he’d gone to prison—they weren’t. They were anything but warm and welcoming.

  “C-Cassius,” I said as I made my way closer. “It’s good to see you home.”

  Why are you home so early?

  I’d followed his life and his status for so long. It felt weird to be talking to him, too.

  I mean, we’d never truly spoken before. I’d been a young, starry-eyed eighteen-year-old that had seen an older man and thought he was so attractive it hurt.

  No other boys my age would do.

  Hell, they still didn’t do.

  I was practically a virgin.

  Why?

  Because every time it came to the point in my relationship with the opposite gender that we’d have sex, I’d never been able to follow through.

  Mostly because they were always found lacking.

  When you compared normal guys to men like Cassius, things didn’t quite work out the way you wanted them.

  Turns out, men didn’t like being compared.

  Hence the reason I’d never had a long-lasting relationship with a man in all my dating years.

  “Hello,” he said. “It’s good to be home.”

  That was it.

  Not anything more, or anything less.

  “Are you here to pilot today?” I asked.

  God, just the thought of talking to him in person was like a punch to the gut.

  “I’m here to work, yes,” he confirmed. “You still work here?”

  The way he asked it made me sound like I was mooching off my family.

  I stiffened.

  “I’m here because they need me,” I confirmed. “No one else will work.”

  My eyes moved toward my sister, who was leaning against a pylon about halfway through her glass of iced tea before I turned back to Cassius.

  Cassius’s disgust with Jaycee was obvious. “I see nothing’s changed.”

  “Nothing’s changed,” I confirmed. “Which boat are you taking out today?”

  He jerked his head toward a new yacht that’d shown up yesterday. “I figured I’d start small and get the rust off before I did bigger.”

  That was a good idea.

  And it was also super…