“Hey, Mav, it’s been a hot minute,” Chanelle says seductively as she juts out her tits. I roll my eyes and nod.
“Yeah, it has. How are you?” I ask, trying to be polite, but really just wanting to run away. I’m itching to know if Casp's plan worked or not.
“I’m okay. Can we maybe get together tonight? I’ve missed you, baby,” she whines as she presses her body against mine, but I gently push her off me.
“I’m sorry, Chanelle. I can’t right now,” I tell her, and she nods with a frown then walks away towards a group of girls watching us. I take a deep breath, relighting my joint then walk over to Casp, sitting at the table playing cards.
“Yo, we good?” I ask, and he nods, completely engrossed in the game. Fucking typical. “Where’s Brax?” And that has his attention. His face snaps to mine, and I raise a brow. What the fuck is that look?
“Give me a moment. Let me win this dough then we will talk. Plus, we have somewhere to be,” he tells me, and the guys laugh.
“Y’all tag teaming those two watching us?” Monkey asks, and we laugh.
“Yeah, Casp. We tag teaming those bitches tonight?”
“Sure are. Read ‘em and weep boys.” He grins, laying his cards on the table. Royal flush wins the game. They all groan as Casp collects his cash and rises from his seat. “Catch you boys later. Monkey keep an eye out,” he orders, and Monkey nods, collecting the cards and shuffling them as we walk towards the bar.
“Everything in place?” I ask, and he smiles.
“Yep. Just waiting on Nick to text me,” he answers.
“Well, where’s Brax?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“I don’t know,”
“What do you mean you don’t know. What the fuck?”
“Listen, we were all set to come here, and I may have said some shit th–”
“What the fuck did you do?” I growl. I’m so sick of all the fighting. We need to come together and not keep pushing each other away.
“He’s spiraling deep. Deeper than before so I threw some shit in his face,” he says so nonchalantly like it doesn’t matter.
“Like what, Casp? Your words are sometimes more lethal than your fists, so what did you say to him?”
“Not my story to tell, but he needed a reminder of the past and how much he’s acting like our mother.”
“Fuck! So that sent him running, didn’t it?”
“Yeah, after I held a knife to his throat. I told him to grow the fuck up,” he chuckles, and I huff.
“Not everyone deals with shit the same way you do. Bury it for another day and hope it doesn’t explode in my face,” I tell him, and he rolls his eyes.
“You think you’re so smart, Rick, but you’re wrong. I deal with my shit, I just don’t let things I can’t control overrun my life. But speaking of exploding, I brought a little friend to our party tonight,” he says, lifting his shirt, showing me his belt lined with grenades.
“We are not blowing up the mansion. Get that shit out of your head right now,” I scold, but he laughs, shaking his head.
“Maybe a part of the tunnels. I haven’t decided,” he says as his phone goes off, lighting up his eyes. “Fuck yes. Let’s go. It’s time to get some answers,”
“Lead the way, do you want a beer?” I ask before taking a step away. He turns and nods, sticking two fingers up, so I go behind the bar and grab four beers, then follow behind him as we walk towards the back door of the mansion. Instead of going into thehouse, we take a left into the closet and go down the steps into the tunnels.
Locking the door behind me, the cold musty air smacks us both in the face the further down we go. Casp keys in the code on the door and it unlocks. Screams permeate the room, and we quickly shut the sound proof door, not wanting anyone to know we are down here or who we have in here.
Walking into the room, Mila and Violet both hang naked from the chains attached to the ceiling. I hate coming down here. As kids, this room was always off limits, and one time, which was the last time I was in here, Grandad was covered in blood and I saw what the inside of a human body looked like. I’ll never forget that day. Seeing intestines slither to the floor and the goop that came with it. Each rib was cracked open and protruding from the man's body like daggers pointed outwards. The smell was so strong I threw up, which is how I was caught. It’s the first time my Granddad ever screamed at me. His eyes were wild and dark. He was always a tough man. No bullshit type of guy. Very stern, yet loving, but the man in that basement covered in blood wasn’t the same man I loved. I shake my head as the smell of weed snaps me out of my thoughts.
“Here, you ready for this?” Casp asks, and I nod.
“Let’s get some fucking answers,” I reply as my phone buzzes in my pocket. I ignore it and take the joint from my brother and inhale deeply, walking up to Violet. Her eyes widen as tears fall down her face. Her body trembles in fear and I smile.
