“Who said that was Octavius?” Phoenix demanded.
Reese and Harper answered at the same time, “He did.”
“You talked to him?” Phoenix yelled.
“Not exactly. He talked to us. He wanted us to make Melissa shut up. She was saying the same thing over and over; then, Octavius said the weirdest thing before he told us his name.”
“What did he say?” Phoenix asked, anxiously, no doubt hoping it had something to do with Annabelle.
“He said to make her shut up we needed to reverse it. Do you know what he meant by that?” Reese asked.
Phoenix shook his head. “What was she saying?”
Harper huffed and jumped in, “Oh, she had a lot to say. She told us all about her obsession with Duke and why she kidnapped James. Oh, and that she was the one who hit Reese. Then, she started singing ‘Nemo’s coming’ over and over and over. I agree with the skinny dude, it was maddening.”
“Motherfucker!” Carbon said at the same time Reese muttered, “Son of a bitch.”
“What?” the rest of us asked.
“Omen,” they said in unison. “Nemo is Omen.”
***
After Harper and Reese filled us in on everything Melissa said, Phoenix called us into Church. When everyone was up-to-speed, we began discussing our next steps.
Phoenix directed his gaze to Carbon. “Carbon, I know how you feel about this and for right now, I’m willing to explore other avenues first, but I really think we should talk to Boar again. Omen is his son and even though he’s disowned him, he might be able to help us find him. Don’t forget, Boar’s Old Lady is the crazy bitch’s sister. She might be able to help us find him, too.”
Carbon nodded. “I don’t like it, but my parents and siblings have been dead nine years and my sister is still alive and in danger. If bringing him in will put a stop to that, then it would be foolish of me to say no.”
“I’m going to see if he’d be willing to come here to the clubhouse, maybe have a chat with our newest prisoner. Everyone okay with that?” Phoenix asked.
Heads nodded in agreement. “Carbon, if you don’t think you can maintain your composure, you don’t have to see him. I won’t hold that against you, though I think you should talk to the man. Out of all of us, you’re by far the most skilled at reading people.”
Carbon grunted. “Let’s see if he agrees to come, first. Then, I’ll see where my head’s at when he shows up.”
“All right, I’ll give Boar a call and see if he’s willing to help us out. Duke, you have a problem if he wants to bring his Old Lady with him?”
“Not at all, Prez.” I’m not sure how Reese would feel about it, but Shannon being at the clubhouse wouldn’t make a bit of difference to me. I never had feelings for her and I would venture to say that she never had feelings for me either. As an added bonus, it would give me the perfect opportunity to get the divorce papers from her. “If she comes with Boar, have her bring those papers we sent last week.”
“I’ll pass that along. All right, brothers, I’ll let you know when I know.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Duke
Boar agreed to come down to our clubhouse the next morning. He didn’t want to bring Shannon with him, even though she wanted to come. Phoenix assured him that she would be completely safe here. He finally agreed to let her come when Phoenix said his VP and SAA could come with him.
Reese knew that Shannon was coming along. She said she was fine with it, but I wasn’t so sure she was telling the truth. She also knew that Shannon would be allowed downstairs if needed, while she would not be allowed to visit Melissa again. I knew this would be a problem no matter what she said.
They showed up a little after lunchtime. The prospect called up from the gate to let Phoenix know they had arrived. Moments later, three sharp knocks sounded from the front doors.
Phoenix shot a look of warning to everyone in the room before he pulled the front doors open wide. “Boar, thanks for coming. Come on in,” he gestured to the large common room. “Care for something to drink?”
“I’d love a beer. I’m sure the boys would, too. Shan, you want a water?”
“Please,” she quietly said. She didn’t look like the same girl I knew years ago. She had grown into her features, her hair was lighter and a lot longer, but it was the overall lack of menace that really changed the way she looked. Her eyes didn’t hold the same undertone of malevolence like they once did. She seemed to be happy and it looked good on her.
Her eyes finally landed on me. She softly smiled. “Hi, John.” She cleared her throat and fidgeted with her hands, “It’s been a long time.”
