“Wait…” Bella interrupted. “So, your daughter-in-law gets Chanel?”
Tabitha raised a brow at Bella. “She is a Creed,” she pointed out with a grin and a hand on her hip. “And just so you know, future Mrs. Lucas Creed, that trench coat is Burberry.”
Bella twirled around. “Aww shit!”
“It isyourparty!” Mrs. Creed shouted with enthusiasm.
“Itismy party!” Bella drunkenly confirmed.
“Maria Mendez!” Donna squealed at the arrival of Taylor’s old partner and close friend.
“Bidi bidi bom bom!” Maria sang as she danced onto the lanai in an authentic Selena-Esque sparkly, plum bell-bottom bodysuit.
Taylor turned to the family’s matriarch and folded her arms. “You’re being
very literal, Mother Dear,” she remarked.
Tabitha Creed giggled, doing very little to hide her amusement. She gestured toward the bar. “Let’s have some drinks, ladies.”
Bella walked over to Donna and grabbed her by the arm. “Come here,” she whispered.
They walked over to a magnolia tree, and Bella wondered how the Creeds kept it alive during a cold Indiana winter.
“Hey, what’s up?” Donna asked.
“You’ve been working this Yacuza angle. I wanna know what you got.”
Donna frowned. “You wanna know now? This can wait.”
Bella blew out a harsh breath. “These motherfuckers tried to kill us. They’re still trying to kill us. It cannot wait!”
“Okay, damn!” Donna relented. “I got a lead. I got a name, but he’s a ghost.”
“A ghost? What do you mean?”
Donna threw her hands up. “The people know his name. They've heard of him. Don’t nobody know where he lays his head or who he’s laying with.”
“So, all we--”
“Hey,” Donna interrupted. “I know what to do. But I ain’t gonna do it tonight. Tonight, I’ma do this.” Donna raised a shot glass to her lips and emptied the contents.
As if on cue, one of the staff members held out a tray of shot glasses filled with clear liquid. “Tequila?”
“Thanks.” Bella grabbed one and then another when the server tried to walk away. “Save you a trip back,” she said with a wink. She knocked back both shots just as Victoria Storm walked up. “Who invited you?” Bella muttered.
Victoria rolled her eyes. “You weren't acting like that when you were smoking all my weed.”
Bella’s eyes perused her outfit. She was wearing a blonde wig, a white buttoned-down shirt that tied at the belly and highlighted her cleavage, and a pair of tight Guess jeans. Bella would never tell her, but Victoria was a stunner. “Who are you supposed to be?”
“Anna Nicole Smith,” Victoria revealed with an eyeroll. “Now that I see your costumes, I have to conclude that your mother-in-law has quite the sense of humor.”
Bella’s laughter caused her sister to laugh, and the rest of the woman to turned around. “Anna Nicole!” she spat.
Victoria glowered at Bella and Donna. “Ha ha hell! I’ll have you know that when I met my husband, he was only twenty-nine, not a hundred and two like J. Howard Marshall.” Victoria looked them up and down as if disgusted. “Your mother-in-law’s a hater. But I ain’t mad because I’m rocking this shit.”
“Yes, you are,” Donna countered with flirtatious commentary.
“Ugh!” Bella rolled her eyes and walked away. Every time she almost forgot that Victoria and her sister had a fling, one of them would cruelly remind her.
