“Why?”
“Because my granny wants us over for lunch, along with Alice and Red. She isn’t going to take no for an answer.”
He scratched his head and nodded. “Okay. We can do that. Just let me arrange a few things.”
I didn’t know what he meant by that. “O…kay.”
This man had losthis mind. When we pulled onto my grandmother's street, he had four brothers parked on their bikes on each corner. I was wondering why he agreed so easily, and now I knew why.
“Babe, don’t you think this is a little excessive?”
He turned to me once he parked the truck in front of my granny’s house. “Will, Sire is literally killing people to send me messages. This morning, they found a fifth body. The authorities still haven’t identified him as the suspect, which means they don’t know who is behind it. I’m not taking any chances. Up until this point, I have been underestimating him. Clearly, he knows how to move around unnoticed.”
I was rendered speechless. I hadn’t even taken half of that into consideration. Even though we knew Sire was behind the murders, the cops didn’t. Sire could easily walk past a police officer, and they wouldn’t know a thing.
I asked Jacob a few days ago why they didn’t inform the police chief that Sire was behind it. That was when he let me know the club didn’t involve anyone in their business. It was how they had always been able to handle certain situations without any backlash or face any potential penitentiary time.
For example, when the club got rid of Declan and his brother. Declan was a cop, and Vincent, his brother, was a DA. Cara anonymously leaked all their dirty and illegal activities to the FBI. When they disappeared, people naturally assumed they had fled to avoid prison. The club never got questioned about their whereabouts.
“Okay, I see your point. I just don’t want Granny to notice them and ask questions.”
“If she does, I’ll just tell her the partial truth. We still haven’t found the man who attacked you, and I want to keep you safe.”
I thought over his words and agreed. That would satisfy her curiosity. “Okay.”
“Alright. Let’s get in here.”
As we got out of his truck, Big Red and Alice pulled up behind us. Tech opened the back door to get Miracle. I heard a car door slam across the street and spun around. Oscar was making his way over to us.
“What are you doing here?” Alice questioned.
“I’m here to make sure this one keeps his mouth closed. I'm not going to let myself get hit with a house slipper just because he's being petty and wants revenge.”
Alice and I laughed while Red and Tech looked on, confused.
“Get your butts in here. All that damn laughing like y’all haven’t been treating me like an afterthought!” Granny yelled from her porch.
I looked up and saw Aunt Toya standing behind her, shaking her head with an amused smile. I approached the porch cautiously. My granny might have been older, but she didn’t mind bopping you on your head with her house slipper or cane.
When I didn’t see her reaching for either, I wrapped her in my arms and kissed her cheek. “It's not even like that, Granny. You know I can't forget my favorite girl in the world.”
“Don’t be trying to butter me up.” She released me and turned to Alice. “And what do you have to say for yourself? Hmm?”
“I’m sorry, Granny Nina. I really wasn’t purposely ignoring you,” Alice whined.
“Mmhm. Come here and give me a hug.” As soon as Alice was in Granny’s arms, her shoulders shook as she cried.
Alice's mother left her when she was a baby. Granny had been the only motherly figure Alice knew. Granny had helpedAlice when she got her first period, her first crush, and how to do her hair. There were times we didn’t even want to go to our own parents with the problems we were having. We brought them to Granny every time.
“Oh, don’t cry, sweetie. You know I’m just fussing. I just missed you, that’s all.” Granny released her and wiped Alice’s tears.
“I missed you, too.” Alice choked out a giggle and moved out of the way.
Granny faced Tech, and a bright smile stretched across her face. “There’s that handsome blue-eyed devil. Come here and give me a hug.” Tech blushed at her compliment but obliged. Once they pulled apart, she faced Red and threw her hand on her chest. “Alice, well done, baby. Lord, y’all gon give an old woman a heart attack.” She fanned herself.
Red chuckled, stepping forward, and slung one arm around her. I swear I thought she was about to faint. “Nice to meet ya.”
“The pleasure is all mine, handsome,” she flirted. “But tell me, you got any older uncles? Asking for a friend.”
