“I know we usually have a no-phones-in-church rule, but I’m making this one exception because our old ladies are waiting for the news on this, too. And I’d rather they get it while they’re together and have each other to lean on,” Havoc tells the room.
“I’m not sure telling them by phone is the best way to go,” Midas says, looking like he wants to smash something.
“Your call to make, Midas, but I promised Amity I’d text her as soon as we had news. Hell, she’d have been in here on my lap if Havoc had let her. She loved Lil. All the girls did.”
Midas runs his hands through his hair, looking unsure.
“If she’s with the others, she’s going to figure it out from everyone else’s reaction.” I point out, firing off a text to Citi. I glance down at her reply before responding and putting my phone away.
“And they’re sure? The dental results are a definite match?” Kruger questions.
Probe looks so fucking pale, I’m worried the guy is going to have a heart attack.
“Byte double-checked the information a half dozen times. Hannibal didn’t want to believe it either. “
“So that’s it then? This motherfucker won?” Crane snaps, jumping to his feet.
“No, he didn’t fucking win, because this isn’t a game. It’s a woman’s fucking life,” Powers snaps back at him. The man looks ravaged.
Havoc surveys the room, seeing the look of defeat on his men’s faces, and makes a decision I’m not sure has ever been made before. He looks to me. “Bring in the old ladies.”
The men look around in surprise, but nobody argues with Havoc. I get to my feet and head out. They all turn as soon as I walk in. I nod to Theo, who has a sleeping Hero in his lap as he tries to read one-handed. I turn to the old ladies sitting at the table in the center of the room. “Hey, ladies, can you come with me?”
Legs gets up first, walking over to Theo. She whispers something to him, and he nods and shoos her away. The others walk to me. Each of them has been crying, even Amity, who hates to cry at the best of times.
“What do you need, Ambros?” Nevaeh asks gently.
“Just you, or more specifically, your men and the others do. There is a lot of impotent anger in that room right now, and rightly so. I?—”
Nevaeh taps my chest lightly. “Don’t worry, Ambros, we’ve got this.” She says it softly, but her words are threaded with iron. She might look like a fairy on the outside, but she has the core of a queen.
Neveah leads the way, knowing exactly where she’s going. The others follow, a quiet, somber mood to the group, who all became friends with the former club girl, despite the usual clear divide between club girls and old ladies. I only knew of two who broke the mold—Legs and Lil—and now we were down to just one.
I step into the room last and close the door behind me. The women walk to their men and hug them, murmuring, making me wish Citi were here too. As I take my seat, the women separate from their men and move around the room to the other brothers, offering their love and support to each. Amity wraps her arms around Probe before pulling Crane in with her other arm. Nevaeh moves to Hoops and Dice while Legs walks over to Mack and Toot, both of whom have been unusually quiet.
The one that almost breaks me, though, is watching a hesitant Delphi stop in front of Powers, who all but collapses into her arms. I can’t tear my eyes away, knowing that holding him is hurting as much as it’s healing.
“She looks so young,” Amity says, drawing my attention to the wedding photo of Lil that G has cast onto the wall.
“She was. Barley eighteen, hardly even an adult at all.”
“I don’t know, some of us become adults long before we’re legally declared one,” Legs points out.
Nevaeh clears her throat. “Do we know what happened to her yet?”
“We’re waiting for Hannibal to call us back—” The sound of his cell phone ringing cuts off the rest of his words.
“Speak of the devil.” He hits the speaker on his phone and places it on the table in front of him. “Hey, Hannibal. You’re on speaker and the old ladies are with us,” Havoc warns him.
“Well, they might want to sit down then. Fuck, every time I think we’ve got shit figured out, something else lands like a fucking grenade.”
The women migrate to their men’s laps, each waiting while Hannibal curses and mutters to himself. It takes a lot to get a rise out of Hannibal unless it involves his woman or kids, so I know whatever he’s going to say is going to drop like an anvil.
“Just lay it out, Hannibal. Not much is gonna hit as hard as losing Lil,” Havoc tells him, looking out at us all. Though none of this is his fault, he carries the weight of Lil’s loss on his shoulder as if he alone should have stopped it.
“I don’t even know how to say this, so bear with me a little.” He sighs before he starts again. “The dental records match. There is no doubt that the Jane Doe we found is indeed Lilian Taylor.”
“I know, I’ve just filled the others in,” Havoc tells him as a ping comes from G’s laptop. Amity stands up so G can investigate, then moves to stand behind him.
