“You can’t do that again,” he mumbles into our embrace.
“I’ll try. I’m here though. I’m not going anywhere,” Tears well up in my eyes, threatening to be shed.
Another warm embrace from behind me. And the warm scent of citrus fills my mind. Yet, there’s a hint of smoke, like a fresh bonfire.Honey.
My boys.Cedric and Brayden crowd the doorway. Their worried smiles have me anxious.
“I was ready to drag you back from Hell, angel,” Keola whispers in my ear.
“I’m here,” I reassure him. I keep being sandwiched between them and I feel safe.
“Um, I take it my Bronco is gone,” I shift the focus.
Finn nods his head. His head buries further into my stomach. He climbs onto the table as he curls up on the table, laying in between my legs. He hasn’t done this since he was a toddler after long thunderstorms.
“What did I miss,” The words hurt my throat. Brayden hands me over a cup of water, slowly the coolness running down my throat.
No one answers right away. “Come on, y’all might as well tell me. No use of keeping things a secret around here.”
Keola doesn’t let go, but does answer, “We took care of the fronts.”
“I’mma need a little more detail than that,” I protest.
“The kid gave us a list of businesses. We sent a message back to the Falcons, letting them know what is ours,” anger is still in his voice.
“What about the families?” I ask, being out a couple days, a lot could have happened.
Cedric steps into the light, “We got them all. Topaz was able to get them into the safe houses.”
They’re all safe.But there’s still a grimace look on his face still.
“I take it there’s more,” I say, Keola takes a deeper breath. I keep looking at Finn, curled up in my lap. How much has he been listening in?
“The Falcons got the message,” Keola finally said.
“What does that mean? I’m assuming they didn’t send an email that says, "hey we got your message,” the snark returns.
“I think this is a conversation best suited for church. Which starts in two hours,” Keola releases me, gently waking up Finn. “How does a shower sound?” He tries to bring some normalcy around us.
“What? You didn’t give me a sponge bath?” I tease, still trying to get my voice back. He cracks a smirk.
“Someone is being cheeky. Just get yourself a shower,” he says, but I glance over curling a smile. “Might need some help.”
He smiles as well, but I was being serious. I think he needs to release any stress, or pent up anger. Something needs to soothe him.
“I’ll be happy to oblige.”
I never fully appreciated a hot shower until now. It seems trouble and stress washes away. That and an orgasm or two. Brayden had left, hugging me tight while giving me an “atta girl” when he looked at the slightly happy face of Keola. With a wink and a wave, he left.
Once the grim of days gone by is washed away, I prepare myself for the news.
Knowing the wolves, it’s not the easiest news to receive. The only hope is that Tessa may have knocked some sense into them.
The smoke filled room welcomes me back, the men stand up, as if to recognize a fallen person, or perhaps looking at a walking ghost. Something tells me that our incident should have done more damage than a few bruised muscles, and a few cuts, although my ribs hurt like fuck.
Keola ushers me to sit next to him. The board looks to Rawlings who gently nods, telling them that the business is beginning. Tessa’s welcoming sight makes me believe that we fought towards the battle, but something tells me the war isn’t over. Keola’s hand rests on my thigh, bringing my chair closer to him. I got another glance at the table, and noticed that Topaz is here.
Wait? That’s not normal.
