We were in Jin’jer’s Tahoe. Alexander didn’t have questions, but my brother Hades did. His ass was annoying as hell.Why in the hell does a neonatal nurse need to come with you if no baby is involved?My good sis had to pull out some new tricks.
Melanie’s room was on the first floor directly in front of where we parked. Hera, Jin’jer, and I climbed out of the truck, then walked to the back to get our things. We had no idea what to expect. What I did know was if whatever was too much, Melanie would be going to the hospital. I didn’t give a damn about the lack of health insurance.
“This doesn’t look like a muthafuckin’ hospital to me, Jin.” Hades’s voice scared the shit out of all of us. I wasn’t sure why the hell I was surprised. My brother was crazy.
When I turned around, my pussy dropped to my feet at the sight of a clearly upset Alexander. In true fashion, because Hera and I were here, it was only right that Zeus and Poseidon tagged along. This couldn’t be fuckin’ life.
“Hades, what the fuck!” Jin’jer annoyed with Hades was a comical thing to watch. They were like kids when they got on each other’s nerves.
He walked into her space, kissed her temple, smiled for a beat, then balled his face back up to its original expression.“Ain’t no what the fuck. Why the hell are you and my misfit ass sisters at a crack motel?”
Hera mumbled that she told us it was a crack motel. I heard everyone, but I was too focused on a mad and quiet Alexander. I cleared my throat. “Um, I need y’all to calm down. A patient called and asked for assistance. I came to help her.”
“What patient? Last I checked, your patients are in Charlotte, North Carolina. Hestia, stop playing with me, love.” Alexander’s tone held no room for humor, and I questioned if there would be any understanding.
I walked toward him. “Look, I told her that I wouldn’t tell you. It’s Melanie. Alexander, you can’t come in there raising hell. Let me tell her that you’re out here first and assess what is going on with her, please.”
Alexander’s ear lowered to his shoulder. “I’ll let you have it this time. Don’t lie to me again, Hestia. I don’t give a damn what it’s about. You don’t know what the fuck you could have been walking into.”
I lifted my waist gun holster. “I was prepared. My brothers taught me well.”
When I smiled in Zeus’s and Poseidon’s direction, they didn’t offer one back. “Nah, don’t give homage to us like your ass ain’t dead ass wrong, Sis. That damn gun isn’t gonna help if you’re ambushed by a bunch of fuckas. Hell, we rolled up on you, and y’all wasn’t ready.”
I wanted to roll my eyes, but I knew he was right. “Okay, I get it. Can my team get in here to see what is going on?”
Hades laughed. “Oh, this is ya lil side team to go on covert ops missions. Okay, Hestia. Get your sister-in-love fucked up for being a part of the Basil Anatomy Team.”
I didn’t even respond. I walked past him, grabbed what I needed from the SUV, made sure we had what we needed, then walked toward the motel door. Before I knocked, I turned to givethe men a stern look. I took a deep breath, then knocked on the door.
It took a minute before the door opened. When it did, my mouth fell open after my gasp. My heart completely broke.
“Melanie, what the hell!” I mumbled. I knew that I couldn’t be too loud, or the men wouldn’t give a damn about my directive.
Hera went into her nurse mode and helped Melanie over to the bed. She could barely walk, even with help from Hera. “Melanie, does your husband have life insurance? I want to make sure you’re covered when his ass dies,” Hera said with a serious tone.
I could tell she wanted to laugh, but the pain of it made it hard. “Melanie, I didn’t tell Alexander, but he followed us here. Well, technically, my brother followed us with Alexander riding shotgun. They are outside.”
Melanie’s eyes widened before a tear fell. “No, he’s never going to let me see Eloise again. He already thinks I’m not shit.”
I worked as I tried to assure her that was not the case. Her face was almost unrecognizable. When I lifted her shirt, I paused for a moment. My eyes found Hera and Jin’jer who knew. “Melanie, love, I can’t do this here. I have to call the ambulance. You have internal bleeding.”
I ignored her as she begged me to just fix her. Jin’jer was already on the line with emergency services. I stepped outside to talk to the men. They were leaned against Jin’jer’s and Hades’s SUVs. “What’s going on?” Hades asked.
I smacked the tear away.Stay professional.“Um, the ambulance is on the way. She has internal bleeding and needs to go to the hospital now.”
What The Hell Is Going On Here . . .
My father told me when I was younger that when you were with the person who was your person, one day could feel like a lifetime. That was the case with Hestia and me. We’d been together for a little while now. If I had to tell it, we’d been together forever. I said that to say that I knew when my woman was lying to me.
When she got off that call at the fair and said that we needed to leave because there was a medical emergency that she needed to tend to, I thought nothing of it. It wasn’t the first time that had happened. It was the first time that the medical emergency caused her to have to go to Atlanta at an ungodly hour. Whenshe told me Hera and Jin’jer would go with her, it was a light red flag, but I let it go.
We were at the Basil compound when they left. Not even ten minutes after they left, Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon were at her door. Like I did, Hades called bullshit on the whole trip. This nigga put a tracker on Jin’jer’s SUV when he found out they were taking it. Next thing I knew, I was in the passenger seat, with Zeus and Poseidon in the back, following these women.
When the ladies pulled into a rinky-dink motel parking lot, I had to calm my spirit before shit went left. You would have thought after she explained why she was there that I would have calmed down. I didn’t! Here Melanie was pulling my woman into her bullshit.
“What you think she got going on in there? It must be something serious if it had our women lying to us.” Hades had a point.
I shrugged before I leaned back on the side of the Tahoe. “Shit, I don’t know. I have a feeling about what it could be, but I pray it’s not that. I prided myself with being able to say that I never had to kill a nigga.”
