“Birdie,” Coochie said gently. “I’ve never judged you.”
“Fuck.” I inhaled deeply. I’d spent so much time defending my decision to support Kalani that I automatically went into defense mode. “Sorry. Old habits are hard to break. Let’s go inside. I need a few minutes to dig out the patch. I think it’s in one of the boxes we haven’t unpacked yet.”
“You don’t have to have the actual patch right now,” Coochie said. “I just need to confirm you want to use it for Kalani.”
“I already said yes. What else do you need?”
“Take a breath, Bird. Nothing’s gonna happen to her before we get back,” he said. “As long as she cooperates.”
“Well, that won’t be long.”
“It will,” he said confidently. “I threatened you.”
“You what?”
Once again, he raised his hands in defense. “I did it for her own good. After hearing her beg us to call you, I knew you were the key to keeping her in line.”
“I don’t like anything you just said.”
“For fuck’s sake,” he groaned. “You’ve met your granddaughter.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. I hoped she was giving them hell.
FIFTEEN
SUGAR
Ijolted awake when Beaver shoved my feet off the desk. “They’re here.”
“Who’s here?” I asked and checked the monitor to make sure Kalani was where I left her.
“Coochie and Birdie.”
“What? How long have I been asleep?” I asked, reaching for my phone to check the time.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. A couple of hours? Prez came by and said to let you sleep unless you were needed.”
I felt like less of an asshole for falling asleep since Prez was okay with it, but I was tired as fuck. My leg was throbbing, but I did my best to ignore it.
“Are we meeting them in church?” I asked when no one got up to leave.
“Prez said to wait here. He wants to talk to her first,” Beaver said.
Fuck that.
“I didn’t hear him say that,” I said and went downstairs. I wanted to know what in the hell Kalani’s grandmother did thathad our club ignoring the fact that her granddaughter stabbed me.
Whisker chuckled and shook his head when he saw me. “I won’t let you sleep next time.”
I shrugged. It wasn’t the first time I’d used the excuse of not hearing it directly to get around an order. I also knew when I could and couldn’t get away with that kind of shit.
“I am telling you to keep your mouth shut and keep your shit together no matter what she says,” he ordered.
I nodded. “Yes, Prez.” After spending numerous hours with Kalani, I was sure I could handle anything her grandmother threw at me.
Moments later, Coochie came through the front door with a woman who didn’t look like any grandmother I’d ever seen. I was expecting an older woman with gray hair and a love for sweaters. Birdie had dark hair that fell past her shoulders and looked like she could have been Kalani’s mother as far as her age was concerned.
Birdie’s eyes widened when she saw Whisker, and she swatted Coochie’s arm. “You didn’t tell me he looked just like his dad. For fuck’s sake. I could’ve had a heart attack thinking I saw a ghost. Warn a bitch next time.”
