“I don’t understand why the hell you’re telling me that. I need to keep her alive. That’s it.” Apollo was wasting his time worrying about whether or not Royal was happy.
“Because you and I both know if Royal isn’t happy, then we’re going to hear about it from the Knights.” Apollo kicked his feet out in front of him. “Let me rephrase that. We’re gonna hear from the Knight’s ol’ ladies if Royal isn’t happy.”
“I’m not worried about it.” Once I got things squared away with the Meeks, Apollo and I would be back to Chicago along with Princeton and Murphy. The ol’ ladies were going to be far enough away that they won’t be a problem.
“Maybe you should be a little worried about it, Marco. She is about ready to pop a baby out any day.”
I loosened my tie. It wasn’t a good sign when it was barely ten in the morning and I was already loosening my tie. “Hopefully, it won’t be ‘til after I deal with Meeks.”
“You actually getting anywhere with him?”
“If I could fucking find him, I would be.” I leaned back in my chair. “Every fucking contact I have for him suddenly isn’t working or they don’t know where he is.” Last night, I had tried a few numbers I had for Meeks, but I didn’t get anywhere. This morning, things had just gotten worse.
“How the fuck did he just disappear?” Apollo asked.
“Well, the guy had enough balls to kill Grit, but I’m assuming he might be realizing he’s fucked with the wrong person.” If only the idiot could have figured that out without having to kill Grit.
“Or, he’s hiding away just to be able to surprise the fuck out of us,” Apollo suggested.
I had thought about that, too. It was a possibility.
“Either way, we need to fucking find him.” I was not into the idea of Meeks popping up out of nowhere and causing even more trouble.
“You want me to get Princeton and Murphy?”
I nodded. “Yeah. We need to get a move on this right now.” Though I didn’t know exactly what move that was going to be. I had spent the past two hours calling every contact I could, and they had all come up empty.
I was hitting a fucking wall.
Not even a minute later, Princeton and Murphy walked into my office.
“Were you just hanging out by my door?” I drawled.
Princeton took the chair next to Apollo, while Murphy leaned against the window by my desk.
Murphy folded his arms over his chest. “Figured it was only a matter of time until you needed us.”
“It always comes down to needing us,” Princeton laughed.
“That’s because it’s your job to be there when I need you,” I reminded them. “I’m the reason for the shoes on your feet and the clothes on your back,” I growled.
“Damn, you’re an asshole pretty early this morning,” Murphy mumbled.
“He really is just like Leo. Swear to God, Leo would be acting the same way.” Apollo shook his head. “I think the problem both of you have is you don’t have a woman.”
“You’re only saying that because you have Greer and you think she solved all of your problems,” I murmured.
Apollo shrugged. “I mean, you got an argument for why she didn’t solve all of my problems?”
“I’m just surprised you don’t already have Greer here with you,” Murphy chuckled.
Apollo cleared his throat. “She’s scheduled to be on the jet at noon.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Don’t you think you should have cleared that shit with me?”
“Oh,” Murphy howled. “It’s not too often we get to see Apollo get his balls handed to him.”
“I didn’t think it was a big deal for Greer to fly out. We’re gonna be here for at least a week, if not more. Besides, she’s been with me when we’ve been dealing with other shit.”
“Yeah, but that other shit didn’t involve some lunatic family hell bent on revenge. You’re bringing your wife into a dangerous situation,” I growled.
“Does anyone else want to tell him we’re the fucking mafia?” Murphy laughed. “Not exactly a nine to five.”
“She’ll be safer here with us than she is back in Chicago. Who knows,” Apollo shrugged. “Maybe Meeks really is a fucking idiot and he might try to come for all of us.”
I shook my head. “He wants Royal. He wants what he thinks belonged to him when we made the deal.”
“He wants her so he can fucking sell her and the kid. Not like he wants her and the kid because it’s his grandson.” Murphy shook his head. “He’s a piece of fucking shit we should have taken care of right away. No fucking reason why he still needs to be breathing.”
“In hindsight, yes, I agree,” I drawled. “At the time, it seemed like a good way to send a message to Meeks.”
“A message he didn’t like, and now, he’s hell bent on being an asshole,” Murphy mumbled.
“So now we deal with him.” I turned in my chair and looked out the window.
“And how do you suggest we do that?” Apollo asked.
A slow smile spread across my lips. “We’re going to make him come to us.”
*
Chapter Six
Royal
I sat on the edge of the bed and stretched out my legs. “So that’s what my feet look like,” I mumbled. I wiggled my toes and sighed. Too bad I couldn’t actually reach them to paint my toes.
A knock sounded on the door.
“Go away, Marco,” I called.
He didn’t reply but knocked again.
“Nice try. I’m not going to answer the door, Marco.” I rolled my eyes and plopped back on the bed. “Go do mafia stuff and leave me alone.”
“Uh, I can tell him that if you want me to,” a feminine voice called.
I jackknifed up and stared at the door. “Bristol?” I called.
“Wrong again,” the voice called.
Then who in the heck was knocking at my door? It didn’t sound like Indiana, and she was the only other woman within a thousand miles I knew. “Uh, who’s there?”
The woman laughed loudly. “Maybe you should ask that first next time.”
I waited a beat. “So who are you?” For all I knew, it could have been someone sent by Biff to kill me. Though with the tight security Marco had, I didn’t think that was possible.
“Greer,” she laughed.
“Oh, my God!” I jumped up and raced to the door. I flipped the lock and opened the door. “You’re Greer!” I was so happy to see someone who wasn’t Marco. My pregnancy hormones were still messing with how I was feeling. Especially about Marco.
“I am,” she cheered. “And you’re Royal. Apollo told me all about you.”
I opened the door wide. “Come in. I was just trying to see my feet.”
Greer stepped into the room and laughed. “I remember those days. I made Apollo paint my toes with each pregnancy.”
“For some reason, I just can’t picture Apollo doing that.”
Greer glanced at me over her shoulder. “I’ll have to dig up the photos. It’s been more than a few years.”
“Did you bring the kids with you?” I asked.
Greer shook her head. “No. They’re at the age that they’d rather be with their friends than with Apollo and me. Seventeen and nineteen-year-olds really know how to give it straight to their parents.” She nodded to my stomach. “You’ll know exactly what I mean one day.”
I laid my hand on my stomach. “I’ll gladly keep this little one small forever.”
“That’ll change as time goes on.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “Those terrible twos and threes are going to really test you.”
So much to look forward to. “So, I didn’t know you were coming.”
Greer stretched out her arms. “I love this house. So much more room than our place in Chicago.”
“Apollo mentioned you live in a penthouse. That has to be pretty amazing.” The word penthouse was nowhere being in my everyday vocabulary.
Greer rolled her eyes. “
Yes, though I hate it.”
Only a rich person would say they hate living in the penthouse. “Oh, uh, that sucks.”
Greer laughed lightly. “I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. It’s a beautiful place, and I know I’m lucky to live there, but there is just something about having an actual lawn and being able to step out your front door without having to take an elevator to get to the street.”
That I understood from apartment living. “Well, you certainly have a lawn here.”
Greer was almost twenty years older than I was, but I felt a connection to her like I did Indiana. Something about her made me feel comfortable and like I had known her for years.
“Which is exactly why every time Apollo comes here, I tag along.” She frowned. “Though Marco wasn’t exactly happy when I walked through the front door.”
“Why not?” I asked. It seemed odd for Marco to be upset that Greer was here. She was Apollo’s wife, after all.
Greer shrugged. “God knows. He’s as moody and grumpy as Leo. I’ve dealt with him for years, and now, Marco is taking over in every aspect of the word.”
“I haven’t heard any nice things about Leo. I’m kind of scared to meet him.”
Greer laughed loudly. “Oh, honey. You and the whole world is afraid to meet him. He didn’t get the reputation that he has by being all sugar and sweet.” She pointed her finger at me. “Speaking of, did you tell me to go and do mafia stuff?”
I shrugged and leaned against the bedframe. “I mean, I might have said that.”
Greer shook her head and smiled. “Leo would have shit himself if you would have said that to him.”
I made a mental note to never say that to Leo. “So Marco isn’t happy you are here, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to have to leave, does it?”
Greer smirked. “Negative. I’m not leaving until Apollo does.”
I tapped my finger to my chin. “So if you can be here, maybe we can see if other people can visit.” I got that I had to stay here because of Meeks, but did that mean no one else was able to be here? Greer sitting on my bed proved that theory wrong.
“What are you thinking?” Greer asked.
I pursed my lips. “If I end up being here for a while, maybe we could see about having the women from the Devil’s Knights come for a dinner or something.”
“Oh, Lord,” Greer laughed. “I just pictured Marco’s head exploding with having his mom, Meg, and Cyn in the house.”
“They’ve never been here before?” I asked.
Greer shook her head. “Not that I know of. This place if kind of a secret. I’ve hung out with Meg and the girls a couple of times before, but it’s always at the clubhouse.”
“I mean, this place is more than big enough for a girls’ night, right?” Hell, I could have everyone hangout in my room, and we would have more than enough space.
Greer nodded to the TV. “Are you watching Golden Girls?”
I nodded and pushed off the bed post. “Uh, yeah. It’s kind of my comfort show. I put it on all the time even if I’m not really watching.”
“We could have girls’ night in the media room and watch Dorothy and the girls on the big screen.”
A giggle escaped my lips. “This is a pretty big screen to me, but you’re right. The media room TV is huge.”
“You’ve been down there?” she asked, surprised.
I nodded. “Uh, yeah. Marco showed it to me last night.”
“Oh, Apollo told me you were refusing to come out of your room.”
I rolled my eyes. “Things are a little confusing for me right now. Marco and Apollo don’t really understand that.”
Greer nodded. “I got you, girl. I was given the condensed version of what is going on without a ton of details because, according to Apollo, I don’t need to know.” She rolled her eyes and flopped back on the bed. “Excuse me for making myself at home. I was up at the butt crack of dawn getting things set up for the kids while I’m gone and could totally use a nap.”
“Well, I wasn’t doing anything but watching Golden Girls. Kickback and you can watch with me.”
“Did we just become friends?” Greer laughed.
I hopped into the other side of the bed and perched on a few pillows. My back had been hurting when I woke up, and this was the only comfortable position I could get in. “I mean, yeah?”
Greer shimmied up to the top of the bed and laid her head on a pillow. “Good. I was afraid things would be awkward or something when I knocked on the door. It’s nice to have another woman in the house. Bristol and I are pretty close, but she still is a bit reserved with me.”
“I met her and her amazing cooking last night.” My mouth watered at the thought of her amazing bananas foster.
“Girl,” Greer drawled. “The first thing I did when I got here was give Apollo a kiss, and then I beelined to the kitchen to see what Bristol had in the oven.”
“What was it?” I had eaten breakfast a couple of hours ago, and I was more than ready for a snack.
“Fresh sourdough bread.” Greer raised her hand in the air. “And she was mixing up a bowl of chicken salad.”
“Oh man. I think I’m ready for lunch right now.”
Greer laughed. “Girl, I already told her to send up a tray for three people when it was done.”
“Three?” I asked. I hoped she wasn’t thinking that Marco or Apollo were going to climb into bed and watch Golden Girls with us.
“Yeah. Bristol needs to eat, too, right?”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness Marco wasn’t joining us.
Greer grabbed the remote and pointed it to the TV. “So until then, let’s watch some of the girls.” She turned up the volume. “I love Rose. She’s my favorite.”
“I rotate through them as my favorites. Lately, I’ve been loving Sophia.”
Greer laughed. “I love how she tells it like it is.”
I needed to start doing more of that in my life. Even before this whole debacle with the Meeks, I never really stood up for myself. I needed to take some of Sophia’s spunk and use it. Though I could learn something from each of the girls.
“Oh, I love this episode. When Rose does the splits on the dance floor, I can’t help but cheer.” Greer smiled wide. “My mom and I used to watch this show together all of the time before she passed away. This brings back such good memories.”
Half an hour later, Bristol knocked on the door, and I spent the rest of my afternoon watching Golden Girls with Greer and Bristol.
Not how I expected to spend my day, but it was a welcome break from being angry, upset, and confused all rolled in one.
If only that feeling could have lasted forever.
*
Chapter Seven
Marco
“Where is she?”
Apollo shrugged and sipped his brandy. “Last I knew, they were in Royal’s room watching some old show.”
“How long ago was that?” I asked.
Apollo smiled. “About three hours ago.”
“And who is they?” They sounded like more than Greer and Royal.
“Bristol, Greer, and Royal,” Apollo listed.
“You’re not bothered by the fact that your wife doesn’t want to spend time with you?” I asked. I crossed my leg over the other one and gazed out the window. “She flew out here and you’ve only seen her for a few minutes.”
“I’ve been married to her for almost twenty years, Marco. I’ve spent plenty of time with her. She’s always complaining how she doesn’t have many friends, so this is good for to be able to hang out with Royal and Bristol. She’s happy, so I’m happy.”
Royal wanted to spend time with Greer, but she didn’t even want to see me.
I had tried to check on her after Greer had arrived, but Greer had answered the door and told me Royal was asleep and I shouldn’t bother her.
Greer telling me not to bother Royal grated me the wrong way, but I had simply nodded and headed back to my office.
Now it was h
alf past six and not one of them had surfaced from Royal’s room.
“So we’re not eating dinner tonight?” I asked.
Apollo shrugged. “I’m sure there is leftover chicken salad in the fridge. You know I’m more than okay with that.”
I was, too, but it was more of the principal of the fact that Bristol really only had to work a few days a month. For her to not actually be cooking when we were here didn’t fly with me.
Or maybe it went back to the fact Royal didn’t want to see me but spent her whole afternoon with Greer.
“I don’t think I’ve seen that scowl leave your face all day, Marco.” Apollo set his glass on the side table next to him. “I figured you would be a little happy once you got a lead on where Meeks was.”
I waved my hand in the air. “We don’t even know if it’s a good lead. For all we know, this is all Meeks’ plan, and he’s going to send us on a wild goose chase while he tries to swoop in and take Royal.”
Apollo shrugged. “Well, that could almost always be an option.”
I glared at Apollo. “You’re not going to try to spread some positivity and bullshit on me?”
“No,” he stated. “You never buy it anyway.”
“Marco,” Murphy called.
Apollo laughed. “I bet they’re looking for dinner, too.”
Princeton walked into my office and stood in the doorway. “Where in the hell is Bristol? I figured she would have dinner cooking by now.”
I shrugged. “I guess you should take that up with Royal. She’s commandeered the chef.”
“What the fuck?” Princeton grumbled. “She told me yesterday when I got in that she was making veal cutlets for dinner.”
Apollo sniffed the air. “All I smell are Marco’s shitty mood and good scotch. I think we’re fending for ourselves tonight, Princeton.”
Murphy stood behind Princeton with his arms folded across his chest. “This is some bullshit. I went to get some of the chicken salad, and it’s all gone.”
Apollo dropped his foot to the floor. “Get the fuck out of here. She had a huge bowl when I was in the kitchen earlier.”
“I saw her headed upstairs with a huge tray filled with all sorts of snacks and the chicken salad,” Princeton shrugged.
Royal Mess (Devil's Knights 2nd Generation Book 3) Page 5
