Mr. Exit stared him straight in the eye, “I arrived and made the assessment that with her limited vision, which will return at some point, that she is no threat to The Company.”
For the oddest reason, Zeke took comfort in the words. “That was mighty nice of you. I bet that cost you a few dollars to say no.”
“Wasn’t about the money. It was about the woman. She did me a solid,” Exit offered. “I owed her a life. As far as the man who blinded the lady, I think he was hired by Hymn to find the girls. He found them, so I’m waiting on the next move.”
He told the Crew. “After he blinded Wrong Way, it made me think about our connecting threads. The only thread left to connect us is the Archangel. Should you go down, we don’t know each other, and I think we should.”
Mann spoke up, “I don’t agree, but I’m listening. As I have told you, One Way and Falling Rocks make me nervous. I don’t want those men at my table with knives.”
Yield added to the pile, “You’re on to something Exit, but we need to process this information, think on it, sleep on it, and together make a plan. I had a job with the Mann and Mr. Stop which is how this has come to pass. I’m not eager to be in a room full of killers. Some of those dudes ain’t right in the head.”
“Which is why we are here,” Exit said. looking back at Willow. She was in the middle of a discussion on the embroidery she used on her machine and the woman was absolutely glowing. “That, and for you to help me give that gorgeous lady over there a wedding tonight that she’s not expecting. Willow doesn’t have any family and it is my hope that in meeting your wives that she can create a connection and not feel alone in this world and rely simply on me. She’s going to be my wife and those girls are going to be my daughters.”
When he said the words, Karli looked over at him and smiled. His heart melted, and he knew, beyond a reasonable doubt two things. One, Jamal was not allowed back at his house, and two, he’d been wrapped around her finger from the moment that child climbed into his back seat.
He was okay with all of it, even his new tie with an Exit sign on the end of it which matched the ones wore by the members of the Southeast Construction Crew. His wife would need to make the others for the rest of the Crew, just to be safe, and if these guys went with the plan, he needed to reach out to Wrong Way and the rest to see if they wanted in. It wasn’t the life he’d planned for but it was the one the Man Upstairs said he needed. He wasn’t going to argue, plus, he liked what he was seeing.
RAMI SLANECKI WASN’T okay with what he was seeing. His brother-in-law had always been a loner, and now he had friends. He had trailed him here to this bastion of family nonsense to get a better view of what was happening in this world of hitmen. In the hallway, he observed from a crack on the open door.
There were six men in the room, including Raphael. He knew for a fact that each region ran a Crew of 10 Technicians. One member of the Crew, Wrong Way, the cleaner, he’d taken out of play, which left nine. Six were here. He assumed all six were Technicians. The tall one with the glasses made his skin itch. The man unnerved him immediately.
“I don’t know you,” Rami said, leaning closer to the door. “Who are you tall, dark, and handsome?”
Whatever was about to happen, he was here for all of it. The teen girl of Hymn’s had scared him the other day when she snapped the photo of him at the dance. The last thing he had expected was for her to be sharp and follow the man who had been following her. It was a technique she been taught. The girl had mastered it well and had thrown him off guard with the photo. Common sense would have told him to snatch the phone, but there were too many parents about, and if he’d done such a rash thing, they would have overpowered him and taken away the element of surprise, and The Glitter Man would be in jail. He couldn’t have that, yet he half expected Raphael to shoot him when he was in the bushes beside his house, but he hadn’t. Rami also expected the man to be in his face once the girl showed him the photo.
But he didn’t.
He didn’t bother him when they were both at Tempest’s house. Raphael knew he was close by and at one point, he had looked into the darkness, directly where Rami was parked in the black truck. It was like he could feel him watching but didn’t take out a rifle and put a hole in his head. Raphael was good like that. A killer with an intuition that never failed him and he wielded his powers wisely. The man never lost his touch. Rami didn’t understand why he was failing to touch him.
He feared that at one point, whatever grace Raphael was affording him would soon come to an end. For the first time in many years, Rami Slanecki began to doubt his plan of payback. Raphael Hoyt was making him doubt himself and he didn’t like that one bit. Not one single bit.
“I’m going to find out who all of you are,” Rami said closing the door to the conference room. He wandered the back halls, finally locating a room where the catering staff uniforms were hanging. “I’m going to find out.”
Chapter Twenty-One – Photostat
THE WELL-PLANNED WEDDING almost didn’t happen. The white runner from the door to the makeshift altar was littered with flowers hand tossed to the floor by Johnnie and little Michelle Neary who served as flower girls. Chad Johnson looked sharp in a black suit waiting at the altar holding a black case with new wedding rings. Mr. Mann adjusted the tie around his neck several times that he felt Mr. Yield pulled too tightly for comfort and stood at Raphael’s side as his Best Man. If he’d had his way, Karli would have been his Best Man, but he figured this would ruffle less feathers.
Raphael was pleased that the Crew all decided to wear the ties Willow had made for them for the wedding. The black suits and crisp white shirts allowed the dark tie to stand out in contrast, but Mr. Exit wore the bow tie Willow made and the cummerbund he’d used on Friday at the Father Daughter Dance. It matched the yellow in the flowers Cabrina had created in the bouquet and around the top of the veil.
Dusty Rose, serving as her mother’s Maid of Honor, wore a soft white dress, and Cabrina happily accepted the role of Matron of Honor. The job of escorting the bride down the aisle and giving her away went to Zeke Neary, who held out his arm the moment she stepped through the door.
Willow’s tears nearly blinded her as she made her way to the altar and accepted Raphael’s hand. The Archangel went through the vows, marrying Willow Palm Rayne to Mr. Exit, and when he asked if anyone saw a reason why the two should not be joined in holy matrimony, Willow was shocked when she heard the objection. She was even more shocked that the objection came from her own mouth.
“Willow? You don’t wish to be my wife?” Raphael asked, wondering what in the hell was going on in her head.
“I don’t know you,” she said, wiping away tears. “Two weeks ago, you plucked us out of the woods and took us to live in your nice house. You gave me gifts and I felt so alive, so cared for, and dare I say loved...but do you love me, or just the girls? I have no idea what I’m doing, but I have nowhere else to go. I feel so stupid. I feel so helpless right now.”
Cabrina placed her arm around Willow’s shoulder, “If you don’t wish to be married to this man, we can make arrangements for you for another life. You and the girls can leave with me today and I take you back with me and we can help you start over.”
Karli wasn’t pleased with her mother in the least. She walked up to her and pinched her hard on the back of the meat of her arm. “Don’t you mess this up for us, Mommy! He’s ours. I prayed hard as I waited in those bushes like forever. He pulled up. He knew something was wrong and he moved that truck.”
“Baby, I know all of that,” Willow tried to explain.
“He listened to me when I told him you were in danger. He never questioned, just followed what I told him, and he did it. He came for you and Dusty and got us out of that awful place. We have a home,” Karli said. “You promised you’d take care of him and he’d take care of us, and now you want to change your mind. It’s not fair to him and it’s not fair to us!”
Everyone in the room stared
at the pint-size girl who spoke like a petite old woman in Sunday School. Willow bent down to her daughter’s level, and Karli started to make an angry face at her mother. Dusty hadn’t opened her mouth at this point.
“Karli, there are grown folks matters that you don’t understand,” Willow said.
“You seemed to like sharing his bed and pleasing him,” Dusty Rose shouted. “Both of you were happy the next morning over breakfast. Is he bad in bed or a less than tender lover?”
“Good grief, make this stop,” Raphael said, stepping forward. “Girls, please. For all that is holy, please stop talking. If your mother doesn’t want to marry me, it’s okay. I can work with the Archangel to make arrangements for you to live safely elsewhere.”
“No Daddy, we love you. Mommy loves you too, she’s just scared, that’s all,” Karli said. “Mommy, knuck if you buck. That’s what Jamal always says. I don’t know what it means, but I guess it means toughen up and tell Daddy what’s scaring you. Maybe he can help you fix it.”
Zeke looked down at Karli as well as Mr. Mann. “I like this kid,” they said in unison.
Archangel asked, “Who is Jamal?”
“He’s my man,” Karli said, looking up at the man holding the Bible. “Daddy don’t approve of our love, but it’s gonna work out as soon as Mommy gets it together so I can get home to him. I know that boy is missing me.”
“Jesus be a fence,” the Archangel said, making a sign of the cross over Karli.
“Jesus has the wheel, but Mommy is still driving crazy,” Karli replied, making every one in the room burst into laughter. “Mommy, let’s talk it out. This is a safe circle. The ladies liked your gifts. They went to all of this trouble to give you a special wedding. Dusty even made suits for Daniel and Pierce and that kid is over there holding jewelry boxes which means you get a new ring instead of the one that was on Daddy’s pinky. The room is decorated in your favorite color. The veil is so pretty. You look pretty too. All of this was for you. Come on. Open up, and let’s talk it out with your new friends.”
“Who is this kid?” Archangel asked.
“They grew up on a commune with a bunch of frickin’ hippies,” Raphael said.
Raphael went and got chairs for himself and Willow, helping her to her feet and into the chair. His arms went wide, asking everyone else to come in take a seat and come in close. Sighing loudly, he addressed the room.
“There was no way to describe Karli to any of you other than she is a feisty 60-year-old Black woman caught in this child’s body, but she’s right. Two days ago, Willow, all you wanted was to be my wife. Can we talk about what has changed, or do you just want to get the hell out of here and away from me? If so, here is the time and place,” Raphael said softly.
“I don’t think you really want me,” she said through tears. “You never asked for me or us. We just happened into your life. I think you’re honorable and are doing what is right for the girls and me, but it’s not what you want.”
“Willow, I don’t do anything I don’t wish to do,” he said easily.
“But look at how we got together. This is not normal. No marriage should start out like this,” Willow said, wiping away the tears.
Sharon cleared her throat. Normally, she wasn’t one to disclose private information in front of strangers, but if they were going to be a family, it would start here. The dirty laundry bag was opened and she dumped her soiled undies in the middle of the trust circle.
“Rocky and I were a contract for Mr. Mann,” she said. “He had a change of heart, married me, gave the boy his name, and we added one more to the family.”
“Wait, what?” Willow asked.
“Yes, my husband handles contracts. He changed the way mine ended,” Sharon said.
Judy spoke up next. “My husband can track anything. Took him a year to track the snake who left us with nothing. The saving grace is that my ex-husband sent a message via Mr. Stop, who found me half dead and starving in the middle of December in Missouri,” she said.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Willow said.
“Very much so,” Judy said. “A nosey Sheriff kept sniffing around, considering he hadn’t seen my no-good husband in a while so he didn’t remember what he looked like, and then Stop showed up. Archangel did some fancy paperwork to give us his name and made it official a month or so later.”
Raphael looked around the room. His eyes went to Mr. Yield and the soft looking woman named Millicent, who had a glass of wine in her hand. She used the glass Willow had made to sip on the Chardonnay.
“I snatched my husband up in a Waffle House outside of Wentzville, Missouri. He had a hole in his leg courtesy of Mr. Stop, but there was a Sheriff who was holding me hostage. My time was nearly up before he made a life-changing move on me and I convinced Yield to take us with him,” Millicent said. “His plans were to leave us with the Archangel, but I pretty much begged him to marry me.”
“You didn’t beg me to do anything,” Yield said. “I married you because you are one fine woman, and I’m lucky to have you.”
Eyes went to Tameka who hadn’t planned to speak. She crossed her legs and looked away, but Karli touched her leg. She smiled softly at the woman, giving her the same look she’d given Raphael that convinced him to buy a $70 suitcase with a stupid blue horned unicorn on it.
“I know it may hurt, but my Mommy needs to hear your story too,” Karli said, patting her knee like she was trying not to put money in the Sunday school plate.
“Who is this child with a violet aura?” Tameka asked, looking at her husband.
“My name is Karli Jebsen. I’m 10 years old, and your story will help me become Karli Hoyt,” she said, looking at her Daddy. “I’m sorry, Daddy. I used your last name, but this is a trust circle. Besides, if you’re planning on sharing money with these men, they’re going to find out anyway.”
“Damn, I’m liking this kid more and more each minute,” Zeke said laughing. “Go ahead, Tameka SheNayNay, share with the circle about our love.”
“Fine,” Tameka said. “I was a mail order bride who got kidnapped by my groom’s brother who held me hostage and butt naked in a cabin for nearly 10 months. On a rainy evening I escaped, in labor, and showed up on Zeke’s doorstep.”
Dusty went to the food table asking Tameka to wait as she made a plate of snacks and came back and sat down. “This is better than a book,” she said, encouraging Tameka to continue.
“I was sick and covered in lice, and with the help of Mr. Mann, they nursed me back to health. Zeke had to marry me and adopt Michelle as a cover from the rotten Sheriff and the family of the man I was supposed to marry to keep us safe,” she said. “The Archangel married us over the internet via FaceTime.”
Willow had stopped crying and sat in disbelief listening to it all. The eyes finally rested on Cabrina, who offered a soft smile.
“The Archangel and I were married in Las Vegas,” she said. “I went to Vegas to kick the ass of the woman who ran the mail order bride business who lost my friend Tameka to a bunch of rednecks on a mountain top in Georgia. The mail order bride lady in turn gave us tickets to see a hypnotist who said we were getting married. The Archangel was pretty cute. We also had good energy and figured, hey, let’s give it a try, so we got married and drove from Vegas to Georgia getting to know each other and back to Cleveland where I lived.”
Karli stood up and started clapping. “Thank you all for sharing your very scary and inappropriate stories in the presence of children. I’m sure my Mommy hearing your journeys will help her get it together and get this done,” she said. “Daddy, I tell you what! Me and Jamal are just going to date for a few years, go to college, and marry after all of that. Kidnapping. Contracts. Lord, take my hand.”
She’d sat down and crossed her legs as if she were fit to be tied and have her feet washed by the head deacon in Church. Her lips were pursed together as if she was completely over it and ready to go. He admired her courage and fight.
“Pooh Bear, thank y
ou for facilitating the discussion,” Raphael said, pressing his lips together. “I also thought the conversation about Jamal was over.”
“Daddy, that boy kissed me on the cheek, and butterflies ran through my soul, and I swear I saw at least three unicorns running down the beach in the sand. I love him,” Karli said. “Plus, his Daddy is a cardio throat cer-ragic. He works on human hearts. Please, let my heart have this joy.”
Raphael had reach the edge. Adding in the obsession Karli had with the Jamal kid, Willow damn near eating him alive two nights ago and now not wanting to marry him. It was entirely too much.
“Shit, I can’t right now. Excuse my language everyone, but I can’t even,” Raphael said, getting to his feet. He made his way over to the lone bartender and asked for a glass of the hard-brown stuff. In one gulp, he swallowed it down with a dark cola chaser.
Mr. Mann walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Yeah, you don’t want to let that one get away. Go over there, get on one knee, and tell Willow you’re going to die a slow and painful death if you can’t wake up to her for the rest of your life,” he said.
On the other side of him, Yield materialized. “Tell her those girls need a firm male’s hand, and you’re their Daddy and the man to guide them in this life. As their father, you’re going to make sure they grow up right. And that Jamal kid needs his ass kicked. Look at my Chad and Rocky, they are flocking around that girl, look at them. Yeah, them girls need a strong father.”
Stop also showed up and sucked down a can of beer. “Hey, get over there. Get this shit done so we can eat. Tell her you love her, that’s all she wants to hear.”
“I don’t know if I can. Those girls. Knuck if you buck? That pissy ass Jamal kid, I’m going to cut off his little pee-pee. When did he kiss my baby? Oh God, I feel like I’m going to throw up. All of this is too much. Maybe this is God’s way of giving me chance to run,” Raphael said.
Blind Copy (The Technicians Series Book 5) Page 24
