“That would be my sister.” He sighed. “She’s supposed to meet us here to get a ride to Mom’s.”
My brows rose. “Why?”
He shook his head. “More secrets. It’s easier to just let her do her thing so she doesn’t have to lie about what she’s doing.”
I snickered and picked up my mascara wand.
“I’m almost done,” I said. “I just need a coat of mascara, put on actual jeans, and I’m ready.”
He winked and left the room, and fifteen minutes after that, with a screaming his head off Kase, we made our way to the restaurant.
“What’s his problem?” Louis asked curiously.
“He had to have shots before I came down,” she said, looking down at the inconsolable little boy in the car seat next to her. “He’s been running a mild fever for the majority of the morning.”
“Low grade fevers are normal,” I found myself saying as I watched, enraptured, as the muscles in Louis’ forearms worked as he turned the wheel. “They just suck.”
Louis and Beckham talked for the majority of the ride about absolutely nothing, studiously avoiding everything that came with talking about Beckham’s personal life.
When we arrived, it was to find our entire family—both Louis’ and mine—already there milling in the entrance as they waited to be seated.
The hostess was wringing her hands, looking fit to be tied.
“We’re almost ready,” she said. “There’s a rather large, rambunctious party that are celebrating something. Someone’s birthday or something. And people are asking to be moved away from them.” She winced.
“You can sit us near them, we’re loud, too,” Foster said. “In the meantime, can we go to the bar and get some beer?”
The hostess nodded her head enthusiastically. “If you don’t mind sitting next to them, I can seat you now.”
Foster gave a thumb’s up.
“Then let’s do it, darlin’,” he teased.
Blake dug her fingers into his ribs. “You’re making the poor girl blush.”
The ‘poor girl’ blushed harder.
I grinned and followed her as she led us to the table.
That smile fell straight off my face the moment that I saw who we were sitting next to.
Romeo’s mother.
Son of a bitch.
My good mood instantly evaporated.
Anger simmering in my belly, I took a seat between Louis and my mom, trying valiantly to ignore the smiling, uncaring woman two tables away from us.
Louis’ hand landed on my shoulder.
He missed nothing.
Teeth gritted, I smiled and opened up the menu even though I knew exactly what I was going to get.
I found what I wanted, contemplated the drink selection, and waited until the waitress got to me to take my drink order.
Honestly, I was doing a pretty damn good job of keeping my shit under control.
At least until about thirty minutes later when our food was being placed in front of us and the stupid heifer two tables over started laughing as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
“Oh, Julian’s in Florida,” Mrs. Ricci said. “He texted me this morning a picture of a sunset.”
I rolled my eyes.
I’m sure he got that ‘sunset picture’ off of fucking Google.
Because like Louis, I agreed that he didn’t go to Florida.
In fact, I wanted to bet that Mrs. Ricci knew exactly where he was at and what he was doing.
Not that I could prove a thing.
“Why’s she talking so loud?” Foster muttered. “You think that she’s doing it for our benefit?”
“Guarantee it,” Louis muttered. “She’s helpful like that.”
“Who’s that?” Beckham asked, sensing the tension.
I grimaced.
“That’s the mother of one of the students at my school. He… he killed himself,” I said softly.
“She doesn’t look upset in the least.” Beckham surveyed the glaring woman. “In fact, she looks like she’s having a grand ol’ time.”
I agreed. Which was why I’d been glaring at the bitch.
Her son had died.
Yesterday.
And she was out, having fun, laughing, and practically acting like she didn’t give a fuck?
Then she burst into laughter.
“Oh, Julian gets to have the house now.” She paused for dramatic purposes. “You know why, obviously.”
What the hell was that?
No. Just no.
I slammed my plate of nachos backward, got up, and was three steps around the table when Louis caught me around the waist and pulled me down into his lap.
I growled as I struggled to get up.
“Don’t,” he ordered. “It’s not worth it.”
Oh, it’d be worth it.
“It’ll be worth it when I shove my fist down her throat,” I growled.
There was a chuckle from someone at the table, but I didn’t look away from Mrs. Ricci long enough to look over to see who’d been doing the laughing.
I. Was. Pissed.
So freakin’ pissed.
I tried to get up again when she clinked her margarita glass with the man next to her, and Louis once again tightened his hold.
“You been lifting weights?” he grunted when I struggled even harder.
I turned my glare on him.
“No, the only thing I’ve been doing lately is…” He placed his hand over my mouth, laughter filling his gaze.
The muffled ‘you’ came out anyway, causing Beckham to snicker beside me.
My dad? Not so much.
“So when’s the wedding, champ?” Dad all but snarled.
We ignored him, but only because I tried to use his moment of distraction to get away.
It would’ve worked, too, had his dad not been directly next to him.
He caught me around the waist before I could even take two steps toward the other table, pushed me indelicately back into Louis’ lap, and never once let go of his beer.
I rolled my eyes, leaning back into Louis’ chest and crossed my arms.
Louis leaned forward slightly and took a massive bite of his burrito, and I sighed before reaching for my own plate.
Despite being pissed, I was incredibly hungry. Meaning I would not allow El Sombrero’s nachos to go to waste.
They weren’t the regular nachos, either.
They were Papa’s Nachos. A yummy blend of waffle fries, grilled, marinated chicken, the world’s best white queso, and other cheesy goodness.
I leaned forward, not bothering to shift off of Louis’ lap, and started to inhale my food.
Conversation continued around me, and it was only when I was running a stray piece of chicken through the last of the queso on the plate that I realized that conversation had waned and everyone was staring at me.
“What?” I asked around my bite of chicken.
“Never seen you eat so much, that’s all,” my dad said. “You’re normally full by a quarter of the way through.”
That was true.
With my near constant anemia, I was almost always nauseous.
Eating was a necessary evil that I had to do to live.
But today, I’d actually enjoyed my food.
A lot.
In fact, as I stared at the beans that Louis had yet to finish, I almost asked if I could have them.
But Louis was a big guy. He needed his food.
I…
He offered me a bite of his beans, and I leaned over and took it.
I chewed and swallowed before saying, “I’ve been hungry all day, come to think of it.”
Conversation went back to normal after that, and a thought occurred to me.
Why was I hungry?
That almost never happened.
I was so caught up in the ‘whys’ of my hunger that I didn’t notice Louis’ hand slip
ping down between my thighs until he was practically pressing the heel of his hand against me.
There.
I gasped and turned only to find another forkful of beans and rice shoved between my parted lips.
I chewed while glaring and then took over the fork and finished off his beans in the next moment.
He didn’t complain once.
Nor did he remove his hand.
All the while, I wondered if it’d be possible to key that crappy woman’s car before I had to hurry home and take care of business where Louis was concerned.
Chapter 16
Kick today in the dick.
-Coffee Cup
Calloway
There was a pall hanging over the school as I entered it Monday morning.
The day was long and exhausting. Even worse, I’d forgotten my lunch at home and Louis hadn’t been able to stop by to bring me anything.
Meaning I’d been forced to try the cafeteria food, which hadn’t gone well.
Today they were having those little pizzas. The kind that everyone but me seemed to love when we were growing up.
The snack bar had been down, sadly, due to a problem with the refrigeration unit, meaning the only thing that I was able to eat was the corn, the milk, and the pudding.
By the end of the day, I’d been starving.
Oh, and grouchy.
Really freakin’ grouchy.
At about ten after one, I’d broken down and called my parents and sister, hoping beyond hope that they could spare me a couple of minutes.
Except all of them had been busy.
Reagan’s baby had a doctor appointment and the flu. My mother had a doctor appointment an hour away to get her boobs squashed. My dad had been at work and hadn’t been able to slip away. And the same whatever had kept Louis busy, as well as Hayes. Who Ares had called and asked if he could bring anything.
She’d felt pity for me because I wasn’t allowed to leave the school unattended.
Meaning that I’d sat there and nearly cried due to how hungry I was.
Or maybe I was just being a big baby and should’ve gotten over it.
Whatever the reason, my mood was downright terrible by the time my escort arrived to pick me up.
Booth raised his brows at me the moment that I looked at him.
“Bad day?” he asked.
I grimaced. “The worst. What happened at work today?”
He rolled his eyes. “There was an audit by the state. It wasn’t a good day.”
I would imagine not. Whenever the state decided to visit, things were always a little on edge.
I didn’t think anyone enjoyed it when they had to deal with the state.
“I guess I should be happy that all I missed was lunch,” I murmured. “I’m ready when you are.”
“How was the school after…” He gestured with his hand, indicating the school at large.
“Most classes go their entire high school, college, and then well into their lives, before any of their classmates pass away. And this class has lost two in just as many months.” I shook my head. “Do you remember the first time someone from our class died? His name was Monroe Mooney. He died in Afghanistan during a truck explosion. I was twenty-three.”
Booth nodded. “I remember that. I was there.”
That was right. Booth was there.
Though, not there, there. More like, overseas there.
“Anyway,” I said, sensing the need for a subject change. That particular time hadn’t been a good one for Booth. “I’m just sayin’, but that really shook us. Years after high school. These kids are having a hard enough time dealing with their emotions anyway. Adding first that young girl, then Romeo? They’re a little bit lost today. Ares has had her hands full.”
“I have,” Ares said as she came up beside us, sounding exhausted. “I’m about ready to drop.”
I was, too. Though, not to the point of my usual tiredness when it was time to get a fill-up via Louis. More like, exhausted, in need of a nap, but could get up and do more stuff afterward.
Which was an odd feeling for me.
“They’re being audited by the state,” I said to Ares. “That’s why they couldn’t come today.”
Ares grimaced. “Fun-suckers.”
I snickered as we all walked toward the exit.
School had let out over an hour ago, and there wasn’t a single student in sight.
Which was why it took me by surprise when Tiana Ricci rolled through the front doors of the school with her expensive high-heeled shoes, cloying perfume, and attitude that practically shouted that her shit didn’t stink.
She spotted me and smiled.
“I was informed to come up here to gather my son’s things,” she said matter-of-factly. “Would you be a dear and show me where his locker is?”
“I’m sorry, but no. I was just leaving,” I replied helpfully.
Her mouth fell open as if she hadn’t been expecting that answer.
“I’m sorry, but what? It won’t take but a few minutes,” she tried.
I was about to say no, because why the fuck would I want to do this bitch a favor, when I found myself staring at the business end of a rather large, mean looking gun.
And all I could think to do was say, “You do know it’s illegal to bring firearms onto a school campus, correct?”
Booth’s hand found my wrist and he squeezed, obviously telling me without words to shut the fuck up.
Gladly.
I snapped my mouth shut and glared, even though I wanted to reach up and take that gun.
“Since you’re making me do this the hard way,” she said as she gestured to the back hallway with a flick of her head. “I need to get into Romeo’s locker. Now.”
Why?
“I don’t know where Romeo’s locker is,” I found myself saying. “I’m the school nurse. That’s information only the office will be able to tell you.”
“You’ll figure it out, or you’ll die,” she snapped.
I shivered at the venom in her words.
She was pissed, and I didn’t know why.
What the hell was going on here?
“I don’t mind asking questions,” I said. “I’m just telling you that I’ll have to do that if you’re expecting information from me.”
Tiana lifted her lip in a silent snarl, and it struck me as humorous that when I stared at her, she had a slick of red lipstick on her teeth.
Such a weird woman. She looked utterly ridiculous.
***
Louis
“I’m going to the school to meet Booth before he takes my woman home,” I said to his brother. “Want a ride?”
Bourne nodded and hopped into the cruiser with me, not bothering to do his seatbelt up.
We were about a block and a half away from the school, and I had no doubt that I’d catch them before they left.
Booth had literally just texted me that he was there and walking into the building.
“What were you doing that you couldn’t go get her?” Bourne asked.
I grimaced. “I was running by to check in with Tiana. She wasn’t home. But, interestingly enough, her friend from dinner last night was. She was exceptionally talkative.”
Bourne looked at me with curiosity. “About what?”
“About the fact that Tiana doesn’t even have a Florida house,” I explained. “That she talks about it all the time, but they’re convinced she doesn’t actually have one because, according to the woman, Tiana is broke as fuck.”
“She doesn’t dress or act like she is,” Bourne murmured. “She was wearing thousands of dollars’ worth of jewelry the other day when we saw her. And I saw that fucking purse. I bought one for my mom last Christmas. That bitch was a thousand bucks. And it was on sale.”
I nodded. “That’s the same thing that I told the woman. And she said that Tiana has a friend. A man friend that funds her extra-curricular activ
ities.”
“Meaning a sugar daddy,” Bourne surmised, his eyes on the road that we were traveling down.
I nodded once. “Yep.”
“And what else did you find out?” he continued as I turned into the school parking lot.
“I…” I had to swerve hard to the side to avoid hitting someone.
A man.
A man that was…
“That’s fucking Julian,” Bourne said as he practically bailed out of the car before I was even to a complete stop.
Before the kid could even so much as take a step away, Bourne had him on the ground.
Seconds later, after I finally got the vehicle in park, Bourne had his cuffs on him, and he was standing him up.
“No, no, no!” he cried. “Mom! Help!”
That’s when I looked up and found what was going on in front of the school.
Son of a bitch.
Bourne froze beside me as we stared in horror at the woman pointing a gun at Calloway.
Tiana whipped her head around to stare at her son frantically crying and Booth made his move.
***
Calloway
Booth moved like lightning as Tiana finally diverted her attention away from us.
One second he was standing at my side, holding me still. The next, he was practically knocking the woman out with one punch straight to the temple.
The gun dropped with a thud to the ground, and it was all just… over.
Just like that.
No more gun pointed at my face.
No more Julian running around with no idea where he was.
And… Tiana got punched like the bitch she was.
Score!
Chapter 17
I don’t normally do this, but…you’re a real sexy bitch.
-Text from Calloway to Louis
Calloway
“Let me get this straight,” I said as I stared in horror at Louis. “She… told her son to do that.”
Louis nodded, taking a massive bite of his taco.
What was normally about ten bites for me, took him three.
“She didn’t like that I kept calling her and then thought the best course of action was to get her son to… fuck with me?” I asked. “What? Why?”
Louis shook his head.
“That’s just it. I don’t know. She hasn’t talked. Julian’s accounting of the matters at hand are like looking through a windshield that’s fogged up to hell and back. He knows that something happened. He just doesn’t know why. You know what I mean?”
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