Children of Sun (Oracle's Legacy)

by R. B. Holbrook

  Mara.

  "Awww, are you thinking about that priss again?" Ollie shouted. It must've been all over his face.

  "Oll--"

  "I don't want to hear it." She stood up from the table and went to clean her dishes at the sink. She leaned to one side as she moved. The pain had gotten worse. He cursed, knowing that her worry for him might've been the source. He needed to think about other things. Nothing that would upset her.

  "Me and Wolfe are workin' on one of the cars you got downstairs. Did you wanna come help?" he asked.

  "No." She was mad. Her words were too tight.

  She needed to yell at him or something; she shouldn't internalize it. Internalizing, for her, was far more dangerous than using it. It had taken them a year to save her the first time. So he had to get her to direct her anger. Troy took a deep breath before saying, "I loved her, Ollie. I can't just forget that. And let it go."

  She didn't answer. Keep pushing.

  "I wish I could. But …" He looked down at his cup of coffee, preparing himself. The truth wouldn't be easy. "If she came back today, I'd take her back."

  Ollie's scream brought him to full attention. She took the plate she had just rinsed and heaved it across the kitchen into the wall. "You son of a bitch!" she yelled. Troy's breath caught in his throat. Fury possessed her eyes, those eyes … "That woman left you. That gold-digging, lying, prissy bitch did the cha-cha on your heart and then left you without a word. Not even a letter. And you want to know where she is now?"

  "No." Troy swallowed hard, feeling his stomach turn.

  "In California, fucking her newest bank statement, spending his money, and fooling the poor bastard just like she fooled you. Damn you." Tears came to her eyes. "She doesn't love you, so move on. Move on." Ollie stormed out of the kitchen.

  Troy wanted her to let it go, but damn, it hurt. His whole body stung with her words. Why did he make himself the target of her wrath? Footsteps trailed back to the kitchen.

  She wasn't finished.

  Her hand swatted his coffee cup across the table, across the kitchen, until it hit the counter, shattering on the ground. A mirror slammed down on the table in front of him, cracking. "Look." Her words were like ice.

  He looked at the cracked image of himself.

  "Why are you letting that prissy bitch do this to you?" she asked with an eerie calm.

  Worried, he looked up at her.

  "No. Look." She forced his head back down, to see his sunken cheeks. His hollow eyes. Even his skin looked bad. He was nothing more than a shell. And that was how he had felt for two years. Like nothing, less than nothing. Not worthy of anything or anyone. He felt like hell because he was in hell.

  "You were so good-looking, Malcolm."

  Malcolm? This is bad.

  "So damn fun to be around. You could have any woman you wanted. But now …" She took the mirror. "Now you live your life at the bottom of a bottle!" she yelled followed by a crash and shattering sound, no doubt the mirror. "You want to kill yourself? Fine, but can you do it after Mama's gone, 'cause I don't want her dying any faster than she has to."

  "That's not fair." Troy stood, not believing she had gone there.

  "What's not fair?" She got up in his face "That people, your family, who actually care for you, have to watch you destroy yourself while that skank, who doesn't give a damn about you, is living rent-free in your head? Tell me, what the … is … fair …" Ollie clutched her side.

  "Ollie?" He reached for her.

  "Don't touch me," she snapped, turning away from him. "Don't you dare worry about me. If you want to worry about someone, it should be you." He cringed when she turned back to him. She had dropped her defenses, and that right eye stared at him. "I have no respect for you," she said before walking off.

  Her words, full of pain, reached so deep into his heart that he felt like dying. He hadn't felt so horrible since Mara left him. Not even her departure hurt this bad. Ollie had cast him off, severed the ties as if it were nothing. Malcolm. She had called him by his name. Ollie never called anyone by their names unless she saw them …

  She had a system when it came to people. Those she gave nicknames were family, whether they were blood related or not, because in Ollie's mind, if she didn't consider people family, they were expendable. She could kill them without a second thought or even a first. So if she no longer used his nickname, what was he to her?

  He had never been on the receiving end of her anger before, and now knowing the pain he was feeling, he wished he hadn't pushed. He went over to the trash bin and hauled it over to the broken glass. He began to pick up the pieces and chuck each one into the bin.

  If only he could … take back everything. Everything from the last six years. Never meeting Mara. Then maybe Mama would be okay and Ollie wouldn't hate him. Maybe he wouldn't hate himself. Damn, he hated himself. He took a piece of the mirror and looked at his reflection.

  Damn, he looked horrible.

  "What in hell?" Troy spun around and saw Wolfe running his fingers through his brown hair before putting on his John Deere hat, pulling it low over his face.

  "Can you hand me a broom and a dustpan in the pantry over there?" He pointed to the far wall.

  "You an' Ollie havin' a party without me?" Wolfe laughed.

  "Shut your yap and get the broom."

  Troy kept his distance from Ollie the rest of the day and most of the next morning. And it wasn't hard to do, because she only went two places: her room and the training facility. She had nothing to say, and he wished she did. Troy and Wolfe sat in front of the television, watching baseball highlights most of the day on her big screen. Troy would've loved to drown himself in a bottle of cognac, but the only things stocked in the whole building were wine cooler and beer. Watered-down booze.

  "You two. Thick as thieves. Talk to 'er," Wolfe said as he drank his beer. "You two are the only ones that can git under that twin's skin. If ya don't fix whatever mess ya caused, I'll never forgive ya."

  Troy looked at him, frowning. Wolfe had said nothing about the silence, but it sure was obvious. The damn thing crowded the whole building.

  "Why you think it's my fault?"

  "She ever been mad at you before?" He buried himself into the plush white couch as if he weren't going anywhere anytime soon.

  Now that Wolfe mentioned it, he and his sister had never had a real fight. They have always agreed to disagree if needed. She had gone toe to toe with most everyone in the family, but never had she gone after him like that before. Was it his fault?

  "Only time I ever saw 'er get mad at yer ass is when you wouldn't let 'er kill Mara. So I'm a-guessin' you told 'er you ain't over that ho." Wolfe's eyes never left the TV screen. "Dumb. Ass. Move."

  "Why you takin' her side?" Wolfe was his best friend, not Ollie's.

  "Cuz she's prettier'n you. And cuz she introduced me to my wife." Oh, hell, not that again. "Nah, gitcha ass up there. And while yer visitin', let 'er weed the roots of that ho out yer head." Even his best friend was against him. He must be in bad shape. Damn.

  Troy slowly made his way to the stairwell. There is life after this, son, Mama had told him. But it just didn't feel like it. He couldn't just pull himself out of it. And couldn't do what Ollie did. How did she get over Joc? Even though her relationship with him was only a year compared to his five years with Mara, she still walked away like a champ. Well, she walked away from everything like a champ. Of course, the alternative for Ollie was ... not an alternative.

  Troy stopped on the steps, hanging his head.

  Hold your head up, son. Be proud, even when accepting correction. Be proud to be corrected. Be proud to be you, because no one can be you but you. Mama …

  Troy laughed as he thought of Ollie.

  Damn, I love being me. Ollie always did have a taste for life. She drank it up, thirsty for it. Like each day was her last … Why hadn't he seen it before? She lived like that because it could very well be. She had seen death before, stared it right in the face
and then turned around to moon the hell out of it.

  Troy laughed even harder. Damn that girl. Out of all the sob stories he had heard and seen, hers was the worse, and she didn't live in it, wallow in it, or expect any special treatment for it. O-no was inspired by her story. Miko thought she was a superhero. And there were others of his blood brothers and sisters who had worse stories than his. Even Ellis … damn, brother. Ellis's demons held more weight than Troy's. Troy's mother loved him and took care of him even when she was living with Mama. And though all of them knew nothing of their so-called father, they all had someone to lean on.

  So what was Troy's problem? He had fallen in love with a woman who broke his heart. She wasn't coming back. Big deal, right? But it hurt. After two years, it hurt. Maybe it was the fact that he felt like such a fool.

  He began to walk up the steps again. He checked the training area, and the wide-open space was clear. He listened to see if she was in the back room, but there was nothing.

  He moved up to the fourth floor. Checking all four bedrooms, the kitchen, and the bathrooms, he found nothing.

  Please don't tell me she left.

  Troy ran over to the computer console in the living room to check the building surveillance, hoping his sister hadn't pulled a Houdini.

  Only Ollie …

  But she was on the roof, sitting the on edge of the building.

  Running, he took the steps two by two before he entered his code to get access to the roof. The air was humid but not too hot. Crunching over the gravel, he walked toward the wild hair blowing in the breeze. Once beside her, he leaned over the side of the building looking down. He didn't like her feet dangling over a four-story drop.

  "You may not respect me, but I love and respect you." His words came before he was ready for them. "I just don't know what to do." After two years of pain and self-loathing, how would he turn it all around? It was a runaway train going downhill.

  "You know--" She took in a deep breath. "I bought this facility hoping you would move back home. I would've sold it to you for next to nothing, because I knew you wouldn't let me give it to you. I wanted you as far away from those memories as possible. I was hoping you'd just go anywhere and start over. Anywhere." Ollie looked down at the street.

  "Not a bad place. I'd need new dishes, though," he said. Ollie laughed. "I do miss havin' Wolfe as a business partner. We talked. There is good business in Missouri. I may consider a move." It was a step. If nothing else, he could breathe new air. Maybe that was all he needed.

  "A consideration. I'll take it." She grinned. "I do love you, Troy, but I don't like what you're doing to yourself. Let the past make you stronger, not weaker."

  "Now you sound like Mama." Troy took in the obscure view of the city. Something in the air had a hint of peppermint.

  "Funny, because they were Father's words."

  Looking out over the city from the eighth floor of Ollie's condo was far more impressive. The skyline was far more exciting and worth waking up to in the morning. But from here, the world didn't …

  Father's words? What did she say? She must have meant something else. Because when would she have spoken to their father?

  He looked down at her. Her body was bent toward the street, leaning too far over the edge of the building for his comfort.

  "Ollie?" He reached for her.

  "We have company." She stood up on the ledge, stepping backward onto the roof. Taking his wrist, she moved quickly to the door, entering the code. Troy tried to clear the fog from his head.

  "Wolfe!" she yelled into the intercom system mounted on the wall just inside the door.

  "I see 'em," he responded just as a clicking sound indicated that the door behind them sealed shut, locking in place. "They're in, and they ain't goin' noplace. Git 'em, girl. Wooha."

  Troy followed Ollie as she sprinted down the steps to the living area. Going into the closet next to the staircase, she brought out two sawed-offs that Troy had just loaded the previous day. She handed him one and a few rounds. More than he would need.

  Then just like that, she disappeared down the steps. The plan: Wolfe would stay on the second floor and keep surveillance secured, and Troy was to take up a backup position, because no one got in the way of Ollie and her kills. Too risky.

  Troy cleared out the cobwebs and headed downstairs. His feet skipped steps as he traveled. When he got to the first-floor garage, Ollie had her shotgun pointed dead in a Puerto Rican man's face that was adorned with a toothpick hanging from his lips. His hair was short and wavy, and his hazel eyes slanted outward, making him appear sad. His hands were raised in defense as two guys behind him lowered their weapons. They were dressed like thugs--baggy jeans and leather jackets. One wore a Lakers cap.

  "Troy, man, can you tell your sista to lower the cannon?" Joc.

  "Go ahead, Ollie, shoot," Troy said, turning to leave.

  ()()()

  Ollie narrowed her eyes at the bastard who should've phoned first.

  "Come on, babe."

  "Pull the damn trigger." Troy, who was about to leave, turned right back around.

  Joc began to laugh, showing the dimples in his cheeks. She should have killed the handsome devil, but heaven knew how many kids he needed to feed. Death would be the easy way out for him.

  "If I was in a 'shoot first, ask later' mood, Joc, your boys would be scraping your ass off of my cars, cause damn if I'm going to touch it," Ollie snapped.

  "Missed you too, babe." He just smiled.

  "Pull the damn trigger." Troy's voice thundered.

  Ollie lowered her gun and handed it to Troy.

  "Fine, I'll do it," he growled

  Ollie brought her hand up before he could pull the trigger. If she couldn't kill Mara, he wasn't allowed to kill Joc. She wanted that pleasure.

  Turning back around, she balled her right hand into a fist, swinging upward, burying it under his chin. Joc's head snapped back as he stumbled in the same direction. His boys stepped back, cursing. "What the hell you doing here?"

  Yep, she should've shot him. Why didn't she shoot him? Oh, yeah, because Granger was good to their family. Was that the only excuse she had?

  Shaking his head and moving his jaw, Joc replied, "Got a call from Geo ... Wanted me to check out the areas and--"

  "Here, moron. Here. Why the hell are you right here?" Ollie pointed to the ground he was standing on. "I left explicit instructions that I didn't want to see your ass anywhere near me. And damn, here you are." But he'd never followed instructions well. Head-in-ass syndrome.

  "I wanted to check on you to make sure you were okay. I'm entitled to worry,"

  "No, the hell you're not!" Troy shouted, bringing the gun back up.

  Ollie held out her arm to stop him again. She didn't want any blood on his hands. "Troy, take these two upstairs. Get them a beer. Let Wolfe know what's up."

  "Later." Joc waved to Troy, grinning. Ollie turned to see Troy leave reluctantly. He had the if-you-need-me look in his eyes as he lifted one of the shotguns over his shoulder.

  Ollie turned to face Joc, who was bending down to kiss her. "Oh, no." Ollie pushed his face back. "This ain't no reunion." He had even taken his toothpick out of his mouth. He was serious.

  "You wanted my help. I figured …"

  "Idiot." She took several steps back. Being close to him pissed her off even more. "I didn't want your help. I wanted nothing to do with you. Geo wanted you to help him," she barked.

  "So you telling me you still haven't forgiven me? You have no desire to see me?" He stepped closer to her. Damn, he was hardheaded.

  "None."

  "No feelings whatsoever?" How had he gotten so close to her so quickly? He was again within kissing distance. And why was she thinking kissing?

  "Nausea, does that count?" Ollie moved out of his reach. He was a smooth one, always was. It was his charm she'd fallen for and his charm that had gotten him into trouble with her. He used the damn thing on every woman, just like he used his dick. "Did you fin
d out anything?"

  "Flame got some scouts, but low-level pawns. Nothing big yet. However," he said, putting his toothpick back in his mouth, "things are moving too fast, and you know what that means."

  Time to beat the riffraff out of Dodge.

  "You heard from your boy?" Ollie continued to move about the garage, not giving him a chance to pull a fast one.

  "I called G this morning, but he was too pissed to talk."

  "Granger gets pissed?"

  "In his own way." Ollie noticed that his eyes were glossed over with lust as he looked at her. Yeah, she should have shot him.

  "Is that all?" Ollie headed for the stairs.

  "Can we crash here?"

  "No." Ollie said. Before she could get to the first step, his hand grabbed her arm, and he pulled her around to face him, planting a kiss on her lips. But as fast as he placed the kiss, he was pulled off of her by two big, blurry figures. When she shook off the shock, she saw Wolfe standing over Joc, with Ellis's knees buried in the guy's chest. Ellis was about to pound his head in.

  Without hesitation, Ollie launched forward, grabbing Ellis's arm before he struck the first blow. "Ellington," she said into her twin's ear, "I'm fine." Her voice was calm. She slowed her own heart. "Ellington." She stroked the back of his head. His arm relaxed as he stared down at the man who was about to be concrete. "I'm fine." Please calm down. She looked over at Wolfe, who helped raise her twin off of Joc.

  Joc looked like he had just dodged a city bus, only to get hit by a Mack truck. He lay on the floor, unable to move for a long time. Joc knew better than anyone that Ellis was like a pit bull, and Ollie was a butcher's choice cut. No one touched her without his permission. And nothing she said to him could change that, no matter what. As annoying as it was, it came in handy at times.

  "You didn't tell me your twin was lurking." Fear sucked the suaveness right from his lungs.

  "He wasn't." Ollie turned to see Ellis with his back turned and Wolfe taking in a breath of relief as he turned to her.