Dice (Blackwings MC: Croftridge #3)

Chapter 21 – Daphne

21

DAPHNE

I spent five days in the hospital before I was allowed to go home.

“I cannot stress this enough,” Patch said. “You no longer need hospital level care, but you are not well. I’m not clearing you to return to for a week, and that will be light duty. I need to see you in my office in three days to check your labs. Make sure you drink lots of fluids and get plenty of rest.”

“Understood,” I said. “I never want to feel like that again, so I’ll happily do whatever you say.”

As soon as we got home, Dice helped me into the house and tried to guide me to the couch, but I had other plans. “I know I need to rest, but I won’t be able to until I’ve had a shower and wash the hospital off of me.”

“Daphne,” he started. I could tell by his tone that he didn’t agree with me.

“It’s not up for discussion. You can stand in there or whatever you need to do, but I am taking a shower.”

“Fine,” he sighed. “Let’s go.”

He turned on the water while I quickly stripped off the clothes Ember had sent to the hospital for me. “Remind me to thank Ember for packing a bag for me.”

“I already thanked her, but you’ll have your chance soon, unless you take too long.”

“What?”

“She’ll be here with Diablo soon.”

I wasn’t one to take excessively long showers, but I’d been looking forward to a shower since I found out I was being discharged and was a little disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it as much as I wanted to. It worked out okay in the end though, because I was ready to get out as soon as the basics were done.

“You might have to help me get dressed,” I said weakly. “I think I used all the energy I had.”

Dice gave me a pointed look.

“You spend five days in the hospital throwing up everything you’ve ever eaten without a shower, and then we’ll talk.”

“I get it,” he said. “I don’t like it, but I understand. Come on, let’s get you dressed.”

I’d just gotten situated on the couch when Ember arrived with Diablo. He bolted into the room and started to jump onto the couch, but Dice managed to step in front of him and block him. The look of confusion on Diablo’s face was comical.

“You have to be easy,” Dice said. “Momma’s sick.”

My sweet boy managed to contain himself, even though I could tell he was excited. He’d never been away from me for more than two or three days, and he stayed with my dad.

“Thank you for taking care of him. I hope he wasn’t any trouble,” I said.

“He was no trouble at all. I enjoyed having him at the house,” she said. “How are you feeling?”

“Better, but not great. I’m happy to be home though,” I said. “And thank you for packing a bag for me.”

“No problem. As soon as Dice told me what was going on, I knew you’d need some things from home.”

Diablo barked and ran to the front door when the doorbell rang. Harper appeared with a large box in her hands. “Don’t worry. I’m not staying,” she said. “I just came by to drop off some homemade soup. I wasn’t sure what you liked or what your stomach could handle, so there’s chicken noodle, broccoli and cheese, and potato. I made them this morning, so they’ll keep for a few days.”

“Thank you,” I said sincerely.

“You’re welcome. Let us know if you need anything,” she said as she headed toward the door. “You too, Dice. I don’t mind running to the store for you or coming by to hang out with Daphne if you need to go somewhere.”

“Will do. Thanks, Harper,” he said.

“I’m going to head out, too. I think we talked most of the old ladies into waiting to drop by to check on you, but you’ll likely get a visit from Irene and Evie later today.”

“That’s fine. I don’t mind visitors if they don’t mind me sleeping at random times,” I said.

“I’m going to pretend like you didn’t say that. You won’t have a moment alone if word gets out,” Ember joked. “I’ll see y’all later. Bye, Diablo.”

“Do you want some soup?” Dice asked after she was gone.

“Yes, but I don’t know which one. They all sound good.”

Dice looked in the box and gasped in surprise. “Harper made bread bowls. They’re still warm, and so is the soup.”

“Broccoli and cheese, please,” I said immediately.

Dice laughed and brought the soup over on a wooden tray.

“Where did this come from?”

“It was in the box with the soup.”

“How thoughtful,” I said and put a spoonful of soup in my mouth. “Oh, this is so good,” I groaned.

“Better than hospital soup?”

“That wasn’t soup. That was chicken flavored water.”

“Oh look. She put something in here for Diablo, too,” Dice said and held up a treat that looked like the ones Keegan had at the barn. “Can he have it now?”

“I don’t see why not,” I said and continued eating my soup. It was hard to keep myself from eating too fast. It had been days since I’d had anything decent to eat, and I didn’t want to overdo it with the first meal.

I’d just finished eating when I heard the back door open and close. Diablo lifted his head at the sound but didn’t budge, which meant it was Ink.

“Well, if that’s not perfect timing, I don’t know what is,” Ink said. “What are we eating?”

“Homemade soup from Harper,” I said.

“Hot damn! It’s almost worth getting sick to get one of her care packages,” he said. “May I?”

“Help yourself,” I said.

“No,” Dice said. “Do not help yourself to more than one bread bowl.”

“I wouldn’t eat all of Daphne’s bread bowls. Yours? Yes. Hers? No. Besides, I came over to watch a movie, so I have to save room for popcorn.”

“How do you know Daphne wants to watch a movie?”

“What else is she going to do besides watch a movie or sleep? I mean, if she wants to play cards or put a puzzle together, I suppose we could do that instead.”

“I’m fine with a movie,” I said. “Because I’m likely going to fall asleep.”

I waited until Ink sat down with his soup before I asked him a question I’d been meaning to ask him for a while. “Can I ask you about the tattoos on your ass?”

Ink spluttered and almost spit out his soup. “Good grief, woman. You couldn’t have waited until I didn’t have food in my mouth?”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

Pointing his spoon at me, he said, “Sickness makes you sassy. I kind of like it.”

“So, about your ass tattoos? What are they?”

“They’re inkblots.”

“What?”

“Inkblots. Like the inkblot tests therapists use.”

“Come on, Ink. I’m sick. Don’t make me ask all the questions. Just tell me the story.”

He sighed. “Many years ago, when I was a prospect, I lost a bet. First, let me just say, do not ever take a bet from one of the old ladies. They may seem like nice women, but those ladies are hustlers and will win every time. But I didn’t know that at the time, so when Harper bet she could take me down in the ring—I took it. I had no interest in actually fighting or sparring her, but she’s tiny. I didn’t think I’d have to do anything but stand there until she gave up. And that’s my second piece of advice concerning those women. Do not get in the ring with them. Every single one of them can kick the shit out of men twice their size. Harper had me flat on my back in fifteen seconds. Since I lost, she got to pick my next tattoo, and I couldn’t see it until after it was done. I opted to put it on my butt cheek, so no one would ever see it, in case it was something awful. She’s a therapist, so she picked one of those inkblots they use. But when I saw it, I thought it looked pretty cool, so I asked her to pick another one for the other side. And that’s how I ended up with tattoos on my butt cheeks and the road name Ink.”

“Well, now I want to get a better look at them,” I laughed.

Ink pulled out his phone, tapped at the screen, and held out his phone for me.

“Are you about to show me a picture of your ass?”

“No,” he laughed. “These are the inkblots she picked.”

“What are they?” I asked.

“That’s the thing. They’re open to interpretation. You might see a butterfly while someone else sees a skull. But enough about my ass. How about a movie?”

As expected, they watched a movie while I took a nap. But I think that was what they wanted to happen because the movie was boring as hell and not something either of them would normally watch.

When I woke up, the house was eerily quiet. Diablo was resting at my feet, but Dice and Ink were nowhere to be found. I got up to look for them and found them on the front porch, talking to a woman I didn’t recognize.

“What are y’all doing out here?” I asked.

“Trying not to wake you,” Dice said.

“You didn’t, but you should have,” I said. “It’s too cold to be out here. Come inside.”

The three of them came in and followed me to the living room.

“Daphne, this is Tina Rivera,” Dice said.

She extended her hand to me. “Hi, Daphne. It’s nice to finally meet you in person. Dice was just telling me about your recent hospitalization. How are you feeling?”

“I still have a way to go, but I’m much better than I was.”

“I came by to drop off something for Dice, but I’m glad you’re here. I left a couple of messages for you, but I didn’t realize you were in the hospital. Could we talk for a few minutes?”

“Of course. Please, have a seat.”

“Would you guys mind giving us some privacy?” Tina asked.

“That’s not necessary. They know all about my divorce troubles.”

“I began working on your case, intending to continue what your other lawyer started. At any time, did you ask him to withdraw the filing?”

“I’m not sure what that means,” I said.

“It means to cancel the divorce.”

“No. Absolutely not. I’m not even sure I knew you could do that. But more importantly, why are you asking?”

“When I looked up your case to see what had been done and what still needed to be done, I discovered that the filing had been withdrawn two weeks after it was submitted.”

“Are you saying my divorce was canceled ?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. And if you didn’t request for the motion to be withdrawn, I’m afraid we might have a different problem on our hands.”

“I’m afraid to ask,” I said honestly.

“Do you happen to know the dates you met with your lawyer? And any bills you received from him?”

I reached for my phone. “Give me just a moment to look in my calendar for the dates. I know I have his invoices saved in my email. What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking he canceled your divorce without your consent and continued to bill you for services he wasn’t providing,” she said. “And if that’s the case, I have to report him to the bar association.”

“Here we go,” I said and showed her my phone. “These are the dates I met with him.”

She glanced at her own phone. “Yep. Those last two appointments were after he withdrew the filing. Can you forward the invoices to me?”

“Sure,” I said. “What does this mean for my divorce?”

“We can still proceed with your divorce like we discussed. If I have to file new paperwork, it will be like starting from scratch with the waiting period, but I’m going to speak with one of the judges and see if we can go from the original date since you didn’t authorize the withdrawal. Either way, you’ll get your divorce. It just might take a little longer than we thought. And Ernie McGee is going to have some questions to answer.”

“Are you sure about that? I have enough going on without adding a pissed off lawyer to the mix,” I said.

“Oh, this isn’t the first time Ernie’s been in trouble with the bar association. That’s why I asked you how you came to be his client. He tends to deal with less reputable people. I honestly don’t know how he still has his license. He is definitely one of the lawyers who give the rest of us a bad name. But you don’t have to worry about him. I’m the one who will be reporting him, and between the Blackwings and Mr. Peccati, he knows better than to mess with me or any of my clients.”

“Mr. Peccati? I sold the diner for him. He’s such a nice man,” I said.

“Yeah, a nice Mafia man,” Ink said.

“Mr. Peccati’s association with the Mafia has never been confirmed,” Tina replied.

“I’m glad I didn’t know that when I was working on the diner deal,” I said. “I would have been a nervous wreck.”

“Luca’s just like Phoenix, but in a suit instead of leather,” Ink said. “Now, Lorcan’s a different story.”

“The only difference between Lorcan and Luca is one’s Irish and one’s Italian,” Dice said.

“Yes, Lorcan O’Shea is another person Ernie won’t want to mess with. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about where Ernie is concerned, and neither do I,” Tina assured me. “On that note, I’m going to go and let you get some rest. I’ll get started on everything tomorrow and give you a call with an update in a few days.”

“Thank you for everything,” I said.

“You’re welcome. I hope you feel better soon. Bye, Diablo.” When she said his name, he got up and walked over to her so she could pet his head. “You’re such a sweet boy.”

“It’s kind of scary how she goes from ball buster to super sweet animal lover in the blink of an eye,” Ink said once she was gone.

“I think it’s awesome. I want to be her when I grow up,” I said.

“Newsflash, you are gr?—”

“Do not finish that sentence,” I said.

“Yes, ma’am. I mean, my child.”

“I’m ignoring you,” I said and stuck out my tongue.

Tina had been gone less than ten minutes when the doorbell rang.

That time, it was Irene, Evie, and Edge. “We just came by to check on you and drop off food,” Irene said as Edge placed several bags of food on the counter. “I wasn’t sure what you could tolerate, so I brought a variety of things for you to choose from. I’m sure these two will eat whatever you can’t,” she said, indicating Dice and Ink.

“Thank you. I was able to tolerate broccoli and cheese soup, so I might try something solid next.”

“If you do, there’s a grilled cheese sandwich in there that might work,” she said. “If you need anything, I’m right down the road.”

“And Edge and I are right across the street,” Evie said.

“Thank you,” I said again.

“We’ll see y’all later,” Irene said as they headed for the front door.

“Who’s hungry?” Ink asked and started digging through the bags of food.

“I’ll give the grilled cheese a try,” I said and smiled when he brought it to me. “I could get used to being waited on like this.”

“Who couldn’t?” he laughed.

As we were eating, I realized Dice had been unusually quiet since Tina’s visit. “You seem deep in thought. Is something bothering you?” I asked.

“I was thinking about the situation with your lawyer,” he said.

“What about it?”

“I get why he continued to meet with you and charge you as if he was doing his job, but I don’t understand why he canceled the paperwork. Why not leave it as it was and drag out the next steps if he was trying to milk you for money? Seems like it would be harder to prove any wrongdoing on his part if he went that route.”

“My guess would be so that no one could pick up where he left off without starting over, like Tina assumed she would be doing,” Ink said.

“But why?” Dice asked.

“So she can’t get divorced,” Ink said simply.

“You think Sean is behind this?” Dice asked.

“Have we ever really thought he wasn’t? He’s the only one who could possibly gain something from this situation, even though we don’t know what that is, and then he goes missing right around the time someone starts harassing Daphne. What a convenient way to create an alibi.”

“I don’t know,” I said skeptically. “I don’t think I would call disappearing without a trace convenient .”

“You don’t think it’s Sean?” Dice asked.

“I honestly don’t know. Like I said before, I don’t know what he could gain from staying married to me and trying to kill me. I do have a life insurance policy, but my dad is the beneficiary.”

“You can have more than one life insurance policy,” Ink said.

“She doesn’t. Byte checked,” Dice said.

“I still think it’s him,” Ink said.

I didn’t know what to think. Sean didn’t strike me as the kind of person who would try to physically harm me, but I also didn’t think he was the kind of person who would cheat on me.

“Have you heard anything from Chuck?” I asked.

“Yes,” Dice said. “He called while you were sleeping. They spoke with the Potters and quickly ruled them out as suspects. He wanted me to tell you they were not at all offended and were very concerned about your well-being. He also said they spoke with the bakery and confirmed the cookies did not come from them. They did get the camera footage from your office and are working on identifying the person who delivered them. Other than that, there was nothing new on the other incidents.”

I sighed in exasperation. “So, the list of who it isn’t grows longer while the list of who it might be remains at one.”