Chapter Twenty-Four Olivia
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: OLIVIA
I wake up cold, so I know Lake’s no longer in bed. Rolling over, I feel the sheets and realize he’s been gone for some time. Checking my phone, I expect the time to be much later than seven. Rolling out of bed, I shower and pack my clothes and toiletries. Annette and I are driving back to New Orleans today, and I want to be ready to leave. Stepping out my door, I run into Toff, who is leaving Annette’s room. He gives me a guilty look before hightailing it downstairs. Annette smirks at me.
“I thought you two were a couple,” I tease her as we follow him.
“He didn’t want to be alone last night.”
I can only nod at that statement. The previous day was tough for Toff. From the sound of raised voices from the kitchen, today is off to a bad start for him, too.
“Just drop it. Okay?” Lake snaps.
“What’s going on?” I ask Lake, eyeing the two brothers as they glare at each other.
“Lake’s spouting his club business bullshit,” Toff says, not taking his eyes off his brother. “He said they shipped someone off to a farm but won’t say who or what this fucking farm is.”
I whip my head around to stare at Lake. “You caught them?”
Lake growls, but Zip chuckles. “You might as well tell them. They’ll work it out eventually. Besides, I’m sure they’d all like to know they don’t have to keep looking over their shoulders.”
Lake glances at Zip, then shrugs. “Fine. You’re right. Okay, yesterday, after we saw the three men who kidnapped Olivia and Annette take off from Running Bear’s cabin, I called Hex. They intercepted the men, took them somewhere, and locked them up. I’m not telling you anything more.”
“I take it this ‘farm’ is where your enemies disappear?” Annette asks.
“What part of my statement that I’m not telling you anything more did you not understand?” Lake demands.
Annette glances at me, then Toff, before returning to Lake. “Can you promise those assholes aren’t going to bother us or our people again? You don’t have to speak. A nod will do.”
Lake gives her a quick nod.
“Then, I’m fine with you keeping your secrets. Three assholes off the streets and out of our lives is payment enough.”
Lake shifts his eyes to Toff. The stubborn set of his jaw tells me he isn’t as agreeable as Annette, but he surprises me by shrugging. “I don’t like it. Those assholes should pay for what they did, but I doubt the cops will do more than smack them on the wrist. I have one more question, and then I’m done.”
Lake sighed but gestured for him to continue.
“Are you going to find out why they threatened our people and kidnapped the women?”
“We are, but I think Zip already figured out what they wanted with our land. Zip?”
Zip pushes the paper in front of him to the other side of the table so we can see it.
“This is amazing. Did you draw it?” Annette asks, eyeing the colored pencils.
“Zip’s hobby is cartography,” I explain. “You should see the map he created of New Orleans. It hangs up in his office. The detail is stunning.”
“The line here is our territory, right?” Toff asks, pointing to the red lines that dissect the map. The poorly drawn lines stand out against the carefully drawn map.
“As close as I could make them,” Lake says.
“Are they correct?” Zip asks.
“Close enough. The only change is here,” Toff says, pointing to the line that passes through the bayou. “These two islands are owned by two of our families.”
“Okay, let me adjust,” Zip says, pulling the map back and redrawing the lines. He turns the map back around and explains how ideal the setup is for smuggling.
“That makes sense,” Toff admits. “Most of our people make their living in the bayou. They harvest their products from the sea and transport them to buyers via the mainland. No one pays them any mind because they’ve been traveling the same route for decades. The Sheriff leaves us alone because we’ve never given him cause to think we’re doing anything illegal.”
“That would change if Coyote’s plan to gain recognition for our tribe. We’d have tribal police patrolling the area,” Annette adds.
“That was our thinking, too.”
“So, the person who attacked Coyote was trying to stop his progress for either the smuggling or the oil. What are we going to do to figure out who and why?” Toff asks.
“I’ll present everything we know and suspect to the elders today and then to the rest of our people,” Lake says. “I don’t know why Coyote kept it secret, but he put himself at risk by not sharing his plan.”
“You think by bringing it out into the open, Coyote’s attacker will expose himself?” I ask.
“I think by bringing it out into the open and announcing that I’m taking over the legal battle, whoever attacked Coyote will come after me.”
I jerk at his comment. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and draws me close. “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. Plus, knowing I’m a target makes me more dangerous to them than they are to me.”
I know he is right; someone with eyes in the back of their head would have the advantage in a fight. Whoever came after Lake wouldn’t find him as easy a target as Coyote. Knowing this eased some of the worry, but not all of it. “You’re staying to watch his back?” I ask Zip.
Zip grins. “You know it. We look out for each other. Your man will be safe.”
“We should get going,” Annette says. “I’m hoping we can go to the hospital so I can sign in.”
“Levi is on his way to pick you up,” Lake says. He holds his hand up when Annette opens her mouth to protest. “I know you want to take your car, but you’ll be safer driving with him. You won’t need your car in the short term. The prospects will drive you everywhere.”
“I still want my car,” Annette pushes back.
“How about I drop it off?” Toff offers. “I’m calling the lawyer who was working with Coyote. If I meet her at her office, I can take your car. I’d like to see the clubhouse and the hospital where you will work.”
Annette grins. “I’d like that. Okay, I can survive a day or two without a vehicle. You sure we can trust Levi?”
“Since he’s my brother, yes,” I say with a laugh.
The men leave for the meeting with the elders before Levi arrives to pick us up. After I introduced Levi and Annette, he helped load up the SUV with her bags.
“Cleo and Delphine have readied a room for you,” Levi says once we’re on the road. “Nora is cooking a special dinner for tonight to welcome you. Everyone is excited to have you stay.”
Annette looks shocked and pleased. “That’s very nice of you. I admit I was a little concerned about staying in an apartment alone. While at school, I had roommates. First in the dorm and then in an apartment. Then, after hearing about the kidnappings, I was dreading being on my own.”
“You don’t have to worry about that now,” I assure her. “There is always someone around the clubhouse.”
The drive back to New Orleans is uneventful. I haven’t lived at the clubhouse long, so I remember my awe at seeing the former plantation. Hex has a photo of the house when it was new: impeccably maintained grounds with pristine gardens. I can’t help but remember that when they took that photo, misery had created the opulence. I much prefer the natural wildness that surrounds the place now. Hex has a few framed photos of the enslaved people who toiled on this land. Pictures meant to capture the prosperity of the plantation owner but now were symbols of respect for those who had no voice. Nature reclaiming the land shows the power of freedom.
“This is an MC clubhouse?” Annette asks. “How did they acquire an old plantation?”
I chuckle at her disbelief. “Hex’s family once lived here.”
“So, he inherited the land?”
“No. Hex’s ancestors were enslaved people on the land. He bought it and turned it into a symbol of freedom. Because that’s what the MC life is all about. Freedom. Freedom to live your life the way you want to live it.”
Levi unloads Annette’s bags while I lead her to the front door. We step inside to find Delphine and Cleo waiting for us.
“Annette, this is Cleo. She’s Hex’s woman. And this is Delphine. She’s Hex’s mother. Her man is Dixie, who you haven’t met yet.
“Did someone say my name?” comes an Irish lilt behind us. Turning, I spot Dixie coming down the stairs along with Abra. After introducing Annette to them, we sit on the couches in the corner of the grand room. The news is on, and the flashing headline and the photo of a woman I recognize capture my attention. My friend Talia. The nurse who has been missing for several weeks. The headline proclaims that the police found the body of the missing woman floating in the river.