31. Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Medusa
I breathe in and out trying to calm my nerves. I need to be on top of my game. Falling asleep was something I didn’t need because life is kicking my ass in every direction. With Noah’s nightmare freaking him out, I’m now on edge, and I can’t do that right now. Is this why I’ve avoided relationships? I’m in charge of all of these women plus taking care of my brother and sister has made me tapped out on people to care for. Should I end things with Noah before we both get too close?
“Medusa, how are you feeling?” Tiffany “Leslie” Kaiser, our newest member spots me as she comes out of the bathroom with the cleaning products. “Do you need me to clean your room?”
“I’m feeling better and no. My room is fine for now. Thank you for asking. How are you?”
“I’m great. I finished school and graduate in a few months but have to get some credit for student teaching. I’m excited about the second grade.”
“I bet that’s a fun age. Good luck with that. If you need anything, let us know.” She tells me she will before walking away to clean some more.
“Hey! TJ is almost here.” DaVinci brings me a Dr Pepper to drink. “Noah, would you like something to drink?”
“I’ll take some water, please. Also I hate to ask but could I get something to eat? I need to take my antibiotic.” DaVinci hands him the water bottle then heads to the kitchen. I walk around to sit at an empty table. I sigh as I check my phone for messages.
“Have we heard anything from anyone?” Bubbles comes to sit next to me with her latte in her hand. She shakes her head no.
“My source in the police department says that they're running fingerprints. It could take some time for any answers.”
“Do you think Lucas took her or is he a victim in this as well?” Noah sits down next to me as he pulls out his meds from the bag he was carrying. I watch as he reads the bottles before taking what he needs out of them.
“We don’t know anything about Lucas because she kept it quiet.” Bubbles leans back in her chair sipping her Starbucks. “If she only would’ve let me in.” I groan as I shut my eyes. There’s so many balls in the air right now and I don’t know where to go from here.
“You can't keep setting yourself on fire to keep everyone warm.” Noah speaks up. I look at him and my eyebrow raises because I’m not following his line of thinking. He smiles at me. “It’s like what it says, you’re taking care of everyone else before you. It weighs on you if you don’t set some sort of balance. It’s one of the many things I love about you, I just don’t want to see you go down trying to take it all on.”
“When my dad was killed, I promised him.” I whisper.
“Promising to take care of your family and friends doesn’t mean you need to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. You have an amazing set of chosen family here, lean on them. Lean on me. I promise you’re not alone.”
“Hey lawyer boy is smart.” TJ’s voice breaks the through the words in my head. “What has you spiraling this time?” He teases.
“Everything. What did you find out at Michelle’s place?”
“Definitely a sign of struggle in her room. The rest of the house looks lived in and her roommate Anna said it doesn’t look any different.” He shrugs. “They live like slobs. I was able to find some doorbell cam footage. I sent the footage over to Joker when I got it. She’s doing her thing.” I sigh in relief. I hope we can get some answers.
“You are never going to believe who I just saw on the doorbell footage. Michelle wasn’t kidnapped. She left willingly. I heard the conversation between her and Tommy DeMarco. They know each other.” Joker puts her laptop on the table and hits play.
“Hey Tommy.” Michelle smiles at him like I used to smile at my dad. Did she stay in contact with him after mom split? “What are you doing here? I thought I was meeting you at the restaurant with Lucas.”
“Lucas sent me over to pick you up. He’s working on a special project for me. His mother can’t wait to meet you tonight.”
“I’m excited to meet her too. I need about ten minutes to change. Want to come in and wait?”
“No, I’ll wait here.” Then he does something I should’ve expected. He stares at the camera. “My little Medusa. Come find me. It’s now your turn. Michelle looks so much like your mother. Oh how I enjoyed fucking her then slicing her throat in the bed we shared. I wonder if Michelle will feel the same or if her eyes will be as wide as your mother’s were when the blade hit her throat.” Tommy shivers like he’s excited. “My true trophy will be you, my bella. Counting down the time. Tag you’re it.” He blows me a kiss before stepping back as he sees something in the window. Michelle opens the door with a smile on her face. She walks ahead of him and he tells one of his guys, “Toss the place. It will give us a head start.” He adjusts his cock in his dress slacks before turning and walking down the stairs on the porch.
“I got the license plate and started a search from Michelle’s place all over the town.” Joker sits down moving her laptop to be in her view. She’s typing something and I know she’s writing code on the fly. I asked her one time what she was doing and that was her explanation.
“Okay. So let the police do their thing. We can focus on Tommy.” Noah pipes up. “When we find him, then we find Michelle, Lucas, and the man who blew up the mechanic shop.”
“We?” Bubbles asks with a smirk on her face. “Do you know how to shoot a gun?” He shakes his head no. “Crash course coming up.” Bubbles scans the room and I know who she is looking for. “Trip, we need a gun lesson and some refresher courses for TJ and the prospects.” Trip saunters over to us.
“Who needs a gun lesson?” Trip stands there eyeing the table. Noah raises his hand just then DaVinci comes out with a turkey sandwich and some chips placing it in front of Noah telling him to eat up. She also puts a glass of orange juice next to the plate.
“Once you’re done eating, we can go out to the range,” she announces. “Anyone can come who wants some play time with the guns, and prospects are to be there no matter what unless stated by Medusa.” Trip heads over to the pool table and starts a game while Noah eats.
TJ motions with his head toward my office. We both stand and head over there. He closed the door before I could even sit down in my chair. There’s a ton of paperwork all over my desk that I need to go through and deal with.
“Where is your head?” TJ asks me as he’s sitting down.
“All over the place, but I’m happy to know Michelle hasn’t been kidnapped. It also gives us closure about what happened to Mom. She was killed some time ago, but who knows when and where she’s buried. Now we focus on finding Lucas or as you know Luca. Once we get Luca, we get Tommy.”
“Is getting Tommy worth all of this? You have Noah volunteering to fight alongside you after being burned. He shouldn’t be doing anything physical yet.” TJ is reprimanding me and I roll my eyes at him.
“I didn’t make him volunteer. Do you know how nice it is to find someone to stand beside me instead of cowering? I don’t want him to be a part of this world, but I’m also not going to stop him either.”
“I’m sorry. I guess I’m overprotective of him because he was in my shop when it happened.”
“It’s not your fault. They thought it was empty. We will get our revenge. Don’t you worry about it.” There’s a knock on the door. I yell to come in. Joker’s standing there.
“The bomber is at his apartment. He snuck in about ten minutes ago. One of his tenants reached out.”
“Get Trip, and few of the members. We’re heading out in the van. No bikes. I don’t want Richie Jr. to see us coming.”
“Electric or cable company?” she asks.
“Either one.” We made some decals for the local businesses, so we can blend in when we do recon or kidnapping. “Do you need to talk more or can this wait until later?”
“Later,” TJ tells me as we walk out together. I kiss Noah goodbye and head out to the white cargo van.