Axton (Creed’s Lake MC #3)

Chapter Eighteen

Axton

I turned and looked at Morgan and even I felt her pain. She looked like she could fall forward with that belly and her face said it all, she was miserable.

“Belle, this is Morgan, Creed’s wife. I’m sorry I forgot to tell you, but yes, she’s an actress and she was in that movie you watched today.”

Morgan seemed concerned, and she cleared her throat. “Which movie?” I had to hide my amusement. Morgan didn’t want the little church girl to see her bare ass in the other movies and judge her.

“Umm…the Princess Chronicles, and I loved it.” Belle seemed a bit nervous, so I took a step closer to her and pressed my hand on her back to reassure her she was okay.

“Oh, thank God…” Morgan paused. “I mean, I’m happy you enjoyed it. I presume you’re, Belle. I’d shake your hand, but I don’t want to walk another step in the wrong direction.” Morgan was standing with a hand on her back.

“No, please. You should probably take a rest.” Belle was absolutely adorable.

Creed appeared and I heard Belle gasp. “Another one?” She whispered to herself.

“You must be Belle. I’m Creed, welcome to Creed’s Lake.” He shook her hand then turned before he looked down. “You must be Koty.” He towered over Koty, just like I did.

“It’s nice to meet you.” They shook hands.

Morgan spoke up. “I have some clothes for you upstairs in the guest bedroom. It looks like we are the same size or at least close. I have new undergarments laid out as well, I never got to wear them because…well.” She pointed at her very swollen belly.

“I appreciate it.” Belle said.

“Don’t let her fool you. She has more than a few clothes for you. It takes an entire spare bedroom just to accommodate her accessories. To regular people like us, she has an entire wardrobe for you.”

Regular people like us? Creed was a billionaire, far from a regular person, although he liked to pretend he was.

“Thank you.” Belle said.

“You’ve actually done me a favor. Kayla stopped over to help me thin out my closets. I’m going to need a lot more clothes in all different sizes here soon and need the space.” Morgan said then looked at Bolton. “Valerie, would you mind helping Belle? I’m sorry, but I really need to sit.”

Our little contradiction squealed. “I’m coming! I get to braid her hair like mommy taught me.”

That little shit said that sentence perfectly. Sometimes I wondered if she faked her speech problem just to look cute. I had to admit it worked, it was adorable the way she said things sometimes. Especially adorable when she pushed her glasses up her nose and squinted.

Addie took Belle’s hand and Bolton followed them upstairs.

Creed was standing with his hands in his jean pockets. “Koty, the prospects got you a coat, some jeans, and shirts. You can pick up the rest of what you need at the commissary. I threw them in the half bath over there.” Creed pointed. “See how much simpler men make it? They’re in a Walmart sack on top of the toilet tank.”

“Great thanks.” Koty walked toward the bathroom. He had mentioned a few times that Bolton’s jeans were a little tight in the crotch area and he was starting to get sore.

Creed looked at me. “Come on in, we can catch up, it’ll be awhile. I’m sure Addie wants to play dress up.”

I chuckled. “That child was a walking contradiction.” She bitched about wearing dresses but blushed and turned shy when we complimented her. Well, except Weston. The last time he complimented her dress she kicked him in the shin and punched him in the dick.

I followed Creed into the kitchen where he helped Morgan into a chair. She glared up at him. “What the hell did I do?”

“Your eyes about popped out of your head when you saw her. If she wasn’t wearing that coat you probably would have checked out her tits and ass too.”

Creed opened his mouth to say something then shut it.

“Yep, that’s what I thought.” She rolled her eyes then looked at me and smiled. “I bet you lost it when you saw her. She’s absolutely gorgeous.” She looked at Creed. “It’s time we put some rules in place. No women that look that hot anymore. Wrenly was bad enough, now we have princess Belle.”

“Jealous much?” I asked and I heard Creed take a sharp breath.

“Oh, you fucked up.” He backed away from her.

“Really Axton? I’m sitting here looking and feeling like I’m forty months pregnant. They used to have Rossi night in the theater, and now all the operatives look the other way or leave when I walk in the room.” She sniffled.

“Creed threatened their jobs and their lives if they checked you out, then you started weaponizing your farts. You can clear a room faster than anyone I know, so stop whining.”

Creed whimpered. “Be nice, Morgan…he’s my best friend.”

She smiled and my chair flew back. “Fuck you, Morgan!” I pulled my shirt up over my nose as I got the hell out of that kitchen.

“That one came out hot.” She bragged as I rushed out of the kitchen.

I took in a deep breath of fresh air as soon as I opened the front door and stepped outside. The freezing cold temperatures didn’t bother me as much as her fart as I gagged. That woman single handedly turned the operatives off eating a woman’s ass, which was never my thing anyway. But still, she was fucking with the operative’s heads.

The door opened and I heard a gasp for air behind me.

“I thought you became immune.”

“I thought I was too, and didn’t even tear up anymore, but it’s only getting worse. My wife is the most gorgeous actress in the world, and I can’t even go down on her anymore. These kids can’t come soon enough.” He was taking in the crisp fresh air.

“Then you have diapers.”

“Maybe this happens to prepare dads for changing diapers. They can’t be worse than Morgan, Zoey even said that her stink was abnormal.” He was probably praying for it.

“How much longer?”

“Zoey says she’s only a centimeter dilated. She’s far enough along to deliver safely, so I hope it happens soon so I can get my sweet, adorable wife back.”

The door flew open. “Bad mommy!” Addie looked up at us. “Uncle Mike, will you take me home wif you?” She batted her eye lashes up at me.

“You have school tomorrow, and Uncle Mike just came off a mission and needs a rest.” Creed said.

She crossed her arms, pouted her bottom lip, then stomped her foot. “Fine, but open the damn window next time.”

“Addie!” Creed went to correct her.

“No Addie me, daddy! Dat was rude!” She looked up at me. “Auntie Vow wants you and daddy to carry stuff for da girl.”

Koty came flying through the door and took in a deep breath. “That smell, what is it? Tear gas? Are we under attack?” He panicked.

Creed groaned. “Nothing, can you help us load some stuff in the motorhome? Knowing my wife, she cleared out most of her wardrobe so she can buy new after the babies come.”

“You mean, I have to go back in there?” Koty had fear in his eyes.

“It okay little man. I open da window. Mommy just had a tummy ache. It’ll be otay in an hour.” Addie comforted him.

Creed nudged Addie then gave her a warning look. She looked up at him and shrugged like she was totally innocent and had no idea why he was trying to correct her, then she looked at me. “Uncle Jwosh brought mommy pickled eggs because Daddy was a dickhead today at work. It all daddy’s fault.”

See! She had that sentence almost perfect. I looked at Creed. “ Now what did you do to Magnus?”

Creed was looking down at Addie. “Two cuss words in less than a minute. That means two days you don’t get to go help the doggies at K-9 training.”

She shrugged. “Totawy worf it.”

He looked at me. “I shouldn’t have taken it out on him because he is doing me a favor and he’s not exactly happy about it. Karter’s kid is coming to Creed’s Lake. He’s been given a choice. Either come get the baby or sign adoption papers. I can’t go to California because Morgan can have the babies any day now, and mom’s too sick to deal with it. So, I’m sending Magnus and Kayla with Karter to negotiate this whole thing. Kayla will be his legal representation, although I’m Karter’s guardian. That means Magnus has to deal with my mom and stepdad to get signatures. I’m going to do what I can to stop the girl from signing her rights away. I don’t think this is a choice the girl is making. She loves my niece then suddenly she doesn’t want to be her mom anymore? That makes no sense to me. They found out my brother comes from money, and they thought they were going to get a lot more in child support. They didn’t get what they wanted in the judgement, so they’ve made things very hard for Karter. Sadly, it could come down to being my fault. I’ve been taking the child support from Karter’s pay and sending it, but also added some from my own pocket because I wanted my niece to have a good life. I should have consulted legal before I did it. I had no idea the courts would catch the overpayment and do a take back so Karter would be reimbursed. If they would have just called and told me, I would have cut them a check and sent it outside the court system. Instead, they jumped straight to not wanting the responsibility of the baby anymore. I think the girl is scared and just doing what her parents tell her to do. I need Kayla to talk with the girl about what she really wants, and if I’m right, I’m going to offer her the opportunity to come live here with the baby. That way my niece has both of her parents helping raise her. I have no doubts my checkbook will persuade the parents to agree. My mom abandoned me, and I don’t want my niece growing up feeling the way I did.”

“We’re getting another baby!” Addie was delighted.

“ You're getting another baby?” I asked Creed.

“We’re moving Karter in downstairs with my niece and I’ve hired Yolanda as a nanny for all four kids. Melissa is pregnant and Morgan and I can’t take it all on. We’ve agreed to keep the baby when Karter goes to the academy next year. I want him to be able to focus on school and he has to keep working to pay for all the things his daughter needs. I refuse to let mom send money because Karter has to learn how to be a responsible parent. Part of his check will go to paying Yolanda for her help, and Morgan and I are covering the majority because we will need her help as well.”

Yolanda was our first DV case. She was a good choice to be a nanny. “So, Magnus is mad because he has to deal with your parents?”

He nodded. “Mostly it’s the part where he has to travel with a teenager and an infant that’s got him all worked up.”

I couldn’t blame the guy. “My sister could help with the baby while they are traveling. She can be a bit uptight. You know, saving herself for marriage and all that? Those kinds of girls don’t really know how to let loose, and they tend to do a lot of babysitting.”

Creed’s face was turning blood red as he looked at me, as if he was holding something back. “Are you okay?” I asked.

He turned away from me and put his hands on his hips then looked up at the sky.

“What’s wrong?” I asked again.

“I’m good.” It sounded like he was holding his breath.

“I’m freezing.” Koty said. “But my only choice is to freeze or go back inside and not be able to breathe.”

I was looking at Creed. “Is there something I should know?”

“I tink he is eider laughing or cwying. I don’t care, I’m going inside.” Addie said then opened the door and went inside. “It his own fault.” She shut the door.

I looked back at Creed. “Dude, if it’s all getting to be too much, I’m here to talk. I know I can be kind of a dick lately, but I’m still your closest friend.”

“I’m fine, let’s load up that motorhome.” He didn’t as much as turn around before he opened the door and went inside. Totally avoiding looking at me.

When I stepped inside I bumped right into Creed who was completely still. I looked around him and my heart may have stopped.

“Holy shit.” I swallowed hard. Belle was walking down the steps in a pair of jeans and a form fitting sweater. I never saw a pair of jeans fit someone so perfectly. My mouth felt dry, and I had a thirst like I never had before in my life. Belle’s thick copper hair was braided, and it was swept over her left shoulder.

“It still smells bad.” Koty complained.

Belle and Bolton suddenly stopped, and my heart was racing.

“Which one of you pissed her off?” Bolton pulled her sweater over her nose.

Belle’s eyes grew and she slapped her hand over her nose and mouth. Her beautiful eyes began to water as she looked between me, Creed, Koty, and Addie.

“Daddy put two babies in mommy and now all twee of dem fart at da same time. It’s his fault.” Addie pointed at Creed. “Can I go home wit you tonight, Auntie Vow?” She batted her eyelashes up at her.

“Addie, we will get through this as a family. I know it’s hard, but you can’t keep begging to go home with people every time mommy gets a tummy ache. Your place is here with mom and dad, because we love you and will miss you if you leave. You don’t want us to be sad, do you?” Creed tried straightening her out.

“It not my pwobkem you get sad. I just want to bweave. Uncle Jwosh set us up because of you.”

“Lets get this done so we can get out of here and get some fresh air.” I motivated everyone.

Thirty minutes later, we were back in the motor home, where we were all taking in deep breaths of clean air. When Creed said Morgan had a lot for Belle, he wasn’t joking. It filled the bedroom of the motorhome up completely. She even gave her a few coats and she needed something because it was getting even colder. It was negative two and it hadn’t been dark for thirty minutes yet. I hated daylight savings time. It always got dark way too early.

I stopped the motorhome at the end of Creed’s driveway when a convoy of trucks drove by. “Please tell me that’s not Jeremy.” Koty said.

“No, that’s Magnus and Drakos. They must be done with Jeremy and they’re returning home.”

There were Christmas lights everywhere. We hadn’t been gone for a week and there was more than when we left. How much did that cost us? Not only did Creeds Lake pay for it, it took the maintenance team and the prospects away from doing the real work we needed done. Time was money and we had mouths to feed. “Is that? That better not be what I think it is.” I growled.

“Loosen up, Axton. It’s just a horse and carriage. I think it’s sweet. I’m going to have Darren take me on a Christmas carriage ride.” Bolton was just as ridiculous as Creed. They were both guilty of enabling Morgan.

“How much is that costing us? Wait! Whose horse and carriage is that?” I watched as it passed by us. “That was Old Man Jeffries! Who gave him clearance?” Son of a bitch! “What’s next? Fake snow here too?”

“That sounds like fun! They could bring one of those machines from the ski slopes!” Bolton was fucking with me. “We have to get some snow mobiles!”

I ignored her and we finally made it to the Community Center. I couldn’t believe how cold it was, and there were people walking around everywhere. I saw them drinking hot chocolate by the ice rink, older kids were walking in groups, fucking Santa was at the gazebo letting kids sit on his lap for pictures. If only those parents knew where that Santa suit had been. We stepped out of the motor home and the speakers were loudly playing Christmas music. “What the hell happened when we were gone?”

“It’s called Christmas Spirit, Axton. You should really get some.” Bolton needed to let up.

“I need a beer.” I opened the back door of the motorhome and looked up to see a big pair of blue eyes looking down at me. Suddenly, all my frustrations lifted off me. Wow! I held my hand out for Belle, and when she stepped out she scanned everything around her.

“Everyone is smiling.” She was amazed, and then I realized something. She never saw a celebration. Never gathered with friends for a laugh. Was never held by anyone that just wanted to hold her because it made them happy. As I looked at her, I wondered if anyone ever told her that they loved her and she might have been beautiful on the outside, but she had a glow about her that shined from the beauty inside her. When a huge smile formed on her face, it formed on mine, and I couldn’t stop taking in every aspect of that beautiful face.

Bolton spoke up, and when I looked at her, she had wet eyes, like she was holding back tears. “That’s because they know there is no sin in happiness. They’re free to celebrate the life of Christ in their own ways, and there is no threat of damnation in enjoying those they love and doing the things that make them happy. Don’t look at today as a way of survival. Look at today as the day God told you that it’s okay to live and enjoy life. There is no script, no prophecies, and you are free to love and accept everyone God puts in your path. Many of these people experienced the worst things about this world and they are survivors. All of these people will go to heaven someday and reunite with the ones they love. They don’t have to search for God's love. They feel it when they laugh, when they look at the people they love, in every child’s laughter, and sometimes even when they have to say goodbye.” Bolton sounded like a cheesy Christmas card, but I liked what her words did for Belle.

Belle reached up and wiped a tear away. I wanted nothing more than to pull her into me and hold her. I knew she was thinking about her parents, and it just about gutted me. She turned her head and looked at Bolton. “This looks a lot like heaven.”

“Creed’s Lake is like that for a lot of us.” Bolton squeezed her in for a side hug. “Let’s go make you an official resident of this community.”

Twenty minutes later, I was drinking a beer in Club X, which hadn’t turned over to the after dark club yet. Koty and Belle were meeting with Jennings’s wife, Heidi, who was filling in for Steph while she was visiting with family in Maine. With a beer in hand, I stood in front of a Christmas tree with my eyes focused in on a star ornament. It took me back many years.

Seventeen years ago…

I had blindfolds on Natalie and Kayla as we stood in front of it. “You can take them off now.”

Both girls reached up and took the handkerchiefs off, and my heart swelled ten times larger as the lights twinkled in their eyes. They were so amazed they couldn’t speak for a moment.

Natalie’s eyes filled with tears and Kayla raced over to the first Christmas tree she could probably remember.

“How?” Natalie tried to hold back her tears.

“It’s not a big deal, I had a little extra cash this month.” It was a lie, I barely made the bills, then I busted my ass because I found an opportunity at the last minute and jumped on it. They would never know I climbed a pine tree and cut off the top then drug it inside. They’d never know that I wasn’t in my bed a few nights and I snuck out. They’d never know that I rode my bicycle in the middle of December and the middle of the night to the landfill. They’d never know a guy paid me to climb inside several garbage trucks in the middle of the night to scrub the insides down and puked more than once. They’d never know I rode my bike back and got home two hours before it was time to get myself and Kayla ready for school. All of that was behind me and I couldn’t wait to see them open their gifts. I knew all that hard work was going to be worth it, and I was just about to receive the greatest gift ever.

It was five in the morning on Christmas day, and I was too excited to see their faces when they saw it. I had to wake them up. Her family was all passed out drunk, so I walked right in and woke Natalie up, then went back home and woke Kayla up.

Kayla was on the floor shaking presents with the biggest smile on her face I had ever seen. “There’s presents here for you too, Natalie!” Kayla’s excitement made every night I puked my guts out working inside those garbage trucks worth it.

“Go ahead and start opening them.” I prompted.

My heart raced as Kayla had wide eyes and a huge smile while she opened each gift. She opened the hair ties first, then the bracelets, a shirt, snow boots and a new coat, then last but not least, a new Barbie.

Natalie opened her hair ties, bracelets, new coat and last was the necklace. She set it all down then jumped up and raced into my arms. “Thank you, Mikey! It’s the best Christmas ever!” She hugged on to me as she cried. I buried my face in her neck and cried because I just saw tears in my sister’s eyes when she realized all the gifts were open and there was none left for me. Kayla likely didn’t realize that I had already received my gift, and it was in her smile and the way her eyes lit up with joy.

All my mom did for Christmas that year, was get arrested on Christmas Eve. She got the car my grandpa gave her when Kayla was born impounded because she was driving under the influence again.

“I love you so much, Mikey.” Natalie cried. We had one thing in common during Christmas. Neither one of us had parents that gave enough of a shit to at least go to the Salvation Army to get us gifts. I couldn’t do it. If I did, they would have tipped off child protection services and I’d be separated from Kayla. All my mom ever did for me during that Christmas was fuck me over. We would never have enough money to get that car out of impound, and we sure as hell didn’t have the money to bail mom out. The even sadder part was that she had our food stamp card on her and at the first of the month we wouldn’t have any food left. I was only fourteen and I already knew she was going to have to do some time. It wasn’t her first offense, but it was her third. I didn’t have the heart to take back the gifts and the ham I bought for Christmas dinner. The night shift job was only temporary, so I’d have to find someone willing to pay me under the table because a fourteen-year-old couldn’t legally work at night. I was going to need another night shift job. I already knew the electric bill was going to be high because it was so cold outside, and the electric was our only source of heat.

“I have one more thing for you.” We let go of each other and I glanced at Kayla. She was playing with her new Barbie with a huge smile on her face. I walked behind the old broken sofa and grabbed one big gift then walked it over to Natalie. “It’s not much, but it’s for the little ones. It’s just generic Legos and they will have to share, but it’s at least something for them to open.” It was a pretty big box, and I didn’t want to leave it under the tree because it may have disappointed Kayla because it wasn’t for her.

She knocked the box out of my hands when she jumped back into my arms and began peppering kisses all over my cheeks and forehead. “You’re the sweetest and best friend ever!”

There it was best friend. I knew I would always just be her best friend, she didn’t love me the way I loved her. I loved her as much as I loved Kayla, but just in a different way. Natalie gave me hopes and dreams, which gave me the motivation and courage I needed to do better and work hard to get all three of us off that mountain. To take them somewhere we could have had better lives.

“I have a ham to cook, want to help?” I asked when she finally let go of me.

“Yes! Then we can go tell the little ones that Santa came! This is why I love you, Mikey. Thank you!” She kissed my cheek again then took my hand and pulled me into the kitchen.

An hour later, the ham was in the oven, and she helped me try to make pancakes the shape of reindeer, but it was a huge fail. She made fun of me, and I chased her down then tackled her to the floor to tickle her. I loved tickling her because she had the funniest and most contagious laugh ever. Kayla always joined in, and it would be them against me.

My greatest fear was child protection services splitting the three of us up. Kayla and Natalie were always my motivation to work hard to keep them fed and have clean clothes on their backs.

Kayla and I had a good family in Charleston, but my mom alienated us from them. She caused them a lot of grief and was too toxic when they didn’t give her what she wanted. She eventually became estranged from both her parents, then her siblings, and eventually my aunt and uncle. As a drunk she was toxic, but when she had moments of sobriety, she was the best mom ever. Unfortunately, those days had become more and more rare. She had a special kind of resentment reserved just for me. When I was eight, I made my parents business my own when I stepped in and took my mom’s beating for her. I almost died, and all she cared about was him being sent to prison. On every holiday and birthday, she reminded me that I was the piece of shit that sent dad to prison, and I better not forget it.

Present day…

I was shaken out of my thoughts when Bolton said my name.

“Magnus just called for a debriefing. He’s down in the command center, and Melissa is on her way to sit with Morgan and Addie already, so Creed will be here soon. We better head down there and get this over.”

I thought it was strange he wouldn’t wait until the next day for the Originals daily meeting. “What about Belle?”

“I gave Grover the keys to the motorhome so he can help unpack. Heidi is almost done with them, and she’s going to order their dinner and take them to their apartment. She’s going over in the morning to take them to the medical center and Zoey will check them out.”

Not only was I disappointed, but Belle was probably scared, and I planned to take them to their apartment and help them get settled.

“Darren is coming to the meeting, and he’ll give you a ride home.” She said as we walked out of Club X.

We walked into the command center conference room right before Creed. “What’s so important that I have to leave my pregnant wife and kid at home with a pint sized sadist?”

Everyone looked at Drakos and he whimpered as he slid down in his seat in shame. Huh, who knew Drakos even knew shame.

Magnus caught everyone’s attention. “Those fuckers today were insane. I mean like no fear of death kind of insane. They want her and they want her bad. I got a visual of this Jeremiah nut job, and he had two women politely sitting in the back seat of his mega cab Ford. How the hell does someone like that afford that kind of truck? Anyway, the women looked like they were under some sort of mind manipulation and sat there like obedient dogs while he slammed into my truck! The women didn’t even react to us, they just stared ahead, and it was creepy as hell. Those men wanted to play bumper cars on the interstate! We had them boxed in and they kept trying to head east, but we eventually got them on Waterson, and they turned around. We know they weren’t going to stay heading west, but as soon as we heard Axton made it into the gates we let them go. We didn’t have a choice, it was getting to be rush hour and too many lives were at risk. They had at least thirty people with them. I recommend putting us on lock down and taking security up to level red. They’re going to try something.” He warned us.

“Are we really afraid of some Religious cult? They can’t get past our security with what little they have.” Jennings said.

Irons sat back in his chair. “I believe he is in deep with the cartel and there’s more to this whole marriage thing to Belle than we know. Why would he risk the entire cult for one girl?”

Creed sat forward. “You haven’t seen this girl. I haven’t seen the operatives in the community center this hyped up since they learned my wife was coming here. I’m talking long legs, big blue eyes and a…”

“That’s enough.” I cut Creed off, and fuck him. “He wants her as a legal wife. Not just a spiritual wife, and he wanted it immediately after her dad died. I’m sure he’s gone by now, by the way. My bet is the old man’s will, and I wouldn’t doubt it if Belle has absolutely no idea what’s in it. This is a cult that won’t even let women drive, let alone talk about finances and estates. Koty might have some idea, but I doubt he knows either because he was being watched so closely. Not just by Jeremiah, but his own family. They didn’t trust he had faith and when he was forced to marry a child, he refused to have sex with the girl. Hell, he won’t even take responsibility for her. The elders were fed up with his resistance, but Koty refused to leave without Belle.”

Irons nodded. “That makes sense. We need to find out if the old man is still hanging in there or if he has passed. It wouldn’t hurt to look into the old man’s assets and maybe even take a look in the probate court’s system and see if anything has been filed.”

Bolton spoke up. “I spent quite a bit of time speaking with Koty, and Axton is right. Koty said women cannot inherit estates in their religion. The will states that Belle’s husband is to inherit the full estate, and he thinks his dad might be wealthy. I’m not sure if this is a clue, but he said something that makes me think there’s something very old included in the estate. He talked about the religion and said the Bible can be interpreted in many ways. For them, they follow the teachings of their ancestors for the laws here on earth, a long line of prophets who were chosen by God himself. He reaches through the veil between heaven and earth and touches the next prophet. I wonder if they think Belle’s future husband is the next prophet. If Jeremiah marries Belle, he doesn’t just get the estate but a few thousand faithful followers that hand every dime they earn over to him.” Bolton swiveled in her chair a little and thought before she looked back up at us. “What is old that would be passed down from one generation to another?” She asked.

Everyone had a different answer. “In my family it’s alcoholism and bad decisions.” I said.

Creed chuckled. “Greed.”

“Murder suicide.” Drakos said and everyone whipped their heads around to look at him.

“What? It’s what my parents did.”

“That isn’t passed down generations. Bolton, fix Drakos, please. We need Melissa around for at least another eleven years when Addie goes to college.” Creed said.

She shook her head. “I’m not talking about those kinds of things, but something tangible that can keep giving and serve a purpose for each generation.”

Nobody had an answer.

She smiled. “Land and probably a lot of it.”

Creed looked at Irons. “Add property searches in the U.S. and Canada to the list. Maybe check out Mexico and South America as well.”

“Jeremiah couldn’t marry Belle unless he received her father’s blessing. If the father has passed that blessing must come from her oldest living and faithful brother. Koty had been trying to work out an escape plan with Belle ever since he was forced to marry the girl. Their father wanted her taken to safety because the oldest brother gave his consent to the marriage before the father even died. My question is why her brothers would turn on her and her father?”

Creed was deep in thought. “I’m not sure what the brother gets if he’s supposed to be faithful to the religion, but I can see where Jeremiah’s plan benefits everyone but the cult followers and the people being human trafficked through the border. If this theory is right, I’d say there’s minerals on the land. Free labor, help from the cartel, and the MCs are more than happy to help because it expands their territory. We need to get our hands on that will as soon as possible.”

“Koty said all the men had jobs. Most of them own real estate offices, real estate appraisals, and insurance offices. I wonder if he plans to funnel money through these small businesses. It's the perfect setup.” Bolton said.

“Jeremiah builds tiny homes, and I wonder if his father didn’t own a construction company. There are well known contractors that hire companies who employ illegals and take responsibility for it. That could be how he got into contact with the cartel. They put a bounty on Koty’s head as well.” I said.

Creed spoke up. “Alright, we can dream up theories all night, but we won’t know anything for sure until we do the research. For now, all we can do is vote on Magnus’s request for a level red lockdown. There’s already a cartel presence in Southern Indiana thanks to the Devil’s Rejects, and I can see a legitimate risk here. The cartel has been way too patient, and I don’t see that lasting, especially now. My vote is yes, we need to lockdown.”

Everyone agreed.

That meant I had work to do, and I wasn’t sure if it would be too late to check on Belle. Dammit, there was a small army outside the gates that wanted her, and I lived way across the lake from her apartment.