7. Cairo
SEVEN
cairo
I heard her sneak inside my house before her ass even hit the hardwood floors of our living room.
As luck would have it for me, Reeve isn’t home. Because, if he were, this would’ve ended up a whole different way with a plethora of bloodthirsty emotions and passionate yelling.
Reeve and Bay’s dynamic is a whole lot different than her and Torin’s. Those two are wildly obsessed with each other.
To the point that it’s almost sickening.
If Reeve had a girl here—which he has over the last three nights, to my utter and vocal disapproval—Bay would’ve ripped half her hair out before she’d beat her ass.
It’d be a riot.
I’d have broken furniture, hair everywhere, and a very angry South Shore girl to calm down and then kick out.
Dealing with all of them—Torin included—would become a pain in my ass.
Still is.
After everything that’s happened over the course of this week, I’m torn in a million different directions. If it’s not Torin, it’s Reeve. And if it’s not Reeve, it’s Torin telling me Ozzy stepped in and married her.
Honestly, I thought it was a bunch of bullshit.
Torin’s cousin doesn’t talk to anyone but us. He also definitely doesn’t speak to women, let alone marry one.
However, Torin was drunk off his ass when he told me the news, and I saw the familiar glint of murder in his eyes.
I just don’t know if it’s more directed at Bay or Ozzy.
Meanwhile, I count my so-called lucky stars that Reeve is out, but when Bay began searching for Torin’s room, I think my heart stopped for a minute.
This girl…she’s a moron.
I can’t calculate anything she’s about to do. I don’t even believe she knows what she’s about to do half the time, but I had hoped that maybe—just maybe—he’d calm his ass down when he saw her.
So much for that.
Torin is not in the right mindset, with grieving Judah and obsessing over right and wrong, and what to do with her. And bravely, Bay stepped into the lion’s den like he wasn’t about to bite her whole head off.
Meanwhile, I waited outside his bedroom for a gunshot to go off.
So, imagine my surprise when I heard nothing, and she waltzed out with no holes.
Torin won’t be sleeping after this—something I’ll have to deal with later—but getting her out of the house is vital.
For me.
For Reeve.
And definitely for Torin.
The number of times I have told this woman to stay away is monotonous at this point. She doesn’t listen and won’t until she’s dead.
Which can’t be on any of our watches.
If Levi Wallace wasn’t planning on murdering each and every single one of us already, he’d drop a nuclear bomb just to make sure the job was done if Bay ended up dead.
This isn’t the time for solo missions of reconciliation. Bay got lucky tonight and so did I.
But at this rate, we won’t again.
“Let me get you home.”
Bay jumps about a foot in the air and rounds on me like she’s ready to fuck shit up.
Meanwhile, I’m leaning against the wall and waiting for her to bitch and complain about how I scared her.
“What the hell ?” she spits out, palming her chest. “Do you know anything about not doing that shit to people?”
“Obviously not.” I push off the drywall. “Let’s go, Little Terror.”
“What are you doing?” she asks as I pass her and stride for the front door.
“Driving you home.”
“I can drive myself.”
“I’ve seen.”
“I don’t need you to drive me home. I brought my own car.”
I round on her, almost having her bump into me in the process. How a woman can always smell like something different is astounding.
She smells like Torin a bit, cedar and minty, but there’s also a hint of…rust?
“Whose car did you bring?” I solicit evenly, watching her part her lips before I cut in with, “Don’t tell me it’s Wallace’s.”
“I’m reckless, not stupid.”
I tsk. “You sure about that? Because you just broke into my house.”
Bay lifts her shoulders as if that’s like taking a lengthy stroll through the park past her curfew. “You wouldn’t hurt me.”
As much as I would like to appreciate that she has that much confidence in me, there’s a problem. She’s being accused of first-degree murder in the room she just left.
Torin is either going to get over this, or he’s going to kill her.
And the latter means going to war with not only South Shore, but The Landings. Emilio will not take into consideration that he supported Torin throughout the years and half-assed raised the asshole.
He’ll see that his stepson murdered his only daughter.
Period.
“But Torin would,” I retort before she tsks, sounding too confident in the palpability of that never happening. She’s delusional as fuck. “Don’t do it again.”
“Yes, King Black of Wharf Bay. My ratchet ass won’t step foot in your palace ever again.”
It has nothing to do with that. She knows it, I know it. She’s just being a pain in the fucking ass.
“Good. Come on,” I urge again because going back and forth with her is Torin’s thing. Not mine. “I’d like to go to sleep eventually tonight.”
She hums in response and walks by me, resulting in my having to follow her to get outside.
The cool night air hits our skin when I climb inside the passenger seat of the Nissan. I recognize it, but couldn’t tell you who owned it. The leather seats appear pristine as well as the stock dash. It’s nice.
“You don’t need to see me home,” Bay says again as she plops her ass behind the wheel. “I’m good. And we’re not dating.”
“It’s best I make sure you get to South Shore because, if I know my brother, he’ll already have a hit out on your head before you back out of this driveway.”
Her neck snaps over to me, but I don’t pry my focus off my garage door. “If you think trying to scare me?—”
“Since when does something like that scare you?”
She’s silent for a moment before putting the keys in and starting up the deep rumbling of the car. “How bad is it?”
How bad is it?
Well, where the fuck do I even start? She was tied to both my brothers. They would’ve done anything for her. Then she rejected one and married the cousin of the other while being on video during the murder of said other’s brother.
“It’s going great,” I reply sarcastically. “They’re your biggest fans.”
“I didn’t kill Judah.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to admit—” She slams the brakes, sending my body bolting forward before I right myself back into the seat.
“What the fuck?—”
“I didn’t kill Judah,” she sneers at my side, clutching the steering wheel with white-bared knuckles. “I didn’t.”
Geezus Christ…
“Why should I believe you?”
Her blue eyes, not that can I see much of their depths, stare back at me without flinching. I can’t tell if she’s lying or not, to be honest. I don’t know how good of an actress she is or what role she’s played.
All I know is that Reeve was convinced that she hadn’t, but he was too in love with her to see anything else.
I can’t take his word as gospel.
I also can’t take Torin’s either.
Frankly, he’s a bit of a wild card like the woman beside me. Both of them pop off and unload their petty quicker than they fuck. I don’t have enough evidence to sentence her yet.
So I won’t.
“I don’t expect you to,” Bay finally mutters, loosening her grip, but she keeps her focus locked on me. “I know it’s hard to believe.”
“It is.”
“But there’s more to the story. I just don’t know it all. Nothing he said made sense.”
“And what did he say?”
I haven’t seen the video, and I couldn’t get a straight answer out of Torin. Reeve stated Judah was fine one moment, Bay rejected him, and then shit took a turn.
“Something about…I was in danger. And that I was going to ruin everything.” I roll my eyes at that and quickly receive a punch in the shoulder for my response. “This isn’t a fucking game. I care a lot for them.”
“But you married Torin’s cousin and rejected one of them because you didn’t think he was worthy enough?—”
“Torin threw my sisters into foster care,” she roars back. “And put Levi in jail. I wasn’t going to sit around and wait for you fuckers to figure it out.”
“Sounds a little judgmental.”
“Says the asshole who’s only been judging me since we met.”
“Mhm.” I understand she’s worried about her sisters, but they’re fine. I have eyes on them at all times. Meanwhile, she outed herself with Wallace. “You want to tell me the truth behind you and Levi?”
“What about it?”
“Why do you care that he’s in jail?”
“Because he’s my best fucking friend.”
“And what else?”
She shakes her head, her jaw taut as she returns her focus to the road and begins moving again. “That has nothing to do with anything.”
“But it does.”
“You’re going to stand with your boys,” she accuses me. “And I’m not about to give you my life story.”
I prop my elbow along the center console and turn my body to engage more in my own interrogation. “Make it make sense, Little T. You used to date De Leon, but you were friends with his enemy. Then you leave and start fucking around with his other enemies.”
“Torin and Levi might not like each other, but I’d hardly call them enemies.”
“You call them almost dying over Peer Pressure Point not being enemies? Torin was going to take that South Shore seat. I wouldn’t think that’d sit well with Wallace, and I’ve known that prick for a long time.”
A few beats go by before I hear her mutter, “I forgot about that.”
“So, convince me.”
I see her nostrils flare, but she’s loyal to a fault.
And she’s loyal to Levi Wallace and no one else.
It’s what I expected all along. I don’t reject the fact she may have developed feelings for either Reeve or Torin, but they were always going to play second fiddle to her beloved King of South Shore.
Just like I’m unwavering and protective over my brothers.
“I’m going to give you this advice one more time, Little T, and then the rest is up to you. You can shit on it, discard it however you like, but I’m going to stay true to my bargain with you and what I’ve always said. Stay away from Torin and Reeve. Do not seek them out. Don’t look at them. Don’t breathe in their direction. Torin is not in a good place right now, and you’ve gotten lucky tonight. Consider it the last time you speak to him. Because the next time, I can almost guarantee that it’s going to be bloody.”
“I won’t,” she replies, stretching her jaw once and setting her concentration on the road.
“I’d love to believe you on that front, too. However, contrary to what I just said, I might bet money you’ll be dead by the end of the week.”
“Tell them I’d like to be buried next to my father.”
My eyebrows collapse at the morbid request. “That’s a bit pessimistic, don’t you think? Your father?—”
“He’s dead,” she almost chokes out, and my whole body freezes.
I didn’t hear anything about Roger passing away.
The last I heard, he was at the hospital after suffering another stroke.
“Bay—”
“ Tell them,” she says roughly. “If it’s as bad as you’ve painted it out to be, I’ll stay away. But know that I didn’t mean to hurt Reeve. I didn’t kill Judah, for the millionth time. But I don’t expect you to side with me?—”
“What’s going on with your father?” I cut in because everything she has to support her is now gone.
Her sisters, however, I know will be with her soon. But Wallace is a place to land for her. No matter how they tried to make it look or play it.
“I just said he’s dead,” she clips out, taking a left turn a little too quickly, but I don’t push any further.
I know how much Roger Astor meant to her. She only stated it to Emilio a million and one times. Even if she was going to play him or side with him, Bay always brought up Roger. The man raised her, so I can’t say she isn’t giving credit where credit is due.
“What do you need?”
So much for leaving it be.
“Nothing,” she replies quickly. “We’re done here after tonight.”
I’d love to believe that.
It’s also a bitter thought because, even though she’s been the biggest obstacle lately, I’ve gotten used to her.
“I might be around,” I begin. “In case?—”
“Nope,” she retorts matter-of-factly. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about me. I’ll stay on my side of the line. From now on. I promise.”
Well, she’s never said that to me before.
However, I need to make sure Ozzy is doing well mentally. I don’t know what he’s doing. And she’s the perfect catalyst to fuck him up.
But I keep that shit to myself for now.
We enter South Shore without issue, and Bay pulls over on a random street.
“I’d ask you if you needed a ride back,” she remarks. “But I think that defeats the purpose of what you wanted.”
“I said I’d get you home.”
“And that home is gone. Thanks to your girl.”
I scoff. “Vivian isn’t my girl.”
“Could’ve fooled me.” She turns her head and gives me a shitty little smile. “While we’re giving out warnings, make sure your bitch stays out of South Shore. I can’t be responsible for what happens to her the next time we meet.”
I lift my shoulders dismissively. “I’m not going to stop you. Just make sure you hide the body so Muncy doesn’t find it.”
“Just like that?” She quirks an eyebrow. “No love lost, huh?”
“Have you ever seen me act any other way with her?”
She rocks her head back and forth and replies softly, “No. You could do better.”
Yeah, well…
Opening the car door, she’s safe and sound on her side of town. I’ve done my damn job. “Behave, Little T.”
“Oh, you know, always,” she imparts as I climb out.
I watch her take off and wait until the headlights disappear around a corner.
That woman…is something else.