Chapter 24
Two weeks later, everyone was in the middle of an extremely successful Halloween Bash, when Lucius walked over to the DJ he had been convinced to hire for the event, and had a word with him.
As soon as the music stopped, he picked up the microphone and made his way to the center of the room, bringing Lilith with him.
“I’d like to say something,” Lucius said into the mic, and everyone turned to stare at him, dressed in his Lucifer make-up. When he had everyone’s attention, he called for his club members to come forward. He nodded to the patch holders, and when he got the signal he was waiting for, he smiled.
“First, thank you all for coming to the Hell’s Coffin Halloween Bash.
I have heard throughout the night the compliments about our makeup.
I’d like to give a shout out to my sister, Starr, and her team, Kelsey Warner and Matt Rider.
Those three are the ones that made us up.
The special effects of this building are all thanks to Brad Tiggs.
All of this wouldn’t have been possible without Professor Gary Tiggs for starting a class on how to do makeup like this.
” He waited until they all waved when they were introduced, and it was Vampire who started clapping.
It lasted for a good two minutes before Luc took over again.
“I don’t normally conduct club business in front of other clubs, or strangers.
However, this needs to be done publicly.
Prospect Joey, please step forward.” Because of what he did for Lilith, Lucius would forever remember his name, and since he had been keeping a hard eye on him, he knew what he was about to do would be best for everyone.
He also made a personal vow to never forget Joey’s name ever again.
Everyone waited as he did and as he stood before Lucius, he swallowed hard.
The bruising on his face was still visible, and he still wore a cast on his arm.
Lucius reached out and laid one hand on his good shoulder.
“Prospect Joey, part of wanting to be a member of Hell’s Coffin is to prove yourself as being part of a brotherhood, with no thought of any harm coming to you.
What you did when you saw Lilith was in danger proved to me, as well as the patch holders that you have the dedication to fulfill that role.
” Lucius took the hand from his shoulder, lowered it to his chest and ripped the ‘Prospect’ patch off and tossed it over his shoulder.
Everyone sucked in their breath at the act.
“You don’t need this any longer. Instead, you need this.” He held out his hand and someone placed three items in it. Then Lucius passed it to Joey.
“What is it?” someone in the crowd called out.
“Show them,” Lucius said and stepped back two feet, leaving Joey in the center of the crowd.
Joey frowned and looked down at the items in his hand. He grinned and looked at Lucius in shock. “Are you sure, I’ve only been a prospect for three months.”
“I am sure, and so are the patch holders. As I just mentioned, you proved your worth by trying to protect Lilith. I know if you hadn’t been beaten like you had been, then Lilith never would have been saved.
This is our way of saying thank you.” Lucius reached in and grabbed the top item and held it up for all to see.
“As of right now, Prospect Joey is no longer a prospect, he’s a striker.” He looked at Joey with a wink. “We’ll have to come up with a club name for you now.” Lucius gave an oomph when Joey slammed into him and hugged him.
“Thank you,” he said with a grin. “I’ll put them on my cut when I get home tonight.”
“See that you do,” Lucius said gruffly, worked up by the emotion in Joey’s eyes.
He looked over at the DJ and nodded, and the music started, allowing the party to continue.
He stood there, full of pride, that he had done this little thing for Joey.
In his mind, if it hadn’t been for the kid, then Lilith might not be alive today.
He shook off that dark thought and with his arm around Lilith’s shoulders, went back to return the microphone to the DJ.
He went over and took a seat in the corner, where most of the women sat, and looked out at the party.
He nodded when Lilith joined him with his glass of ginger ale and lime, and her drink, which he later found out was just a cola.
The party went on until last call, and by the time the two of them pulled into Luc’s driveway, the sun was coming up. Thankfully, it was a Sunday, and neither of them had to work.
“Hungry?” Lilith asked as they entered the house.
“Starving.”
“Good, go take a shower, and I’ll make breakfast.”
“Or we could shower together.”
“We could, but then we would never get anything to eat.” He grabbed her, hugged her, and kissed her soundly.
“Yeah, you’re right. Thankfully, this red paint comes off with hot water and soap.
” He still wore his Lucifer costume. As he went to get cleaned up, Lilith opened the refrigerator and got to work.
By the time the full farmer’s breakfast of fried potatoes, with veggies, bacon, eggs, and biscuits and gravy was put on the table, Lucius had returned.
“Wow, you went all out,” he said as he poured them both a glass of juice as she got their coffee.
Lilith shrugged. “Hey, I’m hungry too.”
“I’m not knocking it,” he said as he pulled her chair out, took his own seat, and they dug into the meal. Neither of them spoke until they were almost done, too hungry to not eat the food while it was still hot. It was Lilith that broke the comfortable silence.
“Can I talk to you about something?”
“Sure, are you finally going to tell me what’s been on your mind for the last few days? You’ve been walking around in a daze, or wool gathering by staring off into space when you thought no one would notice.”
“Really?”
“Really. What’s got you twisted up?”
Lilith drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She rose and went to get the coffee pot to refill their cups. Before she returned, she opened a drawer that held the kitchen towels and pulled out an envelope. At the table, she settled down and laid her hands over the envelope.
“What’s that?”
“The results from the insurance adjusters from my house.”
“Oh, shit, I forgot all about that. What did they say?”
Instead of answering him, she pushed the envelope toward him and nodded for him to take it. He did, and read the letter enclosed. When he finished, he slowly put it back in the envelope and looked at her.
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. As you just read they deemed the contents of my home wrecked, or totaled, or unsalvageable. They said there wasn’t one thing that could be saved, and they included a check for the entire contents of my home.” She pulled the check from her pocket and showed him.
“Wow, okay, so I’m still asking the same question. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know if I can do anything.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Do you recall the conversation we had with Bandit and the others while Starr was making you up last night.”
“Maybe,” he said hesitantly. “Refresh my memory as to which conversation.”
“Crap, you weren’t in the room when this occurred.
Sorry, but Bandit said that the investigation into the vandalism of my home is progressing nicely.
Richard had photos of Sally, Brenda, and that guy coming out of my house.
My neighbors to the back of me had cameras and they willingly handed the film over.
It proved that the guy and Sally broke my windows, and Sally was the first one in through the broken window.
She unlocked the door and opened it for the others to enter.
” She saw his expression of anger and reached out to lay her hand over his.
“He asked me if I wanted to press charges. I said yes.”
“Where are they now?”
“Still in jail on the kidnapping charges. Bandit said they couldn’t make bail.” She giggled and grinned. “It was set for one million, each.”
Lucius whistled and shook his head. “Wow, okay, but what did you mean by that you might not be able to do anything?”
“Bandit said that if I’m going to press charges for the vandalism, then the DA might want to see the actual carnage in real time.”
“Ah, if he can see it as it is now, then make sure they have enough pictures for when it goes to court.”
“Exactly. However, once he gives the okay to clean it up, I’m going to rent a dumpster and take everything out and throw it away. Then I’m going to go in and clean everything, and get the steam cleaners in to deep clean everything.” She shook her head and sighed heavily.
“What?”
“I’m probably going to have to rip up the carpets and replace them.”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“I’m not saying I won’t clean up the mess, I will.
I have to, but I don’t know if I want to live in that house again.
I know it’s just a house, but it was mine, and I feel violated because of the damage.
I don’t know what to do beyond cleaning up the mess and fixing any structural damages, maybe slapping on some new paint, but I don’t want to live there again. ”
“Are you saying that you would sell it?”
“Yes, but I don’t know where I’ll go. I don’t know if I’ll find an apartment to rent, or purchase a new home.”
They were both silent for several minutes before Lucius leaned forward and took her hands in his.
“Or, you could take the insurance money from your possessions, sell your home, combine that money and invest it. We’ve been together for weeks now, and I have absolutely no problem with you continuing to live here with me.
” When it looked like she was going to speak, he shook his head, and laid one finger gently over her lips.
“Don’t answer now, think about it. We still have time. But know this.”
“What?”
“When you get the clearance to clean out the house, it will be a club project. With all of us working together, you can get it cleaned out in one day, then you can sit back and decide if you need to rip up the carpets, change out any tile or hardwood, and paint. You will not be alone in this, Lilith.”
“Thank you,” Lilith breathed a sigh of relief knowing she wouldn’t have to face the daunting task of cleaning out the house on her own.
Lucius stood and started gathering the breakfast dishes. “Go shower, I’ll clean up here, if you don’t mind, I want to catch a few hours of sleep. We’ve both been up for over twenty-four hours.”
“I like the sound of that,” she said as she rose, kissed the side of his mouth, and walked out of the room.
As soon as she left, Lucius hurried over to the drawer with the kitchen towels, dug into the back, and sighed in relief when he found the small black velvet box he had put there weeks ago.
He opened it and saw the engagement ring winking in the light at him.
“Soon,” he told the ring, and instead of returning it to the drawer, he put it in the empty coffee can in the cupboard above the refrigerator.
The one Lilith couldn’t reach without dragging a chair over.
With a smile on his face, he whistled as he finished cleaning up from the breakfast she had cooked for them.