Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Hannibal
I look around the room and sigh.
It will have to do for now.
The door creaks open behind me, making me tense until I hear the shuffle of feet and realize who it is.
Staying where I am, I watch out of the corner of my eye as Millie moves to the chair in the corner and curls up in it with her legs tucked underneath her.
Tapping my chin, I walk to the counter, pluck the iPad from it, and then walk over to Millie and hand it to her.
“We need to make a list. If anyone has anything worse than a paper cut, they’re fucked.”
She doesn’t speak, but I watch as she opens the notes section and looks up at me expectantly.
“Okay, well, let’s start with the basics: gloves, gauze, bandages. I brought some with me when we moved here, but not enough.” I wait for her to add those as I take in the room itself.
It’s not very big, having once been used as a supply closet.
But one wall is floor-to-ceiling cupboards and drawers, and the wall next to that houses a room-length countertop with a full sink built into it.
And honestly, anything is better than the boom room.
The bed I ordered was delivered two days ago and is pushed against the far wall, leaving me just enough space to move around.
The chair Millie's sitting in was added as an afterthought.
“Actually…” I rummage through the drawers until I find the book I’m looking for. I open it and thumb through until I find the page I need. “Here, add all of this to the list. I also want two fully-loaded first aid kits. I’ll keep one in my office and one in the garage, just in case.”
She nods and starts typing stuff in, her eyes flicking to the book balanced on her leg and back to the iPad.
The door opens, and Meek sticks his head around. “Chris is here. He says the house is done if you want to take a look and sign off on it.”
I look at Millie, who’s watching me. “Want to come check out our new place?”
She stands up and puts the iPad and book in the chair before walking over to me. “Sure.”
“Meek, find one of the prospects and get them to come finish off what Millie started. This place needs a fuckload of supplies to even be considered a med room.”
“I can do it. I was only going to head out for a ride anyway.”
“Page 158. And add two fully-loaded first aid kids,” Millie tells him, making me grin.
“Well, you heard the woman. Speaking of which, you see my old lady?”
“Yeah, she was in the rec room last time I saw her.”
“Thanks, man. Come on then, kid. Let’s go find Lola and see if she wants to come with us.”
We head downstairs but find the rec room empty. “Any idea where she might be?”
“Maybe in the kitchen. Tracey made cookies and Lola said the baby liked them.”
“The baby, huh?”
Millie grins before looking away.
We head to the kitchen, but before we get there, Sever and Mud pass us.
Mud looks over. “You looking for Lola?”
“Yeah, you seen her?”
Mud waves for us to follow him into the main part of the clubhouse. I pause near the pool table when I spot her, making Millie run into my back.
“Sorry,” she whispers, but I don’t answer. My eyes are only for my woman who is curled up, fast asleep, in the middle of one of the sofas with a blanket tucked around her. Her feet are resting on Byte’s thigh as he works at decoding the ledger on his laptop. Her head is lying on Gunther’s shoulder.
“She was complaining that her back hurt, so Byte made her sit down. She went out like a light after that.” Mud chuckles.
“She’s okay, right?” Millie questions.
“Yeah, she’s just tired. She forgets she’s baking a whole-ass human. How about we let her sleep for a bit and check out the house ourselves?”
Millie nods, so I turn to Mud and Sever. “Let Byte and Gunther know where we are in case she wakes up.”
“Will do, Prez.”
I lead Millie outside and slow my pace so I can walk beside her. “I wanted to talk to you about something anyway.” She freezes for a second until I nudge her to continue. “Nothing bad, Millie. I just didn’t figure it out until Lola explained it to me. Turns out I’m a dipshit sometimes.”
She cracks up and laughs.
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Just remember this for when you want to start dating: Boys are dumb, so never throw yourself at one. Throw rocks at them instead.”
“Maybe we should leave the dating advice to Lola,” she states quietly.
“Maybe you should just leave dating to the other kids.”
She rolls her eyes at me but doesn’t push it, so I let it go. I’ve got a few more years yet before I have to think about it. Girls don’t date until they’re in their twenties, right?
“What I’m trying to say, badly, is that your mom loved you so fucking much. I went to see her before she died, and she told me how much of a great fucking kid you are. She felt blessed she had you for as long as she did and heartbroken she had to leave you. You’ve gotta know, if there was anything she could have done, she’d have stayed. You were her whole world and, like she pointed out, the most amazing gift I’d ever receive.” I run my hand through my hair. “I’m so fucking sorry you lost her, Millie. But I’m glad you’re here.”
She walks beside me in silence. I try to think of something else to say, but I’m not the guy who gives fucking pep talks. Fuck, I should have kept my mouth shut.
I open my mouth to say something—fucking anything—when I feel Millie’s hand slip into mine. I snap my mouth closed as I blink and look down at our joined hands. She keeps her eyes forward, her steps never faltering, but I can see her tense as she waits for my reaction.
I do the only thing I can. I close my hand around hers and don’t let go.
We walk in silence to the house, where Chris stands outside waiting for us. Millie lets go of my hand when she sees him and tucks it in her pocket, making me want to knock the asshole out.
“Hannibal, good to see you.” He holds out his hand, but I ignore it. After holding Millie’s hand, I don’t want to touch his.
“Meek said you were done,” I grunt.
His smile slips for a minute before he pushes on. “Yeah. If you want to take a look around and let me know if you have any issues, I’ll wait out here.”
“You do that.” I grab the handle, shove the door open, and stand aside so Millie can walk in.
“Wow.”
I stand behind her, taking it all in.
At just short of 4000 square feet, the house is plenty big enough for the three of us and our growing family.
“How many bedrooms are there?”
“Five bedrooms and four bathrooms. Top floor has the main attic room. The first floor has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. There’s another bedroom and bathroom in the basement.”
“Didn’t just one person live here before?”
“Yeah.” It’s one of those moments when you realize there were signs if people had bothered to look for them.
She wanders across the large open space, past the huge fireplace, and sits down on the large sectional sofa that faces it.
“You’ll need a TV for up there. I’ve never known anyone without a TV before.”
“We’ll get one.”
She gets back to her feet and walks over to the dining area, eyeing the six-seater table and chairs before walking over to the kitchen. I look around at the quartz countertops and the large island and hope Lola likes it.
“There’s a gym and laundry room in the basement, too, but I’m guessing you’d rather see your room?”
She nods as I take the lead and head upstairs. I walk straight down the hallway to the third door on the left before swinging it open.
She walks in, stopping right in the center of the room with a gasp. “Holy shit, is this really mine?”
“Don’t say shit, and of course it is. What would I do with a purple room?”
She looks over her shoulder at me and frowns. “I don’t know, relax? Purple is very calming.”
“Purple makes me think of grapes, and then I get hungry.”
“You’re right. I really should throw rocks at dumb boys.”
“Alright, smartass, tell me you like it at least.”
She shrugs, but she doesn’t hide the smirk playing on her lips. “It’s alright.”
“That’s teenage speak for awesome, right? Fuck, I feel old.”
“You are old.”
“Thanks, kid.”
“Just keeping it real.”
I watch her as she moves around the room, trailing her fingers over the black and purple bedding that covers the large double bed. There’s a white wooden dresser on the far wall with a matching desk beside it, and a little farther along is a walk-in closet I’m sure she and Lola will have fun filling. There’s a Jack-and-Jill bathroom separating this room from the next, but as that room is empty, she’ll have the bathroom to herself. On the wall to my left is a large ornate bookcase already filled with books and trinkets.
“Where did all these books come from?
“People wanted to pitch in, but nobody knew what you liked, apart from books. Now, nobody seems to come back from anywhere without one. At this rate, you’ll have too many.”
She strokes her fingers down the spine of one. “There's no such thing as too many books, just not enough bookcases.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I drawl as I walk over to her. “And here’s the best part.” I push the bookcase so it slides across the floor, revealing a secret passage.
“Holy crap, that’s so freaking cool.” She pokes her head in to investigate.
I slide my hand along the wall and flip the switch for the lights. “I don’t think anyone but the former president knew these tunnels were here, but Chris found them on the blueprints. The lighting needs updating, but the wiring is sound, and the tunnels run all through the house.”
She turns to look at me, her eyes bright with excitement. “It’s like The Secret Garden meets Narnia.”
“That’s a good thing?” I frown, confused.
“It’s a great thing. It’s a great room, Hannibal. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, Millie. Now what do you say we see how much of our crap we can move in before Lola wakes up?”
She grins. “Let’s do it.”
I pull my cell from my pocket and call Pan, one of the prospects.
“Hey, Prez, whatcha need?”
“Grab the truck and haul it to Lola’s. And bring whoever else is free.”
“Okay.”
“Tell them we’re moving into Khan’s old place.”
“Today?”
“Right now, Pan.” I hang up. “Let’s go tell Chris he can fuck off.”
We meet Pan at Lola’s with Tracey and May. Not exactly who I was hoping for, but I’ll take it.
“Mud, Repo, and Sev are on their way over, too.”
“Good. This won’t take long. We don’t have much stuff between us.”
“Sounds like a good excuse to go shopping.” May winks at Millie, who dips her head and grins shyly.
“Alright, why don’t you three head upstairs and pack up Millie’s shit first, then Lola’s?”
“Yes, Prez,” Tracey answers before the three of them hurry upstairs.
I turn to Pan. “There’s some flat packed boxes in the garage. Put them together and box up the kitchen shit.”
He nods and heads out to the garage. When the others arrive, I point them to what I need them to take and stand back while they load up the truck.
My cell rings as I watch Mud pack Lola’s books in a box and see it’s Havoc. “Don’t tell me Probe took a turn for the worse. I only spoke to him a few days ago.”
“He’s fine. Driving everyone fucking nuts as usual.”
“Alright, so what’s up?”
“I’m coming up for a visit.”
“Now? Why?” I tense and walk out to the laundry room. “Is Driller awake?”
“No. He’s still in a coma, and if he does fucking wake up, it won’t be for long. I’m coming up because I need to talk to Lola.”
I pause. “And what exactly do you need to talk to my old lady about?”
“That’s between me and Lola, Hannibal.”
“That’s where you’re very fucking wrong. I get that you two have a history, but she’s mine and I don’t like it when you upset her.”
He sighs. “Look, it’s important. I’m not gonna hurt her, Hannibal. I just need to talk to her about something Driller said to Nevaeh.”
I squeeze the phone so hard it cracks. “Fine, but I’ll be right fucking beside her when you talk to her.”
“Good, because Nevaeh will be right beside me. We’ll be up at the end of next week.” He hangs up, leaving me cursing.
When the phone rings again, I answer it with a snarl. “What?”
“Eh, Prez, we might have an issue,” Byte starts, sounding panicky.
Knowing I left him with Lola, I head straight for the door; “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Lola. I think she’s in labor.”