Chapter 16
Charlie
W izard threads his fingers through mine. His thumb rubbing calming circles on the back of my hand while he drives us to the compound. The girls are surprisingly silent. We agreed to wait until we were at the compound to talk about it.
Which is good. I need time to calm down. Not only from my murderous rage, but also the utter and complete fear I felt when I realized what neighborhood the girls broke down in. The ride doesn’t take long. Whoever is manning the gate opens it for us and Wizard pulls the SUV to the front of the building. He opens the left passenger door before coming around and opening both doors to let everyone out. After he closes the door behind me, he takes my hand. I assume one of the prospects will take care of the vehicle.
He leads us through the main foyer and down a hall to a large room with a massive wooden meeting table. The table has the club’s colors engraved in the center. Large leather office chairs surrounded the table.
“Take a seat, ladies.”
He waits until we all sit down. “Can I get you anything to drink?”
“Do you have Nehi?” Valentina asks.
“I’m sure we do. Stormy keeps a wide variety of coke and other beverages. Luci, Franni, Charlie, what can I get you?”
“Nehi for us,” Lucia replies.
“Macallan neat if you have it,” Charlie says.
Less than five minutes later, the girls have grape Nehi, and I have a double Macallan. Gambit, and the other Kings, have filed in one by one.
“Mamma, why is everyone here?” Francesca asks.
“Because we all care about you and what happens to you,” Gambit says. “I think you gave Wizard his first gray hairs tonight.”
Wizard nods in agreement. The girls crack a small smile. I’ll take it. The look of fear on their faces was nearly my undoing earlier. It’s weird to have a family meeting surrounded by mostly acquaintances.
“Which of you wants to tell me why you’re not at your father’s house?”
“Do we have to do this here?” Valentina whines. “In front of everyone.”
I look around the room.
“Did these men stop what they were doing and ride to your rescue?” I ask softly.
“Yes.” Valentina huffs.
“Then I believe they have a right to know why they had to drop everything they were doing and come save you when you’re supposed to be safe at home with your father.”
“He went to some political fundraiser,” Lucia says.
“He gave us an address for a party. It was supposed to be an under twenty-one party,” Francesca adds.
“We couldn’t find the address he gave us,” Lucia says.
“We circled the block a few times looking for the address when the lights started flashing on the car. Then it just went dead,” Francesca says.
“After we called you, a bunch of thugs surrounded the car,” Lucia says, her voice shaking.
I reach out and take her hand in mine.
“What happened after that?”
“A few had bats. They threatened to break the windows and come in after us if we didn't come out. One of them broke out the headlights right before Wizard and the Kings showed up,” Francesca adds.
“Did they just leave when the King’s showed up?” I ask.
“Shortly afterwards,” Wizard says. “Can I see the address your dad gave you?”
“Sure. He sent it in a text, but it’s not Dad’s fault the car broke down,” Valentina says handing Wizard her phone.
“Is anything Dad’s fault according to you?” Lucia huffs.
“Girls, let’s not get into an argument about your father. That being said, you won’t be going to his house for the foreseeable future. Gambit, is there a place the girls can stay while we have a conversation?”
Hurl runs into the room with a piece of paper in his hand. He runs straight to Gambit.
“Prez, I found this on Charlie's floorboard. I think you’re going to want to see it.”