Chapter 16 #2
“Well, he was ready to murder me when I told him about Kayl’s house.
Said if I didn’t want to go to jail, I shouldn’t have waited three and a half days to tell him there was a crime scene that needed scrubbing.
But he’s on his way over now with a few Prospects to start cleaning.
They’ll make it look like Kayl was involved in dealing drugs and skipped town. ”
“Good. I am going to offer her and Pualani to come live with us too.”
I blinked. Aloiki did not have to tell me that, nor did he require my permission. He was the President, and even though it was technically Bacon’s house, it was now the club’s home. Telling me, though, was his version of an olive branch.
“I don’t think she’ll go for it, but with your son about to be born, and Samantha now in the house, maybe she will.
” Kalea had always hated the farm, blamed her makuahine’s death on it.
But Bacon’s house wasn’t near the barn, not like her childhood home had been.
I didn’t know how Maisy would react to my ex-wife moving in with her child, but that was a bridge I would cross when or if we came to that.
And even if it did complicate my life, I understood why Aloiki wanted to make the offer. He loved his sister and would do anything for her, but they hadn’t been on great terms since their parents had died. It would make sense that he would want to mend that, especially after recent discoveries.
“Well, nothing is going to be solved by us sitting on our asses out here,” Aloiki snapped, though he was the one of the two of us sitting on his ass.
We didn’t have a Chapel for Church. At present, the only place big enough to fit all of us was Bacon and Holly’s living room.
Normally, the women were not allowed to attend Church, though sometimes Lu joined us because Aloiki didn’t give a flying fuck about breaking his own rules.
This afternoon, though, I called everyone, including the women and Prospects, to the meeting.
Since Samantha was also in the room—distracted with a pair of headphones with cat ears on her head—we kept the retelling of Maisy’s story short, though certain details were unavoidable.
Holly pulled her knife from… Well, I don’t know where. She was wearing a bathing suit with a wraparound skirt. She thrust it so hard into the coffee table before her that the wood cracked. I had no idea how expensive the table was, but Bacon just looked at Holly like she’d done something adorable.
“When do we go hunting?” she demanded, that unhinged look back in her aquamarine eyes.
“You’re not,” I told her sternly. Pointing between Maisy and myself, I added, “We are.”
Holly’s top lip raised as she sneered, “I will not accept anything less than severe pain and torture for what they did to her and all those other women.”
Lu reached over and rested her hand on Holly’s knee. “You got to kill your parents for what they did to you. Maisy deserves the same chance.”
I hadn’t realized the two had become that close, but I was glad for it. I hoped all the Ol’ Ladies would come to be friends. As much as I wanted to be the sole source of Maisy’s happiness, she deserved to be surrounded by an entire tribe of people who loved and supported her.
The revelation about Holly’s parents seemed to take everyone by surprise except Bacon and Lu. Even Aloiki’s eyebrows went up. But Holly did not appear pissed that her secret was revealed to the club.
Instead, Holly walked up to where Maisy and I stood in front of everyone and awkwardly patted Maisy on the head, even though they were roughly the same height.
“If he fails to do it for you or he doesn’t make it painful enough for your satisfaction, just let me know and I’ll take care of it for you.
I won’t even make you sleep with me,” she added like this was incentive for Maisy to choose her over me.
“And you,” she rounded on me. Though her knife was still embedded in the coffee table and she was over a foot shorter than me, she glared up at me like I was nothing more than a pesky inconvenience to her.
“If you don’t make her as happy as Master Mal makes me, I will deliver you to a friend who enjoys making castrated,” she looked me up and down, “pets out of spineless, weak-willed men.”
I was pretty sure I was not the only one who felt their balls shrivel up slightly. But I still looked her dead in the eyes as I swore, “She’ll be happier.”
Holly lowered her hand, still studying me, and nodded once. “Then mazel tov and all that shit.”
As she started to walk out of the room, I called after her, “If you leave now, you don’t get to hear about the cannibals!”
Holly paused, turned around, and then ran back to her Master’s lap, holding herself like a dutiful student. “Well, it ruins the dramatic exit, but I’m all for cannibals. Tell me more.”
I turned my attention down to Maisy. “I won’t keep secrets from you, but it’s your choice if you want to stay. I don’t want what I have to tell you to set you back in your therapy.”
She shook her head, and squeezed my hand. “I’ll stay, but maybe we can take a seat rather than stand up here.”
“Come sit here,” Lu offered. She poked Spirit’s arm, who was sitting on the couch next to her and Aloiki. “It’s not polite to sit in the presence of a lady.”
Maisy seemed surprised by the offer, but accepted as Spirit moved.
I took a bar stool to park my ass on as Spirit moved behind the couch.
Neo had already bitched and moaned about the sex swing that was no longer in the living room since Samantha and Maisy had moved in three months ago.
For obvious reasons, I hadn’t thought it appropriate décor for a four and seventeen year old’s home.
But it had been Neo’s favorite seat during Church before that.
Now, between dining room chairs, bar stools, two couches, and the love seat, we were all spread out in an oddly shaped circle.
I wasn’t sure who had met Kalea and who hadn’t, so I went into a brief history of who she was before I went into the entire story of who had fathered Pualani and why. There were many in the room who verbally expressed their anger at Kayl’s betrayal.
They were about to get a lot angrier: I told them about Kayl framing Kahoku.
The silence that filled the room was heavy. I glanced at Aloiki, who indicated that I should continue. As the club worked to process the fact that we’d killed an innocent man we’d once considered an ally, I confessed Kayl’s torture and fate.
Throughout the entire tale, I kept an eye on Maisy.
I wanted her to know everything, but she’d had enough violence and pain in her life.
I didn’t want to add to that. And regardless of how much he deserved it, one could argue that my shoving a gun up Kayl’s ass was rape. Would she condemn me for that?
Holly hadn’t. She’d laughed. But it wasn’t her opinion I was after.
I was more relieved than I could express that Maisy never looked away from me, never scowled or reacted negatively. She even gave me a nod of approval when I was done. Fuck, I loved that woman.
It was Mako who asked, “Where is Kalea now? Is she all right?”
“She’s processing,” Aloiki answered. “I offered to move her here if she wished, but she said she’d think about it.”
At that, Maisy’s eyebrows lifted. I shrugged, feeling a bit guilty that I hadn’t given her a head’s up about that.
Neo sniffled. “Kahoku was like a father to me, and we killed him.”
Spirit reached over and wrapped an arm around them. “We were lied to, and the evidence was too great to ignore.”
“That doesn’t make it right!” Neo cried out, wiping frantically at their eyes.
“It doesn’t,” Aloiki agreed sternly. “Kayl wanted to bring chaos into our lives, and he succeeded. We don’t know what he lied to us about even on his deathbed, including that Rory may still be alive.
Kahoku’s organization has been in tatters in the month since we attacked his home.
I don’t know who took command, but will find out and try to make peace.
I will not have a war on our island that costs our people their lives.
” He turned towards me. “While you’re on the Mainland, seek out Okalani.
Last I heard, she’s going to school there.
You were the one who discovered the treachery and killed the man who framed her father.
Hopefully you’ll be able to express our condolences. ”
Fuck. I forgot about Okalani. I’d never met Kahoku’s daughter, but many of the others in the room had.
I acknowledged the order solemnly. To Neo, I asked, “Send me the info, shoots?”
Their chin trembling as they fought to hold their composure, Neo nodded.
Letting out a long sigh, the room still heavy with tension, I asked, “Now, who’s willing to babysit while Maisy and I are gone?” When the twins’ hands shot up, I couldn’t shout, “No!” fast enough.
The heat of the sun on my back roused me the next morning. Sea-green eyes met mine, and I wondered if there would ever be a day in my life where I wouldn’t wake up fearing that her presence was nothing more than a sadistic dream. I didn’t want to blink and risk her vanishing on me.
Not much had changed since the first night I slept by her.
Except there was a lump of four year old that separated us rather than a pillow.
I lifted the sheets slightly to check for signs of life, and realized my left arm was being held hostage by Samantha’s face, and that there was a fair amount of drool making my tattoos shine.
I brought the sheet back down, choosing to ignore my predicament rather than acknowledge it.
Maisy had a hand over her mouth in a failed attempt to stifle her laughter.
“We’re going to need to talk about this soon,” I said, indicating the lump between us. “As adorable as she is, I want to make love to my wahine without child endangerment charges being brought against me.”