3. Chapter Three #2
"Not in those words," Heather said breezily. "But you've got to be able to interpret scripture, Maria." She craned her neck towards the kitchen. "Hey. You whores going to help us unpack this or what?"
It was here that I noticed both girls were wearing their uniforms. "You two went out on errands looking like that?"
Both of them grinned. "We like to look our best," Eva giggled. "Besides, we probably saved the company at least twenty percent off these orders."
"Cause they were staring at our asses the whole time," Heather confirmed.
I frowned. "You know I don't love it when you two talk about other men."
Heather grinned. "Who said we were talking about men?”
"I think that girl at the last place was going to ask if she could stow away in the trunk," Eva said sweetly. "Poor thing was so jealous when she found out we were picking up food for the Averys..."
Maria coughed explosively. Before any of us could say another word, the pair sashayed into the kitchen, giggling with glee. I watched them go, shaking my head. Even Samantha was chuckling, which made me feel better.
Maybe things would be alright. Eventually.
My wives and I followed the cheerleaders into the kitchen. In no time at all, we had the takeout containers out of the bags and had begun parceling the food out onto plates. The variety of options on display felt dizzying; there were almost too many options for me to choose from.
The irony wasn't lost on me. The man with three wives and twice as many women vying to become the next future Mrs. Jackson Avery. In true harem fashion, I decided to grab a little bit of everything—once my wives had an opportunity to fill up their plates, of course.
I was just about done (and listening to Maria trying to convince me how much better her carne asada was than what we'd ordered from the local place) when I heard the front door open. Mona walked into the kitchen, an empty thermos of coffee in one hand and a briefcase in the other.
"Oh, good," she said, nodding politely at the greetings everyone passed her way. "We didn't miss lunch. Nothing works up the appetite quite like an interrogation."
Tasha followed a moment later. I went over and gave her a kiss, eager to hear all about what had happened between the two of them and Caroline—
Who entered the kitchen a moment later.
I froze. About a half-second later, the rest of the family did the same.
She looked surprisingly good for someone who was supposed to be under lock and key in a hotel room.
Her dress was unruffled, there were no handcuff marks on her wrists, and the only thing different I noticed was that someone had clearly confiscated her makeup bag.
Idly, I wondered if it was sitting in the backseat of Mona's car.
I met her gaze. What I saw there made my heart jump into my throat.
She was holding it together remarkably well. But I could tell that when Mona walked into that office, Caroline had never expected to see the inside of this house again. She was so overwhelmed she could barely speak.
"Hi, Jack," she managed to whisper.
Mona glanced over her shoulder to confirm what everyone's reactions had already told her.
"Before anyone asks," she said into the silence, "yes, I brought her with me.
No, I haven't lost my mind." She shrugged off her coat and handed it to Lakshmi, who took it without tearing her eyes off of our newest visitor.
"I don't particularly see the point of keeping her cooped up in a hotel room any longer. "
There was a long silence.
"What does that mean?" Yukiko finally asked.
Mona glanced over at Caroline with a sigh. "It means that Tasha and I have spent all morning—and most of the afternoon—trying to catch this woman in a single lie. Frankly, I am offended by how difficult she's made it."
"I have nothing to hide," Caroline began.
"Yes, you've made that perfectly clear," Mona cut in. "You no longer have anything to hide." She turned to me with a shrug. "You asked me to dig, and I've dug. The rest is up to you." A nod in Yukiko's direction. "And the counsel of those you trust."
Maria did a double take. "The last time we let someone we couldn't trust into this house, Sam almost killed them with a baseball bat." She looked over at Tasha, her expression filling with warmth. "And my hermosa almost shot them."
"I know." Caroline didn't flinch. "You're right to be careful. I would be worried if you weren't."
I nodded. "Are you ready to tell us who hired you?"
Caroline blanched. "I don't know," she said, holding up her hands.
"All I can tell you is that I wasn't paid to spy on you, or steal, or set the house up for some kind of catastrophe.
" She looked at each of my women in turn, rising to her full height, terrified but proud.
"They told me to protect you. That's what I've been doing ever since I got here.
That's what, spirits willing, I will continue to do if you'll give me the opportunity. "
I heard Yui scoff. "You think you deserve to remain in this family?"
Caroline's mouth worked silently. I could see her coming up with good rebuttals and dismissing them, one after the other. Finally, her shoulders slumped.
"No," she admitted, staring at the island. "I don't. I lied to you, and that's unforgivable regardless of my motives. I don't deserve anything. Mercy would be kicking me out of your lives without calling the police."
"Too much hassle," Tasha whispered. She would know, I supposed.
"But the Avery clan has been known to practice grace on occasion," Caroline continued.
"Even for those who don't deserve it." She looked at me, then Marcie and Yukiko.
Finally, her gaze settled on Samantha—the woman who'd let this makeup artist use a name for her that normally only I was allowed to say.
The one who'd let her get closest out of all of us.
"If you give me a chance, I'll... I'll never give you reason to doubt me again.
I'll take a bullet for this family, if that's what needs to happen to protect you—”
Samantha held up a hand, silencing her. "You can grovel later," she said, with just the faintest smile on her face. "Right now, we're all starving.”
Caroline nodded. "Should I wait on the porch, or...?"
"Oh for fuck's sake," Maria said, rolling her eyes. "Eat something, chica. We know you're not going to poison it."
"We're going to need as much help with the leftovers as we can get," Heather said, looking over the smorgasbord. "I... I think we might have gone a little over the top..."
We dug in, all of us. Samantha had once joked with me that it was an unspoken Delta Rho bylaw that a meeting couldn't be conducted on an empty stomach, and I figured that probably went double for the Avery family.
For a time, conversation stalled. I used the time to size up the room, figuring out where everyone stood.
Marcie and Samantha had already forgiven Caroline and were ready to accept her into the fold.
Maria might have sounded tough—I had no doubt she'd tease the makeup artist about this for months—but I also pretty much immediately put her in the 'forgive' category.
The cheerleaders were a wash: we all knew they'd agree with whatever I decided. I wasn't sure about Lakshmi until I saw her proactively boil a mug of tea on the stove and put it at Caroline's place-setting; then I knew. Tasha was waiting on me; Mona seemed over the whole thing one way or another.
Which left Yui... and Yukiko. My second-in-command, the woman whose word had more weight than the rest of the harem put together.
So maybe it shouldn't have been a surprise when she planted herself at the head of the dining room table as lunch wound down, moving from family mode to business in a way I normally would've associated with Mona.
"Alright," she said, once everyone was settled.
"Two major orders of business this afternoon, then we're relaxing for the rest of the day.
Jack and Marcie have the most important dinner of the Avery Company's existence tomorrow, and nobody's going to be able to accuse them of not being well-rested for it.
" She paused, looking up and down the length of the table. "Caroline."
The makeup artist had deliberately been set at the table's foot, so that Kiki could stare all the way down at her. She straightened her shoulders, composing herself.
"Yes?"
"I know who Eliza Willoughby is."
Caroline went pale.
It shouldn't have shocked me, and yet it did.
I'd watched this woman be completely calm with a gun in her face earlier this morning, unshakeable through Morning Harbor and Call Your Daddy and everything else the world could throw at us.
But her real name—and the memories it brought back—left her shaking.
"I Googled it," Yukiko continued, "and then rapidly realized that I didn't need to, because I did a great deal of research about unconventional families during my last semester at Stillwell.
And what can happen to them." She cleared her throat, and when she spoke, her voice was a lot more sympathetic.
"I'm not going to make you tell the story here. "
Caroline let out a sigh of relief so loud the neighbors probably heard.
"It is not a kind story," Kiki told the group, her jaw going taut. "It doesn't have a happy ending. And making you relive the worst day of your life to try and prove a point to our family isn't going to make our family any better—it’s just going to wreck you."
"Thank you so much," Caroline whispered.
"That said, I can't stop the rest of the family from looking it up," Kiki said with a shrug. "So I'm sure you will get questions."
"You know what I was," Caroline said, recovering somewhat. "But I'll tell you all what I am.”
She looked around the room, meeting each eye in turn.