Chapter Eleven #2
“I don’t know all the details, but essentially it came down to someone fuckin’ with Taleah and her brother stepped in to protect her.
He got into a fight, which was nothin’ new for either one of us.
He’d been drinkin’ and at some point he got pushed in the pool.
Taleah’s brother was a great swimmer. He ended up drownin’ in that pool because he hit his head on the cement walkway before landin’ in the water.
I guess Taleah tried to get to him, but no one would let her.
It took my sister and a few other people to hold her back.
She was willin’ to give her life for her brother or join him in death.
They couldn’t revive him. I lost my best friend two weeks after losin’ my grandma.
I couldn’t deal with it. The very next night, I was at a party I knew my sister was gonna take Taleah to.
Made it look like I was cheatin’ on her and she ran away from me.
“That was the last night I talked to Taleah or my sister for eight years. My sister moved out of the house the next day because we had an apartment over the garage. She didn’t even want to see me.
Until a few weeks before the attack, I hadn’t seen Taleah.
Only exchanged a handful of words with her since then.
I’m slowly workin’ on repairin’ the relationship with my sister, but I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to fix things with the only girl I’ve ever loved,” I say, hating how vulnerable and weak I sound right now in front of Annistyn and Reckless.
Neither one of them say a word for a while. I don’t look at either one of them as they take in what I’ve told them. I’m still not going into a ton of detail, but they have the basics of what happened.
“Obviously this girl is important to you. I was there that day in the store when you found her. Never seen you act like that for any reason, Master. Not gonna drag this shit out. All I wanna know is if you get the chance, you gonna claim Taleah as your ol’ lady?
” Reckless asks me, sitting forward in his seat.
“I’d claim her today if I knew she’d accept it,” I state without hesitation because it’s the truth. “I’ve loved her since before I knew what love was. She’s everythin’ I want in a woman and no one else will ever come close to what she means to me.”
“Okay. Whatever you need, you got it. Annistyn, are you willin’ to talk to her and see if you can get her to the ranch so she can get help?” Reckless asks Link’s wife as I turn to look at her.
“She’ll be at the cemetery today or tomorrow.
It’s been too long since she’s gone to visit her brother.
She’s usually there once a week. Taleah won’t let the use of a walker stop her from that trip and will endure any amount of pain,” I say knowing her better than she knows herself in some situations including this one.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to get her there.
Drive her there myself if that’s what it takes.
You better be serious about her, Master.
She sounds like a great girl and if this is you fuckin’ around with her, I’ll beat your ass.
I know I’ll definitely lose in a fight against you since you’re in the ring six days a week, but I’ll do what I can to hurt you.
I don’t even know this girl yet and I already know she’ll be important to a lot of people in this club.
Bring your sister around too. We can always use more girls around here,” Annistyn says before getting out of her seat and leaving me alone with Reckless in the office.
“I’m guessin’ you already got a file started on everyone you know is involved in this situation.
We’ll need to discuss shit in church if you think he’s gonna bring more people into this.
Does he have ties to anyone we’ve heard of before?
Someone we’ve never dealt with maybe?” Reckless asks me once we’re alone in the office.
“Not that I can find. Everyone he parties with comes from the casino he frequents. Everyone is too fuckin’ stupid to be any part of the criminal underworld.
At least from what I can tell so far. I’ve been runnin’ back all of his connections from college until now.
I’m startin’ on his parents today so I can make sure they’re clean.
Thinkin’ the dad has an abusive past based on how he interacted with TJ’s mom after court today.
He was holdin’ her awfully tight as he led her from the courthouse.
I’m gonna do whatever it takes to ensure Taleah is protected and this shit never touches her again,” I answer Reckless as he nods his head in agreement with me.
“Keep me updated on what you find. Put Evan on her for now. He’s been near her at the hospital and I have a feelin’ he’ll pay the most attention to her.
You give him the order and tell him how you want her protection detail run.
If you need help movin’ her stuff into a new house, let us know and we’ll get it taken care of,” Reckless says, standing from his seat as I copy him and we leave his office.
Instead of heading for the common room, I make my way to my office.
I’ve got work to do when it comes to TJ and protecting the love of my life.
In a few hours I’ll be heading to my sister’s house for the first time and if I remain busy, I won’t feel nervous about seeing her again and meeting her family for the first time.
I don’t even understand why I’m nervous about this situation.
She’s my damn sister. Maybe it’s because I have no clue how much of our story she’s shared with her husband.
As I realize my baby sister is married, I feel part of my heart break again because I wasn’t there for her special day.
I should have been sitting in the front row or standing up at her husband’s side.
If I were home and not on leave that is.
The reason I wasn’t there for her is because I’m a dumbass who chose to let her walk out of my life because I thought it was the best solution after losing people who meant the world to me.
Now, I’ll do whatever it takes to make this up to her and ensure we never drift apart again.