Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
WILL
Iwas still recovering from the party. It had been so long since I had been that wasted.
Bianca was a damn drinking machine. The girls tried to warn me not to get caught up in her web.
I foolishly ignored them, thinking they had to be overexaggerating.
The next morning, I knew I should have listened.
Oscar was so out of it that he had to sleep in a spare room at the clubhouse.
Speaking of Oscar, the next morning, the guys were giving him all kinds of fist pounds for how he handled the prospect.
He ate up the praise. Crow let us know he had kicked the prospect to the curb after his antics.
He provoked that fight, thinking he could bully Oscar because of his sexuality.
He wouldn’t be the first, and damn sure wouldn’t be the last. Since that night, Oscar had been coming around a lot because of his budding relationship with Cara.
I knew eventually those two would end up wreaking havoc. I just hoped they didn’t end up burning down a building or something.
My phone rang beside me, gaining my attention. When I picked it up, I saw I had an incoming FaceTime from my grandmother. My brows rose in surprise. I didn’t know my grandmother had upgraded to an iPhone, let alone knew how to FaceTime someone.
I picked up the call, and all I saw was nostrils. I chuckled. “Granny, back up some. I don’t need to be able to count your nose hairs.”
She pulled away and smiled at the camera. “Hey, sweetheart. How have you been doing?”
I hunched my shoulders. “I’ve been doing okay. My cast comes off in a few days, so I’m excited about that.”
“That’s great, baby. It's been too long since I heard from you. I was beginning to think you forgot about little ol’ me.”
I shook my head. “Never, Granny. It's just a lot has been going on around here.”
She hooded her eyes. “I heard.”
Right then, I knew she was aware of Miracle. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who spilled those beans. “Tabitha?”
Granny nodded her head. “You know that child loves to gossip. She even showed me pictures that you put on your Facelift.”
I was confused for a second, and then it clicked. “You mean my FaceBook, Granny?” I giggled.
I uploaded several pictures of Miracle and me. I even added a few candid pictures I snapped of Tech with the baby. One was Miracle sleeping on his bare chest while he scrolled on his phone. The other one was him holding her in the air while she laughed.
She rolled her eyes. “Same thing,” she spat. “But the question is, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wasn’t trying to hide it, Granny. There really has been a lot going on.”
“Well, you can explain everything over lunch today. I’m making your favorite.
” I opened my mouth to protest. I already knew Tech didn’t want me leaving the compound.
“I don’t want to hear any excuses. Bring that fine piece of man and that baby with you.
Oh, and tell Alice to bring her funny-acting self, too.
She’s been back for a year and hasn’t made her way to come see me.
I’ve got something for her too,” Granny fussed.
When Alice came to the club for help, I had no idea she was in contact with Cara and Sara.
Years had passed since her ex-husband forced her to cut off contact with me and Oscar.
There was so much going on in the short span of a few months.
Once Alice got here, she and Big Red got together, he got rid of her ex, she found out she was pregnant, and she was planning her wedding.
It was a snowball of events that kept her busy.
“Granny, it isn’t like that. She’s just been…”
“Busy?” Granny guessed. “Child, it only takes a few minutes to call somebody. You know I always viewed Alice as one of my grandkids. When Declan forced her to cut contact with us, I was hurt.”
I couldn’t say anything. There were many days Oscar, Alice, and I would go to my granny’s and hang out. She was our place of peace. Alice always caught hell for hanging out with the gay boys of the school. She didn’t care, though. We were a trio, and we didn’t give a damn what others thought.
“I know, Granny. I’ll make sure she’s there.”
“And her baby and new husband. I’m sure the other two will be in school at that hour.”
I sighed, realizing my granny had obviously been doing her homework to find out all this. There was no such thing as telling her no. “Okay, Granny. We’ll be there.”
After saying goodbye, we hung up. I FaceTimed Alice, and she picked up right away. “Hey,” she answered.
“Hold on, let me patch in Oscar.” I dialed him up, and he picked up after a few rings. When he picked up, I saw he was sitting in his styling chair at the salon where he worked. “You been snitching to Granny, Oscar?”
He threw his head back laughing. “Look, Granny had made apple pie and homemade vanilla ice cream. I would have told on my own mama for a plate.” He shrugged his shoulders unapologetically.
“Wait, what’s going on?” Alice asked.
“Oscar told Granny about Red, the baby, Cindy, and Colt. Now she’s mad at you because you still haven’t come by to visit since you’ve been back. She demanded that you and I, along with Red, Tech, Miracle, and Caleb, come to her house for lunch today,” I informed her.
Alice gasped before a frown formed on her face. “Oscar!”
“That’s my name, don’t wear it out.” He snickered.
“You think you’re so funny. You better hope I don’t spill the beans about that time you snuck Damon in the back room of her house.” I would never do such a thing, but he didn't need to know that.
All of his laughter died. “You wouldn’t!”
“I don’t know, my lips are feeling a little loose. I hope it doesn’t slip out by mistake.” Alice was cackling as I smirked at the horrified look on his face. “Anyway, Alice, I’ll see you in a few hours. Chow Oscar!” I ended the call laughing. I knew he was probably stressed out.
Just as I set my phone down, Jacob walked into the room, cradling Miracle in his arms. “What’s so funny?” he asked.
I stood up, taking a long stretch. “Nothing. Just teasing Oscar. But we need to start getting dressed,” I told him.
“Why?”
“Because my granny wants us over for lunch, along with Alice and Red. She isn’t going to take no for an answer.”
He scratched his head and nodded. “Okay. We can do that. Just let me arrange a few things.”
I didn’t know what he meant by that. “O…kay.”
This man had lost his mind. When we pulled onto my grandmother's street, he had four brothers parked on their bikes on each corner. I was wondering why he agreed so easily, and now I knew why.
“Babe, don’t you think this is a little excessive?”
He turned to me once he parked the truck in front of my granny’s house.
“Will, Sire is literally killing people to send me messages. This morning, they found a fifth body. The authorities still haven’t identified him as the suspect, which means they don’t know who is behind it.
I’m not taking any chances. Up until this point, I have been underestimating him.
Clearly, he knows how to move around unnoticed. ”
I was rendered speechless. I hadn’t even taken half of that into consideration. Even though we knew Sire was behind the murders, the cops didn’t. Sire could easily walk past a police officer, and they wouldn’t know a thing.
I asked Jacob a few days ago why they didn’t inform the police chief that Sire was behind it.
That was when he let me know the club didn’t involve anyone in their business.
It was how they had always been able to handle certain situations without any backlash or face any potential penitentiary time.
For example, when the club got rid of Declan and his brother.
Declan was a cop, and Vincent, his brother, was a DA.
Cara anonymously leaked all their dirty and illegal activities to the FBI.
When they disappeared, people naturally assumed they had fled to avoid prison.
The club never got questioned about their whereabouts.
“Okay, I see your point. I just don’t want Granny to notice them and ask questions.”
“If she does, I’ll just tell her the partial truth. We still haven’t found the man who attacked you, and I want to keep you safe.”
I thought over his words and agreed. That would satisfy her curiosity. “Okay.”
“Alright. Let’s get in here.”
As we got out of his truck, Big Red and Alice pulled up behind us. Tech opened the back door to get Miracle. I heard a car door slam across the street and spun around. Oscar was making his way over to us.
“What are you doing here?” Alice questioned.
“I’m here to make sure this one keeps his mouth closed. I'm not going to let myself get hit with a house slipper just because he's being petty and wants revenge.”
Alice and I laughed while Red and Tech looked on, confused.
“Get your butts in here. All that damn laughing like y’all haven’t been treating me like an afterthought!” Granny yelled from her porch.
I looked up and saw Aunt Toya standing behind her, shaking her head with an amused smile. I approached the porch cautiously. My granny might have been older, but she didn’t mind bopping you on your head with her house slipper or cane.
When I didn’t see her reaching for either, I wrapped her in my arms and kissed her cheek. “It's not even like that, Granny. You know I can't forget my favorite girl in the world.”
“Don’t be trying to butter me up.” She released me and turned to Alice. “And what do you have to say for yourself? Hmm?”
“I’m sorry, Granny Nina. I really wasn’t purposely ignoring you,” Alice whined.
“Mmhm. Come here and give me a hug.” As soon as Alice was in Granny’s arms, her shoulders shook as she cried.