“She’s lying,” Joey says with conviction.
“We will see tomorrow.”
“And Romarc? What’s going on there?” Joey asks. No one has been allowed to update him on anything as he stayed with Sailor. He eyes us before I answer.
“He sent a present to the house.” Jimmy walks in holding a dead snake. It was Paige’s pet.
“Fuck, he’s killing animals now? That’s low.” Joey shakes his head. “You haven’t seen him yet?”
“He’s been good at hiding, but he’s getting antsy. Seems he needs to step up his distribution since somehow it keeps going missing,” Roberto says, throwing a grape into his mouth and smirking.
“You’ve been taking it.” Joey nods, happy with that. “Any of the boys rat him out?”
“None, but he’s good. He sends it down the line, so it passes at least three hands before it gets to the men on the street who sell it. And by the time we get to that distribution step, they have no idea.”
“He’ll slip eventually. Romarc likes to have his name on people’s lips. It’s why he wanted us gone,” Joey says, grinning. “He’s too cocky for his own good.”
“What do you plan to do with him, boss?” Francis asks.
“Maybe the same thing he did to that snake.” I motion to the dead reptile and smile with malicious intent.
“Sounds real fucking good.” Joey nods.
My mother walks in, which in of itself is rare. She never comes over unannounced—it’s not who she is. My father trained her well. But she smiles as she enters my apartment and walks over to Joey, who stayed because he got fucking plastered, and kisses the top of his head. “Missed you, baby.”
She’s never treated us different, even knowing the power I hold. To her, I’m her son and that’s it. We hardly speak of work with her, even though she knows more about what we do than most women.
Our father had her on a tight leash, even hit her a few times, which didn’t sit well with us. But he never stayed around for long. The only time he did was when it was a special occasion, and I think Mamma liked it that way. She didn’t have to deal with him, and she got us from the deal. That’s what she tells us now, no matter how much hate she had for our father. He was just a body who gave her her biggest blessings. Us.
“I made you breakfast.” She pulls her famous cookies out of her bag and places them on the counter. Joey doesn’t waste any time before he dives into them while I sip my coffee.
“Thanks, Mamma,” Joey says and kisses her cheek.
“Tell me, Joey, what do you think of Sailor?” Joey’s eyes flick up over to me. My mother chimes in, “Don’t worry about what Keir has to say.”
I shrug and he opens his mouth before he shuts it again.
My mother’s brows pinch together as she looks at me. “Keir,” she chides, in a tone that only a mother uses.
“What do you think of Sailor, Joey?” I ask him.
“Will you kill me if I tell you?” he asks.
I think about his words and smile. “Not today.”
Joey deflates before he turns to our mother. “She is his kryptonite.”
I puzzle over his answer. “What does that mean?”
“She should be dead,” he says casually.
Well, that is the truth. She should be dead. But she is very much alive and will stay that way, regardless of his or anyone else’s opinion.
“He has never had a problem killing for payment before. He raises that gun of his and shoots, then we clean up the mess.” His eyes find mine. “Yet, you shot her husband, then sent me to watch her for months.” I can tell he’s angry about that, but I don’t care. “So, I think he should have killed her when he had the chance, because now she has a baby with him, that woman has so much control over him she isn’t even aware of it.”
“She has no control over me,” I point out, and both my mother and Joey look at me. “You honestly think anyone can control me?” I smile while shaking my head.
“I heard about what happened yesterday,” Joey says, biting into another cookie. “How about you give me the keys to the kingdom for a day?”
“You know that’s never going to happen.”
“See? What did it take for her to get them?”
“She didn’t take them. I let her see that this is a man’s job, not a woman’s.”
“But you declared everything will go to Wren, so you believe her?”
My fist slams down on the kitchen counter, and my mother jumps a little, but Joey is used to my temperament. He continues to eat his cookie, not even blinking at my outburst.
“I didn’t believe her, I believe those who are loyal to me.”
Roberto walks in and goes straight over to my mother, kissing her cheek before he also steals a cookie. “Why is everyone so quiet?” he asks.
“How was Sailor yesterday?” I ask, and Roberto looks around the room before he answers, “Great, until the altercation with Paige.”
My mother’s brows raise. She knew Paige was there, we just don’t share too many details with her.
“But even that she handled well. Paige was taunting her, calling Wren names. It was only then that she snapped.”
My mother bites her lip.
Joey averts his eyes and says nothing.
“There is your fucking answer,” I say to Joey. “Any more stupid questions?”
“Yeah, just two. Why is Paige waiting for you downstairs? And did you know Sailor is on her way?”
Oh, fuck! I’m moving before anyone can say anything else. Reaching for my cell on the way out, I see a text from Sailor asking if she can come over so I can watch Wren while she goes to a doctor’s appointment.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
“I’ll come with you. Hopefully, I can help.” Quickly we step out and into the elevator, my mother coming with me. “I didn’t agree with this at first, just so you are aware,” she says, then turns to face me. “But I see her, and I like Sailor. She isn’t like any of the other women in our life. More than that, she’s a wonderful mother.”
I don’t disagree.
If only it were as easy as telling her she will be mine forever.
It’s not, though.
Not in this fucked up world.
Chapter Twelve
Sailor
Keir never answered, but he doesn’t live far, so I’m hoping he’s still asleep and that’s why he never responded. Wren plays happily with the new toy I got her as she sits in the stroller. I went to bed last night and all I could think about was how his hands touched me, how he looked at me like no one else existed.
But others do exist.
It’s a lie, and I’m living it.
As I gaze at my daughter, I think about the way she looks at her father, and I can’t take her away from him. It’s not fair to Wren to do something like that. He doesn’t hurt me. Yes, he fucks with my emotions, but who doesn’t.
I lift my head when I hear, “You have got to be kidding me,” as I walk into the building to find Paige standing there. “What the fuck are you doing here? And…” her eyes drop to my daughter, and she scrunches up her nose, “… with that?”