“So, Nash, why don’t you tell us about how the wedding went this weekend?” Malcolm asks with a smirk.
“You bastard!” I shout at him as I pick up a napkin to wipe my hands. “You knew all along, didn’t you?”
“Why did you think I tried to talk you out of it?” he grunts.
“Knew what?” Naomi asks, looking between us.
“That Lucy is related to Nash’s ex-wife Ellie,” Malcolm explains, causing everyone at the table to gasp and nearly choke on their chicken. “And that Ellie married Lucy’s ex-boyfriend this weekend.”
“Hold up, hold up, hold up!” Devlin exclaims with his palm raised in the air. “You went to your ex-wife’s wedding with your new girlfriend, who is her cousin?”
“Yep, except Lucy’s not really my girlfriend.”
“Damn, that’s messed up,” Silas mutters with a chuckle and shake of his head.
“When did Lucy finally tell you?” Malcolm asks while grinning.
“Oh, she didn’t,” I reply. “I had no idea until I saw Ellie with her new man. Oh, and did I mention that she just sent the divorce papers a few weeks ago even though she’s, like, six months pregnant with his kid?”
“No!” Jetta exclaims as she slaps a hand over her gaping mouth.
“Yes.”
“You don’t seem too bothered by that shit now,” Wirth points out.
“I’m not. At the time, I think I was mostly just shocked, you know, because it was so out of the blue and I hadn’t seen her in years. But now I’m glad I went with Lucy. I needed the closure just as much, if not more than she did, from her cheating ex.”
“I don’t think I understood half of what y’all are talking about,” Fiasco grumbles.
“Did you think about standing up and objecting during the wedding?” Naomi asks.
“Nope. Although, some family members were looking at me and Lucy both like they expected us to proclaim our love at the last minute. She was so over that douche that it didn’t cross her mind either.”
“That’s good,” Naomi replies with a smile. “Sounds like it all worked out for everyone.”
“Yeah, except I spent the last few days in bed with Lucy, which was selfish since I knew how it was going to end when we got back.”
“Oh, Lucy knew too,” Jetta speaks up and declares.
“About the warrant, yes, but not what I’m suspected of doing, and I want to keep it that way.”
“Oh, she knows about the possibility of charges too.”
“You told her!” I shout at Devlin’s girl, which of course causes him to jump to his feet and get defensive.
“Calm down, man,” Dev warns.
“Even if Lucy didn’t know the details, it would only take her a few clicks on the computer to find out,” Malcolm says simply as he takes a sip from his bottle of beer. “She’s really good at finding shit — like you, for instance…”
“I hate to break it to you, Nash,” Jetta starts. “But Lucy knew about the homicide investigation on Thursday when I talked to her. It was right after the sheriffs showed up at your apartment looking for you and executing the search warrant. They’re the ones who told her about the homicide investigation, probably to try and scare her into turning you in if you showed up later.”
“You’re certain she knew I was a suspect in a multiple murder case?” I ask.
“Yep.”
“I don’t believe it,” I mutter. “All weekend she knew…and she acted completely normal other than in the car on the way to the resort. But I just figured that was because she was trying to figure out how to tell me she stalked me and was related to my ex-wife.”
“The girl is a helluva lot tougher than she looks,” Malcolm says.
“Yeah, she survived cancer too. Did you know that?” I ask him.
“Sure did.”
“How did you find that out? She couldn’t have told you, because it was like pulling teeth to get anything out of her!”
“No, she didn’t tell me. The PI I hired after Naomi lifted Lucy’s phone and wallet from her purse did a little digging on her. I thought it was strange that she would show up out of the blue at an MC clubhouse to talk to me about you if she was ‘just a concerned neighbor.’ And it turned out I was right. But I knew she was harmless, just looking for a fresh start with someone who could relate to what she had been through with her ex.”
“Yeah, well, he cheated on her and got Ellie pregnant while she was battling cancer and having surgery that would take away her chance of ever being a mother. You can bet your ass that Ellie rubbed that shit in Lucy’s face too, as if she hadn’t hurt her enough.”
“What a bitch,” Jetta huffs. “Ellie, not Lucy. Lucy’s great.”
“Yeah, she is,” I agree, turning to Devlin’s woman. “Will you be there for her? Make sure she moves on?”
“What if she doesn’t want to move on?” Jetta asks.
“Then make her!” I exclaim. “She can’t wait on me. She’ll just end up waiting years of her life before she realizes I’m a lost cause and finally gives up.”
“Dude, we’re going to figure out something,” Devlin says. “Do you really think we would let you rot in prison?”
“We’ll do whatever we need to do,” Malcolm agrees. “Even if we have to bribe a judge or some shit.”
“Let’s just all be realistic,” I tell them. “Don’t do anything crazy that will put you all on the chopping block too. Lay low, and hopefully the DA’s case will fizzle out with me. You know I would never rat anyone else out.”
“We know that,” Silas agrees. “And you should know that we’re not gonna sit around with our thumbs in our asses either.”
“Promise me you’ll all be smart.” I glance around the table, meeting each guy right in the eyes. “I’d appreciate it if you would all look after Lucy too.”
“She may look small, but she’s tough as nails,” Malcolm says. “Do you have any idea what she does to cheating men?”
“What cheating men? What are you talking about?” I ask in confusion.
“She’s in some online support groups for women who are cheated on. Apparently, she decided that talking about it isn’t enough, so she started taking action. Using her skills, she hacks into the men’s social media accounts and posts embarrassing shit like tiny dick pics on their profile pages, images of them wearing women’s panties, whatever she can find to hurt them. It’s savage as fuck but pretty funny.”
“How do you know she does that?”
“Saw the shit on her phone when Naomi nabbed it. When I confronted her about it, she just said they deserved it.”
“What if those assholes find out she’s responsible and come after her?” I say in concern.
“I told her the MC would have her back if she needed it since she agreed to look out for you.”
“I wish you had never made her do that,” I grumble.
“No, you don’t,” Malcolm argues. “You’re just pissed that the charges came down and are fucking things up.”