Page 25 of Unveiled Wounds

“Is this why you never got rid of it?” Grace and I had constantly poked fun at the phone hanging off the wall when Auntie had always used her cell phone. It made sense now why she would have kept it.

Aunt E nodded her head. “Peter,” she whispered. It hadn’t been her lost lover she’d kept it for, but her demon spawn. “Ring…office.” She took a deep breath, and one last word slipped out. “Direct.”

“Are you telling us the landline in your kitchen calls Alex’s office phone?” This was getting weirder by the second, and I took a peek at Grizz underneath my eyelashes. He winked at me again, and even though it was out of place, it made me feel better.

She nodded. “Never…used. Peter. Only.”

“If you know what the number is, I can mask it and reach out again.” Cyph reached for his cell phone, and I gave him the number to the landline.

“If anything happens with that, let me know,” Sabre directed at Cyph. Facing us again, he said, “The only place I can protect the three of you is here. You’ll be on lockdown until the threat has passed. Stay in the clubhouse, and avoid being seen from the main road. If you need to get fresh air, go out the back door and sit on the patio.” He turned towards Grace and waited until she nodded her head.

“Does this mean we’re moving in upstairs?” Grace asked.

“Yeah, mama. In a bit, I want you to head to JR’s room and make me a list of supplies you need from the house.”

“You’ll also have to grab the groceries from the refrigerator and throw out whatever will spoil.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He took JR from her arms and held the baby to his chest. Reaching for Grace’s hand, he interlocked their fingers. “I will give my last breath to protect the two of you. Lockdown won’t be fun, and I fully expect a few fights, but it’s just a speed—”

“Don’t say it.” I couldn’t hold it back, not knowing why that phrase bothered me so much. Grace didn’t seem to mind, but it drove me nuts, even though I wasn’t involved.

Grizz bent over and grabbed his knees, trying to hold his laughter in. His back bounced with the movement. It wasn’t that funny, but I could hear the brothers shift throughout the room. They were trying to hide their amusement.

Sabre’s eyes found mine. “You’re on lockdown too, in case you didn’t catch that.”

“I don’t leave the clubhouse on a good day.”

“Let’s keep it that way. You’ll each have a bodyguard, and they need to know where you are every minute of the day. Dead volunteered to be yours,” he directed at me.

“Animal channel?” I directed behind me, only to hear a grunt in response.

“Since Thunder is with Aunt E, Chef is on double duty with you and JR,” he said to Grace.

“How is he going to do that with the diner? This won’t be a one-day thing.”

“I’ll take the early morning shift. As long as I can get the paperwork done and set them up for the day, they can run on auto until the next morning. I don’t mind,” Chef chimed in from somewhere on the left side of the room.

“I’ll make sure not to leave the clubhouse, unless I know Chef is here.” Sabre took a deep breath. “There’s one more thing I need help with. The soldiers mentioned another woman that owes the cartel, but we’re not sure who it is. It’s not Aunt E.”

“Huh?” I let the sound slip through my lips.

“They said that there’s another woman Diego wants to make pay. She had a baby and there was something about making a deal that she didn’t follow through on.”

I needed to see my sister. She must have felt the same way because our eyes met over Aunt E’s head.

“You don’t think?” she asked me.

“Oh yeah, I think.”

“When was the last time you talked to her?” Grace’s eyes never left my face.

I wasn’t sure how Grace was feeling, but I couldn’t wrap my mind around the idea. If we were right, shit had just hit the fan. “I haven’t talked to her since the wedding.”

“You don’t think?” she asked me again, dumbfounded.

“I don’t know, but who else could it be?”

“Would the two of you like to clue the rest of us in?” Sabre asked, his agitation showing. He could go fuck off for all I cared.

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