Page 20 of Defended By Bam
Too many questions I wasn’t sure I wanted the answers to swirled in my mind. I wished I could be on my Harley becausesome wind therapy would do me good, but I had to pick up a few big things and needed the truck.
Pulling into the clubhouse, I parked close to the door and headed inside. It was quiet but a few bunnies were walking around and cleaning.
“Hey, Bama,” Glenda said before I made it down the hall.
“Hey,” I said. “You see Hammer or Rogers around yet?”
“Rogers is at the bar having lunch. I saw Hammer head to his office. How’s Brooklyn?”
“Edgy but okay. She said she got a little sleep.”
“And Sadie?” she asked.
“Like a normal little girl. Kinda weird.”
She shrugged. “Kids are resilient. She’s a cutie.”
“Hey, listen–”
Glenda put her hand up. “You don’t have to do this.”
“What do you mean?”
Glenda stepped closer, placing her hand on my chest. “I saw how you looked at her. It’s okay. I don’t want to make it weird for you.”
I covered her hand with mine. “You know I’ll still protect you though? And I’ll make sure you always have a place here. Reggie would have wanted that.”
The edges of her lips turned up just slightly, deepening her dimples. “I know. You were simple. I’m not ready for more than that. But I’ll be okay. But do you think she’ll stay?”
It didn’t make sense that I cared, but the uncertainty of that question had nagged me since last night. “I don’t know. She’ll have to do what’s best for her kid and I’ll respect that.” I patted her hand, and she dropped it from my chest, smiling up at me as she shoved her hands in her back pockets.
“Maybe she already found what’s best for them. I gotta run, but bring her back around. She could probably use a friend right now.”
“Thanks, Glenda.”
Once she headed off in the other direction, I went to find Rogers. He was in the old casino at the bar.
“Hey brother,” he said as he grabbed his drink.
I sat next to him and a bunny came over to ask if I was hungry or thirsty. After she gave me a drink, took my order, and scurried off, I asked Rogers, “So any updates?”
“Been running scans for hours. No missing persons reports have been filed and no calls to hospitals. She may be wiped from the system by now, but I’ll check on that in a while. Did she say the kid was in school? Or was it preschool?”
“Preschool. Since she took off on a Saturday, she didn’t mention a trip or anything, I’m sure. How will that be handled?”
“I’ll talk to my cousin and hit you up. The fact that he hasn’t reported her missing yet is good for us. But schools usually have papers on kids, not just electronic stuff, so we’ll have to deal with that. I’ll let you know.”
“She’s marked up bad. He hasn’t reported her yet because if she was found, he’d be in some shit.”
“Well, if he decides to try after he thinks she’s healed, there won’t be any way to do so. Can't report someone missing if they don’t exist.”
I rubbed my chin. I didn’t bother to shave today and my scruff was a few days old. “I wonder if he’ll try to find her on his own.”
“Time will tell, man. In the meantime, you gonna let them stay at your place?”
I looked around. It was dead here this time of day, but even when we didn’t have parties, it wasn’t uncommon to have drugs and sex openly happening– not every day, but it could happen. “Not sure this is the best place for them to be, and we can’t risk leaving them on their own with so much in the air.”
He smirked, taking his time to bring his drink to his lips.
