Page 9 of Judge
“I was kidnapped, but I rescued myself so I don’t think it counts,” Remy’s soft voice adds.
“I wasn’t kidnapped, I lured them in. Reverse kidnap if you will,” Pops’ voice adds from the recliner he’s sitting in, head back, eyes closed.
“I have never been snatched and now I’m feeling a little left out,” Mira pouts.
“You’ve been the only one of us to have body parts sent as gifts, so there’s that,” Lovely adds, getting a huge smile in return.
“So, notallof us have been taken, but we’ve had shit go down,’” Chewy rounds out helpfully. “And now so have you! You’re here because some cartel douche lord carved yours and your kids names into bullets. Welcome to the club!” She waves her hands around and smiles widely all while avoiding my gaze.
“No offense, but I’d rather not be part of the club, thanks.”
“Too late! You’re in! Besides, what else have you got going on? Just the diner probably, which I guess keeps you very busy and all, but here, being locked down with us, well you can make some new friends and maybe you can spend enough time with Judge to stop using your eyes to try to burn him to the ground,” Mira shrugs.
I stare at her for a moment, before letting my gaze move to all the women. She just verbally vomited a lot of words at me, and some of them hit their mark. I’ve got nothing in my life outside of my kids and the diner. I’ve never really been popular or I guess friendly enough to have a lot of people around me. When I gave birth it was me and my dad at the hospital. No friends, nothing. Even before that, Leo was my only real friend. Like me, he was never really all that outgoing or popular when we were young. It’s probably why we got on so well. That and his size meant that no one would ever pick on me. I knew I was the odd kid out at school. I had no mom. My dad did his best but he never really knew what a teenage girl would need. My clothes were never in fashion and add to that I had braces and a mop of hair from my black mom, my dad never quite knew how to look after it properly once she died.
“I’d have to spend eternity with him to not want to turn him to dust with just my gaze,” I answer drily.
Lovely looks at me with a thoughtful look, “I know you said that you walked away when he was getting that blowjob and thecool kids teased you, but did you ever try telling him about your pregnancy after that?”
“Of course I did!” I throw my hands up. “He had a right to know. I tried calling and texting and everything went straight to voice mail. I sent emails all throughout the pregnancy. The last message I sent was the day after the twins were born, leaving it open for him to contact us. He never did.”
“Idiot,” Pops mutters under his breath.
“Has he ever explained himself?”
“Nope. And I’ll never let him. As far as I’m concerned he is just the sperm donor to my kids. It’s one thing to blow me off for your new friends; it’s another to know you have kids and to ignore them completely. He’s not the man I knew growing up. That’s for sure.”
“There has to be a reason? That doesn’t sound like Judge,” Mira says, brows furrowed.
“It doesn’t, but men do dumb shit all the time.” Vi waves her hand in the air.
“You’d know. You dated that idiot Josh for way too long,” Remy points out then dodges the cushion thrown at her.
“Anyway, that’s enough about me. What the hell are we going to do about this cartel stuff? I have a house and a diner to get back to.”
The women all eye each other for a moment, before nodding in unison. It’s creepy, and something my twins do.
“We’re going to take care of it,” Chewy nods decisively.
“You mean, DRMC will take care of it?”
“Meh, something like that. I guess. If they don’t, I will. So don’t worry your pretty head.” I eye Chewy for a moment, then remember that I’ve seen her in action.
“OK ladies, I’ve got to go find my other kids. If I leave them alone for too long, all hell breaks loose,” Blanche announces.
“Her kids are kinda scary,” Mira leans over and whispers out the side of her mouth to me.
“Wait, my kids are with her kids!” I frantically whisper back.
“How old are your kids?”
“They’re fourteen.”
Mira waves a hand at me. “Oh in that case, they’re fine. They’ll be with the older kids, Sage and Niko. They’re like 19 and 20. It’s the little ones you have to watch for.”
I give her a nod, catching Lovely’s eye. She smiles gently at me and gives me a thumbs up. The women all gather up their children if they’re awake. If not Pops offers to keep an eye on them. How he can keep an eye on them through his closed eyelids, I have no clue.
Following them all out the door, and unsure what to do with myself, I loiter in the hall of the farmhouse, looking at the pictures on the wall.
