Page 39 of His Lair
“Although, she really was my mother. You don’t have anything to be jealous about,” I assure her.
“She’s beautiful,” Lailani says.
“On the outside,” I add. My motherisbeautiful on the surface. Dig any deeper and that’s when you find the ugly.
“Does she live here? In Vegas?”
“She has a house a couple of hours away. She usually only shows up when she runs out of funds,” I confess.Why the fuck am I spilling all this shit to her?
“Where is she now?”
I run a hand through my hair. “Emmanuel took her home to his place for the night.”
“Why? I mean, if she doesn’t come to town often, shouldn’t you spend time with her? You didn’t send her with your friend so you could come here, did you?”
“The last thing I want to do is spend time with my mother. I came here because I wanted to see you. You are the only person I want to spend my night with.”
“You don’t like your mother?” Lailani looks at me skeptically.
“I like you more,” I tell her, which is true.
I love my mother in ashe’s my mother and the only one I have kindof way. I’d never turn my back on her completely. But I’m not blinded by her either. She’s batshit fucking crazy—the kind of crazy I don’t want in my life on the regular.
“Do you get along with your parents?” I counter, realizing I’ve never asked Lailani about her family and that she’s never mentioned them.
“My mom died when I was young. My dad raised me alone. I get along with him okay.” She shrugs.
“I’m sorry. Do you have siblings?”
“No. Just me.” She smiles. “Do you have any siblings?”
“I have Louie, Carlo, and Emmanuel,” I tell her. “They’ve always been like brothers to me.”
“That must be nice,” she says.
Vibrations pull my attention away from Lailani’s face to my phone screen.
Carlo:
Sammie, I need to find a babysitter, someone trustworthy. Someone already on payroll would be preferred.
Louie:
Bring my niece to me if you need to go out.
Carlo:
You’re likely to be with me, idiot. I can’t take a six-year-old to meetings or to the warehouse.
Louie:
Charlotte will watch her.
Carlo:
I think I need a more permanent solution.
Emmanuel:
