Page 140 of Lover Forbidden
There was stillness all in the room, her fathers and grandfather watching them in silence. And she could positively feel the emotion weaving through the air that was tainted with the harbinger of death—
That’s what he is frightened of, she thought.The scent.
“It’s still her,” she commanded. “Breathe through your mouth, not your nose. Forget the smell, and join me here. There’s not much time left.”
His Adam’s apple—so prominent in his thick throat—undulated. And then he finally stepped forward.
Rearranging herself so there was room for him, she pulled him down beside her.
“We’re all here,” Lyric said as she stroked hergranmahmen’s wrist.
The skin was dry and cool, too cool.
“Tell her,” she prompted her brother.
It was a while before Rhamp responded, and as the moments ticked by, she got more and more anxious.
But then he cleared his throat, and in the voice of the young he hadn’t been for so many years, Rhamp said, “I love you, Nana.”
Lyric brushed a tear from her eye at the old name, the one he’d called theirgranmahmenbecause when he’d been young, he’d had a little speech impediment, and hadn’t been able to handle the big word.
“Everyone’s here,Granmahmen,” she whispered as she took a deep breath. “We’re all with you. It’s okay… for you to go.”
She braced herself for the last breath, just as everybody else did. And when that didn’t come, she glanced around at the males surrounding the bed. They were all staring at the person who had kept them together, these many years.
“It’s all right,Granmahmen,” she repeated. “You can… go. It’s okay.”
The chest continued to haltingly go up and down.
Lyric frowned, and thought of how she and hergranmahmenhad always been the only females in the household here, and how the elder Lyric had always been in charge: Four strong males, who were loved so dearly by so many, three of whom fought for the species, were sustained—had always been sustained—by the female who had run everything.
And that was when Lyric realized…
“I’ll take care of them,” she said hoarsely. “Granmahmen, don’t worry. I will take care of the family, of all of them, in your absence—”
A deep breath was sucked in. And then the exhale came, long and slow… ending on a quiet catch.
And with that very characteristic lack of fuss, with her message having been received, their matriarch was gone.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
As soon as Shuli passed out, L.W. left the aristocrat’s mansion. To avoid the fucking party, he snuck out the back, and to get off the property, he borrowed one of the Range Rovers in the four-car garage. The fucker had two of them—because of course he did. He had to make sure his butler could get out in style, and there were the other staff to think of.
Or maybe one was just for backup. Who the hell knew.
It had been a while since L.W. had been behind the wheel, and it sure as shit hadn’t been during the winter. He supposed that was another reason to have Range Rovers. The traction was outstanding, even with all the ice.
His Samsung provided the route. All he had to do was sit back and steer—which wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Part of that was because he’d had to borrow some of Shuli’s duds, so everything was too tight: the track bottoms, the nylon shirt, the Vuitton parka.
Like LV made fucking parkas.
The thing that really irritated him? The guy’s running shoes had fit him. He was taller than Shuli by almost a head. He should have been busting the Sauconys at the seams.
Maybe Shuli was packing more than just big guns in his leathers.
As L.W. drove along, working his way through stop signs, then stoplights, his leg hurt like a bitch, and of course it had to be on his driving side. Then again, he hadn’t expected to be making this trip—or for it to take this long.
Then again, Shuli’s house was in the fancy part of town, and where he was headed was in the older part of the suburbs.
