Sweet Reckoning

CHAPTER TWENTY BIG ROTTY

Halfway through the meal, while we were all laughing and telling stories, I made the mistake of placing my hand on Kaidan’s upper thigh without thinking.

He let out a groan loud enough to silence the room. I slipped my hand back into my own lap, and Kaidan cleared his throat.

“Wow,” he said. “The corn pudding is fantastic.”

I snorted, which started a round of snickers. Patti smiled at Kaidan like he was a precious boy.

“Isn’t it good? Anna found the recipe a few years ago. She’s a great cook.”

“Mm-hm.” Kaidan gave a tight-lipped smile. “That she is.”

“I made the sweet potatoes!” Ginger said.

Blake put an arm around her. “And they are awesome, girl.” He winked, and she eyed him suspiciously until he took a huge bite of the gooey yams. His eyes rolled back and he moaned as loudly as Kaidan had. We all laughed, and Ginger backhanded his arm, whispering, “Git.”

Patti looked like she was in heaven. “They’re perfect, Ginger. Thank you—thanks to all of you for your help. This was the best holiday meal of my life, and I’ve had some pretty good ones.” She winked at me.

“Everything was wonderful, Miss Patti,” Ginger told her, earning a pleased smile.

“Well, everyone eat up.”

Every guy at the table reached out, not hesitating.

“Anna,” Marna said. “Pass the potatoes, please.”

I reached for the bowl just as Ginger snorted a laugh. “You can’t be serious. You’ve already had a serving. That’s enough for you.”

Marna’s cheeks reddened. “I know, but I’m still hungry.”

Ginger pursed her lips, giving her sister a challenging glare.

Kaidan took the mashed potatoes from my hand. “Give it a rest, Gin. Let her eat.”

He passed the bowl across the table. Marna was too upset to take it now, so Jay did. He gave Kaidan a grateful look before spooning more onto Marna’s plate for her. Then Jay kissed her cheek. She stared at her plate without moving.

“If you so much as gain a pound, Astaroth will notice.” Ginger’s voice was steely.

Patti wiped the corners of her mouth with her napkin, clearly not comfortable with the direction things were heading.

Still staring at her plate, Marna said, “We all know I’m going to gain a lot more than a pound. I’ll just have to find ways to avoid him. We rarely see him as it is.”

“So, you’re just going to let your appearance go and hope for the best?” Ginger challenged. “Fine. Have at it. Enjoy.” She waved a hand toward Marna’s plate.

“Ginger—” Kopano eyed her, and Zania placed a hand on his forearm.

“No, it’s fine, Kope,” Marna said, standing. She dropped her napkin onto her plate. “I need the loo.” She rushed from the dining room, and every set of eyes at the table went to Ginger.

“What?” Ginger said to us all. “Would you prefer Marna and the stupid baby be killed before she even has a chance to have it?”

“Don’t ever say that again,” Jay said in a low voice.

She glowered at him. Kaidan reached down and took my hand.

“It’s the truth,” Ginger said, her voice rising. “And don’t presume to understand things you can’t possibly. You’re just a stupid human boy, and this is all your bloody fault!”

“I know she’s in danger! I know it’s my fault, and I know what’s at stake—”

“You’ve no clue!” she screamed.

“I know she needs her sister now more than ever, and her last memories are going to be of you yelling at her!”

“I’m the only damn person trying to keep her safe!”

“Okay,” Patti said. “Both of you. Please . . .”

Jay and Ginger were seething, shaking. Sadness swept across the room.

“You both love Marna,” Patti said. “And you have different ways of showing it. Ginger is right that Marna needs to be careful and keep the pregnancy hidden as long as possible, in a healthy way. And she’s going to need everyone’s love and support, especially yours,” she said to Ginger. “Emotions are running high, for good reason. But you’ve got to stick together.”

Jay clenched his jaw and nodded. Ginger let out a breath through her nose, visibly calming a fraction, but her face was still stony.

“Sweet Ginger,” Patti said. “I know she’s your world. Please make the most of your time with her.”

Ginger’s jaw trembled.

Patti said, “Come on.” She put an arm around Ginger and led her from the room.

Jay was still breathing hard. I swiped a stray tear from my cheek.

“This bites, man,” Blake whispered.

“Let’s put this behind us and try to have fun tonight,” I said. Everyone nodded.

When we finished eating, we took the plates and dishes into the kitchen. Kope and Jay both started rinsing.

“I got this,” I told them, nodding to the sink.

“Y’all cooked,” Jay said. “It’s only fair that we clean.”

“What should we do?” Blake asked. He and Kaidan looked lost as they glanced around at the mess.

“You can put away the leftovers and wipe down the counters,” I told them.

They looked at each other with big eyes as I took Zania’s hand and left the kitchen, trying not to laugh.

They made surprisingly quick work of the cleanup then joined us in the family room. Z sat next to Kope on the Persian rug. Patti was standing, explaining the game of charades, as I squeezed next to Kaidan on the love seat. He immediately twined his fingers through mine. I was happy to see Marna nestled between Ginger and Jay on the couch, looking cozy under Jay’s arm. Blake sat on Ginger’s other side, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and paying close attention to Patti’s instructions.

“So,” he said, “we just have to act out the word for our team to guess?”

I watched his competitive nature emerge.

“You’ve never played charades?” I asked.

He shook his head. In fact, all the Neph shook their heads.

“Heard of it, but never played,” Kaidan told us.

“Wow,” Jay said.

“We’ll do girls versus boys, and I’ll be the judge,” Patti explained. “Anna will go first to show you how it’s done.”

Kaidan gave me a little push to my feet, grinning big at my discomfort. I’d never been outgoing enough to enjoy games.

“Only the girls can guess,” Patti reminded the room, holding out the stack of cards with charade subjects.

I picked one: Pirates of the Caribbean. Oh, great.

Patti flipped the sand timer, signaling me to go. An immediate rush of adrenaline hit me as I pretended to wind a movie camera by my eye.

“A movie!” Marna said. I gave her the thumbs-up.

I held up four fingers, and all three girls yelled, “Four words!”

I nodded and held up one finger to show that this was the first word.

I closed one eye tight and made a circle like a patch over it, then made an “Arrgh” face, which was difficult when you couldn’t make any sounds. The room broke into laughter. I pointed to my shoulder and made a hand gesture like a bird talking.

More giggles.

Did I mention I sucked at games?

“Dude, I know it,” Blake said, sitting back and crossing his arms.

“Me, too,” Jay chimed in. They both looked smug.

“Hush.” Ginger smacked Blake’s thigh.

I made the eye-patch gesture again and swung my arm in that ridiculous pirate gesture.

“That’s sexy,” Kai said, making the room laugh. I glared at him.

“Pirates of the Caribbean!” Zania shouted.

“Yes!” I pointed at her, and the girls all cheered.

“About time,” Blake teased.

I fell back onto the love seat and sighed with relief. Kai patted my knee.

Oh, if the Dukes could see their children now.

“I’m next!” Blake stood. Just as he made his way to Patti, his hand stilled on the top card. I felt Kaidan freeze next to me. Across the room, Kope sat up straighter. I recognized the glazed-eye look they got when they were listening to something from a distance. The whole room quieted, and my heart rate spiked.

Kaidan signed silently to the room: Hide.

Patti rushed the twins, Zania, and Jay up the stairs. Kaidan tried to push me to go with them, but I shook my head, unstrapping the hilt from my ankle. If it came down to a fight, the others could come down and join us, but we needed to keep our allies secret as long as possible. Together the three guys and I silently went to the front of the house and peeked through the curtains.

A nondescript small gray car had parked in the driveway. An African American man who appeared way too large for the vehicle stepped out, making the car bounce upward with the release of his weight. In the span of one second my mind took in a myriad of details about our visitor. He was one of the biggest men I’d ever seen—extremely tall and stacked with muscle like a bodybuilder. He wore a fitted black do-rag on his head, a sleeveless muscle shirt, baggy jeans low enough to show half his black boxers, and he walked with a serious swagger. But the thing that stood out most was the amber Duke’s badge at his chest. And the fact that he looked really familiar . . .

Oh. My. Gosh.

“Nuh-uh,” Blake whispered.

Kaidan let out a deep breath of relief and said, “It’s Belial.”

I ran to the door and opened it, looking up as he approached. He had been a large man in his former body, but now his presence was overwhelming. And it was driving me nuts that I couldn’t place him. I would remember meeting this body in real life. Why did he look so familiar?

“What’s up, baby girl?” he said from the front step. His voice was deep, but not gruff anymore. Definitely a smooth baritone.

I felt the presence of all three guys behind me now, and Kaidan’s hand on my shoulder.

“Dad?” I said.

“It’s me. You ain’t gonna hug me?” He held open his giant arms.

I wasn’t scared, even though it was completely strange. But as I went into his embrace, I couldn’t shake the strange feeling of familiarity. Dad squeezed me and I squeezed him back, letting myself feel safe.

When we turned to walk back inside, Kaidan and Blake stood in the doorway with shocked expressions.

“What?” Dad asked, sounding impatient.

“Sir,” began Kaidan. “You’re . . . did you mean to . . .”

“You’re Big Rotty!” Blake blurted.

I gasped, staring up at Dad. Holy crap! Blake was right!

“Why’s everyone keep saying that?” Dad asked. “What the hell’s a Big Rotty?”

Rotty, as in rottweiler. Big and intimidating.

“You better come in,” I said. We walked in and shut the door, but stayed in the foyer. “Don’t you remember anything about this body’s past?”

He shook his head. “The human soul takes the memories with it. You gonna tell me what’s up?”

“Dad . . . did you get this body from a hospital in D.C.?”

“Yeah.” His giant brown eyes looked down at me, pinched.

“You took the body of a famous rapper.”

He stepped back from me.

“It’s all over the news, sir,” Blake told him. “He was in a coma and they said he died last night.”

Dad dropped a big curse. I hadn’t seen the news since last night at the bar when Big Rotty was shot.

“Well, at least they think he’s dead,” I said.

“He wasn’t gonna live.” Dad’s whole forehead was pinched now. “No family was in the room this morning. I just let his soul go long enough for the monitors to show he was gone. They pronounced him dead, unplugged him, and I jumped in. Brought the body back to life. Waited till they wheeled me down to the morgue, then grabbed some scrubs and left. Damn . . . I didn’t have time to do research on ’im. Stopped at a store to get some clothes, and everyone kept staring at me.” He cursed again.

This wasn’t good. He couldn’t have picked a more conspicuous body. Big Rotty’s family, friends, and fans would want a funeral, but now his body was mysteriously missing. If this hit the news, and people started spotting Dad . . .

He rubbed his giant hands across his face, a gesture that was distinctively John LaGray.

“All the kids upstairs can come down.” Dad sighed.

Right away we heard footsteps. Jay was first at the bottom. He did a double take, and his eyes widened.

“Wha—Big Rotty? Oh, man! I have all your albums!”

Uh-oh. Music fanboy alert.

“Jay,” I warned.

He ran over to us then stopped, suddenly confused. He turned to the twins, who came down behind him. “I thought you said her pops was here.”

He looked around, now thoroughly confused as his eyes landed back on the gigantic newcomer.

“My dad possessed Big Rotty,” I deadpanned.

Jay literally swayed and had to put a hand on the wall.

Zania came down the steps and went straight to Kopano’s side, eyeing the Duke with distrust.

Dad nodded at her. “Daughter of Sonellion, you’re looking well. The son of Alocer taking good care of you up in Boston?”

She cleared her throat and nodded. “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

“Good. That’s real good.” His eyes went toward the stairs. “I see you there, Patti. You gonna say hi, or what?”

Patti was standing at the bottom of the stairs, grasping the rail and staring at Dad. Her aura was a mix of excited orange swirled with dark and light grays.

“Hi,” she whispered.

He made a path through all of us as he stalked over to her. Patti’s eyes went up, searching his face.

Despite her obvious nervousness, she managed to say, “You’re looking young and fit these days, John. I hope it’s okay if I still call you that.”

“You can call me whatever you want, girl.”

Ugh, Dad. Time to get the new body and its language under control.

He kind of surprised us all by pulling her into a hug. Patti let out a startled laugh, and her arms slowly went around his wide waist. I was pretty sure Dad smelled the top of her head and quite positive that she rubbed his back for a second. The whole thing lingered a bit too long for my comfort. Everyone in the room shifted. Kaidan raised an eyebrow at me and I crinkled my nose.

Patti pulled away from him, blushing as she tried to get her frazzled aura under control. I prayed for no red to show, and it didn’t, to my utter relief.

“Well.” Patti crossed her arms and stepped back. “The new you is sure . . .”

“Touchy-feely?” I offered pointedly. A few chuckles rose and died around the room.

Dad actually turned his head to me and gave an embarrassed laugh.

“My bad. Still getting used to this body.”

Apparently, Big Rotty had had some affectionate mannerisms. He was known for being a reformed player as well as a gangster, after all.

Patti ran her hands over her hair, getting ahold of herself. “Well, I’m glad the scare’s over. Everyone come back in and sit down. It’s almost dessert time. Who wants pie?” she called over her shoulder as she headed toward the kitchen.

“Aw, hell yeah!” Dad said, grinning wide as he strutted in his way to the family room.

All of us stood there stunned for a moment before following. Jay wore his same goofy look of awe as he gazed after my father.

This was going to take some getting used to.

“So, where’d you get the money to stop and buy clothes?” I asked Dad.

We were all sitting around the family room, plates of different pies on our laps. Except Patti, who was too nervous or freaked out to eat.

“Before I ditched my old body, I stashed money in a locker at Union Station. That’s another reason I needed to get a new body in D.C.”

“Maybe if you change your look just a bit, sir,” Marna suggested. “Wear something that Big Rotty might not’ve worn?”

“Yeah,” Dad said, nodding. “Get myself a suit. Straight-up gent.” When he grinned, I could see exactly how he’d earned himself a reputation with the ladies. He had a famous scar above his eye from a knife fight, and a scar on his neck from a bullet graze, but he had a roguish handsomeness that made you want to stare.

“I can take your measurements,” Patti offered. “We’ll send one of these guys out to get you some clothes.”

“I will go for him,” Kopano said.

“Perfect.” Patti grabbed the remote and turned on the television. “Let’s see if they mention anything about this on the news.”

So far there was nothing. Maybe the police were keeping it quiet.

I looked down at Kaidan’s empty plate. He’d had three pieces of pie: cherry, pumpkin, and apple.

“Which pie was your favorite?” I whispered in his ear.

His eyes hit mine and I felt my neck heating, the warmth spreading up to my face. All at once we both realized Dad was watching us, giving Kaidan a murderous glare.

Kaidan quickly amended. “Erm, key lime was my favorite, luv.”

“Oh,” I said.

Dad looked away and Kaidan shot me a big-eyed “oops” glance. I choked back a laugh. Patti came up behind us and kissed Kai’s head.

“How you doing, son?” she asked.

He gave her a boyish smile and said, “Very well, thanks.” She pushed hair from his eyes before moving along.

“So, tell me what’s been going on around here,” Dad said to me. “You seen Pharzuph again?”

“No,” I told him. “Nothing’s happened since you came to my dorm room.”

“When’d you see Pharzuph?” Blake asked.

I told them about the surprise visit and Pharzuph’s new body.

“Yeah, brah,” Blake said to Kaidan. “We’ve both inherited fortunes and new-looking daddies we haven’t even seen yet. How many people get to say that?”

“Awkward,” Jay said. “Acko taco . . .”

“With a side of guaco,” Marna finished, and they chuckled together.

“You haven’t seen your father’s new body yet?” Jay asked Blake.

“Nah. Probably won’t now that he lives in China, and that’s fine with me.”

“Do you have any news?” I asked Dad.

He shook his head. “I just know they’re having a summit tonight in Switzerland. Still got my boys looking in on the son of Shax to see if he’s ally material. He seems legit, but I’m not sendin’ you to have words with him till I know for sure. How’d he seem when you met him?”

Everyone looked at me, and I thought about it.

“Well, compared to creepy Caterina, he seemed normal, but I still wouldn’t turn my back on him. He’s slick.”

Dad nodded, and ran a hand over his do-rag. “I was hopin’ to have more allies by this point. I think we all know it’s going down soon.”

We sat quietly, an intensity blanketing the room. It felt like things were happening too fast.

“What are we going to do?” I asked.

“We roll with it,” Dad said. “All we can do is be ready, mentally, for whatever they throw at us. Be strong. Keep your wits. They’re not expectin’ a team of you like this. We gotta fight smart.” He tapped his head.

He was right. We couldn’t formulate any kind of plan when we didn’t know when or how the Dukes would attack. But that didn’t have to mean we were weak.

“So . . . we wait,” I said.

“We wait,” Dad confirmed, glancing at his empty pie plate. “And eat.”

As always, Dad couldn’t stay long. Patti and I measured him and then sent Kopano and Zania to the nearest mall with his credit card for new, less conspicuous clothes.

Kope and Z returned with big bags.

“These look good,” Patti said, pulling out the clothes for Dad. “But your hair . . .”

“Hot mess,” he agreed with a low chuckle as he ran a big hand over his hair, which needed a good brushing or cut.

Patti stepped up and handed him a Miami Heat ball cap. He fitted it on his head and grinned.

“Yeah. That’s nice, right there.”

The three of us walked back into the family room, where everyone was sitting, and even from the corner of my eye I could see Dad’s larger-than-life walk—the kind of body movements that forced people to notice him.

As Dad started talking to Blake, thanking him for pulling off our recent plan, Jay approached me.

“You know, since he still knows how to talk and walk like Big Rotty, I bet he could still rap if he tried.”

I could only shake my head, giving him my “you’re crazy but I still love you” look.

“What?” He laughed. Marna smiled at him from the couch.

Kaidan walked to my side and I linked my arm through his, hugging his bicep. Dad came over and put his hands on Kai’s shoulders. They shared a serious look.

“You take care of my girl, you hear me?”

Kaidan nodded. “I will, sir.”

Dad patted his shoulder, and then looked at me. Deep in those eyes I saw my dad—his love and concern for me that stemmed from his soul. I let go of Kai and reached for Dad’s waist, squeezing him. His arms went around me, and I felt the same pit of sadness I always felt when he had to leave, never knowing when we’d see each other again.

He kissed the top of my head and said, “You make me proud. Every day.”

“Love you, Daddy,” I said into his shirt.

He turned to Patti, who stood behind me. Dad pulled a strand of her curly hair, like a little kid, then let his hand rest on her shoulder. They said nothing. She patted Dad’s hand and tried to smile. Good-byes were never easy.

Without looking back, Dad picked up his bags of clothes and walked out of the house into the dark, leaving us in silence.