Blackness Takes Over & Blackness Awaits (75 page)

“It’s not a fashion show. Put it on!” He grumbles something at me about ballet and puts the hat on the baby. Kavy has Johnny cradled against his tattooed chest and the baby keeps rooting on him for food. It makes me laugh.

“Put your nipple in his mouth. See if your maternal instincts kick in,” Sully teases from the grill.

“Don’t you dare. I saw what rolled outta here this morning. I don’t want my baby to catch whatever she might’ve had,” I warn sitting in a lounger next to Butch who throws his head back and laughs. Kavy chuckles too knowing I’m right…she was nasty, pretty but dirty.

Kavy climbs out of the pool and hands the baby to Butch before leaning down dripping pool water all over me.

“Jealous?” Kavy growls.

“Of you gettin’ crabs? Very,” I snark.

He grabs me around my waist heaving me over his shoulder. I squeal and flail to no avail. He reaches up and smacks my bikini clad ass before jumping into the pool with me. I push off the bottom of the pool and breach the surface just as Kavy is roaring with laughter. Kel, Sully and Cally are laughing too. Fuckers. Butch is smirking but more intent on Johnny than me being thrown in the pool. Thomas is blank as he usually is when someone fucks with me. Karl walks to the side of the pool and hands me a hair-tie rolling his eyes at the comedians.

“Kel come help me out,” I call sweetly from the side of the pool. I reach my hand up and he leans down wrapping his strong less than originally calloused hand around my wrist. I wrap mine around his, plant my feet on the side of the pool and heave his big ass into the pool. He almost smashes me as he falls. Now it’s my turn to laugh like a maniac. I look up and Karl is standing behind Sully and Cally as they point and laugh in Kel’s direction. Karl gives them each a good shove in the back and they both come tumbling in. Points for Kid and Karl! I quickly try to climb out of the pool but big strong arms engulf my midsection before I make it out.

“That wasn’t very nice,” Kel purrs into my neck.

“You shouldn’t have laughed at me,” I fake pout. He spins me around and I wrap my legs around his middle and my arms around his neck. He is stunning. His surfer hair style is wet and swept to the side. His chiseled chest and eight-pack are tanned and glistening with beads of water that are crying out to be licked off. His teal eyes are glimmering with desire as his tongue sweeps out and swipes water from his fat bottom lip. Shudder.

I hear a shout and then Karl hits the water with a huge splash pulling me out of my reverie. Sully and Cally are dying laughing as they dive in after hurling Karl. He and the guys start playing water basketball and I turn my attention back to my man. His hand slips into the back of my bikini.

“We have an audience, Kel,” I admonish pulling his hand from my ass. He growls and crushes his mouth to mine in a not appropriate in public kiss. I go right along with him massaging his tongue with mine rocking my hips against him and releasing a small whimper when he pulls away. He places a quick chaste kiss on my mouth before pulling back.

“Just a preview,” he rumbles as he puts me down to go play with his friends. At least I’m not the one with a hard on. As I climb out of the pool and wrap myself in a towel Finn comes outside.

“Hey Finn,” I call. His face is dark as he watches me walk toward him. “What’s wrong?” He nods his head indicating I follow him inside. I look at Butch who smiles at me to go ahead. I follow Finn inside, shivering a little as the air conditioning hits my wet body.

“Just got off with Cooper,” Finn says flatly.

“Okay,” I encourage him to go on.

“Did you kill someone?” I gasp and wait to catch my breath before I respond.

“What?” I say because I honestly don’t know what else to say.

“When Mancini’s crew had you. Did you kill one of his guys?” he asks pointedly.

“Yes,” I answer blankly because I still don’t feel shit about it.

“Well someone got word to what’s left of the Mancini Crime Family and they’re lookin’ for retribution. Why didn’t you tell us?” His voice is pained as he pulls me into his chest. I wrap my arms around his waist and let him hold me. “I can’t do this again, Kid. I can’t fuckin’ have you in danger again.”

“Kiddo?” I hear Kel’s concerned voice call from the other side of the room. I look over to him and he stalks toward Finn and me sensing there’s a problem. Finn squeezes me once more and passes me off to Kel who looks into my eyes with a little fear dancing in the teal pools.

“We’ve got a problem,” I whisper and he engulfs me in his arms smashing me into his godly chest.

“I’ll get everyone so we can talk,” Finn says moving away from us. Kel holds me close, rubbing his hands up and down my back until everybody makes their way into the great room.

“Fuck it’s cold in here.” Karl cringes. Kel let’s go of me, turns me to face the group and then wraps both his arms around my shoulders pulling me roughly into him. Butch sits on the couch with Johnny asleep on his shoulder while everyone else stands and waits to listen to Finn.

“Cooper called me. What’s left of the Mancini family are lookin’ for Kid,” Finn explains quickly.

“NO!” every voice in the room booms causing my son to jump. Kel’s arms constrict around me tighter.

“Why?” Kel asks in a heaved breath.

“I killed someone while they had me,” I say in something resembling a whisper. The room is silent other than the whir of the air conditioning. I wait.

“What?” Kavy asks the horrified question the whole group wants to know.

“When Nicky first got there he immediately had to stop the almost rapist,” I wince at the memory as does the room. “He put me in the bathtub right after that incident because my backside was raw. Unfortunately, Mancini’s team came back while Nicky was in the bathroom with me. Mancini was on the phone and Nicky had to play Scarso. That meant I was left alone in the bathroom with a guy from the team. Nicky gave him a warning not to touch me but the language Nicky used in that threat wasn’t specific enough.” My vague language isn’t helping here. All of the eyes on me are demanding details.

“Nicky told him not to put his dick in me. The guy figured he could still touch me. When he tried I touched him first and drowned him.” And I still feel nothing.

“Good girl,” Butch calls from the couch cradling Johnny a little tighter.

“I got some other bad news,” Finn pipes before anyone else can get started. “You’ve been subpoenaed as a defense witness for Governor Grady. You have to be back in Chicago September twenty-second,” Finn finishes in a grumbled huff.

“That’s a convenient fuckin’ coincidence. The Mancini family gunnin’ for me and Grady’s people leadin’ me to ’em,” I growl glancing around the room at my protective men. “I’ll get to be home for my birthday.” I try to lighten the mood but it has absolutely no effect on my men.

“No fuckin’ way Kiddo. Not happenin’,” Kel growls in my ear. All eyes are on us now.

“Kid you can’t be considering this,” Cally shakes his head in disbelief.

“Absolutely not! There’s no way in hell I’m lettin’ you do that,” Sully bellows staring straight into my soul with his chocolate eyes.

“Over my dead fuckin’ body are you doin’ that,” Kavy seethes moving toward me. He bends to my face only inches away. “You’re not fuckin’ doin’ it.”

“Aaron, get outta her face,” Karl orders strongly. “She hasn’t even done anything and you’re all over her. Back the hell off.” Kavy grunts but backs away.

“Shannon, what do you think?” Karl asks politely.

“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. I don’t know what to do. Obviously, Gov. Grady and Mancini are still working together and want something from me again. What threat could I possibly be to them at this point? I have the feeling now that me killing the guy in the bathroom is out, shit just got a lot more dangerous for me. I look at my son and see Butch is thinking the same thing as me. He’s cradling Johnny even closer and tighter than he was a minute ago.

“If they’ve subpoenaed me you all know I have no choice. I have to be in Chicago for the trial. We can try to motion for my removal but you know it won’t work. They’re comin’ for me regardless if I’m here or in Chicago,” I say without waver.

“No one will get you,” Thomas snarls. I look at his face and see his determination is infallible, but I know he can’t keep me safe if they want me.

“What do you guys want me to do?” I ask the group of caveman panting around me.

No one responds. They know I’m right but they aren’t going to admit it out loud. We all stand in silence letting our brains get a handle on this.

“Let’s sleep on it guys. We don’t have to figure everything out this minute. Let me talk to Nicky and Pappy. Nothing’s gonna happen this weekend anyway with it bein’ a holiday Monday. We can go back outside and enjoy our barbecue and deal with this tomorrow,” I say confidently.

“I agree with Shannon. We aren’t gonna figure it out freezin’ are balls off in here,” Karl responds with a shiver in his voice. The guys grumble but move back outside. Butch offers me a sad smile before heading back out to the lounger leaving Kel and me to some privacy.

I turn around in Kel’s arms and gaze up into his stormy eyes. I cup his cheek with my hand and he turns placing a kiss on my palm.

“Kiddo, I can’t fuckin’ do this. I’m serious. I know you wanna think about it, but I can’t let you do this,” he says in a soft pained voice. I don’t respond because I don’t have a choice. If I don’t go to Chicago, someone from Chicago is coming here, plus a warrant for my arrest will be issued if I don’t show for the trial. I prefer to be on offense in life. I’ll talk to Nicky and Pappy, but I know I have to do this. I have to go back to Chicago so I don’t end up in a blackness I can’t fight my way out of.

Kellerman

My inner caveman that I pushed deep within after our conversation on the way home from Seattle has broken free with a vengeance. After the barbecue shut down all the guys headed to Flannery’s and Butch went home. Kid put Johnny to bed and I attacked her. I kissed and licked every inch of her body before burying myself inside her. I laid on top of her pinning her to the bed beneath me growling and panting like an animal as I thrust. Kid submitted (I use that term beyond loosely) to my aggression and held me tightly against her. I came hard as soon as her orgasm peaked and collapsed on top of her staying buried within nuzzling into her neck.

“Feel better?” Kid asks with a hint of teasing in her voice.

“No,” I say in a pout. That earns me a snicker.

“Well I feel good and marked, caveman.”

“Good.”

“Has your IQ dropped down to a single word sentence capability?”

“Yeah.”

“Well I’m gonna go to the bathroom while you go search for your club.” She moves to slide from beneath me, but I press my hips into hers forcing her to remain attached to me.

“No,” I grunt. She runs her hands gently over my cheek pulling at me to look at her. When I meet her gaze I know she’s already decided about Chicago. I know I’ve lost before I even start.

“I love you,” she says softly. “Everything will be fine.” Her face changes to a pale washed shade quickly before I have the chance to respond. She pushes me hard in the chest before cupping a hand over her mouth. She’s going to puke. I jump off the bed as she flies past me barely making it to the toilet.

I grab a washcloth wetting it in the sink before laying it across her neck. I pull her hair from her fist that’s holding it from her face and tie one of her hair things around it. I’m no professional but it does the trick. She keeps trying to stand up but immediately doubles back over each time emptying her stomach more. Five times she does that as I stand behind her and watch. When she collapses against the cool tiled walls, I figure she’s done for now. I hand her a small glass of water so she can rinse her mouth. As she swishes it around she starts to shake all over. Fuck she’s sick.

I scoop her up in my arms and carry her back to bed, gently laying her down. Grabbing some sweats I pull them up over my hips before running down the stairs to get some supplies. I’m back in a couple of minutes with a puke bowl, saltines, water and some fever medicine. She’s back in the toilet puking. When I make my way into the bathroom she’s curled in a ball on the floor naked and shaking. I scoop her up again putting her in bed. I go to the dressing room and get out a long sleeve T-shirt and some yoga pants for her. I pull her into my lap and dress her as fast as I can without causing too much disruption. Once dressed she stays in my lap pressed against my chest. I scoot across the bed and lean against the headboard holding her to me. Her shaking has stopped and her breathing is more even now.

“Stomach flu?” I ask softly.

“Came outta nowhere,” she huffs. “You’ll have to feed Johnny the frozen milk. I don’t want him gettin’ this.”

“I’ve got it. Don’t worry about the baby. You feel any better?”

“I feel fine actually, just wiped.”

“Let’s get some sleep and maybe it’ll pass quickly,” I suggest hoping she doesn’t stay sick long. My son loves me, but I’m a distant second to his momma. If he doesn’t have access to boobs things get ugly. She nods in agreement and I slide down keeping her close to my body. She’s asleep before I turn the lamp out.