“What’s that?”
“An in with the Golden Skulls.”
“Are you fucking high! Reaper will never agree to this.”
“That’s the beauty of it all. Reaper told me to do whatever I needed to do to keep Layla safe. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
Massacre laughed, “Brother, you are going to get yourself killed. Not only will he eviscerate us when Reaper finds out what you’ve done, but he will also reap your fucking soul. This is on you, brother, and if I get killed in the process, I will beat your fucking ass all over hell.”
Ignoring my brother’s words, I dialed the number I knew by heart.
Was I ultimately sold on this idea? Nope.
Did my brother make sense? Yep.
But it was the only place I could think of. So, when the ringing stopped, and I heard a gruff voice speak, I braced myself for the inevitable. “You schifoso! How dare you call me? Have you finally lost all your brain cells? I aught to send my boys after you and put your poor mother out of her misery. You are nothing but a disappointment. How we are related, I will never know. Wait a minute. I do know. It’s that Irish blood that tainted you. I knew your father was nothing but a worthless Bastardo! The best thing my Aunt did was divorce his ass and come home.”
“Now, Gio, that wasn’t nice. Dad never did anything to Mom. They just had a difference of opinion. That’s all.”
“I don’t care. What do you want? A coffin? I have two in the basement with your names on them for you and your delinquent brother, who I am assuming is listening to this conversation. Tell me, Dwayne, are you still grunting, or have you learned words, yet?”
“Fucking asshole,” Massacre muttered, shaking his head.
“Gio, we need your help,” I said quickly before Massacre or Gio got into an intellectual diatribe which consisted of my brother using every curse word he knew and Gio edging him on.
Those two really didn’t get along.
Like ever.
“Oh, this is rich. Tell me, Reginald. What can the family do for you?”
“I need a place to lay low for a while. That’s all.”
“That’s all?” Gio laughed through the phone. Massacre ground his teeth as he started pounding his fist into the palm of his other hand, eager to hit the bastard on the phone. “And pray do tell, Reggie, what will I be hiding?”
“Me, Dwayne, and one other. A woman.”
“And why would I do that?”
And that right there was the in I was looking for. It was time to play my trump card. God help me. I hope it worked because if not, I had no clue where to stash Layla.
“Because Dwayne and I are members of the California Chapter of the Golden Skulls M.C.”
The line went dead.
In the next second, I received a text.
Gio:My plane will be waiting for you at San Francisco Airport.
“Fuck my life. I’m going to die.” my brother moaned when I showed him the text.
“Quit your bitching and go get what you need. Reaper gave us one hour to get the hell out of dodge. And don’t even think of taking your bike. We need once of the SUVs.”
My brother kept muttering to himself as he left the room, leaving me alone once again with Layla. As I looked at her sleeping peacefully for once, I wondered how I would explain this to her.
I knew I would have to eventually, but I decided to wait until she was secure at my cousin’s compound. Then there was the problem of who Layla really was. I knew, under no circumstances could my cousin ever find out who her father was.
If he ever did, God help all of us.