“When Gadget rescued her and Matrix’s son, they were immediately shipped back home to the club house. Healer is with her. He isn’t saying anything. I can find out if you want?”
“No. I’ll call him.”
Sypher grinned, then disconnected the call. Reaching for my phone, I was about to call Healer when Reaper cleared his throat. Looking up at him, I placed my phone on the table when Reaper said, “Story time. Now.”
“If you gentlemen will excuse me, I need to make a call,” Gio said, getting to his feet, then turned to me and said, “And when you are finished telling Reaper your story, you and I will be having a conversation. Is that clear, Reginald?”
“Yes, Gio,” I nodded.
I watched as Gio left the room. When I turned back to the room, all eyes were on me. “I’m waiting,” Reaper dead panned.
Four
Player
“Catarina was the most beautiful woman I ever met. She was kind, generous, loving, and no matter what, she always smiled,” I began looking at Reaper, then at Ghost. “You know that feeling you get when Remi smiles or when Ari smiles?”
Reaper grinned. “Just seeing her smile means the world to me.”
Ghost nodded and added, “It’s like her smile makes me invincible. I can do anything.”
“Exactly. Seeing Catarina smile gave me purpose. Knowing that she was smiling at me, only me, made me feel like the luckiest man on earth. There wasn’t a damn thing I would do for her.”
“So, what happened, Reggie,” Antonio asked, sitting next to Massacre.
“I knew for a long time that Cat was mine. I think I was seven or eight. We were just kids, but there was nothing I kept from her. We told each other everything. As the years passed, our friendship turned into something more. The night of our prom, I saw her crying out by the football field. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me that Charles Johnston, her date, had tried to have sex with her. When she told him no, he got mad and slapped her.”
“He did what?” Lorenzo growled.
“Seems we need to have a talk with good ol’ Chuckie, brother,” Sal growled as Antonio and Lorenzo nodded.
“Me too,” Massacre said, punching his fist into his hand.
Shaking my head, I added, “I already took care of it. I kind of lost it, seeing her cry like that, then hearing what happened. You ever wondered why Charles didn’t accept that football scholarship to USC? Well, that’s because I broke both of his arms.”
“Damn Player,” Chaos gasped as Ghost and Reaper nodded with grins on their faces.
“No one fucks with our women,” Reaper added, then said, “Go on.”
“After that, Catarina stayed close to me until we left for college. I didn’t know it, but she actually transferred schools at the last minute to attend with me at Loyola University. She had a full scholarship to Vanderbilt University. She wanted to become a doctor. The first two years of college, we hung out a lot, then one night in my sophomore year, we were studying in my room. Well, we were talking, and then, before I knew it, I was kissing her. From that moment, we were inseparable. We knew her brother Angelo would disapprove of me because of my father. No one in the family really cared for dad.”
“We love Uncle Colin. He is awesome,” Lorenzo stated as Sal and Antonio nodded. “Remember that time he took us all hunting. I was so scared holding that shotgun.”
“Bagged my first buck that weekend,” Sal grinned, nodding.
“The fishing was my favorite,” Antonio added.
“Why do you think your family didn’t approve of your father, Player?” Ghost asked then added. “Because from what I just heard, your family loves your dad.”
“It’s because our dad wasn’t Italian. Dad was Irish,” Massacre said.
“That’s bullshit,” Sal replied. “Our dad approved the match. Dad said Uncle Colin manned up, walked right into our house, and asked him for Aunt Daniella’s hand. Dad was so impressed. He gave his blessing right away.”
“I know. I’ve heard that story too,” I sighed. “But the fact was that dad wasn’t accepted by everyone. Massacre and I know of several times when our dad wanted to talk to Uncle Val and was denied. He wasn’t even allowed through the gate. Then there were the looks, the snide comments. After a while, it became too much. It caused a rift between him and mom. Eventually, Dad left.”
“That’s bullshit,” Sal roared. “Who, Reggie? Who was it, Dwayne? Tell me. We all love Uncle Colin. He was always there for us. Hell, he saved my ass several times.”
“Mine too,” Lorenzo whispered solemnly as he made the cross over his chest.