“Ready?” I asked before escaping the room. A loud growl came from behind me, making me smirk as I entered the rec room. I recognised Tati, Clio and Thalia standing by the bar, chatting. Behind the bar were Wraith and a man I didn’t recognise. He had a candidate on his patch and the name Fanatic above it. The guy looked to be in his early twenties and strangely familiar.
“Hey!” Clio grinned as she spied me. Several men turned to stare, and I boldly held their gazes. Shotgun, Levi, Tiny and Celt all raised eyebrows, and Tiny glanced down. Oh yeah.
“Oh, I haven’t forgotten Tiny!” I warned the big silent man. Tiny glowered and then stared sheepishly.
“Worried Pyro’s bike might get damaged,” Tiny grunted.
“You put hands on me, Tiny. No one puts a hand on Magic’s girls!” I reminded him, and Tiny scowled even deeper. Thalia laughed as Tati giggled.
“Oh boy, no top of the shelf whiskey for Tiny?” Tati asked.
“Nope. And Shotgun can get ready too. He’s in for payback,” I warned. Shotgun spun around.
“Look a lot better than the last time you hit Hellfire, chick. Not as uptight, Bunny,” Shotgun said, having a dig.
“Honey, compared to you, I’ll always look good, whether it’s stick up my ass librarian or not,” I shot back, and Shotgun glowered before smiling.
“Glad to see you still got your chops,” Chance announced, walking into the room. He carried a baby girl in his arms who gazed at me from her father’s green eyes. This was the famous Louisa Mae, the Hellfire Princess. Damn, Louisa Mae was adorable. There was a lot of Chance in her, but Clio was also present. Chance made to hand Louisa Mae over to Clio, but Louisa Mae buried her face in his broad chest, and Chance cupped her head.
“What have you two been up to?” Clio asked, skipping across.
“Louisa Mae has been watching Daddy change some brakes,” Chance grumbled.
“Ain’t she young for that?” Tati demanded, and Chance scowled.
“No, I ain’t having a fou fou daughter. Mine will learn how to fix a car and kick ass on a bike. Of course, Louisa Mae can’t date until she’s forty, but that’s another story.” Louisa Mae lifted her head and saw Fanatic and gurgled, making grabby hands.
“Come to Uncle Micah,” Fanatic said, reaching for the tiny girl. Louisa Mae leaned away from Chance, much to his disgust, and Fanatic grabbed her.
“Micah?” I whispered to Pyro, who I’d felt slip up behind me.
“Micah’s Drake’s son, but Micah joined Hellfire, thought he wouldn’t get a fair ride in Rage. And he’s car mad. Hellfire designs cars, but Micah creates street racing cars, making a name for himself. Because Micah’s fanatical about his designs, even to the tiniest detail, he got called Fanatic.”
“And he’s Louisa Mae’s cousin?” I asked, trying to sort the relationship out.
“Well, her third cousin, but who gives a shit? As far as Fanatic’s concerned, he’s her uncle.”
“Oh, I noticed an English accent?” I questioned, listening to Fanatic murmur to Louisa Mae, who was lapping his attention up.
“Yeah, it’s really confusing to an outsider. Phoe, a Hellfire sister, is English. She came to the states with five children. Phoe adopted another eleven kids and then had two babies with Drake. Drake embraced the sixteen she had, so Fanatic’s his son.” I worked through that and responded when I thought I understood.
“Pyro, you got that appointment with Lio later?” Chance asked Dakota, and he nodded. That interrupted my ruminations, and I glanced at them.
“What meeting? And Lio, that the cop?” I demanded, and Chance answered.
“Bunny, you saw a murder; the investigating officer didn’t do his job. Lio wants you to take him to where you witnessed it, and he’ll look for evidence. Then Lio will investigate.” I shook my head at Chance as he talked.
“Not happening. The police called me a liar, and I nearly got killed because they didn’t believe me.”
“Bunny… Janey? What do I call you?” Chance demanded.
“Bunny, because Janey is staying dead,” I replied as Dakota spoke at the same time.
“Janey, because she’s not hiding anymore.” I spun to him and glared.
“This is my life, Dakota, and I don’t wish to end up in an early grave!”
“That’s why we’re meeting Lio and solving this fuckin’ thing. So, you can live a life without fear or constantly looking over your shoulder. Janey, I promised you in there, and I meant it. No fucker will touch a hair on your head,” Dakota spat back.