“On that note, I’m heading out, too. I’ll see you tomorrow, in fact, I’ll bring the beer, and if you show me what the name of that apple stuff is, I’ll even bring some of that,” Laz said, getting up and putting his chair back where he’d found it.
“It’s a Mexican brand. I found it at the store,” Remi said.
“Our store?”
“Yep. I’m kind of addicted now,” Remi confessed.
“I’ll bring it. Thanks for being honest with us. It helps. And though Riley is our Alpha and said we were to understand that you’re one of us now, Cristie is our girl. We still watch over her,” Lazarus said.
“I’m glad you do,” Remi said.
“Long as she’s mad as hell, keep hanging in there. It’ll be alright. I really believe that,” Laz said.
“Appreciate it,” Remi said, shaking Laz’s hand before he jumped over the railing and rushed off to join Lucas.
Remi turned his attention to Roman. “You going, too?”
“In a minute,” Roman said.
“Want another apple drink?” Remi offered.
“No. I want to talk to you, just me and you.”
“About what?” Remi asked.
“About Kaiser.”
Remi focused on Roman. He paused for only a second. “I didn’t say the male she’s seeing is Kaiser.”
“Didn’t have to. I know they’ve been spending time together. I’ve also seen her driving around in his car.”
Remi nodded slowly, waiting to see where this was going.
“The thing is, I’m kind of caught in the middle here,” Roman admitted.
“Because Kaiser is your nephew’s son,” Remi said.
Roman nodded. “He is. And I’m glad you know it already. But that’s not the only thing. I’m not up for telling anybody else’s truth. But I do know a few things that might help you out, but I don’t really have a right to say anything about them. But maybe I should.” All of this was said with his naturally deep voice lowered in volume and hushed so he wouldn’t be easily overheard.
“I’m not going to ask you to break anyone’s trust,” Remi said.
Roman shook his head and got up, walking in a small circle before coming to a stop looking out over the porch railing and across the highway toward Riley’s house. “It’s not just about trust. It’s about Cristie finding her way. And there’s things that you should know. It’ll put you at ease and maybe help you wait her out.”
“Okay,” Remi said.
“You see, the thing is, Kaiser has a very ‘seen’ life. He’s got no privacy.”
“I can imagine,” Remi said.
“It gets tiring. People all want a piece of you. Women hunting you for the money and notoriety, men lining up to be your friend thinking you can do something for them. And I’msure he did his own share of being in the wrong beds. But he’s tired of it. Lately he started changing, and we could tell he wasn’t quite himself. Then the last time he came home, he just left in the middle of Sunday dinner. Just got up and stalked out. Got in his car and went racing away like something was chasing him. This is the first time he’s been home since, and he was worse when he got here, than when he left. Until he’s been spending time with Cristie.”
“Are you trying to tell me that you think he’s a mate to Cristie, too?” Remi asked.
“No! No, not at all. I’m trying to tell you that whatever is going on between them, it’s not just about her issues. It’s about his, too. They are very close. They’ve always been close, and I’ve noticed that since he came home this time, they’re together a lot more. But it’s not romance.”
“She spent the night with him,” Remi said point blank. “She’s driving his car around, and he’s driving hers.”
“Yeah, I noticed they switched cars. I don’t know what that’s about. And maybe they did spend the night together, but they didn’t spend-spend the night together, if you know what I mean.”
