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Yeah, that was the crux of the matter. I could show them my brand, even say I was a blood brother, but I couldn’t tell them I was a member of the board. Even though I walked away from the club and my family, I would always have a seat on the board until the day I died.
“The how doesn’t matter. I need to know if my affiliation with the Soulless Sinners is going to be a problem. If it is, speak now.”
None of my brothers uttered a damn word.
Five
Kali
I didn’t know what was going on, but I could hear raised voices. Kansas was clearly furious, judging by his shouting. I wanted so much to walk out there and see for myself, but the cast on my leg prohibited me from doing that. Not to mention the incision across my stomach was still healing. The doctor had already removed most of my stitches, except for the one across my face. It was the worst of them. I’d been in this bed for close to five weeks now and that didn’t include the time I spent in the New York City hospital.
The doctors told me it would take a while for me to heal.
They weren’t wrong.
A local doctor here in Lawton scheduled my cast, the remaining stitches, and the wires to be removed from my jaw in two days. That was what I was looking forward to. I desperately wanted to take a shower and wash my hair. Vivi was a godsend, but I wanted to bathe in peace without someone hovering over me.
I wanted to look after my own children.
I wanted to hold them, pick them up, play with them again.
A soft knock had me looking up as Kansas walked in with his mother, Virginia Stone, behind him, murmuring into her phone. Why was she here? Along with them came a man named Justin Conroy Kansas introduced as a local police detective and his Vice President, Pence, when I first arrived, but the face that shocked me the most was George Stone. The man was legendary in New York, and everyone feared him. Not me though. All I saw was a big teddy bear who liked to sneak me candy when my grandfather wasn’t looking.
I looked at the people in my room and waited. The severity of their faces told me that something big happened. Until they told me what, I didn’t know what to think.
“Kali,” Kansas said carefully, sitting on the bed taking my hand. “You know I don’t sugarcoat shit, right?”
I nodded. That was one of the traits I liked most about him. He never minced words. He spoke the truth whether I wanted to hear it or not.
“Someone shot Mr. Crisp three days ago. He’s in the hospital.”
Shaking my head, Kansas’s grip tightened, giving me the strength I didn’t have, as his father, George added. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. Montana has brothers staying with him until he’s home.”
Reaching for my phone, I typed.
He knows?
Kansas nodded. “Yeah, babe. Those fucks were working for him. Don’t worry about those cunts. Conroy arrested both of them. But that’s not the biggest problem.”
“Kaliope,” his mother, Virginia, smiled.
The Stone family was legendary. The family was what everyone called old money. More than that, they were eccentric. The first Stone sailed on the Mayflower long before the United States was founded. The Stone family was very prominent in many circles yet didn’t adhere to societal standards. They did what they wanted. Lived how they pleased. They didn’t give one fig about what anyone said about them. They were part of the social elite, yet considered outcasts because they didn’t toe the societal line. Love them or hate them, the Stone Family wasn’t someone anyone wanted to go up against.
“Darling, with your permission, I would like to take over your affairs until Mr. Crisp can return to his duties. I’ve spoken with Martha, Mr. Crisp’s assistant, and she has assured me that Mr. Crisp will survive. The doctors are very optimistic.”
I looked at Kansas for guidance. When he nodded, I typed.
Okay.
“With a heavy heart, I must tell you, sweetheart, that your grandfather died in a car accident two nights ago.”
Shaking my head, unable to stop the tears from falling as the realization of her words sunk in.
I was alone.
I had no one.
Everyone was gone.
