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Yep, she knew. “That’s the one. We had us a mess of bats attacking our steers and we had to tag all the cattle to monitor them.”
“Did it work?”
“Wouldn’t know, the damn things left before we could get a chance to find out.”
“Figures,” Juliette said, tossing her head a little to the right. “Let’s go grab that swing and sit a bit before I’m called off.”
“You’re here for this hurricane party they’re having?” Tegan asked as they walked.
“Yup. You stuck here?”
“I am,” she said. “But I knew I would be when I agreed to come.”
They sat and Juliette let out a long sigh, nodding at people. “You been introduced yet?”
Tegan looked where she nodded. “Not yet. Patches had to leave suddenly.”
“Well, let me informally do that. See the handsome group of boys by those small houses?”
Tegan looked, shading her eyes with a hand. “I do. I think I recognize one of them.”
“Those are my brothers. Bart, Jek, Zep and August. And that cutie pie over there,” she nodded to their right, “my brother just recently found out she existed. His daughter from his whore ex Katrina. And that adorable boy hanging all over her is Bishop’s son.”
“Son?”
“Not blood. Adopted. And the girl next to him is his twin, Luseah. And the goofy one grinning at her is Bishop’s other adopted son.”
Tegan eyed her.
“It’s not incest,” she swore. “None of them are technically related but my brother doesn’t see it that way.”
Her grin implied an interesting story. “Who’s that?” Tegan asked. “The black woman and the…”
“Fine ass man next to her? That’s our Seer and his wife, Cherie. They’re a new item. The man next to him is his father who just returned from the grave so to speak. And the woman with the blond curls is Gracie, his woman. Also, very new items them two. And see those boys over there by the Basilique steps?”
She looked.
“The one with the black cowboy hat and the gun on his hip is Bullets. One on his right is Shank, and the one onhisright is Traps. The next one is Hurricane, then Bacon. And the hunky giant is Spar,” she said, fondness in her tone.
“That’s some interesting names,” Tegan said, her curiosity about these people growing by the second.
“That’s their leader names. They’re part of something we call The Twelve.”
“Patches mentioned them. The celibate ones?”
She let out a big laugh. “Ex celibate. They had a twelve-year chastity code that ended some years back but not a one of their fine asses took a woman till their Bishop found his future wife half dead in the swamp.” She regarded Tegan. “The Noctambule,” she muttered, something passing over her face that chilled her. “Evil devil clan that we fought fifteen years back. I was barely seven. Trafficked women and children for things you don’t wanna know. He nursed her back to health and fell right in love with her.” A bit of that earlier warmth softened her face. “And now, she done talked all The Twelve into taking wives.” She angled a look at Tegan. “She majored in sex in college and convinced all of them men that they couldn’t properly live much less lead without a woman at their side to complete them.”
Tegan’s brows rose. “You’re kiddin’.”
“I am not,” she assured, sounding amazed as she propped her ankle on her knee before giving her a look again and leaning closer. “Turns out she’s got the Compelling.”
“The compelling?”
“Something in her voice that controls people. You know the kind, everything they say you just…happen to agree with them?” She nodded with that sly smile. “That’s how it goes with that one.”
“Glad that’s…good?”
She shrugged. “Not sure about that, butshe’sgood. Too good if you ask me. But she saved my brother from himself and for that we all love her to death. Not as much as he loves her. Shooo, I never saw such a love like that before.”
