"And you've got a real mouth on you, especially for being a damn submissive."
"You've liberated me."
"So you're blaming it on me?" He sounded stern, but the merriment in his eyes gave away that he was teasing her. "Give me your lips." And she did. He cupped her ass cheeks and slammed her against him so they were pressed together as one. Then he kissed her and she kissed him back, and they stood in Isa's sunlit kitchen kissing as though it would be the last time they'd taste and feel each other.
"Uncle Rock," a small voice said. He reluctantly pulled away from Clotille and looked at Michael. "Do you wanna go swimming with me, Aline, and Mom tomorrow? She told me to ask you."
He bent down on his haunches and looked the boy in the eyes. "You can count me in." He lowered his voice and asked, "Can Clotille come along?"
Michael looked her over and then nodded. "Sure, but you have to go down the slide with us. It's really fun, and Dad does it all the time."
"I wouldn't want to miss the slide. I'm a killer dunker, so I'm just warning you."
Michael chortled. "It's gonna be fun. I'm going to the day camp now. The bus picks me up. It's so fun. We play, swim, and eat our lunches."
"That does sound like fun. Does Aline go too?"
"She's too little for my camp, but she goes to one for little girls."
"Michael, the bus is here," Isa called out from the living room.
The boy whirled around and dashed out of the room. "See you later, Uncle Rock."
"He's such a darling little boy. You're so good with him," Clotille said as she sat down.
Rock shrugged. "I still can't believe Isa was the first one to have kids, and she's the youngest."
"Are you talking about me?" Isa walked into the kitchen, a wide smile on her lips. "Everything good now?"
Clotille nodded and Rock tilted his head. For now. Damn, chérie … I wish I could trust you. "Have you been to the bayou since Maman's land was sold?"
Isa pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and sat down. "Charlie and I went out there a couple years ago. It was so disgusting it made me cry. The oil companies are destroying the natural landscape. It's horrible. A big sign has replaced the shack on Maman's land. It's everywhere-Elite Power Inc. I'll never forget the name. The oil and gas companies are destroying the bayou."
"That's Frederick's company," Clotille said softly.
Rock jerked around. "That fucker is raping my mother's land?"
"Who's Frederick?" Isa asked.
Clotille and Rock exchanged glances. "Someone I knew in Aspen," she said.
"Well he must be pretty wealthy because his signs are everywhere in that part of the bayou."
"Did you know he bought my mother's land?" Rock said.
"I wasn't sure. I knew he was doing explorations in the bayou in the Lafayette area. That's how we met when I was still living here. I didn't know exactly where your mother's land was."
"The company is all over the bayou. They own most of St. Martin." Isa brought her leg up under her buttocks.
"I knew he was heavily involved in the St. Martin project, so I guess if I'd thought of it, I'd have realized it was where your mother once had land."
Is this what she's been hiding from me, that she knew that rich fuck had decimated our family's land? "Did you ever go to see what he was doing?"
She shook her head. "I wasn't deeply involved in his business."
Silence fell on the trio until Rock broke through the barrier. "When are you going to visit Pa?"
"Day after tomorrow. You want to join me?" Isa ran her finger around the rim of her glass.
"Yeah."
She smiled at him while nodding. He hoped he'd made the right decision. He hadn't seen his dad since the night he'd almost killed him. Life has a funny way of twisting everything up when you think you got it all figured out. He let out a long breath and went out on the patio to smoke a joint.
* * *
Charlie had insisted on taking everyone out for dinner, so Rock asked if they could go outside the parish since Clotille didn't want her family to know she was back in town. Charlie hauled everyone in his Chevy Suburban and made the drive to Baton Rouge, an hour away. They went to a Cajun restaurant, and both Rock and Clotille raved about the food. It was the first time in years that Rock had had authentic Cajun dishes, and he relished every bite.
On the way back, Michael and Aline fell asleep, and Rock nestled Clotille into the crook of his arm while he listened to the music of his favorite Cajun bands playing over the SUV's speakers. He smiled when Charlie leaned over and kissed Isa, that simple gesture warming him. Isa deserves to be happy and with a great guy who'll treat her right. She-fuck, we-put up with such bullshit growing up. Charlie's good for her.
Less than an hour later, Charlie pulled into the garage and he and Rock carried in two very sleepy children. When they'd tucked them in their beds, Charlie told Rock he was going to turn in. Rock grasped his shoulder and squeezed it, an understanding of friendship and gratitude passing between them before Rock padded down the stairs.
"This is for you," Isa said as she handed him a white envelope. "It was stuck between the iron grid on the screen door. I always check to make sure everything is locked and I saw it. It has your name on it. That's strange, don't you think?"
Rock took the envelope from her and saw that the handwriting was the same as the one on the note he'd received stating that his dad was innocent of killing his mother. "Yeah. Probably someone who knows I'm back."
"Didn't you say that you received some strange letters in the mail just recently?"
"Yeah." He tore open the envelope and found a folded piece of paper inside. He unfolded it and it read "Come to Madame Vincennes' home tomorrow night at nine o'clock. Wait under the cypress tree. It's very important. Come alone." He folded it back and slipped it in the envelope.
"Well? What does it say?" Isa said.
"Just welcoming me home. It's someone playing with me."
"Maybe one of the many girls you used to date in high school." Clotille laughed. "Isa's been telling me how several of them have been asking about you in the past year. Seems like many of them have recently gotten divorced." She poked him in the side.
He'd never told Clotille about the mojo bag or the strange notes he'd received. He didn't see how it would concern her, and he didn't want her to get involved in whatever was sucking him in. "Probably. I'm beat. I'm going to get some shut-eye." He turned around and walked down the stairs, the sound of Clotille's soft footsteps echoing shortly behind him.
They lay entwined in each other's arms, and the soft noises she made while she slept comforted him. A sliver of moonlight spilled into the room and the windows clattered in the strong wind. Sleep eluded him as his mind whirred with images and thoughts like a spinning top. Rock hoped he'd find some answers when he met whoever sent him the note the following night. He hated when he couldn't fit all the pieces of the puzzle. He'd thought for so long that his father had killed his mother, and now the puzzle was jacked up. Finding out Frederick owned the oil and gas company on the land once owned by his family was a shock to him. He hoped Clotille was telling the truth about not knowing anything about the fuckwad being on his mother's land. None of it made any sense to him: the strange mojo bag, the notes, and now an appointment.
He listened to the pounding of his heart as it drowned out the moaning wind.
Chapter Sixteen
Hawk leaned against the meeting room's wall as he watched the brothers file in. He and Banger had decided to call an emergency church once Hawk had found out some pertinent information from Liam. He'd been working extended hours to figure out where the Demon Riders were getting their money to purchase the arms from the Gypsy Fiends, and who was funding the Gypsy Fiends' arms deal. He couldn't let the fucking Demon Riders get their damn hands on such high-powered weapons. Just thinking of the bloodshed the Insurgents would be subjected to enraged him. The brothers would gladly die for the brotherhood, and he was no different, but when he thought of any harm coming to Cara, his heart squeezed. She was his everything, and he couldn't even begin to entertain the idea that he could lose her.
He knew the other brothers with women and children felt the same, so it was imperative that the weapons didn't fall into the hands of rival clubs, like the Demon Riders who were led by the fuckers Dustin and Shack.