***
Lucien stopped his mother as she came out of Catty’s room. He leveled a stare at her.
“What was that about, Mother?” He’d heard part of the conversation. He’d been tempted to interrupt but had been curious to hear Catty’s answers to his mother’s interrogation.
She patted his arm and smiled. “That was a mother testing the girl my son loves. And I’m glad to say she passed the test. I like her, Lucien. I like her a whole lot.”
Lucien opened his mouth and sighed. His mother kept up appearances. It was how she was raised and what she’d instilled in her sons. “Would you like her even if you knew her history? Would you be so accepting then?”
His mother stared at him for a long time before she answered. “Everyone has history, son. It’s what you do with the history that determines your future. The greatest of men have walked through the fires of hell.” She nodded at the bedroom. “That girl of yours is a survivor. My advice to you is don’t let her go.”
He watched her walk down the stairs toward the kitchen.
He didn’t hide the smile that settled on his lips. A new respect grew and blossomed in his heart for the woman who gave birth to him.
He walked over to the room and peered inside. Catty popped a piece of pancake into her mouth and sighed. She needed all the nutrition she could get to help her heal.
He quietly stepped back and walked the opposite way down the long hallway, letting her have some peace and quiet while she ate. He stopped at a door and opened it. The small sitting area with a French country desk and overstuffed chairs faced the gardens in the back yard. The room was a favorite of his mother’s, and she often came here to have some quiet time to herself when he was younger.
He pulled out his phone and punched in Barrett’s number. This was one phone call he dreaded making.
“Hello?” Barrett’s voice echoed on the other end of the line.
“It’s me.”
“I know. Why the fuck are you just now calling me? You were supposed to call last night after you met with the witch. Did she not tell you anything?”
“She came through. She said the Guardians were being held underground near the shipyard of New Orleans. She said the owner of the Triple X is behind this.”
“And you’re just now telling me, Lucien?” The hard tone in Barrett’s voice made his gut twist. He’d let Barrett down.
“Something happened last night. I had to take care of a situation and couldn’t call.”
“What situation? And don’t you think about lying to me.” Barrett growled and he could swear the phone vibrated in his hand.
“Catty Steele got stabbed by the witch. I was busy trying to take care of her and get her somewhere safe.”
“Shit. Is she okay? Was it silver?”
“It wasn’t silver, thank God. She’s okay. She’s sitting up in bed and eating right now. She’s going to be fine.”
“I’m not even going to ask why she was with you.” Barrett’s tone revealed he suspected he knew how close Lucien had gotten to her. “I’m going to let Zane handle that when he sees you.”
Fuck.
“Why did the witch stab Catty?”
Lucien cleared his throat. “She needed her blood.”
“What the fuck for?”
“So she could escape the cemetery.” He grimaced and waited for the wrath of Barrett to come through the phone.
“Please tell me you are shitting me,” Barrett thundered.
“I wish I were.”
Lucien stayed quiet while Barrett hurled a string of curses. Lucien barely flinched.
“Well, I guess it means I’ve got to make a phone call to Jack Welbourn. I’m sure he’s not going to be pleased his witch has escaped and is running willy-nilly through the fucking state.”
“Barrett, I’m sorry. I truly am. But at least we got the information.”
He sighed. “Yeah, there is that.”
“What do you want me to do now?”
“I want you to stay wherever you are. I’m sending some Guardians down there tonight. I want to get this taken care of ASAP.”
“I can meet you guys there. You’re not going to know where the club is…”
“I can find it. You’ve done your job, Lucien. Take a few days off. You’ve earned it. I’ll see you back in Little Rock.” Barrett hung up.
“Damnit!” He slammed his hand on the desk. After all this, he was now told to wait.
He turned and strode out of the room. When he reached Catty’s room, he stopped and took a deep breath to get his anger under control.
He took a step inside the room. Catty looked up from sipping on her cup of coffee.