Ezekiel stood up, pushed him with his boot so that the man fell from the tree, landing practically at Gino's feet.
Gino looked up at him. "Take care of that weapon. He made a great shot with it."
"Too late. I kicked the damn thing out of the tree already."
"Do you always have to be such a badass?" Gino demanded, hands on his hips.
Ezekiel smiled at him, crouched low and then jumped down. "Yeah. Otherwise Mordichai and Malichai wouldn't recognize me." That much was true. He wasn't going to admit he was never a badass around Bellisia, he just tried to be.
20
Grace Fontenot sat in the rocking chair her husband had built so many years earlier. Pipe in hand, she looked out over the river. Her three great-granddaughters played in the little play yard only a few hundred feet from her. She could see them as easily as she could her beloved river. The sound of their laughter drifted to her on the slight breeze coming in from the water. She remembered her grandsons playing and laughing. The sound was better than any symphony she'd ever heard.
Cayenne, Pepper and Bellisia emerged from the house, smelling of spices from the kitchen. She'd given them another cooking lesson. They didn't know it, but she enjoyed those lessons a lot more than they did--and she could tell it was one of their favorite things. She'd never had a daughter, and having the opportunity to spend time with her grandson's wife, Pepper, and Trap's wife, Cayenne, and Ezekiel's woman, Bellisia, filled her days with laughter and joy.
"I love the way pork roast smells," Cayenne informed Nonny, as she leaned down to brush a kiss on the paper-thin skin of her cheek. "Especially when it's in the slow cooker and takes all day. The house smells like home."
Cayenne, Nonny speculated, had come a long way in a very short time, from that girl who had been raised in a small cell with no family and no knowledge of what a family was. Nonny was proud of her. Showing affection for anyone other than Trap had been difficult for her, but now, she was good with the three little girls, Pepper and Nonny. She definitely was going out of her way to help Bellisia find her way with the others.
"Me too," Pepper said. "When I'm not throwing up. When Wyatt comes home, I might have to kick him very hard, Nonny."
Grace couldn't help laughing. "At least you're not having to hide in the bedroom because you've turned into a little sexpot, Pepper."
Pepper burst out laughing. That was another good thing. Pepper could laugh at the effects of the chemical that built in her body forcing her to need sex. She was able to joke with the women about it, where before she could barely open her mouth because she was so ashamed and guilty.
"That's true enough. Wyatt thought if I got pregnant I wouldn't produce that chemical, and he was right. He'll crow about being right."
There was so much love and pride in her voice, Nonny had to close her eyes, remembering the way she felt about her husband for all the years of their marriage. For a moment her eyes burned. Her man. So beautiful. He was a man's man, much like her grandsons and their friends. She was so blessed to have them surrounding her, making their homes with her or close by.
She'd had a few lonely years when she thought she could join her husband, but now, she had her boys to look after again. She wanted them all to be happy like her Ezekiel. They needed to find good women, and she planned to help each of them do that very thing.
She worried the most about Joe. Joe was quiet and calm, a steady leader commanding respect from men who commanded respect. That said a lot about him. Now, recovering from his wounds, he rarely spoke and he never smiled, not even when he looked at the triplets. Grace thought they could make anyone smile, heal any wound, but maybe not. Maybe the scars Violet had put on Joe went much further than on his skin or bone. These went to his very heart and soul. She would have her work cut out for her making him whole again.
She couldn't help smiling when she finally opened her eyes and looked at Bellisia. Little Bellisia. She was a strong woman. Fit to walk beside her Ezekiel. She would walk through fire for her man. She had done as he asked and stayed in the house while he had gone hunting the men shooting at her. Grace had seen how difficult that was for her.
"How are you coming with your wedding plans, Bella?" she asked.
Cayenne and Pepper coughed behind their hands. "Yeah, Bella," Cayenne said, nudging her. "What about those wedding plans?"
Bellisia blushed. "Well . . . Um . . ." she hedged.
Grace sat up straighter. "That isn't an answer. Ezekiel has hired more workmen. They're nearly finished with that house of yours. He's got special walls so you can see the river and bulletproof glass everywhere. The moment he's finished, he'll expect you to move in. I told that man I'd be getting out my shotgun if he doesn't do right by you."
"It's just that . . ." Bellisia trailed off again, turning tomato red.
Pepper laughed. "They start talking wedding plans and Ezekiel gets all hot and bothered, and the next thing you know, he's worn her out and she's asleep dreaming about her man and what he can do, not the wedding part."
Grace had practiced her stern look from the moment she'd had sons and then grandsons living in her home. She had needed that look in her arsenal many, many times. She was very grateful she had it, because it allowed her to keep from laughing as she turned that particular expression on her latest "daughter." "Is this true, Bella?"
Bellisia nodded. "In my defense, Nonny, the man can kiss. Like truly kiss. You have no idea. He starts kissing me and every sane thought goes right out the window."
That was the trouble--she did have an idea. Grace Fontenot knew all about a man's kisses and what they could do to a woman.
"Did you get the license taken care of?" She knew very well they had. Ezekiel had done the paperwork first thing. He was a man who knew the importance of paperwork. They had faked Bellisia's birth certificate, and the license had been issued over seventy-two hours prior. More, now.
"Yes, nearly a week ago."
Grace pulled out her cell phone. She loved the little phone Raoul's wife, Flame, had given her. Flame kept her supplied with the latest gadgets and always took the time to teach her how to use them. She could text with one thumb, a useful tool in situations like now, when she didn't want to spook the bride. First she texted Ezekiel, then his brothers and finally Papite Vallier, an old family friend.
"That's good, chere. At least you managed to get that done." Nonny studied her. Bellisia was a beautiful woman with her pale hair, a thick pelt that looked sleek like that of an otter in the water--and she spent a great deal of time in the water. "Do you really want to marry Ezekiel? He's your choice for certain?"
"Absolutely," Bellisia stated. "Not a shadow of a doubt. Well, sometimes I worry about our children and what my DNA could do to them, but he says his DNA is every bit as enhanced as mine. Still, that in a way makes me worry more."
"I worry about that as well," Pepper said, one hand sliding over her stomach. There was the slightest pouch there, barely showing, so that if one didn't know, there would be no guessing. "We consulted Lily Whitney before we decided to try. The girls were in vitro, and Whitney added his enhancements, so we have no idea what will happen with this baby, but Lily says the baby will be just fine and will be born with skills and talents like the other babies born to GhostWalkers."
Grace's cell phone made a little noise and she glanced down at the text from Papite. Anything for you. On my way.
"That's what Violet used to turn her army against us," Cayenne said. "The children. She wouldn't have stopped with just our children and the three of us, she would have gone after the others as well."
Grace believed that to be true. Violet Smythe had been a troubled woman. A true sociopath, caring nothing for others. If they got in her way, she removed them. She wanted power, and she wanted to be the only female GhostWalker. There had been no hope for her, although her white knight Joe had tried to save her.
Grace's cell pinged, and she glanced down at the text from Ezekiel. Want to marry her ASAP. If you've got the pre
acher, I'm on my way back with my brothers.
Sometimes you just had to take matters into your own hands. There was plenty of food. She always made enough to feed a small army. Usually she had that around her dinner table. Tonight there would be a celebration. Music. Dancing. She texted her friend Bernard to come with his band and then Donny. He would want to come to the celebration.
"You need to see to Bellisia's hair and makeup, girls. Find her a pretty dress. I'll be working in the kitchen to make certain we have enough food for tonight."
Bellisia turned slowly from where she was leaning against the railing, looking out over the river, just as Grace liked to do. Both were drawn to that body of water. Grace liked to think that Bellisia would be living just down the road, looking at the same river in the morning over her coffee.
"My hair and makeup?" she echoed.
"That's right, girl, unless you want to be married just as you are. Ezekiel won't mind, but I suspect you'll want to look your Sunday best."
"Married?"
Cayenne and Pepper caught her arms. "Come with us."
"Now?" Bellisia said.
"Your man is on his way, and so is the preacher. We don' mess around here in the bayous, not when it comes to our women marryin'." Nonny pointed to her shotgun. "I wouldn't want to have to hold that on you durin' the entire ceremony, but I will if I have no choice."
Bellisia burst out laughing, when just a moment earlier she'd looked faint. "I'm really getting married? Today? Right now?"
"That's right. Preacher's comin'. Band's comin'. Groom and his brothers on the way. You're holdin' things up."
"I'm being railroaded."
"Never heard of a woman puttin' off her weddin' just to get kissed, even if the man is as hot as Ezekiel. You're the one draggin' your feet, not him. And you're probably in the family way, the way you two have been carryin' on. So you're gettin' married, Bella."
Bellisia laughed as the SUV swept into the yard, doors popped open and her man and half the team leapt out. Ezekiel started toward her, a grin on his face. Nonny shook her head, stopping Ezekiel in his tracks. She pointed to the house, and Pepper and Cayenne grabbed Bellisia and rushed inside.
The wedding took place two scant hours later. Bellisia was decked out in one of Pepper's dresses. It was far too sexy for her to feel comfortable in front of the others, but Ezekiel's face lit up when he saw her and she decided she might like it after all. It wasn't that she was all that modest, but she still wasn't used to so many people surrounding her with love, warmth and camaraderie.
"I love you, Bellisia," Ezekiel whispered as he took her hand and drew her beneath the protection of his shoulder. He turned her to face the preacher.
"I love you too, Ezekiel," she whispered, putting her hand on his chest and fitting her front to his side.
Both turned their heads toward Grace Fontenot, who was beaming. The preacher cleared his throat, and they turned back to take their vows.