“How’s Sommer’s doing? Any chance we can get him on the fast track for a promotion soon?” Andrew asks.
“Yes and no. A promotion is easy. But to replace the Chief?” Lucifer says. “No. We need to bring the Deputy Superintendent or the Superintendent further in line with our goals.”
“I was slowly working on two of those,” Simon says. “With Deputy Chief Morrison, who was Cronin’s supposed friend, moving up to Chief, that gives me more issues than I’d like.”
“Find out what the superintendents need for the police force… Or who they’re fucking,” Lucifer says. “Either way, I want them under our thumbs.”
Nodding his head, Simon starts typing again as he asks, “Uriel, what are the chances you’d be up for some extra work tonight?”
Shrugging his massive shoulders, Uriel smiles. “I’m up for anything.”
“Good. I’ll get with you after the meeting. I need you to be with me tonight while I make a visit to Bethlehem. There’s a banking issue I want to deal with,” Simon says.
“Which act will I be performing tonight? The big scary black man or the silent partner?” Uriel asks with a laugh.
“The second one, and bring a baseball bat if you have one,” Simon says with a grin.
Fuck me, why don’t I get to go on that? I love playing baseball!
Oh yeah, that’s right…. I have a wife now.
All the fun times are over.
Things start to wrap up quickly after that and all the guys make their exits, heading off to do whatever they need to do.
When it’s just Simon, Lucifer, and me left in the office, I ask, “Do you have all the files ready for me to check out? Also, I need a new phone for Sophia. I kind of ruined her old one.”
“Walk with me to my car. I’ve got the laptop, a phone, and your new mode of transportation,” Simon says as he stands up.
“Did you get a vasectomy, James?” Lucifer asks quietly and stares me down.
“Look, big brother, I love how you’re showing care for my body and all that, but drop the act. Why do you give a shit if I have swimmers or not?” I ask.
“Because I want to make sure that our bloodline does not end with my children or their children,” he says simply.
I point at Simon. “What about him and Meredith?”
“They’re already having children, so I’m happy.” Lucifer grins at me.
Simon sighs loudly and heads out of the office. “I’ll meet you out there. And if I find out it was you, James, who told Evie to ask me about where babies come from, I’ll fucking skin your cock and eat your heart.”
Don’t react. Don’t react. Don’t react, I repeat inside my head, doing my best not to laugh.
“See you at the car, Simon. Ask John or Gabriel, that’s more their style,” I say while still looking at Lucifer.
The door closes behind us before I ask, “Why?”
“Because, as I said, I want our family’s bloodline to continue long after our bones turn to dust,” Lucifer says.
I’m not buying it, but I’ll drop it for now.
“No vasectomy, although the leg wound I took over there could have been an issue,” I say. “But somehow some world-renowned surgeon just happened to be in Germany the day I arrived for surgery. Kinda odd, huh?”
“Yes, very odd indeed,” Lucifer says with an enigmatic shrug of his right shoulder.
I stand from my chair. “Alright, I’m out of here. I need to get home and take care of my babies and future wife.”
Heading to the door, I stop only when Lucifer calls out to me. “James, did you send Evie to Simon?”
“Fuck yeah, I did,” I say with a small chuckle before I leave the office.
Heading out into the hallway, I can hear Lucifer bellowing with laughter.
It’s not until I reach the front steps that I see I’m not going to have the last laugh of the day.
Standing in front of a shiny red Volvo station wagon, Simon grins at me, showing off his pearly whites. “The Nanny was kind enough to lend you her vehicle for the time being.”
10
Sophia
Disbelief slowly morphs into fear as my eyes scan over the pictures fanned in my hands.
Pictures of me.
Pictures taken candidly, with me completely unsuspecting.
I focus on the picture in the very front. It shows me from the side as I sit at the bar in what looks like a nightclub.
It takes me a minute to figure out where it was taken, but when I do I start to feel sick.
I haven’t been to a club for a few months…
I tried to go back to life as normal after the kidnapping but couldn’t keep up with the pretense. It was too hard to pretend everything was fine and I wasn’t damaged by what had happened.
I wasn’t the same, and I didn’t look at people the same. I was suspicious of everyone.