Velvet Fire - Ashby Crime Family Romance

“Not today but according to the booking schedule, some of Mueller’s blocked rooms won’t be empty by midweek.”

“For fuck’s sake!” Ma slammed back the rest of her whiskey and held the glass out to Thomas, who accepted it and refilled it without a word. “Do I need to deal with this prick myself?”

“Isn’t that your thing, Sadie?” Jasper’s words sent a hush through the room but luckily before she could unleash her wrath on him, Thomas spoke.

“Dinner is ready.”

Calvin was the first one out of the room, rubbing his hands together with a little hum as the rest of us followed him to the dining room. “Smells great.”

He wasn’t wrong about the smells that filled the dining room, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten all day after following Brendan around town.

“We haven’t had meatloaf in forever.”

Kat groaned and took her seat. “I swear you guys remember every meal you’ve ever eaten.”

“We’re growing boys,” I insisted, leaning in to the feast spread out on the table with a smile.

“Boys?” she scoffed with a laugh. “You haven’t been boys in a long time,” she shot back and stole a roasted potato from my plate.

Calvin’s phone rang and Sadie groaned. “No phones at dinner unless someone is bleeding,” she reminded him, the threat evident in her tone.

My brother held up a finger to stop Ma’s words, and we all sucked in a collective gasp at what she would perceive as disrespect.

“Yeah, this is Calvin.”

“Do not make me repeat myself, son.”

He said it again, and Ma stood, ready to snatch the phone from his hands if he didn’t end the call.

“Shit. Hang on Bonnie. Slow down and tell me what happened.”

“Bonnie! Who the hell is Bonnie?” Ma looked around the table, confusion turning her face an unruly shade of red. “Don’t tell me he’s taking a call from one of his girls during dinner.”

“Ma. Stop. Please,” I added to soften the blow. The mention of Maisie’s friend and the concern in my brother’s voice had all of my attention. “Cal, what the fuck?”

He flashed me a look that put me on edge. I pulled the phone away from his ear and put her on speaker.

Cal said, “Did he say his name, Bonnie?”

The dining room filled with the sound of Bonnie’s voice.

“No,” she sniffled. “She called him a baldheaded effer and then she said this, 587 dash P something. Oh, and she said it was some kind of red SUV.”

More sniffles and more crying. “It sounded like…like he hit her, Calvin.”

I was on my feet in an instant. “Do you know where she was Bonnie?”

“No,” she said, finally taking a breath. “I called her because I was upset about Father Eric, and she was on her way to the church. She came with me sometimes because she liked Father Eric’s mass.”

“Wait, back up,” I said. “Why were you upset about Father Eric?”

“Haven’t you heard? He’s dead. Oh my God, it was so awful. So much blood.”

I looked at Sadie for her reaction while Bonnie gave us the gruesome details. Apparently, Bonnie was the one that found him lying in a pool of blood.

Bonnie paused for a moment to blow her nose, then said, “Sorry, I’m rambling. Anyway, I’ve heard the rumors about your family and I thought this might have something to do with Maze seeing your brother. The guy was following her and then hit her from behind but not hard. And, well, I just didn’t know who else to call.”

“You were right to call, Bonnie. I appreciate it,” I told her. “Are you still at the church?”

“No. I called 911 and after they were finished questioning me, I came home.” She sniffled again. “It was so bad.”

What the fuck? Another priest dead?

“Cal,” I said, “go get Bonnie. I’ll trace the path from Maisie’s place to the church.” Jasper, Ma and Kat stared at both of us, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

“Hang on, Bonnie.” Calvin shook his head and said to me, low so Bonnie wouldn’t hear, “You get Bonnie. I’ll send the address to your navigation system, and then I’ll hack into the city’s camera system and see if I can track the red SUV, but we both know who that bald-headed fuck sounds like. Maisie comes from Mayhem, right?”

“Yeah, Braddock Circle.” I nodded and looked to Ma and then Jasper. “We good?”

“Yes,” Ma sighed which meant she had more to say.

“Bonnie pack a bag. Virgil will pick you up soon and don’t open the door for anyone but him. Got it?”

“Mmmhmm,” she replied, sobbing into the phone.

“Okay, I’ll see you in a few.” I said and Calvin hung up.

Three pairs of eyes looked to me for answers. “All right, Virgil. Tell us what the fuck is going on,” Jasper demanded.

“I’ve been seeing Maisie for a few weeks now.”