Page 34 of Shiner's Light

The baby monitor on the table catches my attention, and I wonder why I haven’t heard Milo wake up yet. I know Chelsea went in there with him earlier and laid with him. I wish I’d stayed in there with him myself rather than coming out here. Maybe then I wouldn’t have had my world rocked in such a manner.

“So, it’s a plan then,” Shiner says, drawing me from my thoughts. “The sooner we take care of this, the sooner we can move the fuck on.”

“It won’t be simple to do,” Blow remarks, shaking his head.

“It’ll work. We do this just right, we can be done with the bullshit and not worry about this shit again,” Nines puts in.

“What are you talking about doing?” I blurt, uncertain I even want to know.

Several eyes focus on me, and a few of them have a brow cocked or some sort of expression on their faces.

“Olly,” Shiner gives my waist a squeeze, “you didn’t listen to a word, did you?”

“No,” I answer, blushing sheepishly.

Shiner shakes his head and chuckles. “I hadn’t seen you do that shit since I first met you.”

“What?”

“Zone the fuck out, not paying attention, yet look like you are,” he explains.

“Oh, um, sorry.” My cheeks heat even further. “I didn’t mean to.”

“I do the same thing,” Sonia says from my right.

After throwing up what little content was in my stomach earlier, Shiner helped me clean up and brought me back to the table with him, and Sonia joined us. I don’t know where the other ol’ ladies disappeared, but I know they’re not far.

“You do?” I ask, addressing her for the first time. I’m struggling to believe this woman is also my sister. I should feel some sort of way about this news but find I’m unable to do so.

Finding out Sasha and I have different fathers, and I now have a sister with the same father is a total mind fuck. I’m not one for cussing, well, using the F-word, that is, but it’s definitely needed at this moment. If I’m being honest, my whole life has been nothing but one dumpster fire after another. I need to fuck it all, however, I can’t. It’s not who I am.

“I do.,” Sonia nods. “It drives Father nuts when I do it,” she says, smiling softly.

“Because you are not aware of your surroundings when you do so,” Rodion comments.

“So you say,” Sonia remarks, waving a hand nonchalantly. “It doesn’t matter right now. What does is that Olive wants to know what the plan is.”

Shiner pulls me closer, and they all explain the plan to me so that I would understand. My stomach twists and tightens as they go over the details. Shiner’s to call Sasha and demand they meet. Like that’s a good idea, it’s not. I can see in my mind what could happen. She’d find a way to hurt him, and I don’t want to see that happen. I’d walk through the flames of hell all over again if it meant saving him from being hurt. Both he and Milo. The more they explain, the sicker I feel. I can’t let them do this. They could end up hurt.

I need to go to Sasha myself and plead with her to leave them be. Stop the insanity once and for all. Better yet, it should be me who ends the insanity. Shiner shouldn’t have to kill the mother of his child. Nor should a sister have to kill the other, but it would be better I do it than one of them.

While they finish discussing the plans, I make my own. I won’t allow them to take her out. I’ll do it myself, and if I die in the process, then at least I’m taking the evil in my sister along with me.

“We still have a few things to discuss,” Blow states, standing. “But it’ll wait until later. We’ll meet for church and finish going over everything.”

What else do they have to go over?

“Until then, I need to go check on my kid and feed both him and my woman,” Shiner states, standing, taking me with him. “Also, I need to talk to Keys about something,” he says, twisting us toward the man in question.

“What do you need, brother?” Keys asks, cocking a brow.

“Want you to look at security footage and see if there was anyone lurking around my room any time last night.”

Oh boy.

I know what he’s talking about. It’s something I’d like to know as well, but with everything else, I thought he had forgotten about it. Then again, this is Shiner we’re talking about. He’s always been one who doesn’t get distracted easily or forgets anything.

“Already on it, Shiner,” Keys says, nodding. “Soon as we got back, I started going through. Stopped to come back out here, but I’m gonna get back to it.”

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