Page 51 of Wrath

“I had to kill him, he was hurting those women and he wouldn’t have stopped.” She shakes her head and frowns as if her memories are catching up with her. “Richie knew too, and he knew what I did. He made it go away.” I get a feeling we're not talking about Cliff anymore. “He’s a good boy. He visits me every other Sunday.” She smiles proudly then looks up at me with wide, bright eyes. “I need to call him and tell him where I am, if the staff call him and tell him I’ve left he’ll be worried. Here…” She opens her purse and digs around, pulling out an old, worn pocketbook and sliding a picture from under the plastic.

“I keep his number on the back of this because I tend to forget things. People, places I’ve been. I once forgot I’d left the bathtub running.” She laughs at herself before her face turns serious. “I never want to forget about him.” She looks dreamily at the photo in her hand. “It’s a special number, I’m only to use it for emergencies.” She smiles over her shoulder at Wrath before she hands it to him. “Richie is very busy with his work and he’s smart. He knows nothing about Cliff Adams or this club, and he mustn’t. He’s been through too much already.” I see the guilt she’s holding onto as she lowers her eyes onto my desk.

“Emmm, Raze, can I speak to you outside for a minute?” I look up from her toward my VP when he speaks, and don’t like the worried stare he’s givin’ me.

“Wait here, I’ll have someone bring ya some food,” I assure the woman, who now seems as bright and cheery as she waswhen she arrived. Not even Sinner and Saint can switch it up that fast.

“That's very kind.” She nods her head at me before I follow Wrath out the door.

“You're wrong, sheisthatkinda crazy,” I scold him after I shut her inside my office.

“We got a fuckin’ problem, boss.” Aaron ignores my question and that worried look on his face seems to have gotten worse.

“What kinda problem?”

He closes his eyes as he hands over the photo in his hand and when I look down at it I almost fuckin’ choke.

“That’s…”

“Iknowwho it fuckin’ is!” Wrath drops his head into his hand.

“You need to call Colorado,” I tell him, looking back down at the picture at the sharp, cold eyes that stare back up at me. Sharp, cold eyes that belong to one of our club brothers. “Good luck telling Grimm that ya just busted out his mother.” I tap him firmly on the shoulder and go to get myself a fuckin’ drink.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!” I curse as I wait for Grimm to pick up the phone. Still unable to believe this has happened, I don’t even knowhowit could happen. But then I guess no one really knows anything about the odd-as-fuck stiff shifter from Colorado.

“He’s busy, you’ll have to bury your own bodies today.” I get thrown off when a female voice answers until I recall the last time I visited Colorado and met his old lady. She's a feisty little thing if I remember correctly, but I heard she took good care of Willow while she was staying there.

“Rogue.” I take a shot at remembering her name.

“Grimm’s in the middle of something right now, whatever it is he can’t help,” she snaps.

“Wait…wait, don’t hang up. That somethin’ he’s in the middle of is it…Is it a family situation?” I scratch the back of my neck awkwardly, while Raze keeps his judgmental eyes pinned on me.

“As a matter of fact, it is, how do you…?”

“I think I might be able to help.” I clear my voice, knowing that shit’s about to go fuckin’ south.

“I don’t think so, look, things are pretty hectic here, I gotta go.”

“I’ve got her!” I blurt out before she cuts me off.

“Say that again?” Rogue sounds shocked.

“If the thing you're referrin’ to is the fact Grimm’s mother is AWOL, I can promise you I’ve got her. She’s here, in Long Beach and she’s safe,” I assure her.

“Holy fuck.Grimm….GRIMM!” she calls out. “How is she? What state of mind is she in? Does she have any fuckin’ clue as to what’s happen… Wait, what the fuckishappening? Why do you have Grimm’s mom?” She sounds about as angry as she is confused.

“It’s a long story, and I swear I had no idea who she was. We got a tip-off from Vex, he told us Cliff was involved with some woman years ago, and I went to pay her a visit. She was scared. I?—”

“Wrath, you have the wrong person. Anita is a respectable woman and, okay, she may have brutally murdered her husband, but–”

“Wait,what?” I stare at Raze in shock when I hear what she just said. She mentioned somethin’ back at the care home, and again in Raze’s office, but neither of us took it seriously.

“Don’t be dramatic, the guy was an ass and totally got what he deserved…GRIIIMM!” She pierces my ear when she screams again.

“Rogue, I got the right woman. She knows Cliff, but she’s very adamant that her dear,little Richiefinds out nothin’ about him or this club. Is there any chance you could put dear, little Richie on the phone?” I grit the words through my teeth.

“Sure, he’s right here.It’s Wrath, he’s got your mom,” she whispers.

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