Page 22 of Fratelli: Eternal Bloodlines

“Oh, okay. Right. Bigger things…” Charmaine said.

Bellagio Hotel -Las Vegas

“Where is she?”

Lamont turned. He had been waiting for Russell in the penthouse suite to get ready. How the kid showered, changed clothes, bathed, and did all those things from his chair was a mystery to Lamont. He respected the hustle. Though Russell was only two years younger than him, he saw him as a kid because of his disability. Lamont had to retrain that level of thinking. Russell was a man and adept at handling himself as one. Another reason he respected him. He watched Russell wheel himself out of the bedroom with his backpack on his knees. The kid looked pissed.

“You said she’d be here!”

“It’s early, bro. I’m sure she’ll be back soon.” Lamont frowned at the scowl on Russell’s face. With competitions that began at the crack of dawn, Russell insisted on coming back to the room. Keeping the kid happy was a priority.

“I need you to call him. I want to talk to her. She acted weird yesterday. I heard her crying when we were in bed. And she told me she wanted to go home. I begged her to stay for the rest of the competition. Now she’s gone!With him!We were supposed to have dinner with the production team and she didn’t show up.”

“My man, Tristan, told you the deal. She left with dude, because she wanted to talk to him. It’s cool.”

“I want to talk to my sister! Now!” Russell demanded.“Where the fuck is her phone? She told me he took it from her and she was going to get it back. What the fuck?”

Lamont had never seen the kid distressed, but he had learned two things since babysitting him. First, Russell never let go of his backpack. Not once. It was always with him—either in his lap or hanging from his chair. He even kept it with him on stage. The second thing he noticed was that his sister was a baddie—stunningly attractive. So much so that it confused the fuck out of Lamont. She was pretty average when he met her at that gas station. The glow-up was fast and strange. He’d paid for many BBLs and breast lifts for girlfriends. The time it took to get tight and right was weeks, not days. When he mentioned it, Russell almost lunged from his chair at him.

The kid was fiercely protective of her, and she was equally protective of him. Lamont respected that. Without family, in this fucked up world of monsters, who did you really have?

“Okay, just chill. I’ll check into it.” Lamont walked away. He removed his phone. He looked back at Russell, who glared directly at him. The kid would not let up. Thankfully, Tristan picked up. Sometimes he didn’t.

“Hi, uh, it’s me,” said Lamont.

“What do you need?” Tristan asked.

“I got an issue here, man,” said Lamont.

“I’m listening,” said Tristan.

“Lil bro misses his big sis. He wants to talk to her. And I mean now. The kids pissed. Refusing to leave the suite. He said she was upset the last time he saw her. He doesn’t believe she left with the King willingly.”

“Deal with it,” said Tristan.

“I can’t. I mean? How? Where is she? When is she coming back? Does she have her phone? Can she check in?” asked Lamont.

“Whenever she returns with the… King…” Tristan mocked him. “You two better not be in the suite. Handle it.”

The call ended.

He turned and looked at Russell with wide eyes. “Yo, he said they went for breakfast. He’s taking her shopping to get a new phone. Then they will be back in the afternoon.”

“Bullshit! Call him! Let her tell me, herself!” Russell said.

“Hey… I told you to chill, you my nigga, right?” Lamont asked. Russell narrowed his eyes at him. “Why the fuck would I lie, man? C’mon.”

When Russell didn’t respond, Lamont checked his watch. “It’s time for the next competition. How about we smoke one before we eat? Then we head down and you do your thing?”

“I don’t smoke,” Russell frowned.

“It’s Vegas bro. What the fuck else do you do in Vegas, besides gamble, fuck bitches, and smoke? Huh?” he joked. “Right now is a good time for you to start doing things you don’t normally do. Ya feel me? Right?” Lamont smirked.

Slowly, the tension in Russell’s face relaxed. The kid gave a shy smile. “Maybe I can stop and speak to our guest services, girl.”

“Who?” Lamont frowned.

“The girl... the one who was handling everything I needed. Her name was Rachel. I kind of like her. She’s been really nice to me. And I saw her smiling at me when I was on stage. Likechecking me out, I think. I could tell she kind of liked me. She’s from New Orleans, too. She told me to check in if I needed anything. Do you think maybe we can hook something up for me and her until my sister comes back? Just time for us to talk so I can feel her out. You think?”

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