Page 42 of Lake's Legacy

Zip grins. “You know it. We look out for each other. Your man will be safe.”

“We should get going,” Annette says. “I’m hoping we can go to the hospital so I can sign in.”

“Levi is on his way to pick you up,” Lake says. He holds his hand up when Annette opens her mouth to protest. “I know you want to take your car, but you’ll be safer driving with him. You won’t need your car in the short term. The prospects will drive you everywhere.”

“I still want my car,” Annette pushes back.

“How about I drop it off?” Toff offers. “I’m calling the lawyer who was working with Coyote. If I meet her at her office, I can take your car. I’d like to see the clubhouse and the hospital where you will work.”

Annette grins. “I’d like that. Okay, I can survive a day or two without a vehicle. You sure we can trust Levi?”

“Since he’s my brother, yes,” I say with a laugh.

The men leave for the meeting with the elders before Levi arrives to pick us up. After I introduced Levi and Annette, he helped load up the SUV with her bags.

“Cleo and Delphine have readied a room for you,” Levi says once we’re on the road. “Nora is cooking a special dinner for tonight to welcome you. Everyone is excited to have you stay.”

Annette looks shocked and pleased. “That’s very nice of you. I admit I was a little concerned about staying in an apartment alone. While at school, I had roommates. First in the dorm and then in an apartment. Then, after hearing about the kidnappings, I was dreading being on my own.”

“You don’t have to worry about that now,” I assure her. “There is always someone around the clubhouse.”

The drive back to New Orleans is uneventful. I haven’t lived at the clubhouse long, so I remember my awe at seeing the former plantation. Hex has a photo of the house when it was new: impeccably maintained grounds with pristine gardens. I can’t help but remember that when they took that photo, misery had created the opulence. I much prefer the natural wildness that surrounds the place now. Hex has a few framed photos of the enslaved people who toiled on this land. Pictures meant to capture the prosperity of the plantation owner but now were symbols of respect for those who had no voice. Nature reclaiming the land shows the power of freedom.

“This is an MC clubhouse?” Annette asks. “How did they acquire an old plantation?”

I chuckle at her disbelief. “Hex’s family once lived here.”

“So, he inherited the land?”

“No. Hex’s ancestors were enslaved people on the land. He bought it and turned it into a symbol of freedom. Because that’s what the MC life is all about. Freedom. Freedom to live your life the way you want to live it.”

Levi unloads Annette’s bags while I lead her to the front door. We step inside to find Delphine and Cleo waiting for us.

“Annette, this is Cleo. She’s Hex’s woman. And this is Delphine. She’s Hex’s mother. Her man is Dixie, who you haven’t met yet.

“Did someone say my name?” comes an Irish lilt behind us. Turning, I spot Dixie coming down the stairs along with Abra. After introducing Annette to them, we sit on the couches in the corner of the grand room. The news is on, and the flashing headline and the photo of a woman I recognize capture my attention. My friend Talia. The nurse who has been missing for several weeks. The headline proclaims that the police found the body of the missing woman floating in the river.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: LAKE

The elders met in a small conference room beside the high school gymnasium. I’d attended a few of these meetings when Coyote was grooming me to take over. Most of those meetings were short and unmemorable. But I clearly remember one ending with me driving into New Orleans and enlisting in the Louisiana Army National Guard. That meeting had been about me and my future. They had everything mapped out and laid their expectations before me. They told me which college I’d attend and the classes I needed to take. The elders outlined my class schedule and defined how I’d spend my free time. They even presented me with a list of women, informing me to select a wife from the list. Now, here I was, a decade later, sitting in the last place I wanted to be, discussing a life I never planned on living.

“With Coyote in the hospital, I’m offering to fill in as chief until he’s well again,” I tell the four men and three women who comprise the council of elders. Each is the respective head of their families. These families have been leaders in our tribe for centuries.

“Why?” Asks Baptiste, the oldest of the group. His once-black hair is now all gray. His face is a map of wrinkles from working on shrimping boats his entire life. He had been on the councilwhen Coyote brought me to the meetings. “You never seemed interested in leading our tribe before. So why now? Why not Toff? He’d make a better chief.”

I almost smirk at that. For years, I’ve tried and failed to convince my father that Toff is the better choice. Now that I’m willing to step up and assume the role, the people who can stop me recognize what I’ve known all along. But I need them to agree to this plan to protect their future chief.

“You’re right; Toff is a better choice, but not right now. Not after what happened to Coyote. I’ll explain.” I take the time to lock eyes with each council member. I need them to see that I’m not bullshitting them and that what I have to say is not only accurate but unpleasant. “Whoever attacked Coyote wasn’t an outsider. He was someone Coyote knew. This person entered Coyote’s home under the guise of friendship before stabbing him in the back and leaving him to die.”

Baptiste narrows his eyes at me. “You’re lying. No one would want to hurt the chief.”

“Someone does, and I have a pretty good idea about why they did it.” Then, I tell them everything we know and what we suspect about the attack. As I speak, I watch each council member for their reaction. Their reaction about how close Coyote is to gaining recognition for the tribe from the government and the possibility of oil on our land. I end with the smuggling theory Zip came up with that morning.

“Although, we think those interested in using our land to smuggle goods in and out of the country may be the same men who ransacked the clinic and kidnapped Olivia and Annette.”

“Maybe these men are the ones who attacked Coyote,” Martine suggests. Anyone looking at her would think she was a kindly grandmother who knitted and canned vegetables. Maybe she does. I don’t know. But I know she owns a fleet of fishingboats and offers tourists fishing excursions. She’s one of our more wealthier members.

“They aren’t. At the time of Coyote’s attack, the men who kidnapped Annette and Olivia were on their way back to New Orleans.”

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