Page 70 of Gator

The room fell silent as the weight of her words settled on everyone’s shoulders. Finally, Wade nodded, albeit reluctantly. “Fine,Môman. But we’ll do this together. These babies won’t just have you—they’ll have us all.”

A sense of resolve filled the room, a shared understanding that this family, unconventional though it may be, would stand together.

Wade glanced at the clock. “Alright, let’s get these little ones settled for tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll deal with Eliot and whatever else comes our way.”

Marabella smiled, her eyes gleaming with determination. “That’s the spirit, Son. Now, let’s get moving. These babies need a proper meal and a warm bed.”

As the group began to gather their things, Emmeline reached out to take Marabella’s hand, her gaze steady despite the uncertainty she must have felt.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Marabella squeezed her hand gently. “No need to thank me, child. You’re family now.”

Chapter Thirty-One

“Alright, boss,” Worm began. “This is what I’ve been able to piece together. The man you beat the shit out of and who Braveheart barbequed alive was Jaxon Ross, Eliot’s dad and the former brother to a Mr. Elias Ross. It seems the parish of that Podunk town is not as good at keeping records as our own New Orleans parish is. Elias Ross owned the auto body and the tourist shop here in NOLA. When he passed, Eliot inherited everything.”

“So the kid owns the auto body shop, too?” Thore asked.

Worm nodded. “Yep.”

“Well shit. Now I feel bad fer burnin’ the place to the ground.”

“When I looked into Jaxon Ross, I found a laundry list of nasty things, boss. Braveheart and Thore did the world a service by killing him. Trust me. No one is going to miss that bastard.”

“I feel a but coming,” I growled.

“Yeah, a big one.” Worm gulped before continuing. “Jaxon Ross has a cousin. Someone we know very well.”

Smirking, I shook my head. “Let me guess. Garland Coltraine?”

“Bingo,” Worm said. “From what I can gather, Garland and Jaxon were thick as thieves growing up. Always in trouble withthe law. When Garland borrowed money from Elias and couldn’t pay it back, he and Jaxon conspired to kill Elias, believing that everything Elias owned would go to Jaxon.”

“But big brother knew little brother was a dipshit and cut him out,” Donut sneered as Worm nodded.

“When Jaxon learned his son inherited everything, he kicked Eliot out and told him to never come back. The kid was smart and did just that until Garland got it into his head that Eliot would want the debt paid.”

“Let me get this straight,” I groaned, rubbing my forehead. “Garland had his other cousin, Beau, steal from me because he stupidly thought Eliot would demand payment of the debt?”

“That’s what it’s looking like, boss.”

“Jesus Christ!,” I roared. “Eliot didn’t give a shit about any debt. The kid just wanted to live his life on his own terms. Hell, he was plannin’ on turnin’ his uncle’s tourist shop into a premier boudoir studio.”

“Never said Jaxon or Garland were smart, boss.”

“And my shipment?” I asked.

Worm scratched his head nervously. “That’s the thing, boss. I think the shipment’s in Eliot’s shop.”

“You think Garland set up the kid?” Donut questioned.

“Yeah, I do. Garland isn’t smart by any means, and he’s proven he’s okay with using his family to take the fall. Add in Eliot’s dad and his abusive homophobic ways and well, yeah. I think the both of them cooked up this stupid scheme to kill two birds with one stone. Erase the debt and Eliot.”

“I wanna kill that fucker all over again,” Braveheart sneered.

“Get in line,” Donut added.

“Alright,” I said, my voice steady despite the rising storm inside me. “This is what we’re going to do. Worm, you and Donut head over to Eliot’s shop. I want every damn corner searched. Don’t trash the place, just look. That shop is Eliot’s only sourceof income. If the shipment’s there, I want it back before Garland or anyone else has the chance to sniff it out.”

---