Page 37 of Hell of a Mess
He nodded his head.
“Then you realize that my father—” I shook my head. “Alpheus will react to my not going through with it. He wants that connection. For the wealth and the power that comes with Arun’s family.”
Luther shook his head slowly. “I don’t give a fuck. Right now, Halsten’s biggest concern needs to be the reckoning that is coming.”
He sounded so sure of it, but I wasn’t.
“Thaddeus is his friend,” I told him.
“Thaddeus is family. He was never his friend. In fact, he said he should have known the slimy motherfucker was behind your abuse.”
My eyes widened at that. Was he serious?
“We use those we need to in order to gain access and forgiveness legally. Alpheus was someone that the Louisiana and Texas branches kept in their pockets. Simply for what he could do for them. Not the other way around. He is no longer someone we hold as an asset. He didn’t just abuse a daughter, but he abused one of ours. That changes everything,” he said, and then his eyes did a quick scan of the bedroom. “Now, do you want tostay here or go to Mal’s house? Or Locke and Gathe’s?”
I let that sink in before asking, “There is a Texas branch?” Because I’d never been told about that.
He nodded his head. “Yes. There is a branch in every Southern state. Texas may think it’s its own entity, but they’re the fucking South too. The Civil War had only been over for forty years when the family was formed. Texas had been part of the Confederacy.”
Oh. I wanted to ask who was over that branch. Had I known them, too, and not realized they were like Thaddeus?
The only reason I knew who and what the Davidsons were was because I’d been partnered with his son, Wayon, at more than one dinner party. He had always been in a serious relationship, and my father felt it was safe for me. Wayon had become my friend over the years. He’d told me many things he probably shouldn’t have.
“If you want to stay here, the room is yours,” he said, and I realized I’d still not responded to that question.
I did want to stay here. But there was Linc. He wouldn’t want me here.
“I…I don’t know Mal,” I said.
I did know Locke, but not as my…brother. And I’d never met Gathe.
“No, you don’t,” Luther replied.
“If I stay here, will Linc be angry?”
Luther smirked, but there was a glint of annoyance in his gaze. “Sugar, I don’t give a fuck about what makes Linc angry. Like I said before, my house too. This is my side. If I want to open a goddamn brothel in the next bedroom, I can.”
The corner of my lips quirked at that remark, and I was surprised by it.
“I’ll let them know you’re staying here. Jayda will bring you something to sleep in and some clothing until you can go shopping for your own,” he said. “Are you hungry?”
I wasn’t hungry.
Everything was changing so fast. I’d been ready to run for the rest of my life to get free of the one that had been planned for me, actually leaving it. Allowing others to handle my problems and protect me was hard. Trust didn’t come easy for me.
I shook my head.
He turned to leave.
“Can I trust you?” I blurted out. I wanted to. More than anything else right now I wanted to be able to trust Luther.
He stopped, then glanced back over his shoulder at me. “Yeah, sugar, with your life.”
And I believed him.
Fifteen
Luther
