Page 36 of True Honey (The Hornets Nest #4)

SHORE

I was on cloud nine walking into the hospital the next day. Arlo had called, from El’s phone, to let me know that Cael was out of surgery. I collected some breakfast for them and headed over with my head in the clouds and my thoughts on Drew.

She hadn’t left.

I woke with my nose pressed into the side of her hair and my hands wrapped around her body as she slept soundlessly. It almost pained me to unwind from her but I managed to get out without waking her.

She rolled onto her belly, her hair spread out over my pillows and the sheets slack around her hips. I brushed a knuckle down her spine, taking in the way her breath lulled from my touch before taking a cold shower and getting out the door. But I just wanted to get back to her as soon as I could.

I brought what I could from the office for Ryan, as well as some paperwork to go over for other players that still needed eyes on them. Ella was running appointments when I got there and she let me know she could handle everything, all she asked was that I took care of Cael for her while she did.

An easy enough promise to uphold considering the guilt was still eating at me despite everyone continuously telling me it wasn’t my fault.

There were two voices coming from the room and much to my surprise my mother’s laughter floated down the hallway toward me. I shifted Ryan’s bag on my shoulder, cradling breakfast and work in the other as I wandered through the door.

Cael was asleep in his bed, his arm completely wrapped up and tight to his side.

Mom was leaning against the window with a smile, her face looking more dressed down then I’d ever seen her in jeans and a Harbor hoodie I didn’t even know she owned.

Her face was flushed from laughing and Ryan was talking in a quiet tone with a soft expression on his tired face.

”Morning…” I announced myself and watched her take a step back from Ryan, her posture straightening out as he cleared his throat. “I brought breakfast but I didn’t realize you’d be here or I would have brought more.”

“She can have mine,” Arlo’s voice directed my attention to a chair out of my sight, forcing me to step further into the room. “Ella made muffins,” he held up his half eaten one.

“I just came to check on you three,” she smiled at me. “I wanted to drop off some heating blankets and things to help with Cael’s recovery.”

Mom was talking but my focus was on Ryan, his hands curled into the seat under him like he was trying to keep still. In seven years of knowing that man, I had never once seen him fidget. A rumble formed in my chest out of nowhere when she touched Ryan’s shoulder gently with her fingers.

“I should get going, give Cael my best.” She grabbed her purse from where it was resting beside a large glass vase of lavender before kissing me on the cheek and excusing herself.

Ryan rose from his chair and grabbed his bag from me as I set down the breakfast on the small table across from Cael’s bed.

“I’m going to go take a shower and then we can run through the subs for the week?” He asked me but I was still stuck on my mother flirting with one of my friends…

“Yeah,” I said, eyebrows pinched together tightly as he threw a couple pieces of bacon between his teeth and left the room. “What the fuck was that and why were you just sitting here letting it happen?”

“She was in here when I got here.” He shrugged, “she brought me jello she stole off one of the carts in the hallway to ignore their very private conversation. So I did.”

“You disloyal rat,” I swore at him.

“I’m not a snitch and it was blue… that’s the best flavor.” Arlo wasn’t going to budge and I hated that cocky grin on his face. The fact that he knew something I didn’t, was making his whole morning.

“Fuck you! If he’s fucking my mom I swear—” I threw my hat at Arlo who just laughed at me.

“You fucked his sister, asshole,” Arlo countered, his laughter only growing.

“Quit fucking laughing, prick!”

“Lower your voice, Grandpa, some of us are trying to sleep,” Cael’s sleepy, scratchy voice interrupted my panic attack. “Did Arlo just say you stuck your east coast foot long in my Aunt?” He asked next and Arlo practically fell out of his chair.

“No,” I said at the exact moment Arlo said yes.

“Bold move considering her ex is the size of a fucking grizzly bear,” Cael weakly laughed and shifted in the bed with his eyes still closed.

“Yeah Silas, bold move.” Arlo snorted, enjoying the situation a little too much.

“I will make sure you end up in one of these beds if you don’t shut the hell up.” I flipped him off and wandered over to Cael to take a look at his arm.

“As much as I love seeing you two fistfight, I have a raging headache and if I don’t get my hands on my Clementine in the next twenty minutes.

I’m performing a half-cocked jailbreak and going to find her,” Cael’s words were strung together in a slurred string.

The pain no doubt making it very hard to stay awake.

“Van is on his way with her and Zoey,” Arlo answered his question, “and stay in bed you aren’t wearing pants, no one needs to see your ass.”

Cael scoffed, “ everyone needs to see my ass.”

“Respectfully disagree, Loverboy.” Cael practically popped up from death at the sound of Clementine’s voice. “Keep that perfect ass in your bed, I’m not fighting any handsy nurses today.”

“That’s my cue to take my leave,” Arlo scowled, pushing from his chair and disappearing into the hallway.

Clementine was successful in calming Cael down and it made me feel a little better about everything that was going on.

I opened my mouth to say something when my phone vibrated in my pocket, I pulled it out hoping to see her name flicker across the screen but instead it’s a reminder that despite how I felt today, nothing was going right in the rest of my life.

“Tobias,” I answered, leaving the room to chat with my lawyer.

“I hate doing this so early on a Monday, Silas but your father is withholding sensitive information that we need if we want a shot at winning this trial.” Tobias explained.

Winning for us meant keeping my father in prison, something that not a single member of my family understood.

If Grandpa knew I was working with the prosecutors on Dad’s case I’d be shunned; but they needed an inside man.

Someone who could get information legally out of my dad.

“What do you want me to do about it, Tobias?” I sighed, stepping into the hallway. Arlo pushed off the wall at the sound of my annoyance and stepped closer to listen as I put Tobias on speakerphone.

“I need you to go to the prison, I need more information on his relationship with DeeDee Logan.” The line went quiet at the sound of her name and I swore under my breath.

“It would have been a lot easier to convict him with her alive but now all I have is conversations through illegible high texts and word of mouth from your brother. We need more, I need your father to admit to funneling money to more than just DeeDee. It’ll prove that he held no regard emotionally for any of the people he was ‘supporting.’ I need you to talk to him. ”

Arlo grimaced. This was bad.

“There’s no way I can get him to talk about that, he’s been buttoned up since she died.

He’s terrified to get slapped with charges related to her death.

” I said, and it was a reasonable fear because it was exactly what they were trying to do.

He was all but a drug runner for her, supplying her with enough cash monthly to keep her high enough that she didn’t go to the press or the cops.

“I think it’s time you consider taking Joshua down there for a conversation, it might be the cracking—”

“Find a new route.” I cut him off. “I’m not subjecting Josh to that and you know it, stop asking .”

“If you can think of a better way to get that information Silas, I trust you but from where I’m standing our time is running out and if you want to keep him in jail as much as I think you do, Josh might be the only answer.” Tobias's explanation was diplomatic and well worded but it didn’t matter.

Even Arlo shook his head no at the mention of putting Josh through something like that, worse, Josh would do it if I asked.

But I couldn’t do that to him, he was finally starting to have a healthy life with the Hornets, at the Nest. With Dean.

I couldn’t undo all the hard work he had been doing to feel normal for the first time in his entire life.

I wouldn’t.

“I’ll go talk to him, push him harder this time but leave Josh out of this,” I ordered and Tobais fell silent. “I mean it, if I find out anyone in your office called him about this, my helpful visits end and you guys can do the dirty work on your own.”

“Understood,” Tobias confirmed, but I could tell from the way he paused that his confidence was wavering. “It’s time sensitive, Silas.”

“Yeah, I’ll go today.” I hung up the phone and sighed. “I slept with Drew again,” I blurted to Arlo and turned my head toward him.

“Sloppy.” Was the only thing out of his mouth, “did you at least buy her dinner this time?”

“Thai,” I responded, shoving my phone in my pocket as Arlo nodded in approval. “I swear someone is playing a joke on me, every time I think I have my life sorted or I find just a shred of happiness. The universe turns out the lights and I’m back to square one.”

“We cancelled practice today, so it looks like you and I are going to the prison,” Arlo said.

I opened my mouth to argue that he didn’t need to come along for the ride but he shut me up with a glare, “and the universe doesn’t control your life, you do.

Stop whining and handle your shit.” He slapped a hand to my face.

“And if you like Drew, own it. Stop acting like sleeping with her is shameful. Idiot.”

“Hey, too far.” I sighed.

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” Arlo feigned sincerity, putting his hand on my shoulder. “You’re still an idiot.”

“You don’t have to come today,” I shook my head.

“Oh, I wasn’t giving you the option for company, let’s go. I’d like to be back before lunch.” Arlo didn’t budge on his intentions for the day and before long we were driving out of the hospital parking lot up to the county detention center.

“I didn’t know you were helping them with the case,” Arlo said, emptying his pockets into the buckets provided for our personal goods as I signed us in for a half an hour meeting.

“I’m the only person he’ll willingly see besides his lawyer,” I said, my phone vibrating as I took it out. It was a text from Drew detailing her plans for the day and it made me smile at my phone like an idiot.

“What a dotting son,” Arlo cleared his throat.

“Yeah, that’s the point.” I dropped my phone into the buckets without responding and allowed the guard to pat me down before stepping out of the scanner.

“He has no idea I’m funneling information back to the lawyers, and by the time they call me for testimony it’ll be too late for him to realize that he nailed his own coffin shut. ”

“You’re serious about this?” Arlo stopped me just before we entered the common visiting room.

“I don’t have anything left for him, Ar. After hearing Josh’s story, after helping him bury his Mom, consoling my own. Charles is dead to me.” I assured him and he nodded.

“Alright,” He tapped two fingers to his chest and I mirrored the motion. I’m here if you need me was left unsaid as the door buzzed loudly and we were let inside.