Becoming Carter (The Carter Series) (Volume 2) (10 page)

“I’m sorry, Lex. It’s just that this is mine and Kelvin’s business only.”

“I know you guys are all in love and shit now, but so are me and Mike, and I still tell you stuff about us. Seems kind of unfair, don’t you think?”

I released another frustrated sigh as tightness climbed up my neck again. This feeling was becoming entirely too common. “Ugh. I guess. Lex, I need you to understand that I’m going through some stuff that I just can’t talk about right now. It’s too early, and until I figure it all out for myself, I really can’t talk about it. But, I still love you. You’re still my best friend in the whole world, and that’s why I need your support and understanding.”

She was pissed. I could see it written all over her face, but I heard her take a deep breath and then hug me again. “Okay, Lil. But, you’re gonna have a lot of explaining to do once this mystery shit gets sorted out.”

“I know. And I promise I’ll tell you when the time is right. Thank you.”

“Whatever. You’re welcome. I guess,” she said with a forced smile. “Now that you’re here, I’ve gotta get back to my own class. I’ll talk to you later.” Before I even had a chance to say goodbye, she turned on her heel and walked away.

The school day went by quickly, and I learned just how pissed I’d made Lexy when I tried to hook up with her for lunch and she told me she had “stuff” to do, so she wouldn’t be able to meet me. I ended up eating my leftover chicken tacos in the teacher’s lounge all by myself.

In the afternoon, class was all kinds of hectic. There had been two fist fights—one between two boys, and the other between a girl and a boy, which the girl won. There was also a paste eating incident that forced me to shut down our crafts time, which caused all kinds of crying because the class wanted to keep building their little Frosty the Snowman pictures. Then, Kelly ended up coming down with some sort of insta-sickness and had to leave early. Needless to say, things in my life certainly weren’t calming down.

By the time the bell rang, I was beyond exhausted. I felt like I’d had enough of just about everything and was ready to go home, take a nap, and wait for Kelvin to get in touch with me, because he hadn’t all day. In the back of my mind, I knew he was trying to help me relax by giving me some time to myself, but I felt like I needed more of him, not less.

I pressed on, however, and made my way home—after a brief inspection of my car, of course. As I drove down the street towards my house, I caught myself looking around to see if there were any mysterious cars parked in front of any of my neighbors’ houses. I didn’t see any, and a little bit of my anxiety lifted off of me.

I pulled into my driveway and did another search as I waited for the garage to go all the way up. Still, there was nothing. I pulled in, and the minute the car came to a full stop, my phone chimed Kelvin’s text tone. I looked down in my cup holder where I’d placed my phone and saw the preview to his message. It said something about talking to James and having info about a meeting. Instead of texting back, I picked up my phone and called Kelvin back.

“Hey, what’s up?” he said upon answering.

“I’m good. I just got your text. What’s going on?”

“Okay, so I talked to James today, and I got the lowdown on a meeting that’s happening tonight at my dad’s casino. I don’t think I was actually supposed to know about the meeting, but James slipped and said he had plans tonight, and that I needed to stay in until he got back. When I asked what was going on, he slipped and said he had a meeting. There’s only one meeting that James would ever go to, and it sure as hell isn’t an AAA meeting. The only thing is that he wouldn’t tell me what time it’s taking place, so I kind of have to guess.”

I took a second to think about everything he’d said before I spoke again. “But, how do you know the meeting is about anything that has to do with us, or the Russians?”

“Well, I just figured it is, because usually when I ask James about these meetings that I’m rarely invited to, he just tells me that they’re about business. But, when I asked him about this one, his response was ‘don’t worry about it.’ That leads me to believe that it has something to do with us. That, and the fact that I just can’t shake this suspicion about my dad. Something just doesn’t seem right.”

I opened the door to the car and made my way inside, still holding the phone to my ear as I walked. “It’s funny you say that, because I’ve had a bad a feeling about all of this since it went down this past weekend. I don’t feel right about anything. It’s good to know I’m not the only one.” I threw my purse on the couch and it landed next to Meghan, who looked at it, and then looked up at me like,
uhh, that almost hit me, Bitch
.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, I don’t feel like we aren’t safe, but there’s just something about my dad. You don’t know him like I know him. He’s just not being himself.”

“I understand. Okay, so what’s the plan for tonight if you don’t know what time the meeting is?”

“Well, usually The Family holds meetings between ten and midnight, so if we show up at eleven, we should be just in time to crash it. Or, of course, I could just wait until James leaves and then head there a little after that. That’d be simpler.”

“Your dad won’t like that,” I said as I looked out the window and enjoyed the fact that there was no BMW outside. “But, once we’re there, what happens next?”

“I haven’t exactly thought of that part yet. I’m just hoping we’ll walk in at just the right time and maybe overhear something about their plans for the Russians, or their plans for what you and I are supposed to do. If not, then I’ll just ask Dad myself. Either way, I’m not gonna let them keep us in the dark about this. I want to know all the details from now on. He needs to know that I’m serious about this. About you.”

A smile spread itself across my face. “I like the way you said that,” I chirped. “So, you wanna come get me whenever you’re ready? Around nine maybe?”

“Yeah, that sounds good, babe. I wouldn’t get too set on the time, though. I think I’m gonna just keep an eye out for when James tries to leave. So, just stay ready, okay. For all I know, it could be any minute.”

“Okay, Babe. I’ll talk to you soon, then.”

“Okay. I love you, Baby.”

“I love
you
.”

We hung up the phone and I felt my face still smiling at how sincere Kelvin was when he said he loved me. There something in his voice every time he said it that let me know that he really, truly believed it. Here was a man who was ready to fight it out with his own father just to prove to his family how much he loved me. I mean, what more could a woman ask for? Asking for more would just be wrong.

I’d already eaten dinner for the night and fallen asleep on my couch with Meghan lying under my arm, when the phone rang and scared me back into consciousness at nine o’clock at night. On the screen of my phone was Kelvin’s name, accompanied by a picture of him in his boxer briefs—a little something I’d taken one night as we were getting ready for bed. When I answered, I instantly noticed the alarm in his voice.

“I accidentally fell asleep, and now James is fucking gone,” Kelvin said loudly in my ear. “He took his car, and the 300 I drove yesterday has been turned back into the rental place. So, I’m coming to get you in my car. I’m already on my way.”

“Wow. Okay. Be careful, Babe. How far away are you?”

“I’ll be there in less than ten minutes.”

I jumped off the couch and ran into the bathroom to freshen up. After brushing out my hair and tidying up my makeup, I got a text on my phone from Kelvin.

Kelvin:
I’m outside.

So, I threw on a light weight jacket and ran out the door to the all-black Camaro that was parked in front of my house. The second my car door closed, Kelvin stomped on the gas.

“I don’t know how long he’s been gone, and I don’t want them all to leave before we get there, so I’m gonna step on it a little bit.”

That was a huge understatement. Judging by the speeds we were going, it was safe to say that Kelvin was
stomping
on it with every fiber of his being. He was treating his Camaro like it was his Ducati—weaving in and out of traffic and cutting cars off as we whisked down the highway towards downtown Chicago. I even heard a few horns being honked as we drove. If they only knew who was driving.

As we approached the inner city, I felt my nerves perking up and becoming more and more sensitive. I had no clue what we were about to walk in on, but I didn’t have a good feeling about it. I could already tell that Kelvin was in a confrontational mood, and I knew that Senior was always in a confrontational mood, so I tried to take deep breaths to prepare myself for what was about to happen.

The white lights of the Royal Flush casino sign shined brightly in my face as we pulled up to the front door. Kelvin rushed out of his door and jogged around to my side to open my door for me, just as the valet climbed into the driver seat. Kelvin grabbed my hand and led me down the black and white carpet into the lounge area of the casino.

The two casinos that I’d seen that were owned by the Carters were both extensively lavish inside. Kelvin Senior obviously spared no expense in any part of his life, and his casinos were no exception. The hard wood floors of the lounge area always looked brand new, and the carpeted areas of the ballroom, dining room, and casino must have been steamed every other day. When we stepped into the elevator to go up to the conference room, I had the idea that Senior had OCD and demanded that his casinos be the cleanest in Chicago. I didn’t know if it was true, but the cleanliness of the glass walls surely fit the bill.

We walked out of the elevator and down a long hall with an off-white carpet. I could see the door to the conference room as we approached it, and my heart rate climbed with every step we took. My hands were starting to sweat by the time we reached the door, but Kelvin’s hands were steady as he reached for the handle and pushed the door open.

The long table had all but one of its chairs occupied. On the left was Deshaun, Ant, and Clarence, and on the right was Tommy and Mikey, with Senior sitting in the head position. James and another bodyguard I’d never met were sitting on the red couch next to the table. The moment Kelvin and I walked in, everyone in the room stopped talking and looked at us.

I must’ve been in a full body sweat by now, as the eyes of The Family bored into us. Kelvin let go of my hand and took a step forward.

“I’m not intruding, am I?” he said nonchalantly.

Senior looked over at James and shot him one of the dirtiest looks I’d ever seen. Then, his eyes slowly shifted back over to Kelvin.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Junior?” he said. I could tell he wasn’t in the same cordial mood he’d been in the last time I saw him.

“What am I doing here? I’m a part of this family, aren’t I? Is there a reason I wasn’t told about this meeting?”

I noticed Mikey reach up and rub his temples with his fingers, as if to say,
here we go again.

“The shit we’re talking about in this meeting is above your head,” Senior barked. He rose from his seat, revealing a black suit with a black tie, with a diamond cross hanging from his necklace.

“I think it’s important that I explain something to you right now, Junior, and I’m glad you’ve got your girlfriend here to hear me say this.” Senior pushed his chair back to give himself some room, then started walking towards Kelvin. “You think you can just do whatever you want, whenever you want, because you’re my son? You think no one has the right to say anything to you because your name is Kelvin Carter Jr.? You’ve got shit very fucking twisted. I run this family, and whatever I say, goes. I don’t give a fuck who you’ve fallen in love with, or how long you’ve been together. You don’t run shit! So, don’t ever barge into my motherfucking meeting asking why you weren’t told about it. You weren’t told because I didn’t feel the need to fucking tell you. That’s all the explanation I need, and all the explanation you’ll get. So, keep trying to show off in front of your little girlfriend, and you’re gonna piss me off. We both know you don’t want that. Now get the fuck outta here! Both of you! Now!”

I felt like I couldn’t even breathe. All I could do was stand there with my mouth gaping, watching this train wreck happen right in front of me.

“What the fuck?” Kelvin blared. “You think you scare me? You might be able to punk all of your brothers, but you can’t punk me. I
am not
afraid of you,
Senior
. I’m a part of this motherfucking family too! And I don’t give a fuck who you are, you’re gonna treat me like a fucking man. And the next time you disrespect Lilliana, I’m gonna knock your fucking tongue down your throat. You hear me?”

For a man his size, Senior’s hands came up really fucking fast, and the impact of the shove forced Kelvin back at least ten feet. The next thing I knew, everyone at the table was scrambling to get up. Deshaun was the first person to step in between the two Kelvins, while Ant rushed over and grabbed Senior, pulling him towards the other side of the room.

I stood there in shock as Kelvin tried to push his way through his uncles to try to get to Senior. It took Mikey, Tommy, and Clarence to hold Kelvin back.