Chapter Six

Delphi Mae

“A nd once I turn eighteen I can become a prospect. That’s what they call the people that are being tested to see if they even earn the right to be in the brotherhood.”

I smile as Elijah goes on and on about his latest conversation with Ghost. Apparently, Eli is the type of man Ghost wants in his club and he’s had multiple conversations with him about it over the past two weeks.

“You’ll have to prospect for a year before you’re voted in or not,” Jacob tells him. “We’re not always easy on our prospects, son. You won’t be any different.”

“I don’t need easy,” Eli says sternly. “I’ll earn your respect. All of you.”

“You already have it, son,” Jacob tells him. “If you didn’t, Ghost wouldn’t have even considered talking to you about it.”

“I think this little one is ready for a nap,” I interrupt. “I know that it isn’t my personal day, but since you’re both home today, would it be alright if I take a few hours to myself? I need to meet up with a friend.”

“Of course, ba…sweetheart,” Jacob smiles.

“Give me a few and I’ll get ready.”

“Alone, Eli,” I sigh. “I’m going to go alone. I’ll be fine.”

“She’ll be fine,” Jacob repeats. “Want to know how I know?”

“How?”

I shake my head at the two men talking as if I’m not here…again.

“Because we have a gift for her.”

“It came?” Eli asks.

“Yep. Come here, sweetheart.”

“I have to pee,” I say for some stupid reason.

“Is it an emergency or can you wait a few minutes?” he smiles.

Sighing, which is something I seem to be doing a lot these days, I walk over to the kitchen table where the two men sit.

Jacob hands me a small wooden box.

“Jewelry?” I ask. “I don’t wear jewelry around the baby. She’s starting to grab at everything. But thank you for your thoughtfulness.”

“Open it, baby,” Jacob laughs.

Baby?

“Ma, open it.”

Giving in, I open the box to reveal a simple pink ring. The band is a single color and is beautiful in its simplicity.

“It’s beautiful,” I admit. “It looks like a wedding band,”

“Is that so,” Jacob murmurs. “Here.”

Reaching for the box, Jacob removes the ring and places it on my left middle finger.

“This is a special ring,” he tells me. “One that can give me and Elijah some peace of mind while you’re gone.”

“Define special,” I say.

“It’s a GPS tracking device,” my son answers what I’ve already guessed.

“You can already track me using my phone,” I remind them.

“Your phone isn’t always on your person,” Jacob says. “And there may come a time when your phone dies, or you lose it.”

“Knox has mad skills, Ma,” Eli tells me. “He made it to where your distance from us doesn’t matter. Your ring has a Bluetooth setting that will connect with the closest cell tower near you. As long as you don’t take the ring off, we’ll always know where you are.”

“I should be creeped out,” I say. “But I know how the world can be, so I feel oddly comforted. However, don’t lose track of your life because you’re always watching where I’m at.”

“That’s the best part,” Jacob smiles.

“I want the record to show that I did not agree to this. In fact, I fought against it for several days.” Eli frowns.

“And lost,” Jacob pats Eli’s shoulder with a grin. “Anyway, the only one who has access is Knox. He will only check to see where you are if there’s a legitimate reason for him to. He won’t let anyone, not even Elijah here, have access to it unless necessary.”

“Well, okay then,” I sigh. “Good.”

“It also has an SOS,” Eli says. “Can I tell her about it, Jacob?”

“Go ahead,” he smiles.

“Awesome. Okay, Knox told me that he got himself into some trouble not very long ago,” Eli continues. “Actually, from what I understand, people in this family keep getting into some sort of dangerous trouble. Anyway, Knox came up with the idea of these rings based on the cross necklaces that Pops gave his boys when they were younger. However, it does more than track your location. It’s basically a smart ring. It can track your steps, your heart rate, and stuff like that. But it can also send out an SOS to Knox.”

“That is kind of cool,” I admit. “But what if I accidentally send an SOS when I didn’t mean to?”

“That’s the super cool part, Ma,” Eli says excitedly.

His eyes light up as he continues. “Knox built in a safeguard so that it’s almost impossible to trigger by accident. You have to tap the ring in a specific pattern. SOS in Morse Code. Only then will it send a signal.”

I let out a small breath. “Okay, that’s reassuring. What happens when the SOS goes out?”

Jacob takes over. “Knox gets an alert instantly, and he’ll track your location through the ring. He can send help or contact us, depending on the situation. If you’re ever in real danger and can’t use your phone, this ring is your backup.”

I stare down at the simple band, turning it around my finger. It looks so innocent, yet it holds so much power.

“Well, okay then,” I sigh. “If I wear this ring, both of you have to promise me something.”

“Name it,” Jacob says.

“Promise me that if there ever comes a time when I am in danger, and I send out the signal, don’t come for me. Let the police handle it.”

Silence.

“I will only ever use this if it’s life or death,” I continue. “Which means I don’t want the people I care about near me until it’s safe.”

More silence.

“Is she serious?” Eli asks Jacob.

Shaking his head, Jacob walks forward and cups my face between his large hands.

“Not even if God himself commanded it,” he says before leaning forward and kissing my forehead. “Now, who wants meatloaf for dinner?”

I stand there, mouth wide open, as Jacob opens the fridge to retrieve the ground beef.

Shaking his head with a chuckle, Eli picks Jessica up and heads for the basement door.

“We’re going to go and hang out with the cool lights,” he tells us. “Holler if you need me.”

I can’t help the warmth that spreads through my body. The four of us really feel like a family. My heart is full, and I honestly think I love this man.

“By the way, I have your paycheck on the coffee table. I just went with cash again, but if you’d rather have a check each week, I don’t care to switch it over.”

And just like that, I’m reminded of my position.

“Thanks,” I mumble. “I think I’m going to take a short nap before you leave for work.”

Jacob starts to turn around, but I’m already gone. I know I sounded as hurt as I feel, but I feel just as stupid.

When I reach my room, I pull out the list of nanny candidates that I’ve collected over the past few days. I have yet to reach out to any of them. Something, or rather, someone, is holding me back.

Maybe after a nap, I’ll have a clearer answer.

I tuck the list back in my purse and lay down.

Yeah! A nap will help me with this life-altering decision.

Idiot.