Chapter 21

Chapter

Twenty-One

SEER

" A re you done scolding me in front of my club?" I narrow my eyes at my mother more.

"You done acting like a little boy who is not capable of controlling himself?" Ok, that's it.

I put my hands on Leah's hips to lift her up, but Hahaoya marches over to me. She leans into my face, forcing Leah to move to the far edge of the chair.

My Japanese mother is not one to fuck with.

"Watch your mouth. You aren't too old to get your ass handed to you. You have scared her half to death. Apologize now." Her growl is soft, even though I know she means business.

I blink away my irritation and nod.

"Je suis désolé, Maman." Ma huffs but finally looks away from me.

"Can we address the elephant in the room now, please," Nova says, clapping his hands to get everyone's attention.

I roll my eyes at him.

"Oh, do you mean our President having a lady on his lap at the table?" Cowboy's cheeky southern tone tacks on ever so helpful.

"That is rather big news." Glitch agrees without looking away from her computer.

I'm sure she and Abel are messaging back and forth while the family drama played out.

"Care to explain why this is such a big deal, Prez?" Nova bats his eyelashes at me, and I almost pick up my gavel and throw it at his head.

"Traditionally, only old ladies are allowed at the table on rare occasions, that is, and they always sit on our laps." Cowboy coughs next to me with a not-too-subtle ‘bullshit' undertone.

"Okay?" Leah looks so confused.

I lean into her ear and whisper just for her.

"I just claimed you as my old lady, Baby." She pulls back, stunned.

Her eyes search for Kai and Phoebe.

"We've both been where you are, Cher." Kai winks at her, and Phoebe smiles.

"Um," before Leah can speak, Glitch curses.

"FUCK! We have a serious problem. Abel just sent over this file." She pushes a few buttons, and the virtual whiteboard on the wall lights up with a few documents.

She flips through some and then enlarges the one she wants us all to see. The room grows quiet as we all read.

"What are we looking at?" I frown when I see a familar name on the page.

I glance at Ma and notice she's gone pale.

"Charlotte Monroe is the illegitimate daughter of the late Congressman Anton Blair. She's Seer's cousin." Everyone turns to look at me.

I shake my head in disbelief.

"Technically, that's not true. You're adopted. She must not know that." Ma clears her throat now that the shock of the information is over.

"Why would she come to work for me?" I scratch my chin, turning over the information in my head.

Her father was a vengeful piece of shit that tried to end my mother's life along with half the original chapter. But that all happened long before I ever came into the picture. Anton died when I was barely a year old, still living halfway around the world.

I wasn't adopted until I was three. I shake my head and purse my lips. None of this makes any sense.

"Revenge?" Glitch supplies the most common reason for these types of things.

"How did it benefit her, though? I mean, no offense ‘cause she's your blood, Judge, but she's dead." Mayhem cringes as he finishes speaking.

"Allegedly. We still have nobody." Leah scoffs, and I glance down at her.

"What?" Her cheeks grow red.

"Just a wayward thought." I nod at her to continue.

"It had the classic markers of a mystery novel. The villain fakes their death to get revenge for the family's wrongs. She must feel like she's owed something that Seer stole." It's not a bad theory, actually.

"I don't even carry the family name, though. She can't need a kidney from me since we aren't DNA-related. She must be after money." I come to the conclusion, but my Ma snorts.

"What money? Her father's assets were all seized by the government. It has to be something else." The phone rings, and Glitch answers it.

"I got something. Hold on to your, wait. What are you wearing today, Seer?" Everyone laughs at Abel's teasing.

"Pant's asshole," I growl to his chuckle.

"Just checking. Well, grab your balls ‘cause you're not going to believe this shit." I sigh heavily.

"Charlotte ain't his kid. She's his sister. When he died, she was put into the system." I glance at my Ma, but all I catch is her back as she leaves the room.

"Fuck," Cowboy says, followed by a loud whistle.

"Track down what fucking happened in that apartment. We need to get ready for this hurricane." I knock the gavel on the table and everyone starts to leave the room.

"Old lady, huh? Don't you normally have to ask her first?" I raise an eyebrow at Leah but nod.

"Yes, however, you felt too good for me to let you leave. You have since the moment I laid eyes on you. So forgive my caveman nature. Would you please do us the honor of joining our family?" Her eyes go to Kai and Phoebe, the only other people in the room now.

"Do you feel the same way?" She addresses them, but I don't need to turn around to know they'll both be smiling at her.

"If you need to ask, then we clearly need to try hard to show you," Kai says, followed by a loud huff.

"She elbowed him, didn't she?" I ask Leah, who giggles and nods.

"I've loved having you around and don't want you to leave." Phoebe's voice sounds like she wants to say more, but she's holding back.

"But?" Leaah prompts.

"No, but. More of a how about us? We haven't had a chance to," she cuts off when Cowboy walks back in.

"Sorry to interrupt. This storm is getting worse. Its winds have been upgraded. Flooding has already started." Shit, I look at Kai.

"We still need to get the house secured." I nod.

"You and Phoebe go, and we'll stay here. Tonight, we sit down and discuss everything, yeah?" Kai leaned in to kiss me, and then Leah.

Phoebe follows suit but keeps to Leah's cheek.

Once they leave, I turn her on my lap and stare at her eyes. She looks sad and disappointed.

"You wanted to kiss her, didn't you." her blush answers before she finds her voice.

"I feel so wicked." I smile.

"Good."