Reckless Karma (Sinners & Saints #2) (21 page)

           
“Is
that guilt I hear, Chad?” Hugo is amused and so am I.

           
“Listen
Karlie,” Noel panics. “I’m so sorry about everything. They made me do it.”

           
“I
know, Noel,” Karlie calms him down. “I also know that when it came time for you
to step up… you didn’t do shit but hide behind your mommy like you always do.
You get no sympathy from me. My assistant will give you the location and time
later on today. We will get this done quick and get the results back asap.”

           
“And
why invite me? I know I have more balls than the men in this room, but… you do
know this does nothing for me, don’t you?” I ask.

           
“I
just wanted you to know that we know that you were with Gabriel the night he
supposedly killed himself.” Interesting. “We know that supposedly there was a
confession about murdering someone. We know and you can hide it with that bitch
ass smile on your face, but just know. You are going down, bitch.”

           
“I
don’t know what you are talking about but… that sounded like a declaration of
war.”

           
“The
declaration was made the moment you fucked with me and my family, sweetie. I
just wanted to catch you up.” My jaw twitches a little, but I still keep my
composure and I look up at Hugo.

“You
really believe that? That I’m capable of killing someone?” He nods his head and
he’s right. Definitely right, but the real question is, “Do you think I killed
your brother? Or do you think he killed himself?”

           
He
doesn’t respond and the uncertainty in his eyes shows immensely.

           
“Noel,
Chad, I’ll be seeing you. Hugo, can you give me and Scarlett a minute?” Karlie
asks.

           
Everyone
leaves out of the room and it’s just me and her.

           
She
stretches and sighs, trying to act unbothered by the way I make her skin crawl.
“Want a drink?” she asks smiling.

           
“Why
not.”

HUGO

“Hugo,
I’ll do whatever you need me to do to ensure those children’s wellbeing,” Noel
quickly says once we get to the elevator.

           
“I’m
sure you will, Noel.”

           
“Those
kids are Gabriel’s. They’re twins. Not that good looking,” Chad says out of
spite.

           
“Yeah,
but there is always that possibility, isn’t there?” I tease and the panicked
look in his face gives me pleasure.

           
They
enter the elevator and stand back. “Have a good day, boys.” I wave as the doors
close and breathe, closing my eyes and having a moment to myself.

           
“Whatya
doin?” I turn around and see the little girl, Suzie. She really does resemble
my mother when she was happy.

           
“Throwing
out the trash,” I say. She just stares at me with her head titled to the side.
Her gold curls put up in a bun. She’s holding a tablet.

           
“Well,
we haven’t really been introduced,” I say to a six year old and stick out my
hand. “I’m Hugo.”

           
“That’s
a funny name,” she laughs.

           
“Well
my mother liked it.”

           
“I
like it too.”

           
“Good.”
I’m still holding out my hand for her to shake, but she goes in for the kill
and wraps her arms around my legs. I stay still to hold my balance and hold my
hands up, not sure what to do. I give her a light tap on her small back.

           
“I
like hugs.”

           
“Yeah,
I see that. I don’t.” Not a nice thing to say to a kid, but she is unbothered
by it. She just lets go and smiles up at me.

           
“You’re
funny,” she says, her missing teeth becoming clear the wider her smile gets.
“Funny people are destined for greatness.”

           
“Where
did you hear that?”

           
She
shrugs. “I think I’m psychic.”

           
That
makes no sense, but in the most extreme way my heart gets this funny feeling. A
funny feeling that makes my heart beat faster and it’s like it’s the Juliet
situation all over again, but obviously in a different way. It’s the feeling I
would get when I witnessed my mother having good days. Good days that were so
cherished and imprinted in my memory. I smile at Suzie and she is satisfied and
drifts off to find her brother. I then picture that memory and not notice my
mother but Gabriel. I notice how happy he was too.

SCARLETT

I
finish the glass of fine red wine, I must admit, and watch as Karlie finishes
hers. Neither of us has said a word yet. All we do is look at each other. Dirty
looks that declare our distaste for one another.

           
“So
are we going to stare at each other all day or are you finally gonna release
all that anger you have?” I speak first and she bites her smile.

           
“I’ve
always imagined what I’d say. What I’d do. You have a well perfected speech
played out in your mind and it is forever in you until the moment. The moment
comes and it all goes away. You’re forced to improvise.” She takes a breath.
“Fuck you.”

           
I
giggle. “That’s surprising. Nothing I’ve never heard before. One of the many
things Gabriel said before he blew out his brains.”

           
“I
know you did something.”

           
“No,
I didn’t. I know it’s really important for you to think that your love could
conquer anything… but it couldn’t conquer how sick Gabriel really was. Just
like his mother.”

           
“Maybe
you’re right,” she shrugs. “Maybe you are exactly right, but the thing is… you
still lose.”

           
“How?”

           
“No
one is ever going to love you like that. Not like the way Gabriel and I loved
each other. Definitely not the way Hugo and Juliet love each other. Hell, I’m
with you that Gabriel and I were doomed, but Hugo has a shot. And even though I
suffered… those amazing kids out there… they are the real blessing of that
love. You will never have that. Patrick is it? He loves you… but not you, and
one day… it will not be enough even for you. It’s going to be lonely not having
someone you can truly be yourself with.”

           
My
teeth grind without my permission and my pulse races. I didn’t think I would be
this heated about Karlie’s words.

           
“I
wouldn’t count Hugo out yet,” I say what I still believe.

           
“Nah.”
She shakes her head smirking. “Have you seen the way he looks at that girl…
Jesus, there is nothing stopping that. But then again maybe they won’t last,
but like Juliet has given him evidence of hope… I’ve given him the hope. Even
he can’t deny what he feels for my kids because they are a part of his bloodline.
I was always scared to confirm it but now… I’m ready. And when it’s confirmed
that will be one more thing I got with Gabriel that you could never have.”

           
“My,
you have gotten very confident, haven’t you? You’ve come a long way from the
black poor girl meant for nothing but welfare checks like your mother.”

           
Now
her teeth are grinding but still she keeps it fierce. I might even come to
respect her a little now.

           
“I’m
gonna let you have that one, bitch.” She stands up and heads out before turning
back to face me. “But you know what always kept me in good spirits too? The
fact that you were so jealous of this poor black girl… that you bothered at
all.”

           
I
keep smiling until she leaves. What is it about the good? No matter what they
keep coming and coming. What more can you do to destroy hope?

14

JULIET

The
meeting went well according to Hugo and he even found himself smiling talking
about his interaction with Suzie before catching it. Now he wants to introduce
them to August, so he decided to give Ms. Eleanor something to do by hosting a
lovely get together at her home with just us and Karlie, her mum, and the
twins.

           
“They
are divine!” Ms. Eleanor hugs the twins in excitement. “They are the spitting
image of their father!”

           
“Ms.
Eleanor, we haven’t had them tested yet,” Hugo whispers.

           
“Oh
please, no need! I know those eyes. Nothing weak or horrid about them.” She’s
referring to Chad and Noel most likely. “No, these eyes are filled with life
and fire.”

           
The
kids laugh and take an instant liking to Ms. Eleanor.

           
“I
have a table set with fabulous food from Chef Montagne, including his fabulous
sliders with blue cheese and fresh spinach and these divine breaded dough
filled with mozzarella.”

           
“You
mean cheese sticks?” Anika asks.

           
“Oh
I do believe that is the term used at the fast food chains.”

           
We
all laugh, even Anika and Karlie’s mum.

           
“Everyone
come!”
 
Ms. Eleanor leads the way,
but Karlie holds the twins back as Hugo heads to the stairs where August sits.
I hear him urging August to come and he does.

           
“You
guys look alike,” Ollie says.

           
“They’re
twins like us,” Suzie says.

           
“They’re
twins too?” August whispers in Hugo’s ear.

           
“Yes.”
Hugo confirms.

           
“Hi.”
He waves looking down at their feet.

           
“These
are my children, August,” Karlie says and August stops scratching his head.
“This is Oliver and Suzanna. I call them Ollie and Suzie.”

           
“I
prefer my nickname, but she wants to be called her full gross name,” Ollie says
and I laugh a little as Karlie taps him on his head.

           
“I
like your name, August,” Suzie says.

           
August
smiles. “I like yours too. That was our mother’s name, right Hugo?”

           
Hugo
smiles and rubs his shoulder. “Yes. Yes, it was.”

           
August
has this big wide smile on his face and I think he understands the harder he
takes quick glances at the twins. He understands everything now.

HUGO

August
likes them. In fact he loves them. I can see it in the way he laughs when they
laugh and like children they instantly like him. They laugh when he makes
animal noises and he even lets them sit on his back as he crawls through the
grass. Maya Angelou said she sustained herself with the love of family. I could
never do that. I didn’t have enough love and with August it was me focused on
sustaining him so much that I couldn’t accept when he did it, which was every day
basically. But now watching him and Ollie and Suzie play together. Looking at
Ms. Eleanor dance to her drums in her head. Watching Cody drool as he watches
Anika. Ms. Dale laugh with Jordana at whatever Poppy said. Karlie as she
watches this and realizes the same thing as me. And Juliet. I watch as Suzie
tells her how pretty she is and asks to braid her hair and she lets her even
though Suzie is doing a horrendous job, but you do lie to children at the right
moments, right? I don’t know, but I think I would like to learn. This is my
family. All of them.

           
“Are
you my dad?” I didn’t notice Ollie sitting next to me and I am thrown off by
his question. He is focused on my eyes even though they are covered by my
sunglasses.

           
“No,”
I answer and I see the disappointment in his face. The irony is that I am
disappointed that I’m not too.

           
“I
thought so. Mom said he died.”

           
“He
did.” I don’t think I’m ever going to believe in sugarcoating with a kid.
“August and I…”

           
“You’re
twins.” His smile is back. “Like me and Suzie.”

           
“Yes…
and you’re twins because it runs in our family. I may not be your father, but
I’m your uncle. August and I are your uncles. Your father was my older
brother.”

           
“I
can get with that.” This kid is funny. He starts to breathe a little funny and
holds his chest. He pulls out what looks to be a blue inhaler and calms down
once using it.

           
“You
have asthma?”

           
He
nods. “Mommy said when I came out I wasn’t breathing. She said she was really
scared.”

           
“When
I was born I wasn’t breathing either.”

           
“Was
my grandma scared too?”

           
His grandma.

           
“Yes, she was.”

           
“Good
thing we made it.” He smiles again and sticks his inhaler back in his pocket.

           
“Let’s
keep the truth about your dad between us, okay? Your mom wants to tell you
herself, so until then it’s a secret, okay?”

           
“Okay.”
 

KARLIE

I
was scared of this. Really scared to see my kids become invested in others. The
more people, the more risk of heartache. But this is right. It’s oddly right.

           
“Your
children are beautiful,” Juliet stands next to me.

           
“Thanks.”

           
“I
hope you forgave Anika.”

           
“I
did. Hugo deserved to know the truth.”

           
“Looks
like he and Ollie are already getting along.”

           
We
both watch as Ollie studied Hugo as he sits cool with his sunglasses on. Ollie
tries to mimic him and Hugo takes notice. A hint of amusement sneaking up
between his lips.

           
Juliet
and I both laugh.

           
“Could
you imagine Hugo being a father?” Juliet asks.

           
“Actually
yeah. Given the right woman.” I look at Juliet and she tries not to blush.

           
“Listen,
Karlie… I’m sorry. I should’ve minded my own business.”

           
“Yes,
you should’ve… but I’m glad you didn’t.”

           
She
gives a dramatic sigh. “Thank God because I’m actually not sorry.”

           
I
can’t help but to laugh and shake my head at this girl. “Even though I’ve only
known Hugo for a few weeks now… I approve of you… so far.”

           
She
shrugs and bumps her shoulder against mine. “I’ll take what I can get.”