Trial By Fire - Bouncing Back, Book 1

Thirty-Four

Back at home, things were progressing as normal until Ryland got the scoop from Belladonna about the wedding fiasco. Calming him, the newly-wed pair assured him his niece was fine before making their way to Everett Towers. As they got to the elevators on their way to visit her sister and the kids, someone stepped from the shadows of the hall. Straightening, they turned to face the Veiðimenn Queen.

Ambrosia glared at them, knowing that they were hiding something. “Spill. What the hell happened that Trace had to take Thomas to the ring then the firing range to blow off steam. He wouldn’t say, and I want answers.”

Memphis paled, taking a subconscious step back. He licked his lips, wondering what, if anything, they should say. Knowing that the man she just married was literally terrified of Ambrosia, Kennedy snorted a laugh. “Memphis, I’m going to go talk to Amber and get all the facts ironed out. Why don’t you go fill Callum in on what happened before he decides to beat both your father and Trace into a bloody mess?”

“Sounds good to me,” he muttered as he walked away.

Still grinning, Kennedy met Ambrosia’s gaze steadily. “So, want to go somewhere a little more private?”

“Now, I know there’s more to the story than what Thomas admitted to me. Come along, little mama,” Amber commented dryly as she led Kennedy to her private office. Shutting the door, she opened the curtains before sitting down in her desk. Her deep green eyes regarded Kennedy with caution. The doctor in her wanted to make sure the young woman was actually okay, but she knew that Kennedy would have said something by now. Eyeing the ring set on the other woman’s hand, she breathed deeply.

Seeing what one of her partners was looking at, Kennedy smiled. “Memphis took me to that jewelry place called Twin Gems, and we picked it out together.”

Nodding, Ambrosia poured some water, handing Kennedy a glass before she relaxed in her chair. “So, what happened?”

Leaning back in the chair, Kennedy smirked as she shook her head. “The thing is you can’t get pissy with Thomas. I talked him into going so I could give Memphis what he really wanted for his wedding day.”

“Of course,” Ambrosia replied. “The way I see it, he’s always accommodating your needs, so this was inevitable.”

“When we got there, everything seemed to go great. Memphis introduced me to his family, and I felt connected to some of them. Oddly enough, it was mostly the women I ended up having the most fun with. His great-grandmother, aunt, grandmother, and the majority of his cousins were amazing people. Then, while the reception was going on, a can't-understand-normal-thinking girl chose to mess with Memphis. He turned her down flat, and outed her for sleeping with his married cousin, and it started a whole family war. The next day, I was spending time with Belladonna, who also happens to be one of my riders, and Charmaine came up to me with her friends. She claimed I ruin her life, so Bella ruined her face.”

Ambrosia started laughing, her eyes twinkling as she shook her head. Knowing that Kennedy was brutal about telling the truth, she found it hard to keep a straight face. Declan had filled in a few blanks, but Thomas had refused to say anything. “So why was Thomas keeping mum about it?”

“Well, that’s the thing. His brother was the one that instigated his divorce from Holly. Darren finally got caught in his lies as Memphis was beating the s**t out of Richard for sending his wanna-be girlfriend after me. Thomas’s mother, sister, and grandmother begged me to stay, but even Tem lost it and slapped Darren for saying I may have stolen something from the family. Gavin admitted to disowning Thomas because he believed everything Holly and Darren said to him.” Kennedy said as she sipped her water.

Letting out a breath, Ambrosia whistled softly. “It sounds like it was one hell of a wedding.”

“I’d say,” the red-head laughed. “We later got a call from the family butler informing us that Thomas and Memphis was going to be given the inheritance meant for Darren and Rick. The reason was that they didn’t deserve it, but Thomas did because he stayed humble and accepting even without money. Can I use your phone really quick?”

“Sure, but why not use your own?”

Kennedy smirked, “No chance of this call being traced back to me that way. Thom and Trace are friends, which means my father-in-law only got to ask if I’ve been up to no good for me to get busted.”

Dialling the number she’d gotten from Bella earlier that day after they got home from Quebec, she put the call on speaker and grinned. She counted down the rings, wondering if anyone was at home.

Suddenly, the line connected, and a familiar voice came on the phone. Elderly, yet sophisticated, Carl said, “Slade residence. How may I assist you?”

“Hi, good afternoon, Carl. How are you today?” She asked.

He laughed, “Dame Kennedy! Dame Tanisha was just wondering when we would hear from you again. Does Master Thomas still not know your secret plans?”

“He’s still edgy after what happened at the wedding and the day after. Dad’s a busy guy, and it’s just better if I handle the contacting for now,” she told him. She almost laughed when Ambrosia’s eyes nearly bulged out of her head.

“Ah, oui, oui. Les Mmes are in the garden for afternoon tea,” Carl said before he put the phone on mute.

“Since when do you call Thomas ‘Dad’?” Amber asked.

The red-head grinned, “Since I married his brat.”

Moments later, the call returned to active. If the women were as predictable as she assumed, they would put the call on speaker and all talk to her. Sure enough, a chorus of hello’s met her ears. Again, Ambrosia seemed confused by Kennedy’s excitement.

“My sweet granddaughter, how are you? Are you eating and resting enough? You must take great care of yourself, chérie,” Marigold commented gaily.

Kennedy nodded, “Yes, Grandmother, I’m eating, drinking, and sleeping healthily enough. I’m calling for a reason. You see, my best friend called after we got home to inform me of his return in three weeks. Memphis and I agreed not to go on honeymoon until after our second wedding, and I thought I would personally invite you to come to the event.”

“Would it be intrusive of me to come as well?” Celeste questioned suddenly.

The young woman laughed. “First things first, Ambrosia, Donna of the Veiðimenn, I would like to informally introduce you to some of my new family. Grandmother Marigold is Thomas’s mom. Nanna Tanisha is Marigold’s mom, and if she’s there, Helena is Thomas’s sister. Celeste was married to Richard, Memphis’s cousin, but they’re in the middle of a divorce. Everyone, the lovely woman with me is one of my mob partners.”

“We will be there for the wedding, my child. However, we have no accommodations.” Tanisha mentioned.

“I’ll take care of all the details. I just wanted to make sure you were coming to the wedding.” Kennedy replied.

Helena laughed, “That’s all well, but can I bring the children?”

“Absolutely, Hans and Mel haven’t stopped asking to go play with your kiddos, Helena. Well, I’m going to get back to my chat, have a great day!” Kennedy ended the call, her grin still firmly in place.

Ambrosia lowered her head, shaking it slowly as she laughed. “Well done, Mrs. Slade. Should I tell Callum to get the black card out?”

Shocked, Kennedy shook her head. She knew that her sister would have told the woman about the inheritance. “I really don’t see the point.”

“Ken, please. After all you do for us, after all the hellish situations that you survived, let us pay for and host your wedding. I know you have a few million right now, but we can chalk this up to the fact that you’re leaving the Mafia to do what you were born to do. Let us spoil you for once.” Amber said, appealing to the logical reasons behind wanting to pay.

Again, Kennedy was in denial, “You’re already paying for the honeymoon!”

“Red, we own the resort. Paying for the wedding is our parting gift as you will be leaving us to lead the Scorpions,” Ambrosia said, trying again to get the girl to agree.

Narrowing her eyes, Kennedy rolled them. Any kind of argument would end in Amber winning, and she knew it. Taking a breath, she felt a flutter in her stomach. It wasn’t butterflies. “Question, when does a baby first start showing signs of movement?”

Ambrosia pulled out a drawer in the filing cabinet and grabbed some papers. Flicking through them, she hummed and hawed. Finally, she settled on a few of them, putting the rest back in the cabinet. “Here are some prenatal what to expect booklets. You can get your fill of knowledge from them. There’s a list of accredited websites, and a book list if you have any further questions.”

Laughing, Kennedy accepted the papers. “You know me so well. I’m going to take this and go up with Sky for a bit before we go shopping. I’m not wearing a dress this time, and Dad is okay with that. He told me to just dress for comfort, so I am.”

“Heading to Latoya’s?”

“Yeah,” Kennedy replied. “We’re going to pick out a nice pantsuit I can wear.”

Ambrosia smiled, watching as the young woman rose to her feet and walked out.