I knew why.

Standing with them was Jez.

Jez!

Billie’s mother.

My heart had stopped when my body turned to stone but taking in Jez, it started stuttering madly. No rhythm, it tripped unsteadily as my pleasure after the best day ever oozed out and fear settled in.

I hadn’t seen her in six years. She took off within months of Billie being born. She was bad news then and she looked like bad news now.

Worse.

She looked strung out, too thin, her clothing matched the skank level of my Mom and aunt’s and it was clear she didn’t pay much mind to her toilette except to cake on more makeup than even Mom and Aunt Lulamae wore. I didn’t even think this was possible but there it was in the lit breezeway. Proof.

Bill.

Bill had activated Mom and Aunt Lulamae to find her and bring her here to f**k with me.

And f**king with me meant f**king with Mitch, Billy and Billie.

Oh God.

I felt Billy’s body start shaking against me. Not little shakes, quakes. It rocked his frame and shook me out of my terrified surprise.

He knew Jez, of course, it had been a long time ago but he remembered her. Even though he was very young, he avoided her even then with instincts honed from living in that world. And considering he was nine going on ninety, he knew why she was there now.

And also, he’d never, not once, laid eyes on Melbamae and Lulamae Hanover. But he knew who they were and he knew why they were there now.

I shuffled Billy and I closer to Mitch and whispered urgently, “That’s Jez. Billie’s birth mother. Not Bud’s, Billie’s.”

“Right,” Mitch clipped, his tone even angrier, his mood rolling dangerously through the breezeway, his body still rock-solid.

“Late night for two little kids,” Mom called, still smirking and Mitch moved.

Not to my door. Not to his door.

To Derek and LaTanya’s door.

I was surprised by this but I followed, pulling a still shaking Billy with me and keeping my eyes on the Trailer Trash Trio.

Mitch spoke not a word but lifted a fist and pounded on the door. I didn’t know what he was doing and I didn’t ask. He was clearly going to lead and I was definitely going to follow.

Aunt Lulamae made a move to us, arms coming uncrossed, torso bent slightly, eyes on Billy. When she did, I shifted closer to Mitch, my arm tightening around Billy, I positioned so I was between her and my cousin, Billy between Mitch and me.

“Hello, Billy, I’m your grand-momma,” she cooed and Billy shoved his body closer to me in a way it seemed he wanted me to absorb it.

I held him tighter.

“Far’s I can see, she grew up kinda pretty,” I heard Jez mutter and my gaze cut to her to see her eyes on Billie, mild curiosity in them and not much else.

I found this surprising too, not to mention a little alarming. Furthermore, I found her assessment of Billie as “kinda pretty” insane. Even asleep and mostly hidden from view by Mitch, anyone could see Billie was gorgeous.

She was Billie’s mother and hadn’t seen her daughter in six years.

Mild curiosity and an inane comment?

What was that all about?

I didn’t ask, not that I would have, I didn’t have the time.

This was because Mitch spoke.

“Not one step closer,” he growled in a way that even Aunt Lulamae stopped and looked at him.

“I –” she started.

“Not another word either,” Mitch went on, his voice low and vibrating, so furious it felt physical. “We’ll deal with you in a minute.”

Aunt Lulamae’s torso straightened with a snap and her eyes narrowed.

“Those’re my grandbabies,” she hissed.

Before Mitch could respond, the door opened and Derek was there.

Then we weren’t.

This was because Mitch rounded me and Billy, herding us, forcing us with his movements through the door, through Derek and once we were inside, he slammed the door behind us.

I saw immediately that there was a mini-cocktail extravaganza in progress. There were martini glasses in hands, decimated platters of food on the coffee table with two silver cocktail shakers, a bucket of ice and bottles of booze and mixers. I had seen this all many times before. Once she settled in, LaTanya wasn’t one to waste time sashaying into the kitchen to mix cocktails. She set up where it was comfortable and stayed there.

Bray and Brent were on the couch.

So was LaTanya’s cousin, Elvira.

Elvira.

I wasn’t certain what Mitch’s plan was. What I was certain of was that in any plan, Elvira was a wildcard.

I knew Elvira seeing as she was a staple at LaTanya’s cocktail extravaganzas. Elvira had great style, a sister and brother who worked her last nerves and she didn’t mind telling everyone about it so she did (at length). She also had an interesting job herding the cats that were a bunch of men whose business was a little hazy but my sense was they were private investigators (or the like) and, once you got to know her, she could be hilarious.

But if LaTanya Delight deserved a capital “D”, her cousin Elvira’s Attitude deserved a capital “A”. Pretty much anything came out of Elvira’s mouth and she was scary nosy. She didn’t have a filter. She said what she thought, she said it straight and she had a lot of opinions.

I liked her but I had to admit, she always scared me a little.

During another mini-cocktail extravaganza of LaTanya’s, that one sans Elvira, LaTanya shared she felt the same way about her cousin.

Now Elvira, Bray, Brent, LaTanya and Derek were all staring at us with various expressions of surprise on their faces and I didn’t blame them. We’d barged right in and there we were.

“Is everything –?” Derek started but Mitch didn’t let him get further as we heard a pounding knock on the door.

All eyes (including mine) went to it but Mitch started talking.

“The Trailer Trash Twins are in the breezeway,” he explained quietly, striding straight to Derek and LaTanya’s second bedroom that they used as a half-office/half-man cave. When I saw him on the move, I trailed taking Billy with me. So did Derek. So did LaTanya. And Bray, Brent and Elvira all got up and followed us.

Mitch kept talking as he moved, carrying the still sleeping (thankfully) Billie.

“They brought reinforcements. Billie’s Mom,” he stated as he walked into the room. Billy and I followed, so did Derek and LaTanya. Bray, Brent and Elvira huddled at the door.

I heard several sucked in breaths and I was guessing they came from LaTanya, Brent and Bray. For his part, Derek’s face got tight.