#behind these masks

[behindthesemasks]

20

Chapter 19

Gabe is on a mission...and he has one destination...

It seemed to take Gabe an hour to drive from the original hotel to the one that Mel and the others had now holed up in. After circling a few different blocks, he found a parking garage without surveillance to leave the SUV in and texted Mel that he was on the way up. That was when he turned his phone off and headed down to the street below, to walk the remaining way to the hotel. No doubt Ambrose would be making sure that the GPS trackers on the SUVs were being watched and trying to triangulate their locations by their phones.  While he would be able to find the SUV Gabe had driven, where he’d gone when he’d left the garage would be something that would take him longer to figure out.  The fact that all the others with Melania had also turned off their phones indicated that they too had thought of this.  

It was after 2 AM and there were no other people or vehicles in the area.  The area appeared deserted, although he could see lights behind curtains on the floors above street level.  Even if there were surveillance cameras in some of the shops and buildings he was passing, Gabe had turned up his collar to make it hard to see his face. One more step in making it harder for Ambrose to track them down.  There were only four blocks he had to navigate, but he was hoping to keep to the shadows and make the trek as quickly as possible.  He had been trusted not to give away their location.

Fifteen minutes after he’d stepped onto the street, he walked into the hotel lobby. It was bright and filled with old-world elegance. Marble floors, ornate furniture, and live flowers on every table; this was not your budget hotel. Bypassing the front desk, much to the interest of the desk clerk, Gabe headed straight for the elevators. He knew the room number and wanted to waste no time hanging out in areas where he could attract attention. Now he knew he had been on camera, but there was no way that the others could have made it up to the room without being recorded as well. Hopefully, there wasn’t a way to back door into the hotel’s security system.  He knew the type of men Ambrose hired, and if there was, they’d do it.

When he’d finally made it up to the room, he could hear laughing inside. Obviously, even if Mel had been tired, she hadn’t fallen asleep just yet. He knocked on the door and found himself yanked inside when the door cracked open. Facing him were Mel, Alexander, and Cade all sitting on the couch with bottles of wine, gin, whiskey, and scotch on the table in front of them. Judging from their demeanor, they had all enjoyed some while waiting for him.

“Feeling more relaxed?” Gabe asked with a bemused smirk as Dez headed back over to the chair he’d been sitting in.

Mel was on her feet and on the way over to him before he could finish asking the question. “I am now, you finally made it!” Her arms wrapped around him and her face was buried in his chest.

Instinctively his arms went around her and he held her in close. Only now did he notice the slight tremor in her body. His eyes looked questioningly at Alexander and Cade. What the hell was going on?

“She tried to sleep; needless to say some things cause horrible nightmares,” Alexander answered the silent question that hung in the air. “So, we decided to drown her in booze.” His hand gestured to all of the bottles on the table.

“Did you know she has five fake identities in her purse? They’re complete with driver’s licenses, passports, and credit cards. FIVE. Do you think the boss will let us keep her?” Dez had obviously had too much whiskey, but he did get a half-chuckle out of Gabe.

“She’s not a fucking pet asshole. And no, I doubt Ambrose would allow us to take her on missions. Although you would have been proud Gabe, the girl intimidated the ever-loving hell outta the front desk clerk that was here when we got in. I think he may have wet himself.” Alexander chuckled as he poured himself some more scotch. 

Cade moved over to one of the chairs, stretching his long legs out to rest atop the coffee table, as Mel and Gabe moved to sit on the couch. Mel was still all but trembling and Alexander put his arm around her shoulders when she sat down. He looked over at Gabe with an expression that said he was worried about her, but that it wasn’t the time or place to say anything. Gabe nodded, this wasn’t a great situation.

“If you guys want to go back to the other hotel, I’ll understand.” Mel’s voice was soft and quiet, hardly the woman any of them had seen earlier in the day at the hotel. 

“I don’t know about the other boys, but I was hired to keep your ass safe while you were here. I don’t see how I’d be doing that if I left you here. If Ambrose decides to take the money back…I’m not worried.” Cade was the first to answer. There was no hesitation or doubt in his voice as he looked over at her with a slight cocky smirk on his face, and then gave her a wink.

“I think my boy said it well enough. If I was doubting, I wouldn’t have shown up beautiful.” Gabe used two fingers under her chin to turn her face towards him, then kissed her forehead.

“I was never here just because of a job from Ambrose,” Alexander added, causing Mel to look over at him with affection. He really was like a big brother, and just as protective. 

“Fuck, if I wanted to go back, I wouldn’t have driven that damned SUV all the way out to the airport and had to take a cab back.” Dez laughed, winking over at her. 

“If your money is taken back, I’ll still pay you,” Mel said softly, even as she knew that didn’t seem to be a concern for any of them. When Cade started to object, since he was the one who had mentioned money, she added, “I’m worth more than Nic now that my parents are dead. And it means nothing to me.” Cade reached over and squeezed her fingers. Damn, the girl was stronger than she looked, both inside and outside.

“That reminds me, how the hell did you guys get here from the coffee shop? It’s quite a hike.” Gabe asked as his hand took Mel’s to keep hers from shaking. “And did you leave all the weapons out at the airport? Really?” He looked over at Dez.

“She has a Porsche SUV bro. A FUCKING PORSCHE.” Cade laughed. “And all the weapons are in the back safely in their cases. Well, except for the two cases that have the tracking devices in them. They’re at the airport along with the SUV, just no weapons in them.” He laughed. They had swept everything that they transferred between vehicles. There had been no tracing devices in any of it. All of them, knowing Nic and Ambrose, didn’t want to take any chances. 

Gabe nodded as he saw Mel’s head starting to nod. “I think it’s bedtime for you before you fall asleep on Alexander and me, then we’re pinned to the couch all night.” She laughed as he helped her up and to the bedroom on the right side of the small living room that had two beds in it. There was a bedroom on the other side that had two beds in it as well. He helped Mel off with her hiking boots and up onto the bed. Exhaustion, emotions, and the liquor were starting to have a strong effect on her. 

Alexander came in behind them, kicking off his shoes and flopping on the other bed in the room. “I’m taking this one, Dez snores when he’s drunk. You can have one of the beds in the room across the living room. Cade is going to take the first watch for the next few hours.” His words were slightly slurred as he was obviously drifting off to sleep.

Gabe looked down at Mel who was starting to drift off. He leaned over to place a kiss on her forehead. How could Klaus have been such an idiot as to not listen and just hang up on her? Furthermore, how was Erik an even bigger idiot for what he’d done? She was a woman who proved she wasn’t afraid and could be just as fierce as they could. Shaking his head, he began to back up.

Gorgeous blue eyes cracked open and looked up at him. “Don’t go yet, just sit here till I fall asleep? Please?” The look in her tired eyes tore at him. Damn it if he wasn’t a sucker for a damsel in distress. He saw Alexander chuckle as he rolled over, giving him a thumbs up as he did. Sitting down on the bed next to where she was lying, he took her hand in his and leaned back against the headboard. He prayed the next day wouldn’t be nearly as long or as sideways as the previous 24 hours had been. 

Soon Gabe felt his head starting to drop. He started to move off of the bed but looked down at his fingers intertwined with hers and changed his mind. Instead, he slipped down to lay flat on his back next to her. A soft smile formed on his lips as he felt her move closer to him and he drifted off to sleep. Fuck what any of the rest of them thought, Klaus may have promised to keep her safe but he was actually going to do it.

Just over three hours later, the soft click of the lock on the door to the suite signaled that someone was coming in. A lone figure slipped through the barely cracked door, carefully closing it behind him. The feel of a gun barrel at his temple told him instantly that his entry had not gone undetected. As he waited to find out who it was that had gotten guard duty, a slow smirk crossed his lips.

“You’d better have one damn good excuse for being in here asshole, because if you don’t you’re going to wish you had never opened that door.” The end of the barrel pressed more firmly into his skull as he heard Cade’s voice low and growling.

“Seeing as my grandfather is paying your fucking ass, I think I have a good enough excuse to come in if I want. Although how the fuck you all got here is something I’ve got to hear.” Nic’s quiet voice held amusement. It had taken him what seemed like forever to even find a clue where any of them had gone.

“Shit bro, you’re lucky I asked questions first. How the fuck did you find us?” Cade holstered his weapon and moved closer to Nic so that they’re voices wouldn’t wake the other four up.

“Gabe parked his SUV four blocks away. When he stopped answering his phone, I went hunting.” Nic shook his head. “Y’all were fucking hard as hell to find. One female with three bodyguards does make an impression on a desk clerk though.” He chuckled. “Two rooms? Who’s where?”

“Dez is over there. The door is closed because his snoring was about to drive me insane. Alexander, Mel, and Gabe are all over there.” Cade gestured as he talked. He had sobered up an hour or so before and was now annoyingly clear-headed and awake, albeit with a massive headache.

“You know how she got out? And how did you end up here with your SUV at the airport?” Nic looked over at Cade as he leaned his back against the wall.

“Window in your grandfather’s office in the suite, along the ledge to the fire escape that was one room over, then down to the alleyway. Then she just walked until she got to a coffee shop. From there she rented the car and got ahold of Gabe. Gabe texted us. We met up with her at the coffee shop. When she got tired, Dez took the SUV to the airport and got a cab back here with the cash she gave him. We had already transferred all the weapons into the back of her SUV, so it was safe for him to leave it. Then she drove us here. She was the lead the whole time bro, organized the whole damn thing. Did you know she has five false identities?” Cade almost laughed as he talked.

“More than five, and yes I did. Although apparently, grandfather’s men have made some new ones because I couldn’t find a trace of the old ones. I only got the key up here because I scared the desk clerk more than the rest of you did.” Nic answered, pausing for a moment. “I wasn’t here. Understand? Tell none of them. She’s safe, you’re all alive. That’s all I cared about. I’ll keep grandfather off your asses, but you’re going to have to show up eventually. Let me know when you are and I’ll buffer the reception.”

Cade looked over at Nic with a newfound respect. He had expected to get dressed down for going off grid and helping Mel, not that he cared, but he hadn’t expected Nic to cover for their asses. Not that he was going to turn it down. “Never saw ya bro. I gotta ask though….how insane have Ambrose and Klaus gone?” 

“Grandfather is convinced one or more of you are with Mel. This Oglesby though, he’s a major player and violent and vicious. He’d kill Mel if it gave him a tactical advantage with grandfather and Alexander, so I wouldn’t say he’s exactly calm.” Nic looked over in the dim light of the room, the expression on his face clear to Cade. Nic was worried. Ambrose was worried. The main thing was not to let this asshole know that Alexander and Mel were in the same place.

“Klaus is a mess. I don’t know if Gabe told you but he damn near shattered Erik’s jaw. Grandfather had to fly in a medic to at least set it enough for the moment so that he wasn’t in so much pain he couldn’t think. He also broke his cheekbone and gave him a concussion. The doc thinks Erik may have a couple of broken ribs too. That was from less than a half-dozen punches. I think that Erik’s lucky that the blow to the throat didn’t crush his windpipe. Erik is having to use the laptop to type out his answers to questions at the moment. Although threats of letting Klaus back in the room are more effective than anything in getting his cooperation.” He saw Cade’s eyes go wide in the gloom and nodded. “So I think that tells you how he’s doing. He’s no less upset now than he was when he about knocked me and grandfather over to get to Erik. We’ve had to keep Klaus separated from grandfather, they do nothing but butt heads because Klaus is being kept in the hotel and not out looking for Mel. They’re going to end up shooting one another if they’re left alone too long.” Nic sighed. “ That she hasn’t called or contacted him is driving him out of his mind. He’s like a caged lion. So yeah.” Nic shook his head lightly. He felt for the other man, truly he did. There was just nothing that could be done at the moment to make the situation better without pissing off his cousin. Klaus had made his own bed when he hung up on her, he’d just have to lie in it a bit longer.

“Sounds like you’ve got your hands full bro. But hey, you think in the future we could get the short chick to come with us on missions?” Cade tried to lighten the mood. “She’s good; I mean she’s damn good. She put the fear of God in Andreas, she slipped out of a locked room and had you chasing your tail, and she can pull off a cover identity as well as any of us. We could use her.” 

“I take it you want to have Ambrose committed to the lunatic asylum. He would go all kinds of batshit crazy.” Nic laughed. He had to admit, she might have picked up too much over the years from being around him and their grandfather. “Now, before any of them wake up, or I’m out of contact for too long and they start checking up on me…I’m getting my ass out of here. You need anything…ANYTHING…you call ME, no one else.”

“Got it, bro. Be careful, if there could be a target on Mel’s back from this Oglesby, there could be one on yours too. We’ll keep her safe, don’t worry.” Cade nodded once toward Nic. They were friends, more like brothers, and as much as he would guard Mel’s ass, he’d guard Nic’s back as well.

With that Nic slipped out of the room as almost silently as he slipped in. Now he knew that his cousin was safe, it was time to hunt Oglesby.

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[cljordan-imperium]

OUT OF CONTEXT LINE TAG

@winterandwords tagged me to share a line from my WIP with no context.

From @behindthesemasks

“Fine, you two can have a pissing match later.  I need a gun.”

Soft tagging - @dogmomwrites @cillmequick @runnning-outof-time @writingmaidenwarrior and @aziz-reads

[canisalbus]

The forbidden smooth Machete.

A lot of his head is just fluff, without it he's even more noodly than usual.

[lotus-pear]

he's so crazy we can't take him anywhere 😭🤣

[pseudophan]

got any more couples you want to compare yourselves to or

[crayonurchin]

First art of the new year is all about re-structuring your internal monologue.

In my early 20s I was working full time in London with many social commitments and a variety of hustles and side projects.

In my later mid 20s I cater to many sensory and social drain needs I have and indulge in special interests while respecting my lower energy reserves and celebrating my different way of processing the world.

Did I get more autistic? Nah. I got less fake.

-

[Art description: Three panels showing figures on a black background. Long descriptions follow.

1. A drawing of OP as a person with hip-length hair and a dress standing sadly with her hands clapsed together in front of her. She is coloured a muted rainbow gradient. Behind her, two pairs of nondescript figures chat while smiling. White text says, ‘I’m getting more and more autistic the older I get.’ 2. OP’s colours are brighter, and her expression looks happier. Crayon-like scribbles have crossed out the text from the previous panel. 3. OP’s colours are vibrant, and she balances on one leg and throws her arms out as she dances. The text above has changed to say, ‘I’m becoming more and more myself the older I get.’ \End descriptions]

[sweettater96]

Source : indiasfilmss on Instagram 🖤

[housederiva]

Dragon Age put important plot information in your games challenge

[cry-ptidd]

” Am I not right to weep? O my children, cursed children of a hateful mother - ”

[hop3isaprison]

sketchbook snippet: slashers

[gearbroth]

Spychecking?

[behindthesemasks]

19

Chap1er 18

Things don't go smoothing when the team makes it back to the hotel

Back in the hotel, Erik paced the room as he waited for the unconscious Andreas to come around again when the door to the room was almost taken off his hinges as it slammed open.  His head snapped to look over and he barely had time to register there was male crossing the room before his face exploded with pain.  Next came the blow to his throat and then his gut, pain exploding throughout his body.  Falling to the ground, he coughed and wheezed, trying to draw in breath, before he was flipped onto his back and a fist slammed into his face a couple more times.  With the beating he was taking, he was pretty sure it was Oglesby’s men who’d found them, and was sure he was going to die.  Each blow raining down on him caused the pain to increase exponentially, then the world went black.

It took Case, Nic, and Gabe to be able to finally pull Klaus off of his brother who was trying to pound Eric into the carpet of the floor.  Ambrose was immediately in the large man’s face, rage written on every line and curve of his face and the steel grey of his eyes almost glowing with the fires of rage.  The threats and promises of pain that were expressed were enough to keep Klaus from going after Eric again, but everyone knew if they didn’t get Klaus out of the room that it was only a matter of time before his resolve would weaken and it would become chaos again.  

No one had heard from or seen Melania.  The group who had been at the hospital were now also missing, and knowing that Oglesby was at least the money behind the attacks, if not the brains as well, put everyone on edge.  If finding out that Andreas was involved in the threat to Alexander hadn’t been enough of mind fuck, now having Erik threaten Mel was definitely one for everyone.  Things were going sideways faster than anyone could adjust and compensate, and that was not a good thing.  For men whose entire lives were adjusting to ever changing circumstances, not being able to find solid footing was not something that put them in a good mood.

“GET.HIM.OUT!” Ambrose bellowed at the men restraining Klaus, his jaw ticking as his teeth were clenched.  He didn’t turn his attention back to Erik until they had succeeded in getting him out of the room.  If they hadn’t been able to, he was ready to shoot the German asshole himself to accomplish it.  His patience was completely gone and he was ready to start dealing out pain to accomplish his orders to those around him.  That  Klaus had surprised him as soon as the lock had clicked on the door had pissed him off to begin with, the condition that he’d left Eric in only made it worse.

“Restrain him like his cousin.  Make sure they’re both still alive and able to talk when I’m ready for them.  Come get me when they are.  I’m done with the bullshit, I think they believe the old man has gone soft.  I’m about to show them differently.”  Ambrose gave instructions to Cam and Donovan before following the others back out of the room.  He could hear cursing down the hall in the direction of the suite.  Time to go talk with his team and calm down enough not to kill anyone, yet.

“Now we know who hired the assholes at the mansion.  That’s one question answered.” Nic was saying as Ambrose walked in.  A quick head nod to his grandfather and he continued. “How the fuck could he NOT know who was financing this fucking dig?  Oglesby is far from stupid, that’s the only reason he’s still alive.  He’s never crossed us, never crossed the wrong person before.  For him to be this careless and foolish now seems a misstep that is unlike anything he’s done before.  I think there’s still something we don’t know about this.”

“We can figure this out later.  We have three missing team members, my granddaughter is missing, and the asshole that orchestrated this is out there as well.  Priorities, gentlemen.  We can assume that Cade, Alexander, and Dez are all still together for now.  Hopefully that will make them easier to find.  Case, Nic, and Gabe, get out there and find all of them.  No excuses for failure.  AM. I. CLEAR?”  Ambrose’s voice was calm but there was no missing the undercurrent of rage in it.  None doubted that he was barely controlling the desire to hurt, maim, and possibly kill someone in the near future.  All the men’s heads nodded as they rose to leave. “What am I supposed to do? Fucking sit on my ass while they’re out there?”  Klaus bit out at Ambrose in frustration.  Eyebrows raised on the other men as everyone froze.  No one wanted to be between the other two if they were going to go at one another.  Was this really the time to piss off Ambrose more? He was never known to suffer fools lightly. 

“That’s exactly what you’re going to do.  You’re a loose cannon, Klaus, I can’t have you out there possibly blowing up at an innocent person, and bringing the Serbian authorities attention swinging around to us. We’ve got two men tied up in here, and a couple dead bodies in a burned out car out in the woods near the excavation site.  You think we want attention on us?”  Ambrose’s head tipped to the side, his lips thinning as his cold blue eyes pinned Klaus with a hard stare. His voice was cold and almost emotionless, something that rather worried the others in the room, who exchanged quick glances.  He was like a volcano that had been smoking and suddenly stopped, an eruption was imminent.

“Someone needs to see if they can locate the GPS tracking devices on the cars, run their credit cards, see if there is ANYTHING that can tell us where the four have disappeared to.  And sweep this fucking room!  How the fuck did she get out of here and leave no trace?”  Now, now there was anger, lack of sleep or coffee was showing in Ambrose’s demeanor.  Just a crack, not a full explosion, but if Klaus pushed him again, there was no telling how big it could get. “Now, you all have your tasks.  Do them.  I’m going to handle our guests here, and find out what the fuck is going on.  I’m sick of playing catch-up.”  Ambrose turned and headed out of the room with no further comment.  He was about to shoot someone, and he’d prefer it to be one of the two assholes down the hall rather than one of the team that he still needed. As Gabe prepared to slip away, he looked over at Nic and Klaus.  Both men looked utterly defeated and worry was etched deeply into their strong features.  Now it wasn’t just Mel that was missing, but the other three who had been at the hospital, at least as far as anyone else there at the hotel knew.  He was the only one who knew that none of them were in danger and they were all together.  There was a little bit of guilt that gnawed at him over that, but not enough to stop him from what he planned on doing.  No, his loyalty did not lie with anyone in the hotel where he now stood.  He was going to those with whom he felt the most loyalty.

“Guys, try and look on the positive side.  Maybe the others have found her, and that’s why they’re not answering.  Case and Cam said that they had called the guys more than once before they had gone out looking too.”  Gabe tried to give some reassurance, if only to relieve his own guilt. “Yeah, I’m sure they’re all kicked back and drinking coffee in some posh shop while we have been looking for them and worrying.” Nic bit back, sorry afterward that he had been quite so harsh.  “Oglesby has got to be close, Mel is a bargaining chip and Alexander is a target.  It’s not safe to assume anything at this point.”  This time exhaustion and worry was clear in his tone and words. Gabe nodded curtly and headed out the door behind Case.  He felt a vibration in his pocket and swiped to open his phone while they waited for the elevator.  It was the 228 number again.  ::Omni #955.  Package is tired::  It was all he could do not to laugh, someone had clued her in on the lingo.  As soon as he could be, he’d join the four that were there, then they’d have to figure out how to deal with the boss.

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[cljordan-imperium]

Heaven Visits The LaVeaus - 2

“See, I told you this trip would be good for you.”  Cade finally made it up to them and clapped Arthur on the shoulder.  “And Mama Marie and the spooky bunch has adopted another stray.  I guess we’re brothers now, Arthur.  Wait till you taste her food!  We may never get you back to England.”  They all laughed as they began to head in to see exactly how big of a feast Marie HAD prepared.

Arthur snorted at Cade’s quit and rolled his eyes.  “You’re all spoiling her. How am I supposed to take her home now?”  He side-eyed Cade, a slight smirk toying on his lips.

Cade shook his head, “I guess you won’t.  We’ll keep her and you can go home alone, you grumpy asshole.  She’ll fit in better here anyway.  Bet she’ll think it’s a vacation.” He ducked a swing from Arthur, who wasn’t really trying hard to actually hit him.  Laughing he shoved his friend back, glad to see that the man was..could it be...no…actually SMILING?!  Seemed the slight and fair beauty he’d brought over with him HAD done some good for the old goat.

“Do I need to go get Alexander to separate you two old war horses?” Mel’s amused voice broke into the men’s exchange.  “Hey, don’t threaten us with a good time, beautiful.”  Cade winked over at his fiance’.  “Although I’ve dealt with his cranky ass when he’s tired before, I’d prefer you NOT.”  This got a laugh from Arthur.  Damn, the little woman had started to heal the man.  Hot damn!  This might not be the serious visit he’d been afraid of.  Eggshells shelved?

“Where is the bastard?” Arthur asked, looking around the estate that was even larger than his brother’s back in England.  The land here was different, but just as old, and there was something about it that had a different feel.  Something darker, even in the bright Louisiana sunshine.

“He didn’t land until almost midnight last night from his flight, so he is still passed out upstairs.  We can see if he’s awake when we drop off your luggage, old man.  If he misses Mama Marie’s cooking, he’ll be pissed.”  Cade laughed and clapped Arthur on the back as he jerked his head toward the back of the SUV.  “Come on, your wife packs like mine.  I’m not hauling all that up by myself.”  

Arthur looked between Cade and Melania for a moment, a brow raised.  “Maybe it’s something about witches.” It was said flatly, with no derision, and then he headed to the back of the vehicle, leaving both Mel and Cade staring at one another, mouths slightly agape and trying not to laugh.  Yes, he was going to fit right in.  

*****

Alexander had been groggy, but awake, when the men had taken the luggage upstairs.   He made some kind of unintelligible response about breakfast and headed in to get a shower.  Cade just shook his head as he headed downstairs again.   Alexander has known Mel for over a decade and was considered family.  After all that had gone down jn Serbia and after, Cade considered him a brother too. 

"The grumpy Brit will be down in a minute he's showering." Cade announced as he came into the dining room that looked like a Cajun and Creole buffet had exploded all over it.

"There is more than one?  I thought mine was it." Heaven teased her husband who made a grumble but pulled her close to kiss her softly none the less.

''He learned it from Alexander I think." Mel teased.  "Especially before coffee it's not safe to have him around loaded weapons."  

"No weapons talk around the new children." Marie came through and tsked at Mel. "Breakfast. If I'm going to have to listen to the men and their guns all day, I'm not listening to you talk about them while we eat." 

"Of course, Mama." Mel kissed her mom lightly on the cheek before starting to point out all the delicacies that Marie had prepared.  Crayfish, shrimp, grits, cream sauces, and richness abounded.  As a nod to their guests, Marie had even been able to get the local butcher to make blood sausage.

"And someone remember to feed Archibald so he doesn't try to come in and visit." Dontanion's very heavily old French accented voice called from the kitchen.

"Who is Archibald?" Heaven asked, looking confused why a friend would not be wanted as a visitor with so much food being laid out.

"My pet albino alligator.  Come on, you two have a complexion in common.  I raised him from a baby.  Albinos aren't rare to be born, but they rarely make it to adulthood.  Being white in the bayou is a liability." Mel explained as she led the petite woman into the kitchen grabbing a bag of mega marshmallows and then chicken thighs.  "He LOVES marshmallows!"

"You spoil him!" Cade called after her in tease.  

"Says the man I equally spoil!" Mel turned and stuck out her tongue at him.  "He's ornery, but I love him."  She laughed as she looped her arm with Heaven's and led her to the dock.  “I just tolerate Cade.”  Winking over at the beauty next to her, she laughed harder.

Heaven & Arthur Shelby belong to @call-sign-shark

@raincoffeeandfandoms @blind-the-winds @saltysupercomputer @aziz-reads @toribookworm22 @writingmaidenwarrior @jessica-writes22 @late-to-the-fandom

[goryhorroor]

horror sub-genres: found footage

[shepscapades]

can I possibly give post-destruction etho a hug it seems like he needs it/nf

I can’t think of a reason he would decline!

[merricatblckwood]

Louis to Daniel : I'd give it to you now

Armand as fake Rashid : 👁️👄👁️ may I be excused mister du Lac ?

Armand locking himself in the bathroom probably :