Walk Through Fire (Chaos #4)(117)

I didn’t know that SUV and I couldn’t see who was in it, though I could see there was more than one person. A lot more.

“No,” I answered Justine.

“Drop in,” she said, and looked to me. “More work. I hope it’s Christmas. I found these lights online, like big ornaments but with dangly bits at the bottom. They so totally have to go into someone’s scheme.”

“Email me the link, Jus. Wanna have a look,” I told her.

“On it,” she stated, and then got on it, right there and then, digging in her purse to pull out her phone.

Rafferty crawled around the desk and started teeth/gumming my boot.

I bent down and picked him up to put him in my lap just as the door opened.

I looked that way, distractedly noting Kellie and Dottie were moving aside to let the newcomers in.

I was not distracted in any way noting who the newcomers were.

Tyra, Tack’s woman. Lanie, Hop’s woman. Elvira, and I didn’t know who she belonged to. An exceptionally pretty young woman with lots of curly strawberry blonde hair.

And the amazingly beautiful, all grown up Tabitha Allen.

I stared at Tabby.

She was looking at me.

“Hey, Millie,” she said softly.

She remembered me.

I felt my eyes fill with tears.

“Holy crap, Tab?” Justine asked, straightening from her chair. “Tack’s girl?”

Tabby looked to her, not recognizing her at first. Her head tipped to the side and she asked, “Justine, right?”

“Yeah,” Justine replied, then moved to her and hugged her. “God, so cool to see you again.” She leaned back, still holding on. “All grown up and all grown up so good.”

“Tabby Allen,” Kellie said, moving toward them. “You were a cute kid, girl. Shoulda known you’d turn out to be a raving beauty.”

Then Kellie got her own hug.

“Remember me?” Dot asked, also hitting their huddle.

“Dottie,” Tabby stated, and looked to Kellie. “Um... Kellie, yeah?”

Kellie nodded.

Dottie gave Tabby a hug.

They moved away from Tab and everyone looked at me just as Rafferty arched up and took purchase on my earring with his mouth.

“Who’s that?” Tabby asked.

“Raff...” I cleared my throat. “Rafferty. Justine’s boy with her partner Veronica.”

Tabby smiled and looked at Justine. “He’s cute.”

“Damn straight,” Justine muttered.

“You gonna hug her too?”

This was asked from the other side of the room and I looked that way to see it was Elvira with her eyebrows up.

I looked back to Tabby.

Then I got up with Rafferty and moved to her, giving her a one-armed hug.

When we were close, she said in my ear, “Weird, you haven’t changed a bit.”

I pulled away and looked at her. “You have, Tab, and it’s all good.”

She smiled. “Thanks.”

At this point, Rafferty decided he felt like discovering a stranger, so he launched himself at Tabby with a grunt.

Tabby caught him and it was at that point I noticed she had more than a small baby bump.

As if to confirm this, Tyra said, “Get used to the feel of that.”

Tab looked down at Raff, grinning at him and grabbing his little hand to shake it. “Not thinkin’ that’s gonna be hard.”

“Right, that’s done,” Elvira declared, and all eyes went to her. “You pissed at us?” she asked me.

I looked at Tyra and Lanie, who both looked anxious. So I smiled at them so they’d stop being that way and looked back to Elvira.

“No,” I answered.

“Good, ’cause that woman you sent me to to plan my wedding is not gonna work out,” she announced. “You got a pretty office. Your office is da bomb. She don’t have a pretty office. How’s she gonna plan the most romantic wedding of the century if she don’t even have a pretty office?”

“Well—” I started, but that was as far as I got.

“She’s not,” Elvira decreed. “And even if her office wasn’t god-awful, she wears flats. I don’t trust no woman who wears flats. Not at all but definitely not to plan my wedding.”

“I wear flats,” Kellie stated, then finished, “Essentially.”

Elvira looked her up and down. “You wear biker chick boots. You get a pass.”

Dottie looked to me, prompting an introduction. “Do you know these people?”

“I—” I began again, and again that was as far as I got.

“I’m Elvira. This here’s Tyra, Tack’s woman, Lanie, Hop’s woman, Carissa, Joker’s woman. You know Tab. What you don’t know is she’s Shy’s.”

I looked at Carissa.

She looked like a grown-up cheerleader.

I didn’t know him that well but I still knew somehow that she was perfect for Joker.

“So, Chaos,” Dot noted.

“Yes,” Tyra finally got a word in.

“Whose woman are you?” Justine asked Elvira a question that I had.

“I don’t belong to a biker. I belong to a cop. But I been adopted,” Elvira explained.