Page 120 of Bourbon Kingdom
I ran out the front door of the club and out the gates that I once thought were intimidating. To think, when I first came to the club, I was naïve, desperate, and in need of a helping hand. I never thought I would end up finding the man I would spend the rest of my life with, nor did I think I would form some of the most important relationships of my life.
The Jett Girls and Kace were my family now; they meant the world to me, and I would do anything for them.
I lightly started to jog through the tree-covered streets of the Garden District, my absolute favorite part of New Orleans. The houses were gorgeous, painted in pastel colors with shutters gracing every window, evoking an old southern charm. The sidewalks were rough, uprooted by trees and cracking all over, but they added character to the historic part of town. The humid heat of Louisiana hit me hard in my first couple minutes of running, but I soon found my stride, while listening to Britney Spears pump through my ear buds. The woman was a goddess, and she knew how to motivate.
I turned the corner to make my way toward the cemetery when I ran into a still body. My earbuds fell out of my ears as I tried to recover from smacking into someone.
When I looked up, I saw Mercy standing in front of me, looking like she was just walked over by a Mardi Gras parade. Her eyes were sunken in, her hair was stringy and un-brushed, and her clothes were disheveled.
“Mercy, oh my God, is that you?”
Slowly, her eyes worked their way up to mine, and the minute we made eye contact, a deep chill ran up my spine and goosebumps spread over my body. I was not getting a friendly vibe from her.
“Goldie,” she said without emotion in her voice.
Backing up a bit, I asked, “Um, how are you?”
She didn’t respond; she just stared at me as her hands twitched behind her back. I wanted to ask her what she was hiding behind her, but was too afraid to ask. Visions of the demonic woman stabbing me repeatedly ran through my mind as a light sheen of sweat formed on my skin.
I was about to ask her what she was up to when she sidestepped me and said, “Excuse me.”
She started walking away, and when I saw that she was holding a shirt behind her, I had to know what was going on.
“Mercy, wait, are you okay?”
Turning around, she brought the shirt up to her face and rubbed the fabric against her cheek, all the while maintaining eye contact with me.
“I see that you have your man back,” she said, not looking like the same woman I once knew.
Gulping, I nodded my head.
“How nice for you.”
“Um, it is nice,” I responded, not really knowing what to say.
“I lost mine,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me.
Was she talking about Rex? She must have been, but were they really that close? I examined the shirt she was holding against her face and saw that it had small splatters of blood on it, making my head want to spin around in a “holy fuck” kind of moment.
“I’m, uh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Me too,” she responded, as she tilted her head to the side. “It would be a shame to see it happen to you.”
“See what happen to me?” I asked, as my heartrate picked up.
She just shrugged, and said, “Lose your love,” then she turned back around and walked away, leaving me completely helpless in my thoughts.
Quickly, I ran to the cemetery and pulled my phone out of my holster. I dialed Jett as fast as my fingers allowed and waited impatiently as the phone rang.
On the third ring, he picked up.
“Little one, are you okay?”
“No,” I practically cried in the phone.
“Where are you? I’ll come get you.”
“No, don’t come get me. I just, I just had to make sure you’re okay.”
