Page 30 of Eclipsed Legacy

“Enough! Ricky!” Mel exclaims, echoing my own thoughts before tears begin to escape her again. Ricky stares at her wide-eyed. Mel doesn’t typically yell like that. She takes a breath. “Tala?”

“Mel?”

Mel sniffles before letting out a shaky breath. “My judgement of someone’s character clearly can’t be trusted—”

“No, Mel—”

“Tala, don’t,” she snaps before stopping and continuing in a quieter tone. “You had some suspicions about Ricky. I think you should address them now because I also need answers.”

“What?!” Ricky jumps off the couch.

“Are you sure?” I ask. I place a hand on Mel’s shoulder. “You don’t have to be here for this, too, you know?”

Mel slowly moves her shoulder out from under my hand. “No, I need to know how deep this goes.”

“Y’all can’t be serious!” Ricky declares, but I just nod in response to Mel.

“Ricky, sit down,” I command quietly, still looking at my best friend, worried about what this all will do— is doing— to her.

“Tala, I haven’ been anythang but loyal—”

I snap my head toward him. “Then you don’t have anything to worry about. Now, sit down.”

Ricky returns to his spot on the couch. An announcer on the TV discusses the big play that resulted in the night’s win. I click the red button on the remote to silence him.

“Ricky, yesterday morning, you told me to watch my back to avoid having my ‘insides torn out too.’ I never told anyone those details. No one would have that information unless they had seen the aftermath of…” I lick my lips and take a breath “…or had done it themselves. You knew the guy who killed Grandma. You lied to Mel about when you’d be coming over…” Mel’s eyes go wide, and she opens her mouth in an accusing glare at Ricky. “You also killed the guy I was trying to question before I could get information out of him.”

Ricky shakes his head. “Tala, Mel, I didn’t know he did it.”

“How did you know how she was killed, Ricky?” Mel asks. “Did you know he was using me the whole time?”

“No, Mel, I wanted to kill ‘im for not respondin’ to ya’. I swear, I never—”

Mel drops her arms before leaning toward him. “Then explain yourself, Ricky!” she screams at full volume. Her face is red, her breathing heavy. Her nostrils flare as she continues “Because this is looking pretty damning!”

Ricky sighs into his hands and rubs his face before looking up into Mel’s eyes. He’s exhausted, and there is a mix of resentment and sadness in his eyes. “I met Aaron aroun’ the time tha’ you did. He said tha’ he heard about us from the Rabble Pack and was int’rested in joinin’ because of how big our pack is and how many born wolves we ‘ave. Look, I have several connections t’ other packs. It’s good t’ keep in the loop. I had no idea that Aaron was with the pack that attacked us.”

As Ricky speaks, I stare at the spilled queso that has now cooled and solidified into the shag carpet. “But how did you know how she was killed?” I repeat, still looking at the queso.

“After I found out about Grandma, I asked Aaron to investigate. I told ‘im that if he could get me some info on her murder, I’d put in a good word for ‘im. He told me he had gotten the information from a wolf at a bar an hour from here and was still investigating. Said the guy had heard it through the grapevine.”

Mel puts her hands on her hips and looks to the ceiling as she shakes her head and bites her lips before fully releasing her fury onto Ricky. “You are such a fucking dumbass!” she shouts. Ricky’s shocked expression mirrors my own. “How could you not see that he did it? That he was using you?” Mel turns away and places a hand over her mouth. She wasn’t just talking about Ricky. I hear her sniffle again.

Ricky’s jaw is set in a hard line, as he looks at nothing in particular on the floor. I watch him sigh. “Yer right,” he says. “I’m sorry.” I can tell he’s pissed, but Ricky isn’t always an idiot. He’s got to know Mel is partially projecting her anger with herself onto him.

Mel turns around, but she doesn’t respond to Ricky. “We need to get rid of Aaron’s body,” she says, casually as if we are talking about the weather, before walking into the kitchen and pacing.

I nod, but this isn’t my area of expertise. Ricky pulls out an outdated-looking cell and walks down the hall. I can slightly hear his voice, but I can’t make out what he’s saying. I assume he’s talking to Greg, the owner of Grandma’s preferred cleaners. I’ve only met the guy once. We have our connections to take care of bodies, usually for cases where a new wolf turns and accidentally hurts someone. To my knowledge, we haven’t had to have the cleaning crew get rid of a torture victim. Then again, I’m starting to realize that I know far less than I originally thought.

Ricky walks out and gives a reluctant smile. “I’ve taken care of it,” he says to Mel. “Git you some new carpet, too,” he adds. This doesn’t seem like Ricky’s first time making that phone call. I used to think Grandma exposed me to more than anyone else, to prepare me for the role of alpha. However, it’s clear she’s shared secrets and guided each of us in her own way. I never thought Ricky would know how to take care of this sort of thing.

“Okay…” Mel says, biting at her unmanicured nails.

I walk over and place a hand on her shoulder. “Mel, go get a bag of clothes. You’re going to stay with me for the next few days while your house gets a makeover,” I say. She nods and quickly leaves the room. A few minutes later, she returns with a duffle bag that’s so full the zipper strains against its contents.

“I’m ready,” Mel says.

I nod. “My car’s unlocked. You’re welcome to load up. I’ll be out in a sec—” Before I can finish, she wordlessly exits the house. I turn to Ricky. “I’m going to get her out of here. She doesn’t need to see them…take care of all of this.”