Chapter 230

Louis pointed at an outdoor restaurant with a large patio. “That’s one of the best Mexican restaurants in Santa Monica. It’s always busy.”

The hostess, a young woman with a bright smile, bowed slightly. “Mr. Collins. Ladies. Your table is ready.” She led them to a large table with a perfect view of the ocean.

“Thank you, Dina,” Louis said.

Dina smiled and winked at him. “Anything for you, Louis. Enjoy your meal.”

Gladice raised an eyebrow as the hostess walked away. “Anything for you, Louis? You two must have had a lot of fun.”

Louis looked away. “We slept together once, if you must know. A long, long time ago. Before any of you.”

Savannah rolled her eyes. “I hope you didn’t get any STDs.”

“We don’t have STDs in the Dominion, Savvy. Not anymore,” Angelique said. “We cured them all with vaccines and gene therapy.”

“Huh,” Savannah said, looking at the menu. “That’s one good thing about living here.” She glanced at Louis. “But the sleeping around is not.”

“I’m not sleeping around anymore, Savvy.” Louis smiled sheepishly. “I only sleep with the seven of you. I love you all. You are my family. And I don’t want anyone else.”

Savannah looked at him. “Alright. I believe you. But it still feels weird to meet your former lover while you are with us.”

“She’s not my lover. I only had sex with her once.” Louis shrugged. “It was just a physical act. Nothing more. And I was a different person then.”

Cherish looked at him, confused. “So, sex can be just a physical act without love?”

“Yes, Cherry,” Louis said. “It’s very common. We call it casual sex or a one-night stand.”

“I don’t think I could do that,” Cherish said, her cheeks flushing. “It feels wrong.”

“It’s not wrong, Cherry. It’s just a different way to experience pleasure. A lot of people do it,” Angelique said. “But I guess we’re beyond that now.”

Dina came back with a bottle of champagne and poured them each a glass. “Here you go. Compliments of the house.”

“Thank you,” Louis said, pretending to study the menu while avoiding Dina’s gaze.

Maeve stared at him. “I don’t understand the menu. Which one has the most meat?”

Louis pointed. “Get the parrillada. It’s basically a mountain of grilled meat. You’ll like it.”

“Okay, I’ll have that,” Maeve said, closing the menu.

“I think I will too,” Gladice said, grinning. “Let’s have an extra large one and share.”

“Sounds great,” Louis said.

A waiter came and took their order. Then he brought a basket of warm tortilla chips with different kinds of salsa. Maeve grabbed a handful of chips and dug into the salsa.

“Spicy!” she said, her eyes watering.

“It’s good, right?” Louis said, laughing.

Maeve nodded and ate more. A band started to play Latin music on the patio.

“This is nice,” Donya said, looking at the band. “I wish I could forget about all the bad things in the world.”

“We can’t forget, Donya. But we can still enjoy our lives, even in the middle of all this chaos,” Angelique said.

“I was thinking about all the people we met on our journey. The ones who helped us, the ones who hurt us, and the ones who died. Like Jennifer,” Donya said, looking at her glass. “I wonder what her afterlife is like.”

“I don’t believe in afterlife.” Willa shrugged. “She’s just ceased to exist. It’s a sad thought, but it’s the most logical one.”

Louis looked at Angelique and Gladice. Their faces were grim. He didn’t say anything.

Willa noticed their expressions and sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be insensitive. I was just being myself.”

“I know,” Angelique said, forcing a small smile. “It’s okay. We all have our own beliefs.”

“Or the lack of them,” Gladice said, her voice flat. “I don’t know what I believe anymore. All I know is that I wish she was still here with us. And I want to kill every last sons of bitches who were responsible for her death.”

“Theodore Hargrove is still out there, Glads. And we will make him pay for what he did. One day,” Louis said.

“I want to be the one who pulls the trigger,” Gladice said, looking at her phone. “The Collective force is approaching the outskirts of Little Rock. They are making good progress. I hope they will get to Montgomery soon.” She looked at Louis. “We should declare war on the Holy States too.”

Louis raised an eyebrow. “My father wouldn’t like that. He prefers a cold war with the Holy States. He doesn’t want to get into a messy conflict.”

“Maybe it’s time to get messy, Louis. Maybe it’s the only way to end this,” Gladice said, her eyes blazing.

Angelique shook her head. “I understand your anger, Glads. I share it. But a full-scale war is more complicated than you think. We cannot just enjoy destroying our enemy without facing any consequences. It will cost us a lot of lives and money.”

“I don’t care about the money. And I’m willing to risk the lives. For revenge,” Gladice said.

“Says the rich girl who’s never had to worry about either,” Savannah said, her tone sharp. “My parents are in that fire right now. Your revenge doesn’t mean shit if it gets them killed.”

Gladice glared at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means we need to be smart. Not just emotional,” Savannah said, holding her gaze. “I want revenge as much as you do. But I want my family back more. And a war won’t guarantee that.”

“She’s right, Glads,” Louis said, putting a hand on her arm. “We have to be strategic. Not just reactive. We already have the Collective fighting the Holy States. That’s a start. We can support them. We can help them. But we can’t just jump in without a plan.”

Gladice looked down at her hands. “I’d be on the Arkansas front line if it wasn’t for you.”

“Then you’d probably be killed by an IED or a sniper. And I’d have to mourn you. I don’t want that,” Angelique said. “We need you here. With us. Alive.”

Gladice sighed. “I know.”

The waiter arrived with two large platters of grilled steaks, chicken wings, chorizo, lamb chops, with tortillas, picadillo, beans, rice, grilled vegetables and guacamole on separate plates. Maeve’s eyes lit up. “This is awesome!”

Louis laughed. “Dig in, everyone.” He placed a large piece of steak on his plate and took a bite. It was juicy. He still preferred his own kitchen, but dining out had its own charm.

“It’s kind of weird to have dinner in swimsuit and robe,” Donya said, pulling her robe tighter.

“It’s LA, Donya. No one cares,” Gladice said, putting a piece of chicken in her plate. “I don’t even wear anything underneath.”

“It feels better than I thought,” Willa said, cutting her steak. “The breeze is nice.”

“It’s natural. We are born naked. And we die naked,” Angelique said. “The clothes in between are just a social convention.”

“I can’t say I’m fully used to this kind of convention,” Maeve said, stabbing a wing with her fork. “But I’m getting there.”

Cherish mimicked Angelique, folding a tortilla and filling it with beans, picadillo, and guacamole. She took a large bite and chewed. “It’s really good,” she said with her mouth full. “What’s in this stew?”

“Tomatoes, onions, peppers, and spices. Some ground beef too, of course,” Angelique said. “It’s a classic Mexican dish.”

Willa glanced at her while cutting her lamb chop. “Do you have a lot of Mexican food in Navarre, Angi?”

“We have some, but not as much as here. Navarre’s cuisine is more French and Spanish, with a Basque influence,” Angelique said. “It’s very good, but I love the variety here.”

Donya looked at Louis after taking a bite of the chicken wing. “I’m surprised people are not disturbing us for photos.” She looked around at other tables. “They are being respectful.”

Louis shrugged. “Must be the arrests. They learned their lesson. Or at least they know to enjoy the vibes instead of bothering the First Family.”

“I can’t say I’m not happy about that,” Willa said, taking a sip of her champagne. “Making people afraid of taking a photo is not a great way to win their hearts.”

Louis stabbed a wing. “Serana always says it’s better for a ruler to be feared rather than loved.”

“She’s a bit young to be quoting Machiavelli,” Willa said, raising an eyebrow.

“My father’s influence, you know.” Louis shrugged. “She’s a Collins.”

“I guess that explains it.” Willa shrugged. “But being feared only works for so long. Eventually, people will fight back if you push them too hard.”

“I agree,” Angelique said. “Our dynasty learned that the hard way in Navarre.”

Willa looked at her. “Your family lost the throne because you were feared?”

Angelique nodded. “My grandfather Carlos was a strict ruler. He believed in absolute power. Back in the 60s and 70s, he held countless public executions of dissidents. By the time he died, our family had already lost a lot of support. We couldn’t recover, even with my father’s reforms.”

Savannah took a sip of her champagne. “It’s the same in Dixie. They rule by fear and terror. I saw it all my life.” She glanced at a mixed couple at another table. “It’s funny. Here it feels normal to see a black man with a white woman. In Dixie, they’d be lynched for that.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Willa said, looking at the couple. “We’ve all seen that.”

“Do you have any black people in Navarre, Angi?” Savannah asked. “Or other races?”

“Maybe,” Angelique said. “It’s part of the EU now, so they must have some diversity.” She took a lamb chop. “But before the revolution, we didn’t have many immigrants. It’s a small, isolated country.”

“It’s a small, isolated world,” Louis said. “Now it’s getting smaller and more dangerous.”

Donya sighed. “I wish we could all just get along.”

“That’s a beautiful thought, Donya.” Louis shook his head. “But it’s not realistic. Many people simply hate us for being who we are.”

“Then let’s kill all of them,” Maeve said, taking another steak. “Problem solved.”

Gladice raised her glass. “I’ll drink to that.”

Willa rolled her eyes. “Genocide is not a solution. It’s a crime.”

“Who decides that? The winners?” Maeve said, chewing. “I’d say if all the bad guys are dead, the world is a better place.”

“Define the bad guys, Mae-Mae. The people you don’t like? Or the people who don’t like you?” Willa asked.

“The people who hurt us,” Maeve said, her eyes hard. “The toll dogs, the Dixies, Lumen Path. And that son of a bitch Yates. I have a long list.”

“We all have a long list, Mae-Mae,” Angelique said. “We will see about that when we get there.”

“I think Yates is still in Beckley,” Savannah said, looking at Louis. “He’s on your father’s wanted list, but he’s still out there.”

“I know,” Louis said. “But he’s not our priority right now. Vanir Entertainment and Lumen Path are.”

“He’s a local problem. He’s not running an international network,” Willa said. “But still, it would be satisfying to see him pay for what he did.”

“I’ll go back and put a bullet in his head myself,” Savannah said. “If you let me.”

“Maybe we could just forget about him for now and focus on the present,” Donya said. “We all survived. We should be grateful for that.”

“I am grateful, Donya. I’m very grateful. But I ain’t gonna forget,” Savannah said. “And I ain’t gonna forgive.”

Louis nodded. “I know, Savvy. I’m with you. Let’s get them, one by one. We have all the time in the world.”

His phone buzzed. It was Rachel. He turned on the speaker.

“Rachel,” Louis said. “How are you holding up?”

“Brother Louis, I’m okay. I’m in Napa now. This place is beautiful. And your aunt Chloe is very kind to me,” Rachel said, her voice a little shaky. “We just had dinner. And I talked to the therapist. She said I should call you and tell you how I feel.”

“I’m glad you did, Rachel. How do you feel?”

“I feel confused. And a little scared. But also… hopeful. Chloe said I can work with the animals here. She has horses, cows, and sheep.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Rachel. It sounds like a good place for you.”

“It is,” Rachel said, a hint of excitement in her voice. “She also said I can have a puppy if I want. She will help me take care of it.”

Louis smiled. “That’s a great idea, Rachel. I think you should do it.”

“Really?” Rachel asked, her voice bright.

“Of course. A companion will be good for you.”

“Thank you, Brother Louis. For everything,” Rachel said. “I will send you some photos when I get my puppy.”

Cherish leaned in. “Hi Rachel. It’s Cherish. We are at a restaurant now. I hope you like your new home.”

“Hi, Sister Cherish,” Rachel said, her voice warm. “I’m glad to hear your voices. I miss you. I will pray for you.”

“Thank you, Rachel,” Cherish said, her eyes shining. “I’ll pray for you too.”

Donya added. “Take your time, Rachel. Be kind to yourself. You have been through a lot.”

“Thank you,” Rachel said. “I will. Goodbye, Brother Louis. And sisters.”

“Goodbye, Rachel,” Louis said, ending the call.

“I think she’s going to be okay,” Donya said, looking at the women.

“She is,” Cherish said, taking a sip of her champagne. “I’m so happy for her.”

“I’m glad for her too,” Maeve said, eating another chicken wing. “At least someone got a happy ending out of this mess.”

“We will get ours, Mae-Mae. Don’t worry,” Louis said. “Now, who’s ready for some ice cream?”

Maeve’s eyes lit up. “Me! I love ice cream!”

Louis signaled to the waiter and ordered several bowls of ice cream with different flavors and toppings. The waiter brought them quickly. Maeve’s bowl was the largest, with three scoops of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, plus chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and a cherry on top.

“This is heaven,” Maeve said, taking a large spoonful.

Gladice laughed. “You are going to be fat, Mae-Mae.”

“I am not. I’m a mechanic. I burn a lot of calories. So I can handle it,” Maeve said. “Unlike some people.” She looked pointedly at Willa.

Willa rolled her eyes. “I have a fast metabolism. And I don’t need to prove it by eating a mountain of sugar.”

“You need to prove it by being a cynical genius who likes to argue with everyone,” Maeve said. “I like that about you. You are very smart.”

Willa blinked. “That’s surprisingly sweet of you.” She took a spoonful of her own ice cream. “But I still think you’re a barbarian for putting chocolate syrup on strawberry ice cream.”

“It’s delicious. You should try it,” Maeve said, offering her spoon.

Willa opened her mouth. Maeve fed her the ice cream. Willa’s eyes widened. “Okay. That’s actually not bad.”

“I told you,” Maeve said, grinning. “I know what I’m talking about.”

“You do,” Willa said, taking another spoonful from Maeve’s bowl.

Louis watched them, a smile on his face. He loved seeing them relaxed and happy, even if it was just for a short while. He knew their peace was fragile, that their enemies were still out there. But for now, he was going to enjoy this moment with his family.