“Well, technically, I’m not sure Pops is alive,” he smirked.
“He’s flesh and blood warm,” nodded Irene. “He’s as alive as you and me. I’ve been lucky enough to spend almost a hundred years with that man. If I get my way, it won’t end on this earth or in my heaven. We’ll be together for eternity.”
“I hope that Tory and I have a love that lasts that long,” he said, smiling at his mother.
“You will. You all will. It takes work, Gabriel. You gotta work at it every day. Love one another every day. Hold her hand, hug her, kiss her. Just let her know that you’re there, you appreciate her, cherish her, and want to be by her side all the time.”
“I try to do just that, Mama. We’re going to try and find Snow today. If you have any hints on what we can learn about him, I’d appreciate it.”
“That’s the strange thing,” frowned Irene. “I feel his evil. It’s deep within him, born within him, but I can’t feel his family or who his people are. Snow ain’t his name, that’s forsure. Grover says he looks familiar, but he thinks he’s been here before.”
“Been here to the Square?” asked Gabriel.
“I’m not sure. You should ask Grover,” she said, taking a bite of the banana bread in the basket. She could tell that it was made by Sara and her team. She could taste the love in it.
“Can I bring you anything, Mama?” he asked, squeezing her hand.
“No. Y’all are doin’ what I need you to do. You’re honoring my wishes and helpin’ me to protect this tree and this Square.” Gabriel smiled, nodding his head.
“You didn’t really give us a choice, Mama.”
“You always got a choice, Gabriel. Just because you don’t want to disappoint me, don’t mean you can’t make another choice. You got free will, son. You always have.”
“You say that, Mama, but you’re awfully hard to say no to. And don’t even get me started on Pops. It’s like the word just won’t come out of my mouth. I can’t say no to him.” Irene laughed.
“Well, there’s a reason for that, but we’ll get there later. Go on down now. Tell all the boys I’m just fine for now. I appreciate them watchin’ out for me. Snow ain’t gonna give up so easy. He wants this piece of land for some reason, and we need to know why.”
Gabe started to get down from the tree, then stopped, looking up at his ageless mother. Her skin was still relatively smooth, her whiskey-colored eyes glowing in the light of the shaded tree. Her white hair made her look positively ethereal.
“Mama? I love you so much,” said Gabriel.
“I know, baby,” she smiled. “I love you, too.”
Gabriel jumped from the branch, his brothers standing waiting for him.
“How is she?” asked Alec.
“She’s Mama,” he grinned. “She’s fearless, full of faith, love, and sage advice. But she’s right. Snow wants this property gone for some reason, and we need to know what that reason is.”
“We’re working on it,” said Gaspar. “But we do know that his name is not Snow.”
“Let’s go see if we can catch Mr. Snow at home,” said Nine. “Angel, Trak, and Miller tried yesterday, but there was no one there. I’d like to have a long conversation with him.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“What the hell does it take to get an old woman out of a fucking tree?” he screamed at the three men.
“Sir, there were men watching her all night. These guys are trained. Even during the day, people are always there watching out for her. The damn tarot card readers are on her side. The psychics, the restaurants, all of them. We didn’t get far starting that fire. This isn’t as easy as you think.”
Snow glared at the three men, pacing back and forth in his living area. It wasn’t really his living area. It was all a temporary apartment until this matter was done. When it was done, he’d move on to the next location. Then the next. And the next. He would keep doing what he was doing until his task was complete.
“Then we have to actually do this the legal way. We have to get the votes from the council on this,” said Snow.
“That may not be possible either,” said one of the men. “Mays withdrew his approval yesterday, and Thoms has taken a sabbatical.”
“That’s fine, he already noted his approval,” said Snow.
“He withdrew it before he left. We can’t find him anywhere.”