Chapter 11: Shut Me Up

Tamara

Leslie's odd behavior was still on my mind when I finished my workout, but I couldn't tell anyone about it because of the Non-Disclosure Agreement I'd signed. She'd been so warm and motherly all day… It was weird to me. After a while, I shoved it to the back of my mind, deciding that it wasn't worth the stress. Especially when my boyfriend came slamming into Redemption. He looked like he was ready to rip someone's lungs out through their ass.

"You might want to give him a minute or thirty to cool off before approaching him," Amanda said warily. Renegade wrapped an arm around her.

"You worry too much, babe. She'll be fine."

"He would never hurt me," I said with more bravado than I felt, watching him storm out of the locker rooms and straight to the punching bags. Even with my resolve, I was cautious as I approached him. Deciding not to push my luck tonight, I stood off to the side of his practice space, waiting to be noticed. My poor baby was worn down to instinct, attacking the heavy bag like it owed him money. The problem was that his Alpha behavior so turned me on that it was really hard to remember why I should be afraid.

Suddenly he froze. Whipping around, snake-like, he focused on me for the first time all night. I couldn't even imagine what I must have looked like; clothes clinging to my sweat-soaked body and trembling with desire. He prowled up to me, grabbing my sides and unleashing a kiss on me that made my heart skip a few beats. My mind blanked; I might have moaned. I might have squealed or backed away, but if I did, I couldn't recall. By the time he released me from his sexiest spell to date, I couldn't recall my name. Then he ruined the fantasy I was building in my head by wrapping me in his arms and simply holding me, breathing me in as he trembled.

"Keith? What is it? What's the matter, baby?"

"I… I just got served," he admitted at last. "One of my employees is accusing me of sexual misconduct. I don't know what to do. The bad press from a lawsuit like this could cost me everything! I don't know where to start."

"You can 'start' by showing me the paperwork," Amanda said forcefully, stepping forward and holding her hand out for the paperwork that he'd obviously left in his locker. "Get your papers and let's step into my office so you can tell me what this is all about." Keith was too upset to balk at being ordered around, a sure sign that the roof had fallen in hard for my poor fighter. I followed him to Amanda's office in the back of the gym, ready to be dismissed along with Renegade for attorney-client privilege. Instead, my man pulled me into his lap and cradled me there. Renegade closed the door so that Rampage - the biggest gossip in the gym - wouldn't spread it around.

Whatever 'it' was.

"The day after my gig at Nu Vida, one of my employees tried to pick me up. I rejected her outright, talked with Teddy, my best friend, about it, and came straight to the gym that night. The next day, I talked with her about the incident, calling it inappropriate. Pam stormed out of my office and I haven't seen her since. She didn't even quit, she just stopped showing up for work! I sent her a very professional letter and email stating that she was fired for being a no-show at work for two weeks. But the next day she is claiming that I led her on and sexually assaulted her that night! She's even trying to twist it around so that it looks like I fired her because of the rape!" I squirmed a little bit at how tightly he was suddenly holding me. He let go instantly, looking guilty. That's when I leaned down and kissed him sweetly, showing him that I believed him without words. Keith relaxed at my gesture, smiling at me like I invented sunshine and second chances. I snuggled against him to see what the gym's lawyer would have to say about the situation.

"Okay, big guy. Just relax. You have a solid alibi for the night of the assault. Did you ever spend time alone with Ms…"

"Henkelstein. Her name is Pam Henkelstein. And no. Teddy is my best friend and he was walking by when she tried to pick me up. I had Stephanie Richmond sit in on our conversation about her inappropriate behavior toward me and recorded the meeting to ensure she couldn't complain that I fired her for no reason."

"I'll need copies of the video and the termination letter. Torment will supply surveillance footage for that night. We can easily establish-"

"With respect, it's not proving my innocence that I'm concerned about. The company - any company - lives by its reputation. Chris Diovan's little sister was famously forced into an affair with her boss, the CEO of the company, for years. When she finally came forward, the ripple effects were horrendous and ongoing. If Diovan thinks that he's dealing with some asshole who abuses his employees…" The man shuddered. "This contract is important. Not only to me but to my company. And even if the case falls apart on closer inspection, the fact that it exists will be enough for him to pull his account and bankrupt my company. And that manipulative bitch knows it. This is her revenge on me for rejecting her. I'm sure she intends to come to my office tomorrow offering to 'make it go away' with a settlement. Otherwise, she'll leak her story to the press!"

"Then be proactive about it," I said angrily, furious that someone would try to back my baby into a corner like this. "You say this Diovan character will pull his funding if the story comes out? Go to him, right now - tonight - and tell him what's really happening. While you're gathering all the evidence to blow her story out of the water, go have a man-to-man talk with him about this… this… blackmail," I spat the word out vehemently. "Or, better yet, leak the truth to the press first thing tomorrow! Call a press conference bright and early and let them see what a cunning snake that woman is! You're not like that. You don't need to be. So show the world her true colors!" I was shaking from the force of my anger. "No one messes with my man and gets away with it! We should go right the fuck now! Let her scheming ass know exactly what a taste of her own medicine tastes like!" I climbed out of his lap, ready to rain on that woman like a Georgia thunderstorm… in the summertime. Or at least, I tried to. Keith restrained me, holding me back with the biggest smile I'd ever seen on his face.

"Whoa there, tiger," Amanda giggled. "Let's put together that evidence first before you go pummeling his skank employee."

"Tammy… You really believe me?" Keith asked as if he couldn't believe I would take his word for it.

"Of course I do! I've been studying nursing or nursing on the floor for almost half of my life. I've met rapists before. Hell, I've had to treat rapists before! You are not a rapist. You don't have it in you. For some salty hussy to… to… I'll kick her ass for using something so emotionally charged to try and ruin you!" I once again tried to jump up, only to be restrained by my boyfriend, who was chuckling at me. Why the hell was he laughing at me? Renegade laid a hand on my head, laughing when I swatted it away.

"Wall, did you know that your girl is the most adorable little hellcat kitten in the world when she's all worked up?"

"I didn't," my boyfriend grinned, holding me against him as I struggled to get up, "but having such a pint-sized Amazon ready to avenge me is almost worth finding out!"

"I am not adorable," I yelled, growling when the three chuckled like this was some kind of joke. "Why are you jerks laughing at me? We're wasting daylight! We should go find this Diovan guy and make him understand what's up!"

"You've found him, little one." We all turned toward the door to find a tall, well-dressed, Native American man standing there. He seemed highly amused by my anger, which only made me angrier. Torment stood behind him in the doorway, looking like he was holding in a belly laugh by sheer force of will. It didn't matter. It couldn't matter. I had to wipe the smiles off their faces so they would take me seriously!

"Why are you so tickled right now, Keith? You came into Redemption tonight mad enough to chew metal and spit out nails! Now you're acting like this shit doesn't matter at all! Some awful woman is trying to ruin your reputation and business just because she couldn't get her leg over! We have to do something so she doesn't get away with it!" I was seriously regretting my decision to sit in his lap. Mostly because it meant I couldn't knee my soon-to-be-cut-off boyfriend in the nuts for laughing at me! "You can't just let her get away-"

"Relax, little one," Mr. Diovan walked over to the desk, kneeling so that we were eye-to-eye and placing his large hand on my sweaty shoulder. The gesture reminded me so much of my Indigenous brother, Kenneth, that I paused mid-rant. My chest was suddenly tight with suppressed tears.

"Y-you don't understand, Mr. Diovan! Keith isn't-"

"I believe you. Take ten deep breaths. It's going to be alright, little one. I promise you Miss Henkelstein isn't getting away with anything thanks to you. Just breathe." I was three breaths into my ten when Keith finally decided to be useful and hugged me close to him, caressing my back as my breathing became uneven. "Your warrior woman is quite a force of nature. But I'm impressed that you know about my sister's trauma. Most of those I contract with don't know or don't care about it."

"I'm not most people," he said into my hair. My sweat-soaked, gross, unwashed hair. I gasped, my breathing speeding up once again.

"I never did my cooldown or cleaned myself up after my workout!" I said in a panic. The room burst out laughing like I'd just said the funniest joke ever. I growled more, humiliated. All I wanted was to get away from these people so I could curl up in a ball and die of embarrassment somewhere safe. "Stop laughing at me!"

"No one is laughing at you," Diovan said, placing his hand back on my shoulder. "You're too hyped up right now. You need to calm down. Deep breaths, little one. Start over, counting down. It's alright." I don't know why I obeyed. Especially since I was the one breathing fire in the room now. With Keith's front against my sweaty back, emulating what my breathing should be, I was soon perfectly matched to him. My stomach and chest unknotted and the full-blown fury in my veins faded away to nothing. "There. What is your name, little Firestarter?"

"I'm Tamara. Tamara Saunders. People have taken to calling me Tammy. Forgive me for staring. You remind me of one of my brothers, Mr. Diovan."

"Chris is fine, Tamara," he said soothingly. "How can I remind you of your brother, little one?" I dug through my phone and came up with the picture Alica snapped at Randy's wedding of Kenneth and I. He was taller than me, but who wasn't? Dressed in a sharp suit, the older man was objectively handsome, holding me around the shoulders as we smiled for the camera. "How is that your brother?" I looked up the picture of all my siblings and showed him. "Adopted?"

"We all were," I nodded, smiling fondly at my siblings. A pang of homesickness spiked through me. I really should have gone to visit instead of doing all that hair research. But if I'd gone, I would have felt like such a slacker. "We're also very close, all of us. I miss them."

"I'm sure you do, Tammy. It's rare in my experience for a woman to take sides against another woman when it comes to news such as you've received today."

"Who cares about 'Girl Power'? Right is right, no matter what gender that… That 'witch with a b' happens to be!" I calmed down again as my boyfriend squeezed me. "Sorry, Chris. I'm just… I haven't been this enraged in a long, long time. I won't lie and say that I'm even-tempered, but I tend toward positive emotions. But seeing such an injustice against the man I love had me-" Keith kissed me, warm and wet and lingering, interrupting my statement.

"You love me?" he asked in amazement. Instead of feeling fond, I found myself getting annoyed.

"Is there some kind of weird echo in here?" I huffed. "I wouldn't be willingly held hostage in your arms if I didn't." The applause and comments about how cute we were together were really starting to bug me. "Let me go, Keith. I stink after my workout and I need to shower!"

"Wait. You use this gym?" Diovan asked in disbelief. "You're not just here for moral support?"

"I've been using this gym for almost seven months now. And flakes that hang around uselessly don't end up covered in sweat. This is my daily gym; I got weight to lose and I'm not playing around with other gyms anymore." Keith finally turned me loose, laughing with the others to my further annoyance. I left the room without saying anything to anyone, still pissed at being laughed at. When I returned, having decided to plait my locs since they were wet, the group was planning something. It must have been good because they all seemed happy about it. Ignoring them, I made a beeline for my baby, even though I wasn't happy with him at all. "I'm going home to work on my hair now. Have fun laughing at me behind my-" The man possessed my mouth in a way that made me forget everything. I moaned and arched against him, whimpering when he tapered the kiss.

"I'll stop by your place later tonight, Sweetling. We need to talk. But for now…" He turned me loose after another drugging kiss. I left in a hurry, cheeks burning at the knowing look on Diovan's face as he watched us interact. It took a few hours to get my hair in order. During this time I managed to make food for myself to eat while I was under the dryer.

"Well, howdy stranger," Peggy said as she came into my room belligerently. "I thought you'd be off fornicating with your boyfriend as you have been-"

"Have I ever slut-shamed you when you disappeared for days at a time, off fucking your boyfriend and doing only God knows what with him?" She had the good grace to blush at my reprimand. "Now, let's try this again. Hey, sis. How have you been? Are things still good with you and Lionel? You wouldn't believe the things that have happened to me since we last spoke." Peggy grumbled and tried to steal one of the chicken bites off my plate, yelping when I attacked her with my fork.

"I'm planning a trip back to Philly so mom and dad can meet my fiancé. The-"

"Oh my God, he finally proposed? Why didn't you call me or at least send me a pic of the ring? How late am I to your news? Congratulations sis!" I hugged her and bounced with excitement as my hair dried. My sister laughed at me, hugging me back before showing me her ring.

"He proposed at dinner last night. I haven't told anyone yet; I wanted you to know first because he also wants me to move in with him."

"Of course he does," I shrugged. "Lionel is crazy about you! I'm not surprised that he wants you all to himself. When are you planning to move out? I can start roommate shopping as early as tomorrow."

"Well, that's the thing, Captain Oblivious. I was thinking that we could move you to your boyfriend's place at the same time. That way we can sell the condo and make a tidy profit split two ways." I blinked, unable to believe how fast this was all happening.

"Move in with Keith? But we've only known each other for a month!"

"Oh, Sweetie," she said fondly, sitting down on my bed and taking my hand in hers. "I've known that I want to spend the rest of my life with Lionel since a week after we met. I've only been holding back because I didn't want to leave you behind. I didn't want you fighting your depression and dealing with the quirks of a new roommate. Then this perfect male comes into your life right around the time Lionel decides to make things official between us. I've never seen you so happy, sis. Not even the day you ended your contract with Philadelphia Health Region and got your life back. I promise you, Keith Rochester is the man for you. He's head over heels in love with you, even if he doesn't see it yet. You have so many good things going on in your life right now. A good man, a perfect job… I'm excited for you. I'm even thinking of moving back to Pennsylvania with my man so I can help with Alica's new baby. I miss the family."

I teared up at the thought of being alone on the West Coast. But it was only fair. Peggy would never have been caught dead in California if not for me. She'd rearranged her whole life for my sake. It was time she got hers back. I would never dream of standing in her way. I'd laid down roots here. It was where I wanted to be, so returning to Wyncote for anything other than a visit was out of the question. But I would definitely miss her. I hugged her again, tears rolling down my face as I silently said goodbye to my sister and roommate.

"Well, don't go pushing me out the door yet, little sis. I'm still in school. As for the whole 'moving back East' thing, Lionel wants us to marry here so his parents can be involved. He's going to start job hunting after we marry, which will be in a month or so to coincide with my diploma. Once I'm a full-time lawyer, I'll have more options for employment in Philly. We'll settle in Philadelphia and go from there. Who knows? You might just have another new niece or nephew to get to know." She grinned mischievously at me and I laughed, feeling better about the timeline.

"My job isn't perfect, sis. I just started today and something happened." I told her about my boss grabbing me in a bid for… Intimidation? I honestly didn't understand why she grabbed me like that. Before I could get properly started on my story, Peggy had all my sisters on the line.

"You're right, Tamara," Teenu nodded gravely. "That is a little strange. But I'm sure it's just a one-off."

"But just in case it isn't," Alica said sternly, "I would start a journal, documenting events like this. You can never be too careful. Did she really shred and burn your research? That seems like overkill."

"Every shred of paper and file I gave her. But I couldn't hand over my master copies knowing they were bound for destruction. I'll face the consequences if she ever finds out about my secret copy - which I've put in a safety deposit box - but that was two weeks of my life. In the meantime, I'll be starting a journal of bad behavior. There's nothing on my arm to prove how hard she grabbed me, but I'll mention it anyway. Thanks, guys."

"It was certainly a strange thing to happen to you, but is that the only reason you two called?" Teenu asked in concern. "It seems that bigger things have happened to you these last few weeks and they've only warranted a call to one of us."

"Yeah, that wasn't all," Peggy said slyly, striking a ponderous pose that showed off her engagement ring. Everyone started shrieking and freaking out happily for our sister until the sound of the doorbell broke through our merriment. Peggy went to open the door, coming back with Keith in tow just as I was finishing up my hair.

"Hey, babe," I waved in embarrassment as I removed the cap from my head and started taking the hot clips out of my hair. My boyfriend walked over and kissed me sweetly, nudging me afterward to finish up.

"Good evening, ladies. Anything exciting happening? Or should I wait outside?" My sisters broke up laughing, clearly remembering how he'd come in while I was describing one of our trysts. I could have died, but Keith simply joined in the conversation, fielding questions about his sexual appetite. I quickly documented my experience with my boss in a pretty, empty journal in my room. The girls covered for me, but I was fast. There wasn't much to document anyway. After I finished writing out my experience, I typed it into my laptop under a nondescript folder. I encrypted it because it was fun and a good way to practice my Korean brother Wilson's hacking skills.

"We ought to call the guys and fill them in on Peggy's engagement. Especially if she's tying the knot faster than Sandy. They'll want to get in on the action."

"You're right, Tammy. I forgot all about that part! I'll call Randy and Kenneth if someone wants to grab Arthur and Wilson," Sandy laughed. "I suggest we let Teenu handle Judas and the Captain. I might still be on Matthew's shit list for pranking him last week."

We laughed. "Should I call in even though I'm in the same room?"

"Relax, Tammy," Alica said. "You're going to have enough trouble keeping the guys in line with your boyfriend right in the room." I sighed happily just as he tilted my head back and leaned in for a devastating kiss.

"Get your grubby mitts off my sister," Randy, a tall Russian with blond hair and piercing blue eyes, said belligerently.

"Perfect timing, bro," I said with a groan as my sisters laughed.

"Perhaps there's an explanation for Tammy's new boyfriend trying to stick his tongue down her throat before introducing himself to us," Kenneth, ever the peacekeeper in the family, said with a wink in my direction. His silky black hair was almost as long as mine but was in desperate need of TLC from what I could see. Probably from his long days hauling loads across the country as a truck driver.

"Who's got their tongue down my baby sister's throat?" Wilson came on the line, hacker fingers flexed and ready to fly. He was one of the most successful computer programmers in America, keeping government secrets safe from the average hacker. He was closest to me in age and very protective. "And why is he standing so close? Has he never heard of 'personal space'?"

"Obviously not, if he's assaulting innocent girls in their own homes," Randy threw out there helpfully.

"Assaulting?" my oldest brother growled as he joined the call, which was quickly spiraling out of control. "Lock yourself in the bathroom and call the police. I'll be out there on the next flight." Arthur ran his hands through his platinum blond hair and narrowed his brown eyes at the man standing next to me.

"I believe I made myself clear what would happen if your man ever laid a violent hand on you," Matthew joined in the conversation.

"Wait, who said anything about-"

"Tammy, do you need me over there?" my Israeli brother asked in a deathly serious voice that told me he clearly didn't get the joke. Judas was a quiet, serious man, perfect for his chosen profession as a professor and researcher in a marine biologist lab. His latest assignment was actually in the Bay Area, so geographically, he was the closest to Peggy and me.

"Jesus, Judas! Are you really buying into this crap? Keith was about to kiss me! Does that sound like something I would allow if he were abusing me?"

"Maybe?" Wilson weighed in with uncertainty. "If you felt there was no way out?" I groaned, angry that my sisters were too busy laughing their asses off to help me out.

"There are entirely too many people on this call," I whined at my boyfriend, daring a glance up at him. Far from looking angry or annoyed, Keith was grinning at me. He laughed over my brothers' protests and hugged me from behind, causing an involuntary purr of contentment to roll out of me.

"I didn't know that our sister was part kitten," Kenneth laughed.

"Hmph! Mr. Kitten Tamer just better keep his tongue out of-"

"No one's got their tongue down my throat," I shouted to shut them up. "Everyone, this is my boyfriend, Keith Genghis Rochester. My non-abusive, very sweet boyfriend who is only putting up with y'all besmirching his character because he cares for me deeply. Questions for him? Oh, and by the way, he's not even the reason the girls and I called tonight."

"You've got a lot of muscle mass there, Ace. What do you do for a living?" Arthur asked aggressively.

"I own my own engineering firm. But on my off hours, I am an amateur MMA fighter and a drummer in my own band." The call degenerated into rapid-fire questions being fired at my poor boyfriend about his profession, his intentions toward me, his extra-curricular activities, his age, and his medical history. I drew the line at that last one.

"I think we should focus on the other news the girls have for us instead of wondering why Keith is in our youngest sister's room," Judas said blandly. This immediately got the guys up in arms and my sisters guffawing like a pack of hyenas.

Note to self. Gut punch my asshole, instigator brother the next time I see him.

I grabbed my sister's left hand and forced it into focus on the camera.

"You're getting married, Peggy?" Randy asked in amazement.

"We were going to elope, but I realized that I wanted my family there. We want the ceremony fast though, so you guys have a month to make it to the Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. We booked the Juno Garden for the third Tuesday in July mid-morning!"

"Wow, you don't waste time, do you?" Wilson asked over the congratulations being thrown her way.

"Peggy, are you pregnant with Lionel's child?" Our police detective of an oldest brother asked loudly in the middle of the well-wishes. That caught everyone by surprise and all eyes turned to Peggy for answers.

"Three months," she admitted quietly. My jaw dropped. "I don't know what happened! We've always been so careful to use condoms every time! I just found out three days ago. I swear I didn't know before that, Alica! I worked up the nerve to tell him yesterday. He asked me to marry him at the restaurant and I blurted out my news. I expected him to storm out or get angry, but he kissed my belly through my dress and suggested we marry earlier rather than later."

"Something to share with the class, Alica?" Arthur persisted. Alica burst into tears and I realized that Peggy had outed her younger sister's good news by mistake. It really sucked having one of the most successful homicide police detectives in Wyncote as an older brother. Getting one over on him was damn near impossible.

"Gregory is going to kill me," Alica sobbed. "I wasn't supposed to tell anyone until the start of the second trimester! That's two months away! It's bad enough that the girls know and so do his parents, but now… now…" She shook with trepidation and more than ever, I wished I could be within driving distance so I could go comfort her. I hugged Peggy tightly, noting her tears.

"Don't worry about Greg, baby," her husband came out of the shadows and hugged her tight. "I understand. And this time it wasn't your fault. Sucks having a literal cop in the family, huh?"

"Hey!" Everyone laughed, even my two pregnant sisters to my relief.

"Wait, that means you're giving birth before Alica and getting married before Sandra, doesn't it?" Matthew asked, doing mental calculations. At her tearful nod, he chuckled. "You're quite the go-getter! Too soon?" he chortled at her glare.

"What about you, Tamara?" Arthur said contentiously. "Might as well get all this on the table."

"I'm not - I mean, I haven't taken a test or anything, but I've been on birth control since I was 13 for my painful periods and we use condoms every time. So, I'm reasonably sure we're not pregnant."

"Uh-huh. And what is the boyfriend thinking of all this family drama?" he continued. Before I could admonish my brother, Keith chuckled.

"The boyfriend is thinking that the family might know about his girlfriend's pregnancy before he does. You're quite good at interrogation. What do you do for a living?"

"I'm Arthur Gladiator Saunders, Wyncote PD's lead homicide detective," Arthur said proudly.

"And so modest," I quipped. My siblings snickered as he glared at me. I raised a brow and he chuckled.

"Only you, sis," he said with a smirk.

"I'm a driver for Saint Louis Park Transportation, Inc. It's one of the biggest trucking companies in the Northeast. Name's Kenneth. Kenneth Graydon Saunders."

"Randy Human Saunders. I'm an airline pilot, specializing in international flights. But I can always make an exception to protect my little sisters." I rolled my eyes but Keith managed to keep a straight face.

"Understood," he said neutrally.

"Matthew Danger Saunders. I don't know if my sister told you that I would castrate you if you ever laid a violent hand on her-"

"Matthew!"

"-but I will. Tammy is precious to us. I don't know how she ended up with you, but that fact hasn't changed. Hurt her and I'll hunt you down." A murmur of agreement rang through all my brothers and I huffed in exasperation. Ignoring me, Judas took his turn introducing himself.

"Judas Jesus Saunders. I work in a research lab as a marine biologist. I'd insert some vaguely threatening phrase against you, but Tammy has a way of getting the cards to fall in her favor. She's something else and has been since the minute Mom and Dad brought her home. That being said, we obviously have the means to vanish a man who doesn't know how to treat our little sister."

"Judas!"

"Wilson Renfield Saunders," my youngest older brother smiled a menacing smile that sent shivers down my spine. "You're house, foreclosed on, your business in ruins in my wake. You, in jail on charges that guarantee you'll die there. All that and more awaits you if you don't treat my little sister right, Genghis. I work for the Pentagon and they don't much care what I do in my spare time as long as I do my job for them. Make her cry and face my wrath." I dropped my face in my hands and groaned.

"I am so sorry, Keith. My brothers are overprotective of all of us girls, but I've never heard them be so bad." He laughed and hugged me close.

"It's okay, Sweetling. I'm actually taking notes for the first man to grab my little sister's interest."

"You have a little sister?" Teenu asked curiously.

"Jubilee Antoinette Rochester. She's six years younger than me, an artist, and a damn good one. The man that hurts her will suffer like no man has ever suffered before." He cracked his knuckles and I shivered at the majesty of him.

"Really? 'He will suffer like no man has ever suffered before'? That's all you got?" Wilson snorted. "Weak."

"Look at him, Wilson. He doesn't need more. And speaking of threats, I don't remember the six of you being so harsh on Lionel or Gregory or any of Sandra's many boyfriends before she came out! I also didn't threaten any of your girlfriends over the years."

"No, you just made passive-aggressive talk with my ladies," Randy smirked.

"You're mixing me up with the Warmonger over here," I rolled my eyes.

"That's right," Matthew smiled. "You've always been the Silent Slayer. Not a violent or disrespectful word to the significant others during the relationship, but if it ended badly…"

"Actions speak louder than words," I shrugged, grinning to make my siblings uncomfortable. It worked.

"Did they ever find Gretchen Landers?" Randy asked, referring to Kenneth's last girlfriend. Everyone looked at me, and it took everything in me not to burst out laughing. Somehow I managed to maintain my innocent look.

"What are you all looking at me for?" I asked innocently.

"Who is Gretchen Landers?" Keith asked, staring at me intently.

"Gretchen Landers was Kenneth's last girlfriend from five years ago. She was a psycho bitch who stalked my brother after he told her it was over. She went so far as to scare away Kenneth's other potential girlfriends, phone him on other phones when he blocked her creepy, serial killer texts… She even slashed his tires at one point, trying to convince the judge in small claims court that it was an act of love. Then one day, she simply disappeared. No calls, no texts. She just vanished off the face of the world. Deleted all her social media accounts, left her house in shambles, and left town. None of my family has heard from her in years. I heard that the local kids think the place is haunted. I'm not sure why-"

"Oh, come off it, Tammy," Sandra exclaimed. "We all know you went to see her the day she disappeared! You went to see her, and the next thing we know, her place was trashed and all the crazy stopped. What did you do to her?"

"Did they ever find a body?" I asked nonchalantly. At Wilson's dry gulp, I shrugged. "Yeah, I went to see her that day, but that doesn't prove I did anything to her. As far as I know, she just disappeared after that. It's been five years, two more years and she can be declared legally dead. But if she hasn't been found yet, maybe she simply doesn't want to be found. Did you guys ever think of that?"

"This is why threats aren't needed for our little sister. She can be quite the little psycho when she wants to be," Kenneth said quietly. Alica nodded gravely.

"You guys remember Raymond Simmons when I was in eighth grade?" the French teacher asked the group, causing me to groan.

"How can we forget?" Arthur agreed with Alica, groaning as well. "The way she promised to leave the boy to us guys after he slapped you around and spread those vicious rumors about you to your class, then went behind all our backs and beat the absolute shit out of him before we could."

"I'll never forget the look on Mom's face when this little fourth grader came home covered in bruises and bleeding everywhere," Matthew laughed. "We had this elaborate plan. In the meantime, little Tammy sent that arrogant asshole to the hospital. True, she got pretty bruised in the process, but she'd given better than she'd gotten!"

"Nuh-uh! I have a polygraph that says I didn't beat him up."

"They gave a ten-year-old a polygraph?" Keith asked in shock.

"Oh yeah," Wilson joined in the conversation. "Was that before that cow insisted that Mom and Dad were raising a zoo of hooligans that 'didn't need to be unleashed on decent Americans'?"

"No, it was after Mama broke Mrs. Simmons' jaw for calling Tammy 'an ignorant n-word'," Kenneth said. "I remember that because I was there. First time I'd even heard that word and the last. No one dared use racial slurs where she could hear them after that." That cracked my family up.

"Right," Sandra picked up the thread of conversation for my boyfriend's benefit. "Well, after the police were summoned, Mr. Simmons insisted on the poly to prove that our little sister beat up their precious little snowflake of a son." All eyes turned to me once again.

"For the last time, I have a polygraph test that says I did not beat him up. The officer asked me point-blank if I did it and I told him no. It was in front of both sets of parents and everything! I wasn't paying attention and fell down those concrete stairs by the school. That's how I got those bruises. I beat the polygraph because I was innocent!"

"No, little sister. You beat the polygraph because you're a psychopath," Arthur said quietly, grabbing the attention of the call. "I watched you take a deep breath and throw your bruised body down those stairs on the way home that day. I didn't understand it at the time, but I did after Simmons insisted on a lie-detector test." I was very proud of myself for not flinching or breaking my innocent act.

"I didn't 'throw myself down those stairs', big brother. I fell down those stairs. The Simmons had me take the test three separate times trying to catch me in a lie. I have the polygraph results to prove I didn't beat him up. I'll take it again if it helps. I'm innocent. And what does it matter anyway? That stupid family was so shamed by their son using his new voice box thing to try to insist that a string bean fourth grader beat up a husky eighth grader that they left the state later that year! Problem solved." I didn't like the way my brothers and sisters were staring at me all of a sudden.

"Whew. Psychopath…" Matthew sang out softly. Laughter rang out in the room. I joined them, clearly remembering the first time I'd beaten a polygraph. No, I hadn't 'beat Raymond Simmons up'. I'd 'shut that filthy, lying mouth of his permanently' like I'd promised him I would. Raymond was still using that electrolarynx of his after 17 years; I'd managed to destroy his vocal cords that day. I'd also had eight polygraphs for other cases since and passed every single one. God, maybe I really was a psycho.

But we all did what we had to in the name of protecting our family. A lot of those losers my brothers and sisters dated insisted that we shouldn't be as close as we were because we were all adopted and therefore weren't 'really family'. Luckily, none of us felt that way. Mom and Dad hadn't raised us to care about our differences. We were family as surely as we would be if we were blood.