“But maybe you should sit down and talk to your mother about what’s going on,” Remy advised. “I know if my momma found out I was investigating a potential friend or boyfriend, she would have my hide. I mean that literally. She would use it as a rug to remind my siblings she was still in charge.”

Had his mother ever been in charge? Maybe that was the problem. His father had made all the big decisions. After Dad died, his mother had started looking to him. He had to protect her. Even from people he considered family. After all, his family had taught him to always look for the knife they could shove into his back. Louis had been around long enough to have learned that lesson, too.

Was this how he wanted his son or daughter to grow up? He pictured a little Sylvie in his head. Any daughter of hers would be smart and ambitious, and she would be vulnerable. Would he toss her into the ocean like his father had done to him?

You have to learn how to swim and fast, Rene. You can’t trust any of them.

Would he say the same thing to his kids one day?

Would Sylvie nail his hide to the floor if she caught him doing it?

“I want to get a clear picture of what’s going on before I say anything.” The person he might be talking to would be Louis. His mother was still fragile. If he found out Louis was doing anything he shouldn’t, he would take care of the situation.

The question was what shouldn’t the man do. It would be easy if he found out Louis didn’t have as much loyalty to the son as he’d had to the father. If Louis was in league with Charles, he would eviscerate the man.

If Louis wasn’t and he was still trying to get close to his mother? He wasn’t sure what he would do.

“I’ll get back to you in a few days,” Remy promised before he hung up.

Rene sat back, his gut in knots.

He wished Andre was here. Dre would advise him.

Dre might kick his ass.

There was a brief knock on his door and then it was opening and Louis walked through. He had changed into a suit, his silver hair slicked back.

Rene couldn’t forget the way his mother had looked at Louis. It made him wonder what had been going on between the two of them, and why his mother hadn’t mentioned it. She talked to him all the time. They’d gotten closer during the long hours he’d sat beside her as the chemo treatments had been administered. He’d been there when she couldn’t talk, when she’d been far too sick to do anything more than lie around and look like she was going to die.