“You’re not going to let the law handle it?” she questions.
“Fuck no.” The law does nothing but fuck everything up. No way my brothers nor I are going to sit back and let them jack shit up.
“Good. Because they could’ve killed my son, Piper, and the baby. They need to hurt, honey.” That’s my girl, I proudly smirk at the need for blood my woman desires.
“Oh, they will,” I promise. And I have never been known to break a promise to anyone in my life. I’m not fixing to start now.
Raven
Jonas told his brothers about the Welch’s and needless to say I’ve barely laid eyes on the three of them. They’ve been ‘hunting’ for a few days now. Jonas comes in late each night and crawls into my bed freshly showered. Although, I have no idea why he cleans himself up first since we both end up dirty and taking a shower together afterwards.
I haven’t allowed Damien to go back to public school, instead choosing to hire a private tutor and homeschooling him. She’s young, a college student, but extremely smart. Damien took to her quickly, and she has a way of explaining things to him so that he understands. If I’m being honest, me too. She lets me sit in on some of his schooling so that I can comprehend how to help him better when he struggles. He’s bloomed under her praise and I couldn’t be more thankful for her patience and understanding. I noticed the other day that she was lost in a trance-like state while looking at a picture of the boys and their father. From what I understand, he was a difficult man when it came to my man and his brothers. When I asked her if she was okay, she said she wasn’t feeling well and all but fled from the house.
That caused me to research her a little more, and what I’ve found is something that I’m not sure how to share. So, for now I let it go. The guys don’t need something else to worry about. It’s a little secret I’ll share with them...eventually.
SIXTEEN
JONAS
I’m tired, I’m bone deep exhausted. Our hunting for the crooked DA, Marcus Welch, Sr., has not gotten us a lead that has panned out. Atticus is ready to burn down the entire state in an attempt to flush him out.
“I hate it when these pussies go into hiding. What does it take to get the roaches to run in the daylight instead of the darkness of the night?” Atticus is on a rampage; one I’ve been trying to ignore for the last hour. He’s pissed me off so much in the last few days that I nearly challenged him in the ring. Just so I could knock loose a few teeth so he’d shut his trap.
“We found the senator, we’ll find him.” Silas attempts to settle him down, he should know by now that nothing is working for him. He has tunnel vision, and nothing will settle his beast until his prey has been located and eliminated. I personally can’t wait until he gets his revenge so I can take a break from him. Of course, living under the same roof, that’s not as easy as it sounds, but at least I wouldn’t be spending every waking hour in his presence. I can hide out in my batcave or take Raven and Damien for a very long vacation.
“Where else can we look?” Atticus questions.
“Why don’t you call your informant?” Silas asks him.
“I haven’t heard from Chandler in a bit,” Atticus muses. I watch him grab his phone out of his pocket and he walks away as he places it to his ear.
“He’s going to go crazy if we don’t catch this fucker soon,” Silas groans out.
“And that’s different from any other day, how?” I am now questioning Silas’ sanity.
“Shut up, fucker. What would you do if that was Raven? Actually, I’m surprised you’re as calm as you are considering that Damien was in the car with Piper.” Asshole.
“We can’t both be raving lunatics. Since Atticus does that so well, I figure I’ll let him hold that title while I search for answers. But I need more places to search and can’t do that when I’m out in the field. Hopefully, Chandler can give us some good intel. I can put Raven on the computer searching while we physically check things out.”
“Is she as good as you?” Silas questions.
“As good if not better. We’re pretty much on an even playing field, to be honest.” And I firmly believe that to be a fact. I’ve seen what she’s capable of and am immensely impressed by her.
“Damn. That’s gonna help us out a lot, y’know?” I can tell his brain is going at a rapid pace as he comes up with a new plan to play out.
“Yep. She hasn’t batted an eye at any of this. She wants their blood, brother.” I’m preening at that fact. It takes a strong woman to deal with our world and she’s blended in well.
“Can’t blame her. He’s a cute kid.” He’s more than that—to me anyways, but that’s something I need to discuss with her before I have a conversation with my brothers about it. We don’t express feelings well so it’s hard for me to sit them down and have a therapy session with them.
“Are we going to start a campfire and sing kum-ba-ya now?” Atticus still isn’t in a great mood.
“Listen, we’re problem solving over this shit while you were on the phone. We need someone on the computer while we are on the ground. What did your informant have for us?” I’m going for a calm and cool demeanor, when I want nothing more than to place him in a headlock until he screams uncle.
“He says that the abandoned warehouse on River Street and Palm Meadows has some ‘unknown faces’ in and out of it lately. The guys on the streets have been watching their movements, so far they’re in and out, nothing is going in with them or leaving when they do. He thought maybe we should check it out.” He plants his fist on his hips and looks at us as if he’s waiting for us to react.
Silas looks at him and shakes his head in exasperation before stating, “Get your ass in the SUV and let’s go.” What has me holding my stomach and biting my tongue is that Silas just impersonated Vanna White when she turns the letters on the board.
Me: Baby, we need you on the computer running information for us please.
Raven: Send me specifics and I’m your girl. :-)
“Let me give Raven this information so she can run some searches on the buildings themselves. They’re probably locked under shell companies or some shit, but who knows, maybe they’re lazy and we’ll strike pay dirt,” I reply. “Did Chandler have any names at all?” I ask Atticus. I can’t believe they were hiding in our backyard and we had no fucking clue. I didn’t think that they’d be somewhere where code violations were so bad, and nuclear waste is still haunting the buildings. I should know better than to leave any stone unturned, but I’ve been so distracted lately, that I let myself and others down. We could’ve had him weeks ago if I’d been on my ‘A’ game.
“Nope. Just said it’s been busy,” he replies.
“Then I’ll give her the locations. At least she can start there,” I say. Once I hand over what little Chandler gave us to Raven in another text, we climb into the SUV with Silas at the wheel and head out.
Time to continue our hunting.
Raven
Information is coming in at a rapid speed from Jonas and the guys that I’m so busy I miss Destiny as she sneaks up on me. When she touches my shoulder, I jump and scream like a banshee. “You scared the fuck out of me,” I exclaim with my hand clutched tightly over my chest.
“I-I’m sorry,” she wheezes out through laughter. “I was coming to see if you wanted something to eat because it’s going on lunchtime.”
Just then, my stomach lets out a growl and I grin at her, saying, “There’s your answer, I guess. Do you need any help?” I ask this because while I’m in Jonas’ batcave, she’s tending to Piper, and watching over Damien and his new tutor.
“No, I know you’re busy doing stuff for the guys. I’ve got it,” she replies.
“Thank you.” She nods and walks back out while I turn back to the monitors. My eyes widen when I see that the trail has led me in a direction I wasn’t prepared to see. Shit, I can’t believe how far up this goes. We’re teetering on the edge between the U.S. government and underground associations. How these two j
oined forces has me so stumped that I begin running separate searches on the individuals who’ve popped up on my radar.
I begin breaching databases that could get me hard time, however, if I’m caught, I can see Jonas, Damien and myself on a deserted island somewhere for the rest of our days. He’ll never force me to wear orange, I don’t care how many say it’s the new black. I do not agree with that sentiment.
I begin sending the things I’m finding to Jonas’ phone. Every time something new pops up, it gets forwarded. I don’t want to miss showing him anything so it’s better to send immediately rather than waiting for him to call for an update. My phone pings and I get a message from him causing a smile to break out from ear to ear.
Jonas: Great job, beautiful. Thank you, this really helps. Can you follow the trail you found on the DA and anything regarding his son too? Thanks.
Raven: I already have the search engine working hard. I’ll let you know as soon as I have something.
I shake my head. What does he take me for? I’m no amateur. He’s not the only one who knows how to trace and follow leads. I may not be a PI, but I know the computer and dark world well. After all, I did live with the darkest there was.
What feels like forever, but is only an hour later, my computer lets me know that my search is complete. What I pull up is enough to not only put the dad behind bars for eternity, but his son will surely share a cell with him. Fuckers! I want the dad to fry for hitting my car with my boy and friend inside. I hope I get a whack at him. I may not have muscles for miles like Jonas does, I may not have the abilities the guys do when it comes to torturing. Yeah, I’m not stupid, I know the guys don’t have hair and nail parties while gaining information from the men they take. But what I do have, is a natural instinct to protect what is mine. And that son-of-a-bitch went after my son.
Mama bear is ready to come out and play.
Where I don’t have brawn, I have brains. I decide to use them to take down this man and his legacy. I will make sure there isn’t a scrap of goodness tied to his nor his family's name. I don’t care if his wife is innocent in any of this, they didn’t care that I was when they tied my name to their organization. Turnabout is fair play as far as I’m concerned. Plus, from what I’ve been able to gather, the mother knows about her son’s abuse on Ralynn...that’s inexcusable as far as I’m concerned. As a mother and a woman, she should’ve stepped in and made her presence known. How else do our sons learn the right and wrong way to treat another human being? A woman. Someone who doesn’t have the same speed and power as a man. I know some women can hang with men, but most of us cannot.
Doesn’t mean I won’t find a bat laying around or a crowbar and go after a man. I will, especially when my family is threatened in any way. Hopefully, I can convince Jonas to let me have a turn.
SEVENTEEN
JONAS
We located the warehouse that Chandler told Atticus about. The three of us watch as movement is seen all in the lower section of the warehouse. There aren’t as many people as the information would’ve had us believing, but that just means it’ll be easier for us with a takedown. “How many do you count?” I ask my brothers.
“I see five, maybe six,” Atticus states.
“We can’t move in on maybes, someone needs to get up there and get a correct headcount.” Silas, our ferocious leader demands, but I don’t see him jumping his ass out of the car and going and doing it himself.
“I’ll go,” Atticus mumbles as he places his hand on the handle of the car door.
“I don’t think so,” Silas says stopping him dead in his tracks. “Jonas will do it; I don’t trust you to not go all commando.”
“Me?” I point to my chest. “That’s bullshit, Silas, and you know it, I don’t do recon.”
“Today you do.” He dismisses me by turning his back on me.
“Jackass,” I mutter, getting out of the SUV.
I hear Silas ask Atticus if I just compared him to a donkey’s ass, and chuckle when Atticus starts laughing. “Serves him right,” I grit out as I stomp my way down to where I can see who is inside without being seen. This is not my forte; I’m the man behind the keyboard, for fuck’s sake. They owe me big time, that’s for damn sure. Where I don’t mind getting my fingernails dirty, I prefer to be home behind the computer leading them in the right direction. Getting my pent-up energy out is usually inside the ring. I hate shootouts and knife fights, I’d prefer to use my fists, but most of the pussies we go after use everything but what is attached to their body.
Seeing a window, I manage to peer inside and count three guys sitting at a table playing cards, with two others pacing the inside of the warehouse playing security guard. I don’t see Junior, but Senior is there front and center, waving his arms around and a cigar between two fingers. I can’t hear what’s being said, but based on their somewhat relaxed demeanor, they’re shit talking about their game. So, five guys total, which is one less than what Atticus thought he saw.
I motion for Atticus and Silas to join me. No reason to delay this shit, after all. When they reach me, I hold up five fingers indicating five men inside, and receive their nods of understanding. We pull out our ear pieces and coms. We all know one click into our ears means go, three clicks means stop, and four clicks means we’ve been compromised and need to abandon our post. Silas points to his nose and then the front door, which lets us know he’s taking that entrance. Then he motions at me to stay at the window and waves Atticus to the back door.
Once we’re all in place, I wait for the signal. Three against five sounds like shitty odds, but not when I have Rambo and Thor with me. Not that I’ll be calling them that to their faces. I can handle the field, I’ve been here a time or two, but much prefer being behind the scenes.
When I hear the one click, I make sure to keep an eye on the room at large. My job is to watch the front and back entrances and make sure no one attempts to escape out either. It all plays out in front of me like an action movie as Silas and Atticus come in with guns drawn and rapid fire begins. I watch as the three pussies playing cards jump under the table to hide from the four men who are battling. When my eyes begin to leave the three, I see Atticus do some sort of flip that makes me worry he’s going to break his damn neck when he comes out of the air. I’d give him ten points if I was judging. While my brothers are distracted with the two mall cops, out of the corner of my eye I see the pussies crawling from under the table and they scatter like roaches in a dark room.
“Not on my watch, motherfuckers.” I watch as Senior crawls like a rat towards the front door. Knowing he’s the one I can’t let get away, I run towards the front with my gun drawn. I make it there before him and stand off to the side of the door jamb as he crawls his way through. I point my gun to his temple and say, “Please try to run. I need some target practice. I haven’t been to the range in a while.” His eyes go from the ground and lift up to me. Just then I hear the pitter-patter of what sounds like rain hitting the ground underneath him. “Did you seriously just piss your pants, you pussy?” His face turns bright red from embarrassment.
“What do you want? I can give you anything you desire,” he states, ignoring the fact that he’s all but prostate at my feet with his pants soaked in urine, which stinks to high heaven. Not so fancy now, Mr. DA.
“Your head on a platter sounds good right about now, but for starters, answers.” He sighs in resignation when he realizes he’s not getting out of this. His money, power and standing in the community won’t get him out of this one. While my eyes are trained on the DA, my ears open wide when I hear brush movement behind me, and a familiar voice calls out my name. What the fuck is this kid doing here? “Tig, my man, does your dad know you’re in the middle of a shit storm?”
“He knows I’m following the piece of shit you have your gun on. We were sorta hoping that he’d lead us to the waste of space he calls a son,” Tig informs me.
“Might wanna stand back and let the grown-ups work here,” I jokingly state.
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“My balls dropped a long time ago, Jonas.” I like this kid. I wonder if Silas will let me keep him.
“They may have dropped, but do you know how to use them?” About then, Atticus and Silas come out pulling the other two pussies with them. “I had to make a decision, brothers. I chose the bigger of the fish that needed to be fried,” I tell them as I use my foot to push Welch, Sr. to the ground.
“We got them,” Silas informs me while keeping his eyes on Tig.
“We already went through the ‘why are you here, Tig’ thing, can we move on?” Like I said, I really like this kid.
“He’s right, we did. Yes, his dad knows he’s here...so does the RGMC. He’s covered,” I inform the worrisome duo. “Don’t be such a worrywart,” I roll my eyes in Daddy Silas’ direction.
“Are you old enough to be doing this, kid?” Atticus asks Tig as his guy attempts to get away. I watch as his eyes stay on Tig and he brings his gun down on top of the moron’s head.
“My dick swings to the east and north so I’d say I’m old enough to join the big boys,” Tig smartassedly says.
“I see you have your dad’s attitude,” Silas remarks. Tig’s shoulders square and his head holds even higher when Silas says this.
“Learned from the best and all that shit. Now, you need help with this?” Tig questions.
“Nope, we got it. If we find out anything about Junior, we’ll let you know.”
“You’re not getting rid of me that easily. I was given an order to follow Senior and that’s what I plan on doing. Now, where are we taking him?” he asks in a no-nonsense tone.
“Kid, wanna learn about explosives?” Atticus asks, and the gleam in his eyes worries the shit out of me. I like this kid and would like to see him leave with all of his limbs intact.
“Absofuckinglutely,” Tig replies. “Always good to learn a new skill. Never know when it’ll come in handy, right?” Fucking hell, anything happens to him and Twisted will have Atticus’ nuts in a vise. I hope Piper’s good with only the one kid.
Seeking Our Forever: Nelson Brothers' Page 12