Wingless Book Series (book 1)

by Holly Hood

  “Yeah, you want to join me?” I said, welcoming the company.

  “Yeah, sure, let me change.”

  I laid my towel on the grass, sitting down with a sigh. It was hot. The summer breeze was like someone blowing a hot blow dryer on your skin. Ari came out in a tiny black bikini, her skin already plenty tan. As she walked closer, I noticed several bruises on her legs, arms, and ribcage. She didn’t seem to be bothered, and happily threw a towel down next to me.

  “I don’t think since the two of them lived here I have seen them in the pool more the twice,” she laughed.

  “Yeah, I barely knew it was there, it’s always covered.” I put on my sunglasses down lying down.

  Birds chirped in the yard. Besides that, it was quiet.

  Ari sighed loudly, breaking my calm, almost sleep-like state.

  “How do you like living here?”

  “I like it. I just didn’t realize how often Evan would be gone.”

  “Yeah, Tony works them hard sometimes,” she said. “Well, when things get serious anyways.”

  “What is serious?”

  “When there’s a lot to be collected on. He usually has Evan and Kenny go around and collect whatever it is he needs. Once, Kenny brought Tony a semi. I’m not sure what was in it, but they all made it a big deal.”

  I turned my head to look at Ari; she was propped up on her elbows ever so chirpy. “How do you stay so upbeat all the time?” I wasn’t ready to let her know that I seen Kenny hit her, but I was starting to wonder why she would still have such good spirits after all that she went through with him.

  “Oh, I have my ways. Kenny does one thing well, and that is bringing the best things back for me.”

  I lifted my sunglasses up to look at her. “What does that mean?”

  She tossed me a prescription bottle with no label but a huge amount of pills in it. I couldn’t tell what they were- small and white. I had never seen them nor was I one to take pills besides when I was sick.

  “That’s where I get my good mood from,” she laughed, laying down, running her hands in the grass.

  “Oh, seems like it works.” I didn’t know what else to say.

  “If you want to try one, you can. Kenny always restocks them for me, like, once a week.”

  “Um, nothing against your choice, but I’m not really into pill popping.” I wasn’t trying to be rude, but I didn’t know what it was or if I could handle it.

  “No, that’s fine. I didn’t take you for one anyways.” She flipped over, fidgeting until she was comfortable. I wondered what else Kenny did for her. And why the need to supply her with pills. Was it seriously that bad for her? I didn’t know. I didn’t know anything about her.

  “So, Ari, tell me what you know about Evan,” I said with growing interest as the words spilled from my mouth. I was curious as to what she had seen or heard.

  “I don’t know. Like what?”

  “Anything. Has he had other girlfriends? What’s the craziest thing you seen him do, or had to do, I guess I should say.”

  Ari flipped on her side. “I’ve never seen any girls here. He went out on a few dates that Kenny arranged, but he never went on a second with either of them. I’ve always thought he was picky. I had a crush on Evan first, before Kenny, and he never paid me the time of day. This was back when we were younger though.”

  I was confused by this because Ari was a super attractive girl, she was exotic and beautiful. Any girl would have been glad to be her. I thought so anyway. She was a little scattered in the brains department but besides that, I couldn’t see any guy passing her up.

  “That’s interesting,” I said staring off.

  “The craziest thing I know he did was with Kenny. Him and Kenny took this guy out far off somewhere, I don’t know where, and I wouldn’t ask either. But anyways, they took him there and both of them shot him in his head. Kenny told me he never seen brains until that day; he was kind of thrilled in a weird way.”

  She was so matter of fact about it. “How did Evan act?”

  “Kenny said he shot him to get him quiet. He says Evan is very straight to the point and doesn’t like to stick around or make it last long. Kenny is more of the, um, torturer,” she laughed, looking at my expression, then stopped quickly.

  “I’m sorry, Eve. I don’t know if you can believe Evan is capable of that. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut.” She looked troubled.

  “No, it’s not that I don’t think he is capable, it’s just hard to think of him in that way. He is so different to me. I can’t imagine it.”

  “Well, I don’t think you will ever see that side of him, but believe me, when he wants to be evil and sinister like the rest of his family, he knows how.” She sat up. “Evan is more programmed. He feels it’s his duty or something. Kenny enjoys it. What they both have in common is that they were raised in the business so, to them, it’s normal. It is normal, like, maybe someone’s parents going to church every Sunday.”

  That was how Evan explained it too. Knowing this, it was hard to think ill of someone who grew up around it. Who was I to judge someone’s family ethics? And it wasn’t as if I knew anything about the people these bad things were happening to. I didn’t want to judge him.

  Ari said goodbye and headed out. I dozed off, getting woken up by cars pulling into the driveway. The first person I saw was Kenny. He was moving quick, talking quietly to what appeared to be Evan. The fence obstructed my view, but I was sure it was him. They lingered by their cars and then disappeared into the house. I gathered my things, heading in. Kenny popped out of God knows where, right in front of me with a weird look on his face.

  “What’s up?” he asked me, acting strange. He stayed in my way as if he was purposefully trying to slow me down.

  “Nothing, I was laying out. I’d like to go get dressed, excuse me.” I told him, moving the opposite way. He moved again.

  “He’s in the bedroom trying to clean up; he didn’t want you to see him.”

  “What? Why do I care?” I said, annoyed with his weird antics.

  “Never mind. You’re probably the best person to see him anyways.” He headed into the kitchen; I hurried to the bedroom pushing open the door. Evan was in the bathroom at the sink, water running.

  “Are you okay?” I asked. He looked up. I looked at his face in the mirror and gasped. His eye was swollen and his lip cut and he had a few scrapes on his cheek. “Oh, my God!” I yelled, immediately coming over to him and pulling him to me so I could take a better look.

  “I’m fine. Seriously, I’m fine.” He squeezed out the rag, touching it to his cheek, wincing as he cleaned the scrapes.

  “You need antiseptic not water. Let me do it,” I said, pulling a first aid kit from the closet.

  He sat down on the bed. “I’m fine. This isn’t the first black eye I ever got. Did I tell you I used to do mixed martial arts?” he laughed as I cleaned his face up.

  “No, you didn’t. Tell me what happened,” I demanded.

  He looked miserable despite his cheerful mood. “Well, I would have been fine if Kenny had paid closer attention. Just got caught off guard.”

  “Your eye looks pretty bad; you think you should see a doctor or something?”

  “No, I’m good. Now, how are you?” he asked, putting his hands around me. He pulled me to him hugging me, his head on my stomach. I smoothed his hair.

  “I laid out with Ari, chatted, did some cleaning, watched some TV. That’s about it,” I shrugged.

  “What did the lovely Ari have to say, because she always says something interesting.”

  I sat down next to him. “Nothing much. Talked a little about you, nothing important.”

  “Sure, I know girls. They tell secrets and gossip. So, you learn anything that scared you off yet?” he laughed.

  “I learned things that would scare the average person off, but not me.” He studied my expression but didn’t ask for any explanation, and kissed me.

  It was the fourth day since I ha
d moved in. Evan finally had free time. Each day was even greater than the one before. I was adjusting to Evan’s sporadic absences. I hadn’t felt the need to call my parents; I still wasn’t in the mood to entertain my mother’s wrath. I wasn’t willing to give in to her so that she felt better. I wanted to wait it out, and maybe she would come around eventually.

  Evan rolled over in the bed kissing my cheek. “Good morning beautiful.” His eyes tired, his hair messy. He stared at me with a pleased look on his face.

  “Morning,” I said back, moving closer. It wasn’t morning, I was sure of that much. I yawned, pulling the covers tighter to me; it was nice to sleep in without hearing your mother tell you how you wasted the day.

  “You still tired?” He sat up in the bed, shirtless. I caressed his stomach, shaking my head.

  “If you’re awake, I guess I’ll be too.”

  “Awesome, get dressed and we will get out of here for a while. You have been cooped up for days.” He lifted my chin pressing his lips onto mine, kiss after kiss until he had my heart racing. His touch was always so tender, and it was as if he was trying not to break something so delicate.

  I traced my fingers down his chest, breathing faster, my head buzzed from the rush of butterflies. I couldn’t lie; every time we kissed I wanted more from him. It was a natural response, I told myself. I tried my best to not attack him; I did not want him to think I couldn’t control myself as well as he could. Evan kissed my cheek getting off the bed, stopping the moment; he awkwardly hurried off to the bathroom. It dawned on me why he was so quick to get out of view. I laughed to myself, sliding down to the edge of the bed.

  “Do you want me to make breakfast?”

  “Um, we can go out and eat somewhere, you don’t have to do that,” he said, coming back out dressed.

  “I don’t mind.”

  I was never the best cook, but I tried my best to make eggs and toast. Although my mother loved to cook, she never invited my sister and I into the kitchen to learn any of it from her. So it was a trial and error. Hannah, on the other hand, paid money for cooking lessons to become even more the perfect wife.

  I pushed the oil around in the pan. It popped and sizzled, almost smoking. Evan came up behind me, wrapping his arms around me. Taking the spatula out of my hand, he turned me around, his mouth meeting mine for another stint at this twisted tease of a game we seem to be playing. I backed up keeping up with his movement; this time I bit his lip pulling him closer. We ran into the countertop. I started to undo his belt buckle and he didn’t seem to fight me this time. I stayed still as he worked his way down my neck, pulling down the strap to my tank top. He kissed my shoulder and ran his hand up my neck stopping and grasping my throat. My pajama bottoms falling to my ankles, I kicked them off my feet.

  “Those are nice,” he joked about my red lacy underwear with a pink bow.

  “Thanks.” I barely spoke, going back to kissing him. Evan pulled me up on the countertop. We continued with the almost frantic pawing, it was as if we both knew it was getting harder and harder to resist and we both were afraid it would end too soon.

  He pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it on the floor. I ran my hands down his stomach enjoying every muscle that I felt. Pulling my shirt off, I was in nothing but my bra and underwear now. I felt strangely comfortable and right in that moment. Evan trailed his fingers down my stomach watching every movement he made. There was no apprehension about anything; he didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. I truly believe he appreciated everything about me. He brought my hands up, putting them on his shoulders, kissing me more. His kisses became stronger and more aggressive, his hands moving to my legs.

  By this time, nothing existed but him. He leaned me over the counter until much of my body was laying on it, only my feet dangling. I ran my hands through his hair and then suddenly, Evan jumped off me. Startled, I sat up.

  “Kenny, what are you doing here?!” he yelled, tossing me my clothes. He was not worried about himself; he was only worried about me being exposed. I hopped down, not sure if I should run to the bedroom or dress there quickly. I decided it was best to just throw my clothes on and not risk the huge embarrassment. Kenny didn’t seem to care and the look on his face was not amusement, it was more upset.

  Evan gathered up his clothes throwing them on. “What’s the deal Kenny? I thought you were out with Pratt.”

  Kenny shook his head, not saying anything. He was fidgeting and acting rather peculiar. I headed to the bedroom thinking privacy would let him open up to Evan. I sat down on the bed listening for someone to speak. It was quiet. Finally, Evan spoke.

  “Look, there is obviously something on your mind or you wouldn’t be here in the middle of the day. What’s the deal?” There was only silence once more.

  I studied myself in the mirror, messing with my hair, trying to pass the time. I didn’t want to be in Kenny’s business if I didn’t have to be. But it seemed like something was wrong. I couldn’t tell what in particular, but something wasn’t right. And judging by Evan, he shouldn’t have been home right now.

  Something crashed, jolting me off the bed; I paused in the doorway before coming out.

  “I want to know what is going on, so tell me now!!” Evan yelled, his fist clenched. He was nose to nose with Kenny who wasn’t too willing to speak. Kenny eyed him for a long moment, and I stood in the kitchen trying to be discreet.

  “You remember that time we talked about overseas funds that Dad doesn’t know about?”

  Evan grabbed Kenny up by the throat slamming him hard on the floor; pushing his head down. The look on Evan’s face was pure rage, he was deeply upset. Kenny held on to his arm not fighting him off. “I told you!” Evan let him go, pacing the room.

  “I didn’t do anything yet. I was out of my mind. I had to come here before I got in over my head. Look, I know what you have told me, but this would be a big undertaking.” Kenny watched Evan pace, his face white.

  “No, I don’t know where in that brain of yours is common sense. You can’t take over a possible goldmine without Tony finding out. And you’re taking from your own father if you do it as well. He will kill you. And don’t think because you’re his son and earner it would make a difference to him.” He continued to pace, oblivious to Kenny.

  “He won’t even know. There is no way he would find out; you know what this could mean?”

  Evan started toward Kenny again. Kenny backed up, bumping into the glass table, moving away from Evan.

  “It can’t happen; you’re not just taking yourself down, your taking me down. I am going to be just as responsible seeing you told me about this. Do you really want to make me go to Dad and have to tell him how much of a rat you’ve become?” Evan hissed.

  “I’m not a rat. I’m trying to do the same thing Tony has done his whole life. Why is he the only one in control? Why can’t someone else make a name for their self without it hurting his feelings?”

  “Do you not realize how quick it will be over for you?!” he yelled. He grabbed Kenny by the shirt, smacking him in the head. “Do not make me do this to you. I don’t want to rat out my brother. But if you’re putting me and my life in jeopardy, so be it. And I promise you Kenny, I will kill you myself.”

  Kenny pushed Evan, his shirt still locked in his grip; Evan slammed him into the wall.

  “It’s not always about looking good for your Dad! When you going to grow up? If I had this kind of control I could move us both away from here he would never even find us. If Tony got a hold of it, what, maybe fifteen percent versus one hundred?”

  “It’s not one hundred. You’re paying a lot of people to keep your business incognito. And if you are smart you will do it that way, but it doesn’t matter because you’re not doing it. So call whoever it is trying to interfere with you living and tell them no, because it’s not happening! I will drag you to Tony right now!” He punched Kenny in the mouth.

  Kenny touched his bleeding lip. For one reason or another, he didn’t hit Evan, maybe
out of respect, which I doubted, because Kenny didn’t seem to have much of that.

  “I’m in his house every day. If I wanted to shoot him in his head, I could. Don’t think I haven’t thought about it before. I could be out of the state before any of his goons found me. Then where would anyone be? What, is he going to hand it over to you? Do you really think any of his orphan kids are in his will? He got us for one reason and that was being a living Grim Reaper!” Kenny pushed Evan off him.

  Evan ran his hand through his hair staring at Kenny in disbelief. “Since when do you feel so strongly about all of this?”

  “Since I’ve thought long and hard about everything we have been through for him, and how I’m a puppet to his existence. I do what he wants and have to live with myself for offing people. I’ve done some messed up shit, and you’ve done some as well. The only one whose hands are looking halfway clean is Tony. Yeah, there are some perks, but I’m tired of being his puppet.”