There was some talk about how to deal with the women when it came time to leave as we wound down from the day. Five grown men were now brainstorming on how to control their women just so we could leave and take care of business. It was good for a laugh at least, listening to them talk.
They still believed they were the ones running shit. One good thing about being stuck babysitting my sisters is that it’s given me an inside look at how their minds work. When it comes to the fight between the sexes, my money’s on the women hands down.
The talk switched somehow to whose woman was the most trouble and who had the most control over their respective mate. Devon and I shared a grin and just shook our heads.
In my mind I was thinking, ‘look at them. They’re so funny these brothers of mine.’ They haven’t got a clue.
I listened with a smile on my face as Tyler got the rest of them going with his shit. Since I’m the sucker they’ve been leaving stuck here with the women more often than not, I could tell them they’re full of shit, but why bother? It’s more fun watching them tear their hair out.
Ty is the funniest one of all. Mr. Big-shot is as whipped a motherfucker as I’ve ever seen. Though he’s still deluding himself that he’s the one in control.
Poor Dev and I have been trying our best to keep the peace while the rest of them lose their damn minds, and I for one, am praying that my day don’t come no time soon.
On the one hand, it would be great to finally have what my brothers have found, that shared love and affection that’s so evident between them and their chosen women. But then I think of the headaches each and every one of them has to deal with and I back the hell off.
“You listening to this shit?” Dev came up beside me to watch the show.
“Look at the shit eating grins on their faces bro. You think we’ll ever have that?” I didn’t miss the hint of longing in his voice. Like me, he hides it well, but I imagine he might be feeling the need every once in a while too.
“You feeling the urge brother?” I looked at him out the side of my eye. I wonder if he’d notice that I skirted his question. The truth is no matter what goes on in my mind, I’m not completely sure.
Sometimes I find myself on the fence. Out of nowhere I’d get that burning urge for a woman of my own. And every time baby Zak lays her little head on my chest, I want one of her too. That’s when Ty lets any of us near her; damn baby hog.
“I’m not sure that’s for me brother.” I hated the ring of sadness in his voice. We all knew where each of us came from, the shit we’d endured as kids, so I knew why he might feel that way. It was okay for me to feel that way about myself but not my brother.
Of all of us, he needed someone to love and be loved most. Whereas the rest of us had had shitty or neglectful parents, except for Ty who’d lost his mom tragically, Dev’s story was a horror. It hurt me to the core to hear him say such a thing.
“You’re wrong brother, it’s because of what you suffered that you’d be the perfect husband and father.” There was such a look of hunger in his eyes that it was a shock that I’d never noticed it before.
Oh he wanted this alright. I also knew his stubborn ass would fight it with every breath in his body because he didn’t think he deserved it. Or that somehow he wouldn’t live up to his responsibilities which is bullshit.
Now that I’d seen that look, I’m going to make it my mission in life to see that he never lets the opportunity slip through his fingers if it should arise.
I’d have to work on him first though because he can be a hardheaded son of a bitch. I knew just how to get him too. “If you don’t do it then I won’t either.” He gave me one of his looks.
“Don’t be an ass Quinn, you can’t deny yourself happiness because of me I won’t have it.” He looked towards the others to be sure they weren’t sticking their nose in.
“Fine then, it’s settled, we’ll both go for it. If asshole Ty can be domesticated I say we can too.” The laughter lightened the heavy mood and we moved to join the others.
It was already going dark outside by the time we broke. “Whose place are we eating at tonight?” I liked this new arrangement. Before the women came it was a toss up as to what form of swill we’d be eating with each of us taking turns.
“Zak’s.” Ty with his greedy ass keeps track of these things. “Let’s go round up the girls, have dinner then we’ll go take care of the tunnel.” Cord with his newly whipped ass was almost out the door after that suggestion.
“Looks like the danger’s passed.” No one had to guess at what Logan was referring to as we watched Cord cross the yard.
“Thank fuck, you assholes need to calm the fuck down, too damn hyper. Next time one of you go the fuck off I’m putting something in your food.”
“Look who’s talking, Ty you’re full of shit.” Logan laughed at his misguided ass.
“What’re you talking about? I never acted like a caveman. Zak was damn near certifiable, Con was a bitch to live with and our fearless leader here had a strong case of PMS with his bitch made ass. Of course that one is fucking nuts so his shit is to be expected.” He pointed out the door at Cord. “But me, I was the only one who kept my cool. I never went full asshole.”
“You’re also the only one who had to be medicated.” Devon deadpanned and the rest of us howled with laughter, while Ty gave us the finger and stomped out the door. He had a point though. This last meltdown of Cord’s was something I could do without for at least another week.
That’s another thing about these new relationships my brothers are in. Not a day goes by that one of them isn’t having to corral his woman for some misdemeanor or some shit, or losing their damn mind because of something their woman did, and the rest of us are left having to calm their ass down.
12
Quinn
“Get a move on, I’m hungry. Fucking women didn’t let me eat today with their staring shit.” Devon rubbed his gut and yawned.
“Now you know how I feel when I’m left riding herd on them.”
We were walking the yard making sure shit was secure before we headed to dinner. Lo’s over cautious that way especially with the girls here.
“We’ve got a long night ahead of us, I can feel it.” I almost asked him what he meant but I was sure he was talking on the same level as the shit that’s been messing with my ass.
“Had a lot of those lately.”
“Yeah well I’m done with this fuckery. As old William Shakespeare once said, I’m ready to ‘cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.’ He all but growled at me.
Wonder what the hell crawled up his ass and died. He and his mercurial moods were nothing new to me, but this time I didn’t have to think too hard to figure out what was bothering him.
Now that the laughter was gone it was back to the reality of what was staring us in the face. The codes I’d decoded earlier, and hearing from the CO even if it was just on paper, had fucked with all our heads I’m sure, even though we were holding it together for now.
No one had really said anything about it yet, but the fact that the old man knew something was coming at him and the new realization that we’d deliberately been kept apart when he needed us, is going to be heavy on all our minds for a while. We’d never let each other down before, and it kinda felt like we’d failed him when he needed us most.
When we thought he’d died of a heart attack it was barely acceptable, but knowing that some fuck had done him, none of us were going to rest until we avenged him.
Not to mention the fact that some asshole had sent us into a trap that was meant to end our lives when we were blind to all that was going on. Knowing Lo, they already had a target on their backs.
Everyday there’s something new for us to muddle through and the hits just keep on coming. That shit’s not easy when you don’t know the rules of the game or the players. For every ten steps we take forward, we’re pushed five back.
I had no doubt that just as in the past, we’d figure this one out to
gether. But the shit was aggravating as hell. We’re soldiers, we follow orders and get shit done.
There’s always a trail to follow so we know there’s a beginning and an end. This shit just seems to keep going around in circles.
But I should’ve known that beneath the laughter Devon was hurting. The old man had meant a lot to all of us, but there’d always been something special between him and Dev.
He’d been the hardest nut to crack believe it or not, the one the CO had spent the most time bringing into the fold. That hard shell he’d had wrapped around himself had taken a lot of long drawn out convos between the two men.
Not that we hadn’t all spent our fair amount of time bending the old man’s ear, but for Dev with the old man’s passing it’s as if he’d lost two fathers in one lifetime.
“You okay brother?” I looked ahead to the others as we walked in step.
“They fucking killed him. I wasn’t sure, even after we suspected, I was never a hundred percent sure until I read that shit today.”
“I know brother and we’re going to fix it.”
“When I find the motherfucker responsible for this treasonous bullshit I’m gonna hatefuck his ass with a Billy-club wrapped in sandpaper.” Ouch. I clapped his shoulder as we moved to catch up to the others. “We’ll take turns.”
The only good thing to come of all this is that I hadn’t been plagued with my new dilemma for a few hours now. At least these new developments were helping to keep my mind off my own shit.
This puzzle needs to be solved yesterday, but like I said, each time we think we’ve made progress, some shit else pops up and we’re back to square one.
Ty is right about that too. I too have grown tired of feeling like we’re going around in circles with this thing. Knowing the CO, whatever the fuck we’re missing is right under our noses. He always did like to make us work for it.
I wasn’t worried about us figuring shit out, but time was not our friend and lives were being destroyed. It was a sobering thought.
“It stands to reason that we’re being watched. If the old man was in that deep, whoever’s running this shit-show stateside will have us in their crosshairs.” Devon continued as he flexed his shoulders and rotated his neck like he was ready, to spin up and go live.
There was still so much that we didn’t know at this point that it was hard to make any definitive moves and that’s the frustrating part. It’s also a given that if we’re being watched, they’re already monitoring our communication, or trying to.
Not that they could follow our trail, but it pays to be super cautious until we knew more. And quite frankly this shit was bigger than us. We didn’t have the navy behind us on this one.
I guess it was good that Mancini and the others were onboard. We have excellent resources, and our gear can’t be hacked we made sure of that. But Mancini had proven that his shit was even better than ours, which is saying a hell of a lot.
For a ‘civilian’, Mancini’s shit is ice and his resources seem to be never ending. His network plays beneath the radar and does not have to adhere to the same restrictions we did as military. From what we’d seen so far, his Intel wasn’t too shabby either and this game is all about who knows what, when and where.
It’s the first time we’d let an outsider get this close and now we have not only him, but Lyon, Law and Creed. The last two we’ve worked with before on an Op or two, but never before have we enlisted the help of unknowns. It was a testament to the mettle of these men that we’d even consider it.
He’s also a loose canon, but not on the same par as Ty, he’s too fucking smooth for that. Lyon, now he’s a different story. I don’t think he plays by anyone’s rules and from what I’ve seen so far his shit makes Tyler’s seem juvenile.
It’s going to take a while to get a handle on our new friends, but so far they seem to fit right in with our motley crew of fuck-ups.
We crossed the yard in silence and met up with the others. I’m sure he put his game face on same as I did before we walked through the door.
It’s an unspoken rule that we don’t let any of this touch the women, and though Dev and I were the only ones left standing, that shit was as important to us as it was our brothers.
We’re all responsible for the women and this shit ain’t something they should be worrying about. Though unlike their men I happen to know they know way more than they let on. I guess Zak forgot that Vanessa was special Ops, or he’s pretending to.
13
Quinn
Dinner was noisy as per usual and afterwards we sat around laughing and talking with the women while Ty was being his usual asshole self, keeping us all entertained with his antics.
We were just a family having an evening together with the baby being passed around or more like she was making the rounds, getting her hugs and kisses from all her aunts and uncles; fighting sleep. That kid hates bedtime.
Every once in a while my mind would remind me of what laid ahead of us tonight, what it meant, what it signified. Everything we do from here on out is for the old man it goes without saying.
Closing the tunnel the men were using to traffic the women wouldn’t put an end to their evil, but it would be a first step to stemming the flow of that shit in our own town.
We’d all fought for the freedom of others in other countries, I’m fucked if I’m going to see anyone enslaved in mine.
The fact that the waters off our own backyard were probably the last of their homeland these girls and women might see left a bitter taste in my mouth and a burning rage in my gut.
I turned it off and listened to the light banter between my family. Baby Zak and Ty were the stars of the show as usual, and was just what we needed before all hell broke loose in the next coupla days.
I listened with half an ear as the tingles in my gut came back full force as the night wore on. Thankfully I didn’t have time to dwell as it was getting close to crunch time. I wonder what excuses the boys will use this time to get away from the women?
The girls started talking weddings and I knew it wouldn’t be long before the exodus begun. Nothing gets my brothers moving faster these days than the women and their wedding plans.
Lo was getting ready to make the call when his phone rang. We all held our silence as he listened. These days every time the phone rings it’s cause for action.
We were already heading for the door before the call ended. Lo hung up and turned to the rest of us.
“Mancini, the others are here.” Thank fuck, time to rock and roll.
We headed to the gate and watched through the security monitor as a caravan pulled up outside. I’d forgotten how many of them they were.
Lyon and his brood were first in line, followed by the only two men we’d known of this bunch before we were all thrown together.
Law and Creed had their women with them as was expected and then there was Mancini and a coupla unknowns. I listened to the men say hello in their own special way.
Which meant insults from Lyon and the usual ragging you can expect when grown men who had way too much testosterone got together.
The women and children went off to be with the others at Zak’s place and the men fucked around with bullshit until Lo’s phone went off again. He walked away to take the call but this time we knew there was nothing good on the other end of that call when he came back.
“That was our guy on the inside, something’s going down. Quinn what the fuck?”
I’d been watching Logan as he came back toward us and something hit me in the gut.
This time I knew I couldn’t ignore it any longer. I smelt something in the air, don’t know what the fuck it was and since this was the first time I’d been hit by this phenomenon I didn’t have time to investigate. The need to move was strong though, that much I knew.
“We have to go NOW.” Cord said something about securing the women and took off as the others looked at me.
“What is it brother?” I looked at Dev but wasn’t really seeing
him.
“I don’t know, something…” I ran flat out towards the beach not knowing why just knowing that something was calling me there.
My senses tingled and I could still scent that strange odor on the sea air. It wasn’t something I could explain, but somehow I knew that I was the only one who could smell that shit.
There was no one on the beach as far as I could tell but the sense of danger was getting stronger. Only this didn’t feel like the usual shit we’d get ourselves into. This shit felt personal. Every sense in my body had come alive and was on full alert.
“What’s up bro?” I hadn’t realized that I’d stopped until Ty asked that question. I still wasn’t sure myself, but something inside me screamed to go into action and I felt my inner beast crouch ready to spring.
What the fuck? I actually envisioned that shit in my head. I shook my head to clear it as my brothers gathered around me. “What are you seeing Quinn?”
I didn’t miss the looks that passed between the others that were not part of our team but now was not the time to be shy about my little anomaly.
“Something’s going on. I’ve felt it since last night. No-no-no.” I rushed to assure Logan when he looked back towards the compound.
“If anyone was in danger I would’ve said something before now. This, whatever this is, it’s about me. I just don’t know how or what.”
“That’s a stupid fucking thing to say. If it’s about you it’s about all of us. We’ll talk about this shit later. Lead the way.”
KELLY
Yep, we’re on the beach. I smelt the water before my feet hit the sand once we cleared the tunnel. The fact that we weren’t blindfolded was worrying; we weren’t meant to come back.
I looked sneakily around for anything that could be of help while trying to keep an eye on the men who were leading us out.
SEAL Team Seven Books 6&7 Quinn and Devon Page 8