by Emilia Finn
“Exactly.” Steph nods. “They were cowards. They still are, but they leave me alone now that Jack and I are… well, friends.”
“So you like him, right?”
“Yeah.” Steph nods at Tink’s question. “He makes me smile a lot.”
“Do you think your family will be transferred again?”
“Nah, I doubt it. Dad’s pretty happy where he is and he’s looking to buy in as partner. I think we’re staying.”
Steph went on to tell us how she enjoys playing soccer, although she kind of sucks at it. She’s played five seasons over the years, and has scored a total of one time. But she’s cool with it, because she enjoys playing defense.
She asked about Jack’s fighting, and hinted she might like to watch next time, and it’s like Steph already understood the fundamental rules around here. She needs to get through Kit to get to Jack. Not that Kit is a psycho dictator, but because she understood their bond, their past, and she knew she had to win them both over. It was all or none.
Lucky for Steph, she’s lovely, and I think Kit was a sucker to her as soon as she heard the girl speak about Jack.
Young or not, Steph loves her boyfriend.
It was sweet to see, and it reminded me of what I never really had at her age. I was the quiet, average girl in high school, kind of like Steph, but I never dated. Not until Sean.
And the thing with Sean was kind of zero to sixty pretty damn quick. It hits me violently to realize I was only three years older than Steph is now, then I was having Evie not that far into my relationship.
Jesus, imagine if Steph and Jack were having a baby in a short few years. Kit would a blow damn gasket.
Sweet or not, babies are absolutely on the definitely not list for him, for a long time yet.
As though she can hear my thoughts, Steph’s face lights up and she looks toward Kit. “So it’s exciting you’re having a baby. I know Jack’s excited.”
“Yeah.” With a big smile, Kit places a hand over her still flat stomach. “We’ve been trying for a long time, and we finally got our positive. And Izzy too.”
“Well.” Iz places her hand on her stomach exactly the way Kit did. “We haven’t really been trying. I’m still kind of terrified, but I’m excited. So it’ll be okay. Jim’s over the moon.”
“Isn’t he ever?” Tink scoffs. “He’s doing cartwheels and high fiving grannies in the store. He’s way beyond the moon. He’s living with the little green people.”
“Are you scared of having two so close?” Steph asks Iz, but Iz shakes her head.
“I’m okay with having more kids. I’m terrified of birthing them. I’m still sore from last time.”
“Was it bad?”
“It was so bad,” Iz answers Steph, but then turns to Kit quickly with a guilt-ridden face. “But that was a freak thing. Most deliveries aren’t like that. You’ll be fine.”
Kit chuckles. “Thanks for the reassurance, Iz. It’ll be okay. And you will too, since they know what happened last time, they’ll monitor you better.”
“How far along are you?”
“I think I’m about four weeks,” Kit answers, turning back to Steph again. “I was keeping a pretty close eye on my cycles and stuff. We’ll know after our first scan though.”
“I actually have no clue,” Iz adds. “I haven’t even had a period since Bean, so I have no idea how far along I am.”
“I can’t believe you’re both pregnant at the same time,” I murmur, so stinking excited for them I can’t even concentrate. At the sound of Evie’s cries, I turn as she lays face down on the concrete footpath. Sighing, sad for my sad baby, I throw one leg over the side of my chair, going to stand when she calls out to me, but Aiden swoops in quickly, picking her up and nestling her against his chest.
I watch their mouths move, but I can’t hear their words, then Evie shows him the palms of her hands, scraped and sore.
He kisses them softly as my baby hiccups and her cries soften, then she pops her face against his neck and he buries his nose in her hair, and I swoon inside, falling deeper in love with that man.
He’s my forever. Without a doubt.
“He’s so sweet with her.”
I look back to Kit, sighing again but for a whole other reason this time. “Yeah, he really is.”
“When are you going to give that man a baby?” Tink asks with a sassy smile.
I shoot a smile straight back. “Soon as I can. I’d do it today if I could. As soon I figure this Sean stuff out, since our plans to travel cross country on a rickshaw and murder him are bust, we need to think of something else.”
Steph’s brows pinch inquisitively. “Who’s Sean?”
I wince. I kind of forgot we had a sixteen year old with us for a minute; what I said was probably inappropriate. “Sean is my ex. Evie’s daddy.”
“She’s not Aidens?”
“No.” I smile, looking back at him as he sways on the spot, hugging my baby to his chest. “Though you’d never guess by looking at them.”
“Jack never mentioned it. When I was nervous and pumping him for information,” she giggles awkwardly and we all smile at her honesty. “His exact words were that I’d meet his brother Aiden, and Aiden’s wife and kid.”
“Jack’s like that though,” Tink draws our attention away from the swaying couple by the deck. “Family is family, no matter what. He doesn’t see that she’s not his, not anymore. You’re family now.”
“Aww, Tink. Thank you, darlin’.”
Steph’s brows pinch in a cute teen way. “Why do they call you Tink? What’s your real name?”
Thirty Four
Aiden
Ride the Wave
The guys and I stand around the barbeque and we watch the girls as they giggle by the pool. Apart from a few small details, I’d say we’d have to be the luckiest fuckers in the world.
The girls, as they sit together, bonding, laughing, happy; it’s all I want. I just want them safe and happy. And here. With me. I want my girls here with me.
Evie leans in, kissing my cheek sloppily and I smile. But then I remember Sean, because he’s the only thing stopping me from getting everything I‘ll ever need.
I won’t live my life this way, with him silently dictating our lives. “Evie, honey?”
“Wuv you, Biggie.”
Fuck. I love her too. So damn much. I need to ensure their safety.
I feel like we’ve been lulled into a false sense of security. There’s a reason Tina ran so far for so long, and I think she’s still underplaying it, even though she explained it all. I need to get to the bottom of this.
“I love you too, baby. Can you go to your mama? Go hang out with her for a bit.”
“Okay.” She wiggles against me, kicking her legs out to be put down. Her silver sandaled feet hit the concrete and her cute sundress floats in the cool breeze as she runs.
I watch her closely as she ducks across the lawn, making sure she doesn’t trip over again, then she stops at the gate and bangs on it. All the girl’s heads pop up like adorable meerkats, then Tina hops up to open the gate and let her in.
I turn back to the guys. “We need to work out what to do about Sean. We need to fix this.”
“I honestly don’t know how,” Jon says as he brings his beer to his lips. I take a drink of mine too. I don’t know either.
“Do we just travel across the country and run him down with his own car?” Jack suggests seriously and I roll my eyes. “It kinda worked for her once.”
“Then what? We go to jail? Or they kill me on the way out? Either of those options leaves me without my girls.”
“So, not an option,” Bobby says as he brings his own beer to his lips.
“Flush him out somehow?” Jon suggests as he flips the steaks on the grill and sprinkles salt and pepper on the corn cobs.
“How? And to what end?”
“Show Tina. Use her name. Bring him looking.”
“Use her for bait?” I grind out, ready to strang
le my idiot fucking brother with his own belt.
“Well, bait is a strong word.” He shrugs. “I just meant… yeah, okay. Bait. But we cover her. He won’t get near her.”
“But then what? Idiot. We’re not military, we’re not the police. We’re just regular people. What do you suggest we do if we get him out? I don’t think my jitsu is gonna cut the cheese against these people.”
“Call the cops?”
“It’s like you’re not even trying.” Jack shoves Jon, timely, since I was about to beat his face in.
“Whatever man, I don’t know. Okay? I don’t know how to fix this one. Instead of being greedy, why not just keep the status quo. You’ve got her. You’ve got Smalls. Why do you need more?”
“Greedy?” I spit at him, quietly though to not alert the girls, or my mom who’s inside with Bean. “I’m greedy because I want her safe? Because I want her to be mine and for her not to be scared of breaking a bone, for fear of being discovered via paperwork? She can’t get married. She can’t even have kids unless we pay the money straight up, but even then, she can’t fucking register her baby as hers. Why is that greedy? Because you’re a fuck up and can’t land a good girl when she’s right in front of you, screaming at you to stop being a dumbass. You’ll be a petty fuck and drag us down with you?”
“Alright.” Bobby pushes me back, since Jon and I are chest to chest. I don’t even know how I got so close. “Cool it or the girls will break up the party.
“Do you want this storm cloud hanging over our heads?” I look at Bobby, then at Jim. “You got babies coming now. You want someone dangerous looking to come here, hurt one of ours?”
Bobby’s face turns stormy. Raging at the very thought. “Fuck no.”
“So what? You want us to leave?”
“I never said that.”
“So we either fix this, or we keep the status quo, but I take them away, since they’re bringing danger here.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Jim says, taking my other arm, since Jon hasn’t backed the fuck off, and his eyes aren’t apologizing for his dumb ass.
“So that brings us back around, idiot. What. Do. We. Do?”
“I don’t know.” Bobby scrubs his hands across his face. “I really don’t know. Maybe we can talk to Bowers? You said the dude was into drugs and shit. Bowers took down Renee’s drug shit. Maybe he can help somehow?”
“A small town cop? What would he know?”
Bobby shrugs. “I really don’t know. But he was onto that shit for Kit. He wasn’t an incompetent fuck. He knew who hurt her before I did. We should call him.”
There’s just so much at risk. I can’t fuck this up. This is different than with Kit. Her aunt was a small time pusher, using more product than she sold. She was just an idiot.
Tina’s ex though, he’s king pin cartel shit.
~*~
The day after our family celebrations in Bobby’s back yard, my brother’s and I, excluding Jack, find ourselves sitting in Rhino’s, a shitty dive bar at the industrial end of Main street, and we sit around a sticky table as we watch Bowers approach us.
Another guy, one I’ve never seen before, walks beside him, and I turn just in time to see Jim’s eyes narrow.
Jim doesn’t speak, but he watches quietly, observant, on guard, his demeanor already putting me on edge.
“Guys.” Bowers stops at our table, shaking our hands one by one. He takes one of the spare stools then he nods at his friend. “This is Connor, he’s cool.”
“Hey guys.”
Connor offers his own hand and we shake, but I don’t miss the way Jim continues to watch him, nor does he offer his hand.
Connor’s black hair is office boy typical, his skin barely more than white. Just a slight smattering of tan, as though he lunched in the park today, but that’s as much sun as he’s seen this summer. He’s kind of average looking, not overly large, smaller than us, but he’s not a wimp either. He’s just… average. Perfectly non-descript.
No visible tattoos like Bobby. No visible piercings and no scars.
“Do I know you?”
Connor looks up from the cardboard coaster he was flicking against the table and his brows pinch as he studies Jim. “I don’t know. Do I know you?”
“I don’t know.” Jimmy continues to glare. I’m about ready to jump out of my skin.
“Talk to me,” Bowers begins, not missing the tension at the table. “You said you had some stuff to talk about.”
“Yeah.” Bobby nods, glancing between Connor and Jim a few times, then concentrating on Bowers. “Alright, well, this is Aiden’s show.” He nods at me. “I’m just here to connect you guys, but Aiden’s your man.”
“Alright.” Bowers turns to me. “What do you need from me?”
“My girl,” I begin, not missing the way Connor’s eyes flash before he shuts it down. “I know some shit about her. Shit that’s dangerous. We don’t know what to do about it, but something needs to be done because she’s in danger. We all are.”
“So talk.” Bowers takes a pen from his inside pocket.
I shake my head before he retrieves the paper. “No notes. Just listen.”
He sits back again and flicks the pen to the table. Letting out a deep breath through his nose, he nods. “Alright, bud. Knock my socks off.”
“Sean Frankston.”
I definitely don’t miss the way both his and Connor’s eyes light up this time. I was watching, waiting, and I fucking know I saw it.
“You have my attention.”
Yeah, no fucking kidding.
“He’s a danger to my wife, to my kid.”
“Why?” Bowers asks. “What’d she do to him?”
“Nothing nearly as much as he did to her.”
“What’d he do to her?”
“He beat her, he raped her, he almost killed her and my little girl, more than once.”
A growl rips up through Jon’s throat and Bobby’s hand comes down on his best friend’s tense shoulder. “He raped her?”
“Who is she to him?” Connor asks, coolly, too fucking cool. I don’t like this guy and I have no clue why.
“She was his. Before.”
“His?” Bowers clarifies and I nod, hating the ball of lead sitting low in my belly.
“His. She was to be the next Mrs. Frankston. Evie was born a Frankston.”
“No fucking way.” Bowers brings his fist to his chin, but Connor does nothing of the sort. He just watches, continues to watch. Why wasn’t that surprising to him?
“Shit went down, she ran and took her baby with her. She’s been using different names ever since because if he finds her, she’s pretty sure she’s dead.”
“She’d be right.” Connor nods his head. “She’s definitely right.”
“Fuck me.” Jim sits up suddenly, pushing his drink aside as though he needs the space to leap across the table. “I do know you. I’ve seen you hanging around her place. I fucking ran into you, literally.”
My eyes snap to Connor as a red haze clouds my vision. “You’ve been watching my girl?” I stand up on my side of the table, ready to pick it up and beat him dead with it, but my brothers jump up too, taking my shoulders under their strong hands at the same time Bowers put his hands out to stop me.
“Let’s cool it. Sit down, Kincaid. Stand down. Connor, you sit too. Fill us in.”
“Did you know about this?”
“No.” Bowers shakes his head. “I know Connor. He’s cool, like I said. But he’s not from around here--”
“The fuck he isn’t.” Jim insists, pointing at Connor and glaring with feral eyes. “I saw him last year. Almost a whole year ago. He’s local, don’t fucking lie to us.”
“I’m here for work.” Connor sits back down warily, ready to jump up and split at a moment’s notice. “Sarah’s mine--”
“The fuck she is.” I jump up again, only to be pulled down by Bobby and Jon. “She’s mine. Tina is mine. Who the fuck are you?”
“I’m a
fed, and I’m here to watch her.”
“Why?” I seethe, the words almost a hiss as they pass my lips.
“Because I know it all. I’ve been watching Sean since he was old enough to take the helm of his daddy’s business.”
“I don’t get it.”
“I know about Sarah. I know about Katie--”
“Evie.”
“Katie. Evie.” He shrugs. “Call her what you want. She was born Katie. My point is, I’ve seen Katie every single day of her life. Every single day.”
“You’ve seen… you saw it all? And you didn’t help them? What kind of fucking asshole are you that you just watched what he did?” I’m almost shouting now, thank god the shitty live band is blending my words into the crowd.
“I don’t get to pick and choose my actions. I’m given a target, and I do as I’m told.”
“So you stood by while he raped her? While he hurt her and Evie?”
“It’s my job.” He shrugs again, like it’s no big fucking deal and I feel the edge of the table crumble beneath my fingertips. “It’s my job to watch, to keep the status quo.”
“The status quo? The status fucking quo?” I shout, no longer sitting, and no longer being held down by the guys. They’re on my flanks, ready to take this piece of shit down.
“So long as she was alive, everything was to stay exactly the way it was. Yes, I saw him beat her. But she lived. I saw him hurt the girl, but they lived. It was my job to observe because being a wife beater behind closed doors wasn’t enough for us. We needed more to take him down, considering the only way we knew about what he did behind those closed doors, was through illegal tapping. We needed more to take him down.”
“She was a pawn to you?”
“No. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“For four years? You didn’t think in all that time you could help her? Get her out?”
“But she did get out, didn’t she?”
“No fucking thanks to you!”
“Alright.” Bowers stands again, pushing me back and pushing Connor to sit. “Cool it. So what do we know? Why is she still in danger?”
“He’s still looking for her!”