by C. Kennedy
“I do not believe this.”
“You will as time passes. Ask General Sotíras to call me when you reach New York City?”
Thimi did so. “He wishes to speak with you.”
“Put him on the line.”
“Christy?”
“Kaliméra, General.”
“Nicos, please.”
“Nicos,” Christy said succinctly.
“Congratulations on the verdicts. How are you?”
Christy rubbed his temple with his fingertips. He didn’t want to share his personal feelings with this man. “Thank you. I am good.”
“This is good to hear. We were very worried about you.”
“I am good now. Thank you. Were you able to locate the man who threatened Thimi?”
“Not yet, but we identified him from surveillance video, and my entire department is looking for him.”
“Who is he?”
“He is known to be homeless. Someone who works for the Sannas likely approached him and paid him to make the threat. I’ve tripled the security on the floor and around Thimi’s room.”
“Thank you, Nicos.”
“Tell me, how do you believe Thimi will fare with the travel?”
“He will be very afraid but will not want you to see it, and it is important no one touches him. He will vomit.”
“He will need to be searched at the airport.”
“You must have a small bag for him if he is sick, and more clothes. Sweats and long-sleeved T-shirts would be best. He likes dark purple. Dr. Jordanou must have medication for him. On the plane, give him the blankets and pillow to sleep.”
“Anything else?”
Christy rubbed his forehead. How could he explain all of Thimi’s needs in a phone call? It was impossible. “It is good if he sleeps.”
“Thank you for the information. I look forward to seeing you again.”
Christy stifled irritation born of fear and formulated a polite answer. “I look forward to seeing you as well, Nicos.”
“Here is Thimi.”
“Christophoros? Why do you use Christy?”
“It is like Thimi is short for Timotheos, no?”
“Oh.”
“I am excited to see you tomorrow night! Be sure to stay close to Dr. Jordanou and the general when you travel. Okay, I must go to prepare for you. I will see you tomorrow.”
“Entáxei.”
“Yássou, good-bye.”
Christy terminated the call, set the phone on the breakfast bar, and rubbed his eyes. He hoped like hell he could give Thimi everything he needed.
UPSTATE NEW YORK, Saturday
“RISE AND shine, champ,” Bobbie said as she opened the drapes.
Bright sunshine shot through the windows as Michael opened his tired eyes, and he threw an arm up. “Daggers in the eyes!”
“Jake’s been up for an hour.”
“He’s better than me. He broke it to me last night!”
Bobbie laughed. “I’m going to take a shower.”
“No. I pushed your snooze button. You have to come back in ten minutes.”
She ignored him and left the room.
Michael showered quickly, skipped the shave, and headed to the kitchen. “Smells good.”
“It took me an hour to clean the kitchen after last night,” Rosa griped good-naturedly.
Jake smiled. “You deserve a ton of compliments today.”
“I do! And respect. Lots of respect,” Rosa agreed.
Michael one-arm hugged her. “You’re the prettiest girl in the family.”
“See? Michael respects me. You! You respect nothing!” She smacked Jake’s shoulder with an oven mitt.
“Not true, Rosa! This is the best breakfast in the world! In fact, it’s the best breakfast in all of history!” he said as he cut another bite of sausage.
“Listen to the lies I put up with,” she teased.
“He’s right, Rosa. Your food is epic.”
“We need to rock, bro.”
“Let a guy eat, will ya? Did Sophia call?”
Jake shook his head. “I highly doubt they’re up yet. No sane person gets up this early on a Saturday.”
Michael’s phone rang before Jake finished the sentence. Michael looked at it and showed it to him before answering it. “Morning, babe. You’re up early. Everything okay?”
“Kaliméra, filos. Yes. Thimi called. He leaves at eight in the morning and will be here at approximately nine tomorrow night. We have today and tomorrow to prepare for him.”
“That’s good news, right?”
“Yes. General Sotíras identified the man who makes the threat to Thimi. They are looking for him.”
“That’s even better news. Who was it?”
“It is the man with no home. The general believes the men who work for Petros pay him for the threat to Thimi.”
“That seriously sucks. I’m sorry, babe. But I’m glad they’re trying to find him and it wasn’t one of Sanna’s men.”
“Yes. This is good. Sophia wishes to know when Jake will be here.”
Michael looked at Jake. “Call Sophia, bro.”
Jake gave him a thumbs-up.
“You wanted us there around noon, right?”
“Jake before, if possible. There is much shopping to do.”
“I’ll tell him. You okay? You sound tense?”
“There is much to do.”
“Do you want me to come earlier?”
“No, we will only wait for the shopping to be done. What is the thing we use for the exercise? It is called the mat?”
“Yeah, it’s a mat. Why?”
“We need these for Thimi.”
“Ah, okay. Why?”
“He has not slept in the bed before. He will want to sleep on the floor.”
“Why don’t you use just the mattress part of the bed?”
“What do you mean to say?”
“You know how your bed has the box spring and the mattress?”
“No.”
Michael smiled to himself. “Okay. Go over to your bed.”
“I am here.”
“Lift the duvet and look at the side of it. It has two layers. The bottom is the box spring. The top is the mattress.”
“Oh. I did not know this.”
“Use only the top, the mattress portion for Thimi.”
“I can do this?”
“I’m sure you can. Ask Rob.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t stress. We’ll make it happen. It’ll be a piece of cake.”
“Cake? Why the cake?”
“It’s just a saying. It means it will be easy.” Christy mumbled something that didn’t sound kind. “You all right?”
“Yes. There is much to do, and I cannot think of cake.”
“Jake and I are going to hit the track, and then we’ll be over, okay? We’ll help you. Don’t stress. Try to think about how happy Thimi will be to see you.”
“And I, him.”
Now Michael heard a smile in Christy’s voice. “We’ll see you soon, babe.”
“Yássou.”
Michael looked at the phone.
“What’s up?” Jake asked.
“He’s totes stressing. I think he said good-bye in Greek.”
“Yahsu?”
“You don’t speak Greek, bro.”
“Sophia’s teaching me. Come on. Finish up or we’ll be late.”
“Who made you the boss of practice?”
“Always have been.”
“No way. I am.”
“Believe what you want. But speed it up.”
Nero and Mac entered the kitchen, dour expressions on their faces.
“Hey, Dad,” Michael said as Jake said “Hey, Papà.”
Michael elbowed Jake lightly. “Jinx. What’s wrong?”
“Be careful getting to and from practice. The media hasn’t settled down,” Nero said as he headed to the french press.
“What’d they do?” Michael asked.
Mac poured a cup of coffee and added cream, and Michael thought it looked like a cup of cream with a dash of coffee.
“They pestered your mothers on their morning jog.”
Michael frowned. His mom hadn’t seemed upset when she woke him. “We’ll be careful.”
“We have security?” Jake asked.
Nero set his cup of espresso on a saucer and nodded. “You can be sure the press will watch you at practice.”
“So what?”
“Yeah, who cares?” Michael agreed.
Nero took a sip of espresso. “They’ll look to sensationalize anything you do.”
Jake shrugged.
“We’ll be okay.” Michael finished the last of his sausage and eggs and stood to take his plate to the sink, but Rosa took it from his hands before he made it around the island.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“YOU LEAD, I’ll follow,” Jake said as he climbed into his SUV.
“Bro?”
“What?”
“It’s no wonder I’m the boss of practice.”
“What are you talking about?”
Michael gave him a “duh” look as he opened the passenger door to Jake’s car. “I don’t have my car here.”
“Like I said. Get in the car.”
Michael flipped the radio on and Shinedown’s “I’ll Follow You” filled the air as Jake pulled out of the gated drive and headed to the school track.
“How do you think they did over the sister-brother thing?” Michael asked.
“Who? Christy and Sophia?”
“No, Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh.”
Jake smacked the steering wheel. “I knew it!”
“What?”
“Sophia is a bear!”
Michael burst into laughter. “You’re sick, bro.”
“I think they did okay. Sophia said they agreed it changed nothing, and she already has an argument going with Ariel about it. So what could go wrong?”
“Christy wants to know why they were split up, and I told him we’d never know for sure, but for some reason his mom thought Sophia was safe with Ariel and he was safe with her.”
“That’s one possibility.”
“Why else would she split them up?”
“Don’t know. But you’re assuming that Alexis felt they were in danger.”
“What other reason could there be?”
Jake threw a hand up. “How in hell should I know? I just wouldn’t assume anything when it comes to the Castlios family. Christy’s father was into some seriously sick things. Add Petros and Yosef Sanna, and things get creepier than a Venus flytrap.”
“Bro? A Venus flytrap?”
“Yeah! Little Shop of Horrors. Carnivorous plants are all kinds of wrong.”
Michael chuckled. “You’re right.”
“About which?”
“Both.”
A motorcycle sped by, changed lanes in front of Jake, and came to an abrupt stop.
“Jake, watch out!”
Jake slammed on the brakes and skidded five feet before he stopped. The bike took off, and several motorcycles whizzed by both sides of the car, the sound of their engines deafening.
“What the fuck!” Jake threw the door open and jumped out. “Learn to drive, asshole!”
Michael got out of the car, shielded his eyes from the morning sun, and watched the bikes speed away. “Jake! Jake! Look at the jacket on the last guy!”
Jake squinted. “I can’t see it.”
Tad pulled the security vehicle up behind them and climbed out. “Everyone all right?”
Jake kicked a tire halfheartedly. “We’re fine!”
Michael glanced at Tad before looking at Jake over the hood of the car. “Let’s go.”
They got back in the car, and Michael reached for his cell phone.
“Who are you calling?”
“Lisa.”
“Why?”
“Tell you in a minute.”
Until their senior year, Lisa Abrams had been the only openly gay student at school, and pride radiated from her like a neon rainbow. She had a confidence that only came from being comfortable in her skin. Of course, being built like a WWE star and having a Hells Angel as your Uncle Smitty didn’t hurt either. She was also the only person who called him Mike and lived to tell about it. He liked her a lot.
“Hi, Mike! Are you home?”
Michael smiled at the sound of her voice. It was a welcomed comfort after the craziness of the past week. “Yeah, we’re home. Jake and I are headed to practice.”
“Congrats on the trial. Christy must be stoked.”
“He is. We all are.”
“How’s he holding up?”
“So far, so good. Sophia stayed with him last night.”
“Man, Mike, I don’t ever want to see something like that again. I’m having nightmares about him jumping off the Ferris wheel.”
Join the crowd, Michael thought sadly. “Yeah, me too. I’m sorry, Lisa. Is Uncle Smitty pissed off?”
“He isn’t happy, but he understands. If you want to know the truth, he’s wishing his guys took care of Sanna when you guys rescued Christy from the plane. Nobody like that deserves to live.”
Uncle Smitty had a shady background. He rode a Harley, owned a bar called Whitey’s, owned all the rides down at the waterfront including the Ferris wheel, and seemed to be the boss of everyone at JFK’s private air terminal. His office looked like a war room, tapped into every manner of communication conceivable—real-time cams in the city, speakers that squawked police communications, and walls lined with video and computer displays. Smitty kept his fingertips on the pulse of the world, and everyone obeyed him. Except Michael—just that one time when he’d snuck onto Yosef’s private jet to rescue Christy. Well, and then when he climbed the Ferris wheel to get to Christy. No matter how shady, Smitty was awesome. He always looked out for them and was the first to do anything for a kid. Not to mention, Michael wouldn’t have found Christy after Yosef kidnapped him without Smitty’s help.
“I can identify. If I ever get my hands on the guy again, he’s dead. But things are calming down and getting back to normal now that the trial is over. Will you tell Smitty we’re sorry?”
“Tell him yourself, Mike. Otherwise he’ll think you have no balls.”
Michael smiled to himself. “I will.”
“Can we come to the barbecue tomorrow? We’re dying to see you guys.”
Wellington’s Sunday barbecues were no longer only for the residents. They’d become a regular weekly gig for most of their friends too. “I don’t see why not, but give Christy a call? I don’t know all of what’s on his agenda for tomorrow.”
“Sure, Mike. You two okay?”
“Me and Christy? Solid. He’s just nervous because Thimi arrives tomorrow night and he’s trying to get everything ready for him.”
“Wow! That’s huge! Want help?”
“Ask Christy when you call?”
“Will do. Talk to you—”
“Lisa, wait.”
“What?”
“Tell Smitty they’re at it again. Another stoppie, but Jake was fast on the brakes.”
“No freakin’ way! Man, that’s going to seriously piss Smitty off. Those losers were supposed to stay gone. I know he’ll send our guys out again. Watch for ’em.”
“Thanks, Lisa. Tell him I’m sorry to bother him about this again.”
“Get over it, Mike! It sure as hell isn’t your fault!”
“I know. But still.”
“I’ll call you back if he does something different, but otherwise look for our guys’ colors.”
“Got it.”
“Hey, what track are you going to?”
“School.”
“Maybe we’ll drop by.”
“Don’t do it because of those guys.”
“Nah, we’re your cheerleaders, remember? You can’t do shit without us.”
Michael smiled again. “Cheerleaders for the win!”
“You know it! Laters, Mike!”
Michael terminated the call.
“Spill it,” Jake said angrily.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
MICHAEL HAD forgotten that Jake had been in the hospital after the kidnapping when the motorcycle gang had hassled him, him and his mom, and him and Christy. “Your dad didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?” Jake asked angrily.
“Crap, Jake, I thought your dad would have told you.”
“Tell me already!”
“There’s this motorcycle ga—club that’s up here from the city. They’ve been hassling me and doing stoppies like they just did to you. They did it once to Mom, then a couple of times to me, and scared the crap out of Christy. Then one day last week, I pulled into the neighborhood and a lot of them blocked the entrance to my street. Smitty’s guys took care of it, and they were supposed to be gone. Smitty thinks some guy named Chase leads them, and he’s who Jason got the bomb from to blow up my car.”
Jake gaped at him.
“Hey, bro, if I knew you didn’t know, I’d have told you. Sorry.”
Jake shook his head as he drove. “Still oblivious.”
“Hey, lighten up. I forgot, okay?”
“My dad knows about this?”
“Yeah. Security was with us when they did it to Mom and me.”
“Then what’s with this fuckery if they’re supposed to be gone?”
“Hell if I know.”
Jake shook his head in disgust. “Did Christy tell Sophia about them?”
“I’m sure he did. Why?”
“Now I have to tell her it happened with us, and she’ll want something done about it.”
“I don’t know what to say, bro. It isn’t our faults they’re messing with us.”
“Why’d you ask me about one of the jackets?”
“I’ve seen it before, but I can’t remember where.”
“What does it look like?”
“Jeans jacket. Has a big red firecracker on the back and a big yellow explosion or sun or something on the front of it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, why?”
“It’s a jacket like Rich’s?”
It was Michael’s turn to gape. “Jason’s Rich?”
“Yeah. He, Jason, and Tony got them last Fourth of July at the arcade. Remember? Rich wears his all the time.”
“Oh my God, how could I not remember that?”