Kestrel

by A. M. Hargrove

  “This is the coolest run I’ve ever been on,” Gabby declares. “Kolson, we need a house down here.”

  “I would agree,” Kolson says. “Besides, I’ll be coming down a lot for business so it would only make sense.”

  When we get home, I go and grab a change of clothing, along with Carter’s gift, and meet her in the carriage house. We shower together and when we’re dressed, she starts to head to the door.

  “Wait a minute. There’s something I want to give you.” I pull out the box and hand it to her. It’s not hard to figure out that it’s jewelry. But I hope she likes it. “Merry Christmas, angel.”

  “Thank you.” She takes the box, unwraps, then opens it. It’s a gold chain with a diamond teardrop hanging within a gold circle on it. It’s not fancy but its simplicity makes it elegant; I hope she thinks so.

  Her hand instantly reaches for her throat. She does this a lot when something moves her. It’s a hit so I smile.

  “It’s perfect.”

  “Can I tell you why I got this?”

  “Please.”

  “Because I want your last tears over Ells’ room to be shed. Today, I want us to start our new beginning together. On this Christmas. And this teardrop represents the beginning and the end. From now on, I want all your tears to be happy ones. You are my circle too, angel. My beginning and end. And I want us to be forever.”

  Her body slams into mine like a bulldozer. Arms and legs wrap tightly around me; there really isn’t a beginning or an end to either of us. Then her mouth seeks mine and she kisses me, breathes her life into me, stamps her soul onto mine, and I know I’m forever hers.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Carter

  The necklace. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful or had anything that represented such meaning as this. I will never take it off again, as long as I live.

  “Kestrel, this is the most perfect thing ever.” My fingers dance over it. The diamond is magnificent. I don’t have any idea how large it is, nor do I care. What I love most is what he said to me. “I never would’ve stopped crying if you hadn’t come into my life.”

  He smiles and touches his lips to my nose. “I guess we need to get back.”

  “But I need to give you my gifts. Granted, they’re nothing like this.”

  “I will love anything from you.”

  I go and pull out my gifts for him. They are all a bunch of nonsensical things, except for one. He opens the first and it’s a Lamborghini key chain. He laughs as he dangles it in the air.

  “I know you don’t need a key, but I thought it was cool.”

  “It is cool and I love it.”

  Then he unwraps a Lamborghini baseball cap. He holds it up and says, “I’ve wanted one of these and never got around to buying one.”

  “Are you just saying that?”

  “You ought to know me better than that by now. I never just say things.”

  I still look at him skeptically. But then I smile.

  The next gift is a wrought iron pineapple. He looks at it oddly and I laugh. “It’s the gift of hospitality. I needed to gift it to you for your new home.”

  He nods, but I think he’s still a bit clueless over it. Guess it’s a southern thing for me.

  Then I hand him a thick embossed envelope. He opens it and it’s for a weekend for two at the Sanctuary resort at Kiawah.

  I hold up my hands saying, “I was really at a loss. Seems you have everything. So I thought this would be fun.”

  A giant smile spreads across his face. Using the envelope for emphasis, he says, “This is fabulous. I love it. Thank you very much.” He kisses me. “I can already see us. Champagne, strawberries, naked all weekend.”

  “My thoughts exactly!”

  “When do you want to go?”

  “Kestrel, it’s your gift, your choice.”

  I nod. “Let’s get my family out of here and then we’ll decide.”

  I wrap myself around him again, kissing him. “Mmm. Too bad it’s not just the two of us. We could spend Christmas in bed.”

  He takes one of my arms and places a hand over his dick. “This is me. And if you don’t stop, we’ll have to rectify this situation.”

  “So, what’s the problem with that?”

  “Time. And a brother that will not let you forget it.”

  “Oh. That.”

  “Yes. That.”

  “Okay. Kestrel, thank you for the necklace. I’ll never take it off. And thank you for making it private. I’m glad you didn’t give it to me in front of your family.”

  “Never. I wouldn’t share that type of thing with them. Only sweaters and handbags.”

  “Ha! I love sweaters and handbags.”

  He rolls his eyes. “Come.”

  He takes my hand and off we go. I love this man. Damn, do I love this man.

  ***

  Our Christmas is filled with laughter and love. It’s the first time I’ve felt like this in over four years, and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face if I tried. The rest of the Harts exchange gifts and there are some fun ones tossed in for jokes. Kolson gives Kestrel a huge cookbook, Gabby gives him an iron, and then they give him a printout of a listing for local people interested in house work, i.e., maids. It’s all done with such a flourish, by the time they finish, I’m holding my sides and my face hurts so bad from laughing.

  “Okay. I get the point. I know I’m helpless,” Kestrel says, his hands in the air.

  Then Gabby throws a big, beautifully wrapped box at him. Inside are several pairs of his favorite pants from his personal tailor in New York.

  I raise my brows.

  Gabby notices and says, “Oh, I see he didn’t tell you. Kestrel is very fastidious about his clothing. Mainly his pants and suits. He refuses to wear ready-made. Even designer brands. Nothing off the rack for him. He has to have them made.”

  My head swivels to him and he’s staring at me with a smirk on his face. “I confess.”

  “What’s wrong with off the rack stuff?” I ask curiously.

  He shrugs and says, “They make my ass look too big.”

  For a moment I think he’s serious and I say, “You’re kidding.”

  He turns around so his ass is facing me and asks, “What do you think?”

  By now my face is hotter than an oven in the middle of summer. I decide, what the hell, and I go with it. “Personally, I don’t think your ass could possibly look any better than this.” I stand and smack it as hard as I can and then run for the kitchen.

  Gabby and Kolson bust out laughing. Kestrel tears after me laughing, too. He finally catches up with me.

  “You didn’t warn me about your persnicketiness. You’re totally high maintenance,” I say.

  “Oh, yeah. But don’t worry. I’ll be easy on the eyes.”

  “Ha! You already are.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Kestrel

  The meal is divine. Carter has prepared the tenderloin to perfection and the lobster tails are delicious. Once again, Kolson doesn’t take a breath. I worry about that guy. I’m sitting at the head of the table with Carter to my right and Kolson to my left. Gabby is next to Kolson and Mom is next to Carter. We are all chatting amiably (with the exception of Kolson because he’s too busy eating) when I hear a popping noise that interrupts conversation. The dining room is in the front of the house and the windows instantly shatter, along with everything else around us. Instinct has me grabbing Carter’s arm and pulling her to the floor. I scream Kolson’s name and Gabby’s too. Then I crawl toward Mom, who still sits in her chair. When I get to her, I shove the chair over so it hits the floor.

  “Call 911. Anyone call 911!” I yell.

  Glass and other debris are everywhere. It pierces the palms of my hands and knees as I crawl. The gunfire still spits so I have to stay low. I hear Kolson on his cell, yelling at the 911 dispatcher that we are under fire.

  “Stay under the table,” I yell. I pull Mom under there too, but then I notice she’s been
hit. “Shit!” Blood seeps from her side. Not spurting out, like you see in the movies, but it’s coming out in a steady flow. “Mom’s hit. Is anyone else?”

  “Yeah.”

  It’s Carter. She’s holding her shoulder. I can see blood coming out between her fingers.

  “Fuck! Anyone else?”

  Kolson is still on the phone, yelling. “Hurry. We have people wounded in here!”

  Gabby is strangely silent.

  “Gabby?”

  Nothing.

  The gunfire has stopped.

  “Kolson, check Gabby.”

  “No.”

  “Do it!”

  He’s frozen so I crawl over to her and she’s deathly pale. She’s been hit in the side, like Mom. I get up and run to the kitchen to grab towels. Bringing as many as I can find, I hand some to Kolson and tell him to find Gabby’s wound and put compression on it. Then I give some to Carter so she can hold them on her wounds. Turning to Mom, I don’t like what I see. She’s bleeding profusely now. I find the hole in her. But there are several and I don’t think I can cover them all. Jesus Christ, how did this happen? Who did this?

  “Mom, hold on.” I do the best I can with the towels and Carter gets up.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Upstairs to get more towels for her.”

  She comes back, her good arm dragging a blanket. Using that, I wrap it around Mom as tight as I can and we wait. It seems like forever, as I’m sure it always does, but the police and EMS arrive. After they do, I find I’ve also been hit. Grazed really. In the arm. They take us off to the hospital and when we arrive, they ask questions.

  Of course it could be mob related. After all, we did turn in all that evidence a year ago. But all those people are now in prison, awaiting trial. Maybe it’s their flunkies. Who knows? But I want to find out who tried to kill my family.

  Mom and Gabby are critical. They’re both in surgery now. Kolson is still frozen in shock. Carter is going to be fine. She will have surgery to have the bullet removed. My mind racing with what happened, I come to a decision. Carter needs to be away from this … from me. She can’t be placed in this type of danger any more. She could have died … fucking died today because of me. I will not let that happen. As soon as she’s better, I’ll buy her a new place to live and assign her a bodyguard for protection. Then I’ll leave so she won’t have to worry about getting gunned down again. Sometimes you do things you hate for the people you love and this will be one of those things.

  Numbness pervades every molecule of me. I touch Kolson’s shoulder and when he looks at me, grief gushes from his eyes.

  With a firmness I don’t feel, I grab his arms and say, “Don’t you dare lose hope. You can’t possibly lose hope now.”

  His voice is weak with despair as he answers, “But did you see her? Did you see her? There was no life left in her.”

  “That isn’t true, dammit. If it were, they wouldn’t be in there digging a bullet out of her. Now you need to pull your shit together, Kol, because Gabby needs you now, more than ever.”

  “You really think she has a chance?”

  “Yes! But it’s not what I think that’s important. It’s what the medical staff thinks and it’s what you think!”

  “And Mom?”

  This is where I shake my head. “Mom’s another story, Kol.” My voice cracks. “You heard what the doctors said. Her chances are so slim.”

  “I was so focused on Gabriella, I couldn’t take it all in.”

  “Kolson, we need to call Kade and let him know something.”

  “Yeah.”

  A nurse approaches us and asks for me. “You can see Dr. Drayton now.”

  Turning to Kolson I ask, “Will you be okay by yourself?”

  “Yes. Go.”

  The nurse escorts me and on the way she asks how my arm is. I refused treatment when we got here. “You need to have it looked at by a physician, Mr. Hart.”

  “I will. After all this mess is finished.”

  We enter a room and Carter is sitting up in bed. Her eyes are glazed from pain medication, I guess. She gives me a loopy smile.

  “Hey.” I move to her side and kiss her cheek. “How’s the shoulder?”

  “Okay for now. They want to get it out tonight.”

  “Good.”

  “No! I want to be with you.”

  “No. I’m fine. You need to get well, angel.”

  “Kestrel, what happened?”

  “We don’t know. The police are investigating, but maybe something to do with the mob. I’ve called the HTS security team and they’re going to get someone to look into it if the police come up empty handed.”

  “Gabby and Sylvia?”

  “Still in surgery. I’ll let you know as soon as we hear something. But I want you to get your shoulder taken care of before any other damage occurs.”

  Her arm is in an immobilizer and she has IV’s in the other. She uses that hand to scratch her nose. She’s still bloody from the attack.

  I glance around the room and find a cloth. There’s a sink next to the bed so I wet the cloth and then gently wipe the dried blood off her face and arms. I’m sure it’s everywhere, but getting rid of this bit makes me feel better.

  Sitting next to her, I touch her cheek and say, “I don’t know how you manage it, but you’re even beautiful here.”

  “And I have a big time buzz going with the pain meds they gave me. So you better watch out, buster.” Then her eyes get as big as the moon and she says, “You’re bleeding!”

  “No worries, angel, it’s just a scrape. I’ll have them check it out after Mom and Gabby get out of surgery. I have a few other things that need tending first.”

  “Oh, baby. Come here and let me kiss it and make it better.”

  She really is loopy. Leaning toward her so she can reach my arm, I watch her press her lip to my sleeve. I’m hoping she doesn’t get blood on her mouth.

  “There. All better?”

  “Yep. Thanks, sweetheart.”

  “I’m so sleepy.”

  “Then I think you should probably take a nap. I’ll wake you before your surgery.”

  “Promise?”

  “Promise.” I kiss her cheek and moments later she’s snoring like a trooper. How such a delicate looking thing like her can produce such a monstrous noise boggles the mind, but she does. I allow myself the pleasure of watching her for a few minutes, and then head back to Kolson to see if there’s any news. On the way I call Kade to tell him the horrible news. Then I tell him he needs to come. Next I call the pilot on standby. But I forget that it’s Christmas and that we don’t have one on standby today. I call Kade back to tell him he’ll have to fly commercial.

  Kolson doesn’t have news yet on Gabby. I fill him in on Kade’s status. This is going to be a long night. Hours pass. We sit. Finally, one surgeon comes to tell us our mother made it through, but she is in critical condition. Her situation is very grave and he is not very hopeful. Less than a half hour later, another surgeon comes to tell us that Gabby is doing as well as can be expected. They found three bullets in her, two of which entered her lungs and one that nicked her liver. But the good news is they removed them all and if everything goes as they hope it will, she will be fine. She lost a lot of blood and there was significant trauma, but she pulled through okay. Now it’s sit and wait.

  I make another call to Kade to see what time he’s supposed to arrive.

  “I can’t get out until the morning. There aren’t any flights available. Will you keep me posted on things? I’m booked for the first thing out so I’ll be there by noon, since there aren’t any direct flights,” he informs me.

  “Okay. I’ll call if anything comes up. I’d say we’d send a jet, but it’s still faster if you fly commercial.”

  Now I need to tell Carter about Mom, so I go back to her room. She’s still asleep and I don’t want to disturb her. While I’m there, the nurse comes in and says they’re going to take her to surgery now.


  “Now?” I ask.

  “Oh, yes. They want to get that bullet out. The surgeon that did your mother will do Dr. Drayton’s surgery.”

  “I see.”

  I wake Carter up. She’s groggy but understands what I tell her. She knows the doctor’s name when I mention it. He’s a thoracic trauma surgeon.

  “The bullet must be lodged in my chest if he’s doing the surgery. I thought it was in my shoulder.”

  Almost on cue, the surgeon walks in and introduces himself. He already knows me, so he only nods in my direction. The bullet is indeed sitting in her chest wall. He says it should be cut and dry. An in-and-out type of thing. This whole thing leaves me very unsettled. A bullet in someone’s chest is never a simple matter. But then I’m not the doctor, he is.

  Soon they wheel Carter away, and I’m left there standing alone, feeling very uneasy. Again, I find myself in the surgery waiting room. Kolson is gone. I can only assume he’s with Gabby. I dig in my pocket for my phone and when I find it, it’s covered in blood. Fuck. How did this day … this perfect day … end up so damn tragic?

  The chain of events rolls through my head, and I jump to my feet and run to the ICU where my mom is. What if she doesn’t make it? I have to see her. When I get there, she has more tubes attached to her than I can count. I stare at her through the window. The ventilator pushes air in and out of her lungs and I can see her chest move up and down accordingly. A nurse touches my arm and for the first time in weeks, I flinch.

  “I didn’t mean to startle you, Mr. Hart. I was going to tell you that you could go in if you want.”

  I’m so choked with emotion, I can’t answer. Like a zombie, I walk into the unit and the medical team opens up an area to allow me in. They are adjusting things on her. Medicines and such, I suppose.

  “Can she hear me?” I ask.

  “We don’t really know for sure, but we always tell family members that it’s good to talk to the patient. Maybe they can hear, even subconsciously.”