“Then talk to her about it.”
“She’d laugh at me right now if I asked.”
“If it’s something that you want to do and be a part of then you need to prove your capabilities.”
“So forget about the act? Just walk in there tonight and start showing who I really am?”
“No one ever told you to pretend to be someone you weren’t. You decided to do that.”
“Being shy and acting cautious keeps people away so they don’t ask questions. If I was outgoing and social then they would ask more questions, and I would have to write down every lie I told in order to not get caught lying.”
She played with the material on her shorts.
“I’m tired of living like someone else. I’m tired of being afraid, Peter. I want to start living my life and not worry about those men and what happened to me.”
“You can’t totally do that and forget, and let your guard down though. We don’t know if these men are still looking for you. Hell, to be honest, I don’t even know where your dad is or what he’s up to. These calls, like you said, are coming few and far between.”
She looked at him and her heart ached as she said the words.
“He’s distancing himself. I’m never going to see him again.”
Peter exhaled and ran his hand along the back of his neck. The floor squeaked and they both looked up to see Wayde standing there with Cole.
“What’s going on?” Cole asked and walked out onto the porch. He and Wayde looked at her and saw she wasn’t happy. They’d heard her words.
“Jack called. He made it quick and he didn’t want to talk to Cali,” Peter told them and then leaned back in the chair and exhaled while looking out toward the land.
“Aw, sweetie, I’m sure he had his reasons,” Cole said to her, trying to console her. They were good men. Supporting, compassionate. Their love for Marlena, their wife, was obvious, and she was glad that at least her father’s friend was good people.
“No, Cole, don’t feel badly. It’s time to move on and start living again. Wayde, when can we start those shooting lessons? I mean really start? No bullshit?” she asked Wayde.
He licked his lower lip and gave her the once over.
“Why do you want to?” Wayde asked her.
She looked at Peter.
“To be prepared,” she replied.
“You’re living here with us and in Repose. Everyone watches over one another.”
“I get that. I truly do, however, the reality is that I shouldn’t even be here right now. If I had been prepared, forewarned by my father, by someone, perhaps I wouldn’t have been abducted. If I was trained, at least in shooting a gun, protecting myself, maybe I wouldn’t have been a victim, or I could have fought back immediately and never wound up in that hellhole. Instead, that inner desire to achieve more, to succeed in life, was beaten out of me. The things they said and did to me…”
She stopped talking and swallowed hard. They each stared at her, their eyes squinted, their lips firm as if angry for what she went through, although they didn’t truly know the details.
“I can’t go on like this.”
“We don’t know if they’re still looking for you,” Peter told her.
“Of course not, because her father didn’t give any information at all. He dropped her here in a bloody, battered mess and took off,” Cole said in anger.
“He had to have had his reasons,” Peter said, always trying to be the peacemaker. He was the calmest of his brothers. She wondered if she should tell them what she thought, what she overheard, and how she really felt. It was bad enough they were this involved. A year had passed though, and no sign of trouble anywhere. “I know we weren’t given all the details, but Cali needed caring for and we did that. She’s part of our family now,” Peter told her.
She felt a tingling of hope, a little bit of desire for his words to be true and for her to feel them in honesty and embrace them, but then the wall came up—the need to be strong and independent.
She locked gazes with Wayde.
“It would be smart on my part and yours to have me learn to defend myself. I could ask someone else, but then they would ask questions. More of a reason for me to prepare. Everything is healed up. It’s time.”
They were quiet. They and Melena had taken such good care of her when she’d gotten here. Peter had been the one to help get her transferred from the hospital and then secretly transported to another hospital in Dallas. After several weeks of him and Melena visiting and talking to her when she was conscious, they prepared her for traveling to Repose. There, her recovery lasted the better part of a year. They were close. They were her family, yet she kept a guard up around them, too. If she couldn’t let that down for Peter and his family, she sure couldn’t let it down for anyone else. The friendships she made were nice, and she longed to deepen those and trust friends like Amber, Lori, and Chloe, but she knew better.
“If you’re sure, then may I suggest taking some self-defense classes and starting to jog to build up your cardio. If we’re going to begin training you for shooting and surviving, as you like to refer to it, then it’s going to be done our way. As a Green Beret, there are lots of things I can teach you,” Wayde told her.
“As ranchers who grew up living off the land, hunting, tracking, and so forth, we can teach you a bunch, too. As much as you’re hungry to learn,” Cole added.
She nodded her head. “I need to do this. Even if I never have to use what I learn, perhaps it will give me the strength, the push I need to overcome these fears. I can never go through what I did before. I wouldn’t survive it. But in order to live this life and to feel somewhat free, I need to move on. I’m drowning here, yet stuck here, because there’s no place else to go. I’ll always be looking over my shoulder. You tell me, is that the kind of life you’d like to live?” she asked.
They looked at her and then Wayde nodded.
“We start tomorrow.”
* * * *
“Why did you call him?” Lucian asked Jack.
Jack leaned back in the chair and reached for his drink. He took a sip and stared out at the water.
“She’s still my daughter. The last memory of Maria.”
“Even after everything we’ve gone through, you’re still living in that fantasy world you lived in to cover up your real life.”
Jack shot a look at Lucian.
“Says you, the local insurance salesman from Brooklyn.”
Lucian shook his head and took a sip of his gin and Coke.
“It’s not smart. We risked enough by saving her ass. It would have been cleaner if she died there and you know it.”
“That’s my daughter, and she turned out to be a bigger fighter than even I expected. She got out of there. She killed several of his men. I’m not cutting the tie just yet.”
“So, what? You want to risk pissing off Matel over her? It’s a fucking miracle that they haven’t found her.”
“Why would they be looking when they got their money?”
“Because, Jack, that’s how these crazy fucking Cubans work. If your cop sources had been great, we would have known that high-end retail store was a front for Matel’s operation and his own investment. We ripped off one of the highest ranking Cuban criminal minds of all time.”
“Oh, don’t be so fucking dramatic. There are bigger fish than him.”
“He’s one fish I’d like to see dead.”
“You don’t think I want Matel dead? After what he did to Maria and to Cali?” Jack asked him.
“Cali is alive. You don’t need to live in guilt over that, and considering the secret you and I know, Matel could react in a number of ways. Hell, knowing what you know, why even care what happens to Cali?”
“She is still my daughter and that fact may be the one thing that keeps us alive. Let’s hope Matel doesn’t find out what we know, and be grateful his men hadn’t killed or raped her. For the record, that was the last time I will call Peter to ask about my daught
er. It’s better she has a new life and never knows who her real family is, ever.”
“I hear your words, but you do realize she could be the one thing that will keep Matel off our back. It’s best this way, Jack. It’s the only way to keep her alive. There’ll be no second chances if Matel ever finds her.”
Jack nodded and then downed the rest of his drink. So much had changed in his life after one small decision to turn the other way while a cop. If he’d stood his ground, he would have died that same moment. Instead, he went down the path he chose, got involved with Maria, who he shouldn’t have, and had Cali. May she never find out who her real family is, and may Matel never find Cali.
Chapter One
“Why are you in such a bad ass mood?” Dominick asked Shimmy.
Shimmy shot him one of his dirty looks. The squinting eyes, a disgusted expression on his face as Shimmy placed the grilled teriyaki chicken onto the garlic bread.
Dominick sighed and dished up a few more plates of food as Lori came into the kitchen to grab them.
“I need another order of those sweet potato fries. Table six is asking for seconds,” Lori said and then placed her note pad into her apron and looked at the plates.
“It’s still busy out there?” Dominick asked Lori.
“Really busy.”
“Tell Cali her orders are coming up and they need to get out fast. Those side dishes cool down quickly,” Dominick told her.
“Oh, God, Cali is swamped. I’ll send her in.” Lori headed out and Dominick glanced at Shimmy. It had been a month that he’d been working at the Station, and even though he did a great job cooking and handling things, his attitude still sucked. Plus, he barely talked to Culhane and Warren.
The door pushed open and Cali came in, looking like she had all day. She was smiling, ready for the rush hour. Something was up with her.
She reached for the plates and started gathering them up.
“You’d better be careful and take only a few at a time. You’re not good at carrying that many plates of food,” Shimmy shot at her. She didn’t even bat her eye at him, but when she looked at Dominick, he could have sworn he saw something different in her eyes. Hell, even the top she wore was a little lower than she’d ever worn before.
“Don’t you worry ’bout it, Shimmy, I can handle things just fine,” she said, laying on her southern accent, which seemed to piss off Shimmy. Instead of verbally reacting, he gave her the once over and then went about doing his job. Cali carried out the food, no problem, and came back in to grab some side-salads.
“You’re looking good today, Cali. You going to be hangin’ out later for some beers?” Caplin asked her. He was one of the fryers who seemed closer to her age, around twenty.
“No can do, Caplin, got plans,” she said, all bubbly, which was not like her at all. She had been quiet, reserved, shy, and untrusting. His instincts warned of trouble.
“Where ya going?” Caplin pushed, looking disappointed.
“Just got plans,” she said. Maybe she was letting him off easy.
Caplin pushed some more as Cali grabbed the salads and headed out, apologizing for not being able to hang out tonight. As soon as she left the kitchen, Shimmy turned around and yelled at Caplin.
“You got those extra sweet potato fries ready yet?”
“Just about,” Caplin said and went back to working. Shimmy had the staff working like the military, but at least they were efficient and got things done.
* * * *
Cali exhaled and wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans. Why the hell was Shimmy giving her such a hard time tonight? She was doing everything perfectly. So much so that she nearly doubled her tips and the number of tables she was serving. Even Brooklyn noticed and complimented her.
She glanced at the blond with the crew cut hair and angry scowl who made the kitchen uniform look sexy. He had this way about him, just like his brother, Dominick, who reeked of experience and hardness with a mix of piss and vinegar. They were badass and then some. When she looked at them, heard stories about them and their military careers, it made her want to reveal to them that she wasn’t some twenty-year-old airhead. No, she was the complete opposite. Cali had a fire burning in her to do more, to be stronger, to rage out and fight against those who had done her wrong. Lately, that sensation of exploding had felt like boiling water. It simmered at first, but she could tell the top was about to pop off and spill all over the damn place and anyone in her path.
“Hey, are you okay?”
She jerked and turned to the right, nearly letting her fist come up and strike Lori.
Cali quickly recovered.
“Damn, I’m so sorry. I was out of it a minute.”
“No problem. You’ve been working your ass off all day and it’s turning into the night shift.”
“I know. It’s so crazy. I guess with the summer months coming, it will get busier and busier.”
“Yeah, Brooklyn and Antonia are going to have to hire a few more people. I heard there’re openings for a new bartender. I wish I knew more about making drinks.”
Cali was surprised by the news. She was looking into making more money and having time left to train. She didn’t know where this new obsession was coming from. Maybe instincts, or just a fear to never be a victim again. She wasn’t certain, but bartending could bring in big tips. Ledger told her he did very well. She did some bartending in college. Around here it would be easier. Less girlie drinks, and mostly straight up hard liquor and beer.
“I wonder if Brooklyn would consider letting me bartend. I used to do that a little.”
Lori’s eyes widened.
“I thought you were like twenty. How could you bartend?” Lori asked.
“No one ever asked me my age. It was a small bar but it was super busy. One night waitressing, the bartender got really sick and the other waitresses didn’t know anything. The manager was flipping out. I stepped in and wound up taking over for quite some time. The money was awesome.”
“Damn, I wish I could learn how to bartend and remember the ingredients in drinks.”
“Hey! You two working or on break?” Dominick asked and Lori gave a wave.
“A break? What the heck is that?” she asked with a smile and then she and Cali walked over to the food station and took the plates of food as Dominick set them down. When Cali turned around to walk out of the kitchen, she noticed Shimmy was staring at her. She felt her cheeks warm as she looked away and hurried out the kitchen door. She delivered the last set of meals for her tables and said hello to the waitresses coming in for the evening. As she caught sight of Brooklyn by the bar talking with Ledger, she walked over.
“Excuse me, Brooklyn,” she said.
Brooklyn turned toward her and smiled. “Hey, Cali. Great job today. You were flying like a pro through all your tables. I got so many compliments about you.”
Cali smiled and then lowered her eyes, but then remembered she was going to start showing her real personality. She straightened her shoulders and looked up at Brooklyn.
“Thank you so much. I’m sorry I was such a klutz when I first started. I had some things going on in my life and I wasn’t mentally with it.”
Brooklyn scrunched her eyes and looked at Ledger, then back at her. Brooklyn reached out and touched her arm.
“Is everything okay? Do you need any help?” she asked, and Cali smiled. Brooklyn had a huge heart.
“I’m fine and thank you for offering. I am actually making some changes in my life and was looking to shake things up a bit. Lori mentioned that you may be looking for a new bartender.”
Ledger’s eyes widened and he looked like he didn’t want to be here for this conversation. He assumed she would be a mess like she was at waitressing at first.
“Um…yes, I am.” Brooklyn hesitated.
“Listen, in all seriousness, please don’t look at my previous behavior and lack of experience as any indication of my capabilities. Like I mentioned, I was a bit out of sorts, but things have changed
. I can honestly tell you that I can handle any position you give me. I say that with the utmost confidence. If you would be so kind as to give me this opportunity, I will prove to you just how capable I am.”
Brooklyn’s lips parted and Ledger’s eyes widened, and she wondered what she said that led them to this reaction.
“My God, Cali, I’ve never heard you speak that way before. You sound so mature and, well, professional—older. A lot older.”
Cali took a deep breath and released it. “I’m not as inexperienced in life as you believe or as I may have caused your perception to be. I’ve bartended before, and in a place that consisted of over a hundred different drink concoctions, never mind double that in types of beers. I would appreciate the opportunity to—”
“Can you work tomorrow night?” Brooklyn cut her off.
Cali smiled and nodded her head.
“Brooklyn, tomorrow is Friday and we have that bachelorette party coming in,” Ledger reminded her.
“Which will be perfect. You were just talking to me about stocking up on the different juices and rums because of the ‘girlie’ drinks you may be making. If Cali is as experienced with those types of drinks like she hinted at, then she’ll be a huge help,” Brooklyn said.
Cali looked up at Ledger. He stared at her a moment and then gave a small smile.
“Okay, hot stuff, let’s see what ya got. Just don’t go taking my job away from me, okay? I like working here.”
“You like keeping eyes on Amber,” Cali said and winked. Brooklyn chuckled and Ledger widened his eyes and appeared shocked by her statement.
“Be here at four thirty Friday night, okay? That way Ledger can go over the bar with you.”
“Okay, Brooklyn. Thank you so much for the opportunity. Thank you, too, Ledger.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow. You and Amber are going out, right?”
“That’s the plan with Lori and Chloe.”
She gave a wave and, smiling wide, she headed to her last table to collect the bill and money, then into the kitchen to start her end-of-shift responsibilities.
The Battlefield Series 5: Breaking Through the Pain (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 2