Tunnel, like me, had been kicked out of his parent’s house when he was eighteen for dating a little Mexican girl and getting her pregnant.
Just like I had...I shut my mind down before it could go back to that dark place. That wasn’t something that I wanted to think about right now, especially when I’d just ran a call on young kids.
Particularly one that dealt with a young mother that didn’t have the first clue on how to take care of her kids.
What the fuck was that woman thinking not putting her kids in child restraints? Although not 100 percent effective, most of the previous call could’ve been prevented. All it took was one lone instant in time to change the course of those childrens’ lives.
My own baby wasn’t...
“Kettle!” Sebastian growled snapping my fingers in front of my face. “Where’d you go?”
“To hell.” I muttered before stepping into the passenger side of the medic.
To hell indeed.
“You can drop me off at the station. They took my rig back to headquarters.” Tunnel explained quickly.
Sebastian nodded, but didn’t comment on the fact that the two places were right the fuck next to each other.
Looking down, I studied my clothes and grimaced. These would need to be sent to the dry cleaning service the department utilized. There was too much blood...and other stuff, to let Adeline wash them.
Speaking of Adeline, my phone started vibrating in my pocket, and I pulled it out carefully, avoiding the blood that practically coated my pants leg.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Tiago?” She coughed.
“Addy, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” I asked quickly.
Sebastian’s foot let up on the accelerator slightly, gauging what was going on to see what he needed to do next.
“I’m fine,” she said. “I’m going home sick, though. I don’t feel well at all. My head feels like it’s the size of a small turbo jet, my sinuses are killing me, and my body aches.”
I relaxed slightly and returned my back to the seat once more and felt Sebastian resume my pace. “Sounds like the flu. Did you get your flu shot?”
She snorted. “Yeah, right. I’ve had the flu every year since I started teaching and had the flu shot for half of those. What would be the point?”
“Umm,” I had the resist the urge to laugh. “Possibly not having the flu right now?”
“Shut up.” She sniffled. “Anyway, I need a ride home.”
I looked at the rig and the state of my clothing and knew immediately I couldn’t give her a ride. She’d probably have a heart attack.
“I’ll have to send someone over there. Don’t leave without someone from the club.” I said harshly.
Much more harshly that I’d intended, but I could just see the stubborn woman calling a cab because whoever was supposed to pick her up took too long.
“Fine,” she hissed and hung up.
“Fuck,” I groaned.
“Trouble in paradise?” Sebastian goaded.
“Up yours.” I said before calling the club to see who could pick up my woman.
Turns out there was only the president in residence; he’d have to do.
***
I walked in later that night to find Silas kicked back on my recliner, drinking my beer, and watching my DVR.
“Please, make yourself at home!” I said dryly as I dropped my duffel bag on the floor inside the door.
“Your woman started running a high fever on the way home, and I was worried to leave her alone. She started talking about her papa and thinking I was him.” Silas shrugged and took another swallow of beer.
I started stripping out of my clothes as soon as I made it past the hallway, and was down to my boxers by the time I entered my room.
The first thing I noticed as I entered was the TV that was playing Transformers, one of Adeline’s favorite movies. The second thing was Adeline clothed in only a pair of underwear that showed the swells of her ass and one of my fire department issued t-shirts.
She looked freakin’ awful.
Her hair was a matted mess, pieces here and there clung to the sweat on her forehead, and her face was the color of chalk.
Walking quietly as not to wake her, I felt her forehead and winced at the temperature. 104 at least.
Walking to my dresser, I grabbed the first pair of sweats I found and stepped into them before heading back out to the living room.
“When was the last time she had any meds?” I asked Silas as I walked past him into the kitchen.
“She had a hot toddy and some Ibuprofen at seven.” Silas answered.
Looking at the clock on the microwave, I realized that she still had over two hours before she could have that again; I reached for the Tylenol and shook out two pills.
Then I grabbed a glass of ice water before heading back the way I came.
Setting it down on the bedside table, I sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed Adeline’s hair back as I spoke quietly to her. “Addy? Honey? You need to wake up and take these pills. You’re fever’s too high.”
She groaned, sat up, and held her hand out for the pills.
Which she promptly dropped.
“Here,” I said as I scooted her closer to me.
With my arm around her back and my hand on her tummy, I held her still as I grabbed the pills from the table. I held them up to her mouth and dropped them in before giving her a sip of water.
She grimaced and then dropped back against me in a boneless slump. “Feel like shit.” She whimpered.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “I’ll bet you do.”
“I heard you had a bad day. Baylee sent me a text message a couple of hours ago. I’m sorry.” She whimpered, kissing my neck softly.
“That’s okay, honey. Coming home to you makes everything better.” I said softly.
“I know,” she whimpered, coughed, and then settle back into my arms. “I love you.”
Then she passed out, and I was as high as a fucking kite.
Chapter 11
Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman has to hold onto.
-Adeline to Viddy
Adeline
I woke at five in the morning six days later, finally able to breathe.
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Kettle’s tattooed back.
He was curled up on his side with his arms stretched up over the top of his head, and he didn’t look comfortable at all.
Smiling, I got up quietly and walked into the bathroom to get a quick shower that ended up lasting nearly half an hour.
However, it felt so good to finally be able to stand by myself that I got a little carried away.
When I got out, I dried off with my favorite towel that wrapped around me completely and turned off the light before exiting the bathroom.
Kettle was still asleep, only now he was on his stomach in the middle of the bed. It was almost as if he’d drifted over when he realized I was gone, and instead used my pillow as a substitute for my body.
Dressing quietly in sweat pants and Kettle’s fire department sweatshirt, I went out to the kitchen and had my first cup of coffee in nearly a week.
My sigh of bliss echoed in the empty alcove as I grabbed a blanket and walked out to the back porch. I took a seat on the lounge chair Kettle had set up for my viewing pleasure and sighed in happiness.
Pulling up the reading app on my phone, I read for nearly an hour before I heard the house beyond me starting to stir to life.
Kettle tapped on the window as he finally made it into the kitchen, causing me to look up and smile at him. When he waved his iPod at me and made the universal running sign, I held up my thumb in acquiesce and waved as he disappeared from sight.
I saw him twenty minutes later as he ran down the street that lined the back of our building, and of course, I had to whistle at him.
Putting my thumb and pointer finger in a C shape, I placed the two
fingers in my mouth and whistled lewdly at him.
Raising his fist into the air, he gave a fist pump as he turned the corner at the top of our apartment complex.
Sadly, today he was covering up that beautiful body of his since it was nearly thirty degrees out.
I stood up and made my way to the front porch when I ran smack into the chest of the man that was standing at our door getting ready to knock.
“Oh,” I said rubbing my forehead. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were knocking. I was on the back porch. Can I help you?”
The man was older, mid-fifties or so, and in fairly good condition for his age. He was wearing a pair of black slacks with black shiny shoes, and a pale blue linen button down shirt. His hair was black with silver at the temples; the more I looked at him, the more I realized he looked a lot like someone I knew.
I couldn’t quite place whom, until I saw Kettle running through the parking lot only to come to a sudden screeching halt where my old apartment used to face.
Once I had the two of them in my field of vision, I knew instantly that they were related; most likely father and son.
Kettle didn’t talk about his family much at all, and when he did, it was about Shannon, his sister. I knew that Kettle and his parents had a falling out, but I didn’t know about what, and knew Kettle wouldn’t allow me to pry into this subject. He’d practically shut down for an hour after I’d asked about his father, and I made it a point to steer far away from that subject from then on.
Except now, I was wishing I knew what the hell to do. Did I slam the door in his face and call him an evil bastard? Did I invite me in? Did I yell and scream at him for abandoning his child?
Turns out, I didn’t have to do anything, because Kettle barreled up the walk, pushed me ever so gently inside, and slammed the door in my face.
I could hear Kettle’s raised voice, followed by the smoother voice of the older man, and I felt it best to just go into the bedroom in case they came inside. It was obvious to me that Kettle didn’t want his father there, and more so, he didn’t want me anywhere near his father. I did the only thing I could think of, and that would keep myself the hell out of earshot. I did that by going into the bedroom, closing the door, and cranking up the TV.
***
Kettle
“What the fuck do you want?” I snarled at my father.
My father flinched slightly at the pure venom in my voice, but I didn’t feel one iota of remorse.
“I came because your wife...” My father started before I interrupted him.
“She’s not my wife.” I snarled. “You saw to that, didn’t you?”
My wife? What a fucking joke.
I’d met my ex-wife when we were juniors in high school. She’d been the girl from the wrong side of the proverbial track, and I’d been the rich boy who got snared in her web.
She’d been looking for a payday while I thought I’d genuinely been in love.
Then I’d gotten her pregnant.
When I’d gone home to tell my parents about the baby, my father lost his mind. He kept telling me to ‘take care of it’ then shoved some money into my hand like it was a fix all. When I’d refused, my father kicked me out.
I wasn’t experienced in the least.
Before I’d been kicked out, my mother had refused to let me work, scared to let her son go just in case something happened to me again. Which meant I had no job, no home, and I had a pregnant girlfriend to take care of on top of that.
I did the only thing I could think of that day, and that was to enlist in the army.
I’d done it without Rosalie’s knowledge and paid for it.
The whole situation became a cluster-fuck after that.
Rosalie had agreed to be my wife, and we stayed with friends since neither set of parents allowed us back home. Within a months’ time, I was at boot camp, and then six weeks after that, deployed to Afghanistan to help fight in the War on Terror for a year.
In that time, my fiancé gave birth to our daughter, and then found another man, who’d beaten my child to death when he found out it wasn’t his. All the while, I was halfway across the world in the middle of a firefight.
When I’d gotten home on emergency leave, my father wanted to make friends like nothing had ever happened.
I’d refused, and we hadn’t spoken to each other since.
“Rosalie’s been calling us non-stop trying to get a hold of you. She says she has some things to say and that she really wants to talk to you. I’ve agreed to give you this letter by hand if she stops calling me. So here it is.” My father said as he shoved a letter into my hand and left just as quickly as he came.
I stared at the piece of paper as if it was a live grenade and had to physically restrain myself from ripping it to pieces and burning them to ashes.
When I walked into the apartment, I was glad to see that Adeline wasn’t there. I needed some time to process; I didn’t want to take my demons out on Adeline. She didn’t deserve that, but I also didn’t think I could hold on to my temper much longer, which was why I did what I did next.
“It’s time to go visit the brother.” I said to Silas when he answered the phone.
“Meet you at the clubhouse in ten,” Silas confirmed before hanging up the phone.
I picked up my cut and shrugged it on over my sweats, grabbed my keys off the hook, and left without another word.
I forgot the letter and all the shit that went with it on the counter next to my key hanger, not realizing it until much, much later in the day.
We arrived at a tiny little house, in the middle of a cookie cutter neighborhood, in Shreveport an hour later.
Silas pulled his bike up to the curb first, followed shortly by Loki, and then me.
I kicked the stand down and stood, stretching my joints out one by one before taking a step up on the sidewalk.
“Jesus, couldn’t you have worn a shirt or something? It’s cold as hell out.” I eyed Loki.
Loki smiled. “Somebody’s gotta look like the crazy one. I figure all my tattoos will help. That and my scars make me look manly.”
“Silas, why’d you sponsor this joker again?” I quipped as we walked up to the front door.
“Because he can break a man’s arm in five places in less than three seconds.” Silas said instantly, making us both chuckle.
My eyes went from the front door to the house beside Mr. Jefferson Samuel Sheffield’s to see an old lady nearly falling out of her wheel chair as she got a load of us.
“We’ve got company,” I whispered.
“Already taken care of.” Silas said in his authoritative way that only dared them to question him.
We didn’t.
Silas grunted as he knocked sedately on the door, and the man that answered the door moments later was well and truly...disturbing.
He looked like a douchebag, pure and simple.
Dressed in a pair of creased jeans and a polo shirt with the collar cocked like a real winner, he had the same dark hair as his sisters’ but his skin was craggy, and he twitched like he was coming down from a high.
“Can I help you guys?” Jefferson asked warily.
Good, he knew who we were. Now to tell him who belonged to us.
“Yes, you sure can.” Silas said as we pushed our way through the door.
***
I arrived home a couple hours later to find Adeline in bed, her hands wrapped closely around her knees.
“Oh, Kettle,” she whimpered brokenly as she raised a hand up to her cheek and dashed away the falling tears. “Oh, God. Kettle, I’m so sorry.”
I looked over at her in confusion.
“What?” I asked.
She held up the letter for me to see, and I suddenly became furious.
“Did I tell you to read my personal letters?” I bellowed.
She’d been in the process of crawling out of bed, but abruptly sat back down on her ass hard and look
ed at me in surprise.
“No,” she said hesitantly. “But I found it next to the keys. I was going to go buy some Christmas presents, but then I remembered you told me I couldn’t leave without someone with me. So I hung the keys back up and saw that. I thought it was a letter from you, so I opened it and I just...”
I suddenly didn’t care.
I didn’t want her to know that ugly part of my life. Didn’t want her to know my greatest shame. And she’d stolen that option from me by butting into my business.
“When I leave, I expect you to get your shit and go. I’ll call Trance to come pick you up. Leave the key on the table.”
Without saying another word, I left. Snatched my keys from the hook and left.
I knew I was being unfair. Completely and utterly unfair, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around that. That moment that was most likely described in that letter was the lowest point in my life. It changed the course of my life, and left me with such a bitter taste in my mouth that I could barely function for the next year. My brain went back to those dark times, and I couldn’t claw my way back out.
“Sayo-fuckin’-nara.”I said before starting my bike with a roar and spinning gravel in my haste to get out of there.
It didn’t take long for my temper to cool down. Not even a ten-minute drive down the road, and I realized I’d fucked up. Really fucked up.
I realized my mistake and was at the apartment within an hour, but she was already gone. Realizing too late that, in my haste to leave, I’d never called Trance to make sure she was safe.
Chapter 12
Don’t make me mad and tell me to calm down. That’s like placing food in front of a starving man and expecting him not to eat it. Fuck you.
-Text from Adeline to Kettle
Kettle
“Where’s she at?” I asked Trance over the phone.
Trance sighed, and I knew I wasn’t going to be too happy with the news.
“She ditched the phone somewhere in Alabama. Took a huge chunk of change out of her 401K in Southern Louisiana, and hasn’t used her cards since.” He said frustrated.
Halligan To My Axe (The Heroes of The Dixie Wardens MC Book 2) Page 13