Art of Loyalty

by Monique Orgeron

  “I know it will. Your mother told him to stay away from me.”

  He snickers and says, “My mom couldn’t have stopped me from getting to Avery if she wanted. You think a man like Vin will stop because mom told him to?”

  I look up knowing he might be right. “He will listen to Catherine, he has to.”

  “Whatever you want to believe, but I will tell you, if and when he comes for you, it will be forever. That’s just how we’re built. Nothing will stop us from getting to the women we love.”

  “He doesn’t love me.”

  Liam smiles again, giving me his most charming face. He takes the devices from me and gets into his truck and drives off.

  Vin

  I’ve been sitting outside her house for two hours, getting more pissed as time goes by. I can’t handle the fact she’s possibly still with him. I know she doesn’t want to see me again, she thinks she’s free of me, but she has another thing coming. We aren’t finished until I tell her we are. I don’t care what mother says either. Brittany’s going to see me tonight whether she likes it or not. I get out my car deciding I’ve had enough of waiting in my car. I don’t have a key but that won’t stop me. I can get in any place I want, especially a home with regular security. When I’m in, my first stop is to her bar to pour myself a scotch. When I’m finished I take the bottle and I go upstairs to her room. I decide to wait, sitting on a chair in the corner.

  The longer I wait, the more it pisses me off that I fucking care like I do. I’ve never cared before but with her it was instant.

  I hear the door open and then footsteps. I do nothing but drink another glass of scotch. When she walks in the room, it’s dark, so she doesn’t see me. She turns her night lamp on and starts to undress. I slam my glass down on the dresser catching her off guard. She screams out grabbing her heart. Then she sees me and starts yelling,

  “What the fuck are you doing here and how did you get in?!”

  I say nothing. I just sit here staring at her, imagining her with him and cursing myself for it.

  “Vin, answer me damn it. You can’t come in my home like this.”

  I still say nothing. There’s no need, she can tell I’m not happy.

  “You need to leave Vin.”

  “Did you wash him off of you?’

  “What?”

  “Brittany, don’t fuck with me. I asked, did you wash him off of you?”

  She can tell by my tone that I am not playing around. “I don’t have him on me. We didn’t, he didn’t…” She’s stuttering so I shut her up.

  “Take your clothes off.”

  She tries to say something but the unease on my face stops her. She starts to slowly remove her clothes one piece at a time. Until she is standing completely naked for me. There’s not much light but I can make out every sweet curve of her body. She has her face turned to the side, but I can tell the minute she turns, her work mode is on. I hate when I see that distant look. She wants to play, fine I’ll play along.

  “Get on your knees and crawl to me.”

  Without a second thought, she does as instructed. I watch as she crawls toward me like an animal getting ready to strike her prey.

  When she reaches me, she sits up and leans in, avoiding eye contact. Her hands inch up my legs. I can’t stand this, there’s no connection. It’s not how I want it with her.

  “Brittany look at me.”

  She shakes her head no and continues looking down avoiding my eyes. Her hand continues to glide up my leg as she starts working my belt off.

  “Brittany, look at me. I need to see your eyes.”

  She still refuses, but I’m done with letting her play with me. I don’t want her treating me like any other man. She’s mine and I’m hers now. She will give herself to me and not some fucking working persona of herself. I grab her hand fast and stand, pulling her up with me. She tries to pull away, but I use my other hand to grab her face. She makes a pained sound and that’s when I see it. Her face has been marked. I pull her with me to the light.

  “What the fuck happened?! Did he do this?! Did he hit you?! I’m going to fucking kill him!”

  I release her and start moving towards the door, but she chases and grabs on to me. “No Vin, no! Please, I’m fine. Come on, let Catherine do what she has to. Everything is going as planned.”

  I turn quickly, “You getting hit was not part of the plan. I told you I was going to kill him if he touched you. I don’t care about the fucking plan anymore! He’s dying, tonight!”

  “Vincent, no, I told you I’m fine. It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last. Some men…”

  I shut her up, kissing her soft so not to hurt her face any more than it already does. “Baby it will be the last. I am the only man who will ever touch you from now on and I would rather die than lay a finger on you in anger. I promise this is the last time you are ever hit.”

  She tries now to get away from me, but I’m not having it. She has to understand I mean every word I’m saying.

  “Brittany, listen to me. I never expected to ever have feelings for you, but I do.”

  She’s looking at me intently as I am trying to confess my feelings for her but then she starts to scream. That’s when I feel the pressure of a gun being pushed against my head.

  “Isn’t that sweet. I’m sorry to break up this declaration of love but It seems I have a fucking problem.”

  Troy digs the gun deeper into the side of my head as he shouts. “My shit, all my fucking shit is gone, and I think you know exactly where it is! Isn’t that right, Vin?”

  He looks a Brittany as I start pushing her behind me. “I let your bitch go! I figured she was part of your fucking plan. It took forever following her before she finally decided to come home. It’s an extra bonus to find you here with her. Now I don’t have to use her to get to you. She led me right to you, Vin. I can’t say I blame you though for being here. I’ve seen and felt how sweet she is.”

  I go to attack, not caring that the gun is still on my head, but then I hear Steve telling me not to try it. He pulls Brittany from me. Then Terry stands on the side of me aiming his gun right at me.

  I smile and tell them. “Any chance you two had at being alive tomorrow, just disappeared the second you touched her.”

  Steve pushes Brittany down to the floor and yells at her to put some clothes on. He looks around and throws a robe at her. “Put this on!”

  I growl at him and he smiles in return. When Brittany has the robe on, they demand that we’re going to leave the house and go to another location. I knew this was going to happen. We wanted them to lead us to their other location, but it wasn’t planned for Brittany to be with me. Now I need to behave, follow what Troy tells me because of her. I’m not about to risk her life. I let them put us both in a vehicle and bring us to another warehouse.

  Upon entering the warehouse, I see more crates, not as many as my brothers stole tonight, but still a dangerous amount.

  Steve and Terry throw me and Brittany to the floor. Troy yells at them to tie us up. When Terry starts tying Brittany, she screams out in pain. I throw my head back, head-butting Steve in the nose, then I lift myself up and take a running start for Terry. I land on top of him with my hands tied behind my back. Troy shoots a gun into the air daring me to keep going. I only stop when I hear Brittany begging me to. I look at her, seeing her crying and scared so I push off Terry. Steve grabs me, yelling that I broke his nose. I’m going to break more than that before this is finished.

  For now, I’ll sit it out and be patient until my brothers come. Then I will kill all of them with my bare fucking hands.

  35

  Catherine

  Liam showed up about two hours ago with the drive and chip from Brittany. He said he told Brittany to drive around for a while to make sure she wasn’t being followed. Since then, Avery has been hard at work trying to decipher all the information Brittany got us. The rest of my family walks into the house telling me the weapons have been moved and the cr
ew is finishing the set up right now.

  I try to call Brittany to tell her that she did great but she’s not picking up. I can feel it, something is wrong. I planned that once we stole the weapons, the boys would set the alarms off to alert them to the theft. I knew all along they were going to go after Vincent. I told him not to worry, just to go with them because we wouldn’t be far. I know they wouldn’t hurt him because that would just be plain stupid. Vin is the only chance they have at finding the weapons we stole and having them returned. But I needed them to take him just in case Avery could not decipher all the information. I had figured they couldn’t have put all their eggs in one basket. If it were me, I would want to be where I can protect the rest of my investment.

  Number one rule when going to war, make sure you think of everything. Winning the battle still leaves you open to the war. I only fight when I cover all bases and make sure I kill them all in one shot. That means I need to find all their toys. Vin is carrying a tracker on him just in case I’m wrong, or if Avery can’t find the information we need. Then his tracker will lead us straight to him. But now I fear something has happened to Brittany and if she’s with Vincent, that could be dangerous. He will put himself in danger, protecting her. That is something I didn’t prepare for. I figured having Brittany involved would force Vincent to admit his feelings for her, but now I worry that it could have been a bad call.

  First, I need Avery to finish gathering the information. I need a location and one very important name and phone number.

  Another hour passes, by now it’s late. I’ve been holding it together, but I’m tired. I need to rest, and the stress is not helping my situation. I go to stand up, when I do, I have to grab a hold of the arms on the chair because I get light headed for a second. I look up and Theo is standing next to me, noticing that something is wrong.

  “What’s wrong, Katie?”

  I try to put his mind at ease. “Nothing Theo. I think it’s just all the worrying over Vincent. I’m tired, I need to go lie down for a while.”

  He follows me, so I try my hardest to make it down the hall without bringing on any more concern. When I make it to the room, I kick off my heels and lay down. Theo kneels down on the side of the bed and brushes my hair away from my face.

  “Katie, if something were wrong, you’d tell me, wouldn’t you?”

  I touch his face, looking at the man that I can finally love out in the open. “I’m fine Theo. I’m just tired.”

  “Alright Katie, I’ll let you rest. Sleep, I’ll come get you when it’s time.”

  Leaving the room, he closes the door. I have to cover my mouth as I start unleashing my tears. God, please give me the strength to get through this. Let me bring my son home safe and sound. I need you to help me. I continue to cry until I fall asleep.

  I feel Theo shaking me awake. “Katie, we found him.”

  “Vin!”

  “Both, Avery found their location and it matches Vin’s tracker. She also found the boss and the invoices and orders from buyers. She even found the locations from where the guns were stolen from.”

  “She’s wonderful, isn’t she?”

  “Avery is a very valuable asset to the family.”

  I nod my head and sit up stretching. “Time to play.”

  I stand, feeling refreshed. “You have that son of a bitch’s phone number?”

  He hands me the card with his information, then Theo explains, “His name is Harris Coleman, it looks like he was Vincent’s master sergeant when he was in the Marine Corps. He’s older, around our age. He’s still in the Marine Corps but he has moved up in rankings now. He arrived in town a few days ago.”

  Theo passes me a photo. Staring at it, I feel I’ve met this man before. No matter, he won’t be on this earth much longer.

  I sit on the bed and grab my phone to call him. He answers on the first ring. It’s not surprising that he was expecting me.

  “The beautiful Catherine Stern, what do I owe for this honor?”

  “Mr. Coleman, I’m glad to hear that you were expecting me. It saves us a lot of time from having to explain our actions. I believe I have something you want.”

  “And I have something you want.”

  “Yes, you do. I suggest we meet.”

  “Alone Catherine, no tricks or your son is dead.”

  “I have a place in mind unless of course, you do not trust me? I will tell you, you do have the upper hand. I promise to be alone and no tricks. Just you and me.”

  “I agree, I’ve heard you are a woman of your word. I’ll trust you. Send me the address and time. I’ll be there.”

  I hang up on him and throw Theo the phone. “Text him, give him the address and make it for an hour. I’m going get changed.”

  Walking into the living room, I announce it’s time, “Gabriel, take your brothers and go get my son. I have a feeling Brittany might have been taken with Vin. I just tried calling her again, but she’s still not answering, just be careful. When you secure them and get Vincent free, text me. Let your brother decide what happens to them. Just make sure to clean up the mess. I have a feeling he will want to play for some time and I don’t want this kind of heat on any of us.”

  I grab my purse and look at Teddy. “Teddy, when I say brothers, that means you too. You are part of this family. Go with them and be careful.”

  I walk out of the house with Theo on my tail. He won’t let me go alone but he knows to stay out of my way.

  I sit in the back on purpose, trying to pass Theo off as my driver and not my man. The drive is quiet, but I can tell he has a lot on his mind. But I don’t have time for anything else right now. I’ll deal with him and the rest of them when it’s time.

  We pull into Earls diner and get out of the vehicle. Earl meets us at the door. I hug him and then tell him. “I’m sorry to drag you out of bed at this hour. I know it’s late, but it’s important.”

  “You know I’ll do anything for you. Everything is ready.”

  “Thank you.”

  He opens the door and lets us pass. Theo knows about Earl, so they shake hands and start up a conversation. Then suddenly a car pulls up.

  “It’s time boys.”

  The door opens and in walks Harris Coleman. I remember him now, I met him years ago when Vin was in the hospital in Germany. He was checking on his wounded men, on his way back to the states. He was overly friendly. Trying to make an impression on me. Too easy, it puts a smile on my face, men that are attracted to a woman tend to overlook certain things. They are easily distracted.

  “Catherine, I hope you remember me. It would be nice to know I left you with a lasting memory.”

  He kisses my hand and then looks at Theo. “I thought we were going to be alone?”

  “He’s my driver. He’ll be waiting for me outside. What about your man?”

  He looks back and says, “Same, but first should we finish with the precautions?”

  I look at Theo and gesture with my head to pat Harris down. When he comes out clean Theo nods to me. Now it’s my turn. Harris’s man comes closer, getting ready to pat me down when Harris stops him and says, “I’ll do it. No need for her to patted down by a stranger or someone beneath her standing.”

  I open my arms and spread my legs for him to begin the procedure. When Harris takes liberties with the length of time he’s taking Theo gets agitated and makes a growling sound, like a man feeling possessive. Harris takes notice and makes a face towards Theo.

  “He’s been with me a long time. He’s very protective.”

  “Yes, well I think it’s time for our associates to leave us now, don’t you?”

  I gesture for Theo to leave and then I gesture for Earl to follow. Once the door closes behind them Harris asks, “Shall we sit?”

  “Please, you pick where.” He laughs and pulls out a chair for me to sit, then he sits across from me.

  He starts. “I was hoping we could have a good working relationship. But I see you like playing hardball.”

 
I smile and cross my legs. He watches and then looks around the diner.

  “Tell me, what made you pick this place?”

  “It seemed fitting, people around here don’t care much for the law or rules.”

  “You’re suggesting that I don’t play by the rules Catherine. Isn’t that like the pot calling the kettle black?”

  “Maybe. I follow rules but they’re my rules. I learned a long time ago there were grey areas. But I would never betray the country I live in, or the one my son fought for.”

  “You think me a traitor? I like to consider myself a businessman, like you. I found a demand for a product and I figured out how to supply it.”

  “I hope you know that I won’t help you. My son would rather die before he turned his back on this country.”

  “But yet, he’s not your son, is he? What are we going to do about the issue of the secrets he’s been hiding?”

  “You mean the secrets of him killing his father? It’s not a secret.” I sit up and run my finger across the table. “You see, the only way a secret can hurt you is if you let it. The information you have on my son is no longer useful to you. It doesn’t hold any more power over him.”

  “He told all of you?”

  “I already knew Harris, but yes, he told his brothers. We are a family, they will always be there for him. Vin is the one who chose to keep it a secret. He did them a favor, if you ask me. Their father was a son of a bitch.”

  “Did you know that Vincent tried to die in the war? You talk of the family, but he was dreading coming home so much that he wanted to die over there.”

  His words just gave me the strength I was looking for. Nothing will make me happier than the second I put him down.

  “I am not here to talk about my son’s mental health. I am here to end this.”

  “You want to end it, fine. I want my guns.”

  Right then my phone dings with a text. I grab it off the table and read that everything has been taken care of. I look back up at him and smile.