by A. Hargrove
Mom’s eyes fired up like I’d never seen. “That sounds wonderful. I’ve never been to Italy and have always wanted to go, but I think you should ask them first.”
“Babe, aren’t you taking a lot for granted?” Brax asked.
“No. You don’t know Alessandro and his father like I do. April would be fabulous.”
“If you ask him, make sure he knows he can say no.”
“He would love it. He begged us to go last year, and I mean begged.”
Brax pulled Reynolds into his arms. “Ren, that was your family, not mine too.”
“Let’s talk to him and see before you discount it.” Then she turned to everyone and asked, “Would you all be in if he says yes?”
“Um, I probably won’t be able to with school. But that’s fine. I can go another time.”
Everyone stared at me as though I had said the moon had fallen into the front yard. “What?”
Dad was the first to speak. “Acer, son, I haven’t been more proud of you than I am now.”
Mom was teary-eyed. “Oh, Acer. You’ve made your mother so proud.”
Jesus, had I been that bad? “I’m sorry I was such a shit kid. But I mean to make something of myself. So, yeah, I’ll be studying away while you’re enjoying the fine wines of Tuscany.”
“You’ll get there one day, I promise,” Reynolds said.
My other two brothers came in and asked why Mom was crying.
“Because I’m such a shit.”
They both chuckled, and the older of the two, Raiden, said, “What else is new?”
“Raiden, Acer is turning over a new leaf. He starts school in January. We were talking about going to Italy and when he said he couldn’t I was so proud of him it made me cry,” Mom explained.
“Jesus, Mom. That’s what he was supposed to do years ago. He needed a swift kick in the ass, only you were too sweet and nice to do it. If you had sent him my way, he would’ve had that degree by now.”
“Raiden, wait until you’re a father. Your attitude will change,” Mom answered. “Tough love is not easy.”
“Yeah, but you two let the Little Guy get away with murder.”
All of my siblings were looking at my parents. Both Mom and Dad raised their hands. “Guilty as charged, but he was so damn cute when he’d look at me with those big brown eyes and give me one of his impish grins.”
“Yep, and look where it got him,” my other brother, Cruze, said.
“All right, boys, stop giving your mother a hard time. You four were not easy to raise. And I worked during the day. It’s hard chasing four boys around and you two act like you were innocent. Trust me, you were not. Brax was probably the easiest out of all of you. Raiden, you got into everything, including hiding Mom’s credit cards and, Cruze, we had to practically padlock the cabinet doors or there wouldn’t be any food left. You two were so mischievous, your mother was exhausted by the time I’d walk in the door. And if I recall, you weren’t exactly stellar students all the time.”
Raiden roared with laughter. “True, but I made up for it in college. Cruze took a little longer, but he finally caught on.” Cruze punched him in the shoulder. “And look at us now.”
That part was true. Their company was very successful and they were financially set.
“You two were great role models. I wanted to be a badass like you were. Remember that time you took the dirt bike and raced up the hill. You were awesome,” I said. “I wanted to be just like you.”
“Yeah, until I broke my arm in three places, and Mom nearly killed me.”
It was bad. Raiden had to wear this awful cast for weeks. It held his arm up at a ninety-degree angle.
Cruze came up to me and ruffled my hair. “So baby brother, tell us about this new woman in your life.”
My jaw hung open and I swiveled to look at Brax and Reynolds. “Don’t look at me,” Brax said.
“Reynolds?”
She shrugged. “Isla is adorable and you two are so cute together. What can I say?”
Cruze shoulder bumped me. “I’m waiting.”
“Nothing is a secret in this family, is it?”
“No, now speak.”
Cruze would not let it go so I gave him a few minor details, basically about how we met and the safe house.
“I have to say it. When you do it, you manage to really do it. My God, a safe house. And the feds.”
Raiden sidled up next to my other side. “I was wondering where you came up with the law enforcement idea. Now I get it. Blame it on a woman every time.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t just one. It was thirty-seven crammed into the back of a small trailer, and some of them weren’t even teenagers, asshole.”
It was time for him to gawk at me, along with Cruze.
“That must’ve been some kind of shock,” Cruze said.
“I was totally freaked, not to mention scared. I didn’t know who was responsible, if they were watching, or what.”
Both of my brothers slapped me on the back. “Good job, Little Guy. Do some good in the world, cuz God knows, we need it.”
Little Guy—their nickname for me since I was a toddler. I was taller than Raiden, by about an inch, and the same height as Cruze.
I stared down at Raiden. “Those are my plans, Little Guy.”
Chapter Seventeen
ISLA
That night, when I walked into the house, Acer waited for me, along with Ruffles, and Greg, the agent on duty.
“Hi gang. How was everyone’s day?” I rubbed Ruffles’s ears and then scratched her belly.
“Fine, but it would’ve been better had you been with me. My brothers were home and they tried to give me a hard time. I’ll explain the whole story later.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but I let it pass. “Greg, how was your Christmas?”
“Filled with football and Netflix.”
“I’m sorry you’re stuck here.”
He shrugged. “Part of the job.”
Acer pointed me toward the kitchen. “Mom and Reynolds sent back a ton of food. It’s all in the refrigerator. There’s also cake and cookies on the counter, if you want. Greg already ate. Can I get you something to drink?”
“I’d love a beer. Do we have any?”
“Sure do.” He brought me one as I went to change.
“What was that about your brothers?” I asked.
“The usual crap about me fucking my life away. But I’ve straightened them out. Oh, they want to meet you, by the way.”
“That’s nice.”
“Does Lenox know we’re together?”
I had to laugh at that. “I’m pretty sure he does. This morning when I was late he assumed it was because of you. But I filled him in on the situation.”
“Nice. How was breakfast?”
“Delicious, but long gone and I’m starving.”
“Good. Let me get you something.”
We went back to the kitchen where he fixed me a hot plate of food. I ate it in the living room, in front of the TV with the guys. Greg mentioned the day had been quiet.
“Did you check outside much?”
“Every thirty minutes or so.”
“Good. There wasn’t anyone around when I came home.”
“They’re probably giving it a break since you found the bugs. Waiting you out. They want you to get comfortable again.”
I swallowed my bite, then answered, “And that’s why you guys are here. Because I can’t keep a constant watch on the place.”
Then I remembered I left all of my Christmas gifts in the trunk. “Hey Acer, can you do me a favor? Will you go out to my car and grab the gifts in the trunk? I forgot to bring them inside.”
“Sure. Your keys?”
“On the counter.”
He went out and left the big door open. My car was in the driveway. Greg and I heard him shout and we were on our feet in a second, shooting out the door.
Acer was struggling with a man, and when we got to him, we discovered the m
an had a gun pulled.
Greg had his weapon out and shouted, “Drop the gun.”
Acer and the guy immediately stopped. We figured the guy would drop his weapon, but then we heard it fire. Acer shouted again, and the man ran, but Greg was on him and I went to Acer. A patch of blood began to grow on his lower right side.
“Fuck, you’re hit, Acer. Stay still.” I took off the sweater I wore and pressed it on the wound. “Put pressure on this. I’ll be right back.” I ran inside to get my phone and called 911. “We need an ambulance and the police. A man’s been shot. Hurry.”
They wanted to keep me on the line but I hung up and called Art. “Acer’s been shot and Greg has the guy in cuffs. Can you get over here?”
“On the way.”
Art, the ambulance, and the police all arrived at about the same time. I’d covered Acer with a quilt as it was freezing out. He wanted to walk inside, but I was worried about the location of the bullet. It was still inside him because I put my hand beneath him and didn’t feel an exit wound.
The medics quickly examined him and determined they needed to get him to the hospital ASAP. The police were taking the man into custody, with Art and Greg accompanying them. Another agent was dispatched to watch my house while we were gone.
At the hospital, I called Acer’s brother, Brax, so his family could be notified. Within thirty minutes, the entire family was there. Before they arrived, the doctor told me it hadn’t hit any vital organs. He would need surgery to remove the bullet but would be fine in a few days. Acer was asking for me, so I went to see him.
“Hey, how are you?”
“I’ve been better but the doctors say I’ll be good once they get this thing out of me.”
Seeing him like this made me want to cry. I bent down and pressed my lips to his. “I was so worried about you. What happened out there?”
“When I went to get the packages, he was out there, putting something under your car. You might have the guys check it.”
“Probably a GPS device so they could follow me.”
“I don’t know, but I shouted and went for him, not realizing he had a gun.”
“Acer, from now on, approach every man as though he’s armed.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“We got him. But you saw.”
“Baby, I hope he gives you the information you need. Hey, will you do me a favor?”
“Anything.”
“Can you kiss me again? You’re really pretty. No, bootiful.”
He was high as a kite. “Acer, how much pain medicine did they give you?”
“I don’t know but it really worked.” His lopsided grin let me know more than that.
“I can tell.”
“Ohh, I love your mouth. You know that little thing you did this morning with your tongue on my di…”
“Yes, I know.” I had to shut him up.
“Will you do that again?”
“Yes, but not now. When you get home.”
The nurse came in and said they were taking him to surgery now.
“Isla, Isla, Isla, I’ll miss you, miss you, miss you,” he sang, then blew me a kiss. Was he this funny when he was drunk? Maybe I’d find out one day.
I went to the waiting area to inform his family. After assuring them how well he was feeling, they calmed down some. Then Brax asked a dozen questions, and finally, “Is he staying with you?”
“For now, yes, because Art, my boss, thinks it’s better if we’re both in one place. He did talk about the safe house again, but I vetoed that. If we’re going to find these people, being in the safe house will only delay it. They’re not going away. We have an extra agent at the house. But Acer went out to my car, not knowing someone was there. That’s when it all went wrong. Which reminds me.”
I called Art, who was still at the police station when he answered. “Hey, I spoke to Acer. He said the guy was putting something under my car when he got caught. I figured GPS, but you better have someone check it out.”
“I’ll send someone over there right away. Do not drive that car until it’s been cleared,” he said.
“I won’t. Thanks.”
Reynolds said, “This keeps getting more complicated.”
“I agree. We don’t know who these people are, other than they’re most likely part of a mob. But we won’t give up until we have them.”
The thought made my stomach knot. What if this mob was greater than any of us anticipated? How would we ever shut this thing down? One thing I knew—I was going after them with everything I had. Whoever did this to Acer would pay.
Chapter Eighteen
ACER
Surgery wasn’t a picnic, but it wasn’t that terrible either. It had been a deep wound, but I was surely a lucky man. Nothing important had been hit and it had almost, but not quite passed through my side. My muscles took the brunt of things, which now made moving especially sore. I’d been released from the hospital the day after surgery and went to Isla’s, much to my family’s objections.
“You should stay with us,” Mom said, with everyone backing her.
“I can’t, Mom. It’s too dangerous for you all. If someone is following me, which at this time I don’t know, then you’re all at risk as well. Not gonna happen.”
After doing the back and forth thing, Art came in and explained the severity of the situation. They accepted what he said since he was the authority figure.
“Mom, you can come over and cook for me. How’s that?”
She beamed. “Oh, honey, I’d love to.”
Art vetoed that. “If she comes over, someone could follow her home and then that would blow their safety. But we might be able to work something out.”
That something turned out to be a disguise. Mom wore a long blonde wig—she had short gray hair— and was escorted by another agent, which was awfully kind of Art.
She showed up with food she’d cooked and it was enough to last a week. It was a good thing for all of us and did not go unappreciated.
However, during her visit, Mom acted like I was a five-year-old. Much to my aggravation, she even tried to spoon-feed me. Raiden and Cruze even teased her about it when I shared this with them over the phone. I had it on speaker so we could all converse.
“Mom, he didn’t lose his arms. The Little Guy can feed himself,” Raiden said, chuckling.
“I’ve tried to tell her but she won’t listen.”
“Stop it, boys. None of my sons have ever been shot before. Give your mother a break.”
It must’ve been pretty scary for her at first. “Mom, I’m sorry I’ve caused you so much grief in your life, but I swear this time I was only doing what I thought was right.”
“Yes, you were. You’ve made me very proud recently. But I want you to get better.”
“I will, but the doctor said I can move around. I’m pretty sure that included feeding myself.” I winked at her and she finally grinned.
“Okay, I get it. I’m smothering you.”
We heard a loud thump before Cruze said, “Thank you, Jesus, for giving my mother the wisdom to understand the obvious.”
“What was that sound?” I asked.
Raiden was laughing so hard he could barely answer. “That was Cruze, falling to his knees and praying.”
Mom huffed and said, “If I was there, I’d smack you on the head.”
“Who, me?” Raiden asked.
“No, Cruze. For making fun of me. Just wait until you two have kids. And since when did you both become so sarcastic? You do know it’s the lowest form of wit, don’t you?”
“Ouch, that stung,” Raiden said.
“I only speak the truth. Now be nice to Acer. He’s been doing good deeds lately, unlike you two. I think you’re the troublemakers these days. What the two of you need are two good women to help you become better men.”
“Um, no thanks, Mom. I’m happy the way I am. Women are only trouble,” Raiden said.
“Humph. Seems to me you cause enough of that on your own. A
good woman will teach you manners and tame that undesirable behavior you two seem to display much too often.”
I was enjoying this battle of wits between them. Up until now, I had been the one that received all the lectures. This turning of the tables was very entertaining.
“It’s about time someone else in the family gets a good scolding. It’s nice to know you two aren’t as perfect as you think,” I commented.
“Who said anything about being perfect?” Raiden asked.
“Yeah, actions speak louder than words. Does that ring a bell?” I hit back.
Mom must’ve been thinking the same thing. “Do you two act like this at work because if so, how do your employees put up with you?”
She hit a nerve. Raiden’s tone deepened. “Hey, you can attack us, but don’t attack our business.”
Cruze added, “Yeah.”
I burst out laughing, but instantly regretted it as I grabbed my side. “Ugh.”
Mom turned her attention back to me. “What is it?” Alarm coated her voice.
“Nothing.” I waved my hand. “It hurts when I laugh and I forgot.”
“Don’t scare me like that,” she admonished.
This whole conversation reminded me of when we were all kids and Mom was after us for doing something really bad. I laughed again, but this time I held my side.
“What’s so funny now?” Cruze asked.
“Everything. This entire situation. I just realized that Mom can still give it to us no matter how old we are.”
She bobbed her head. “That’s right. I’m your mother and I’ll always tell you how I feel. You’d better remember that.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Raiden said and I had an image of him saluting her. We ended the call after that.
Isla came home from work about then and we were still chuckling.
“Did I miss something?”
“Honey, I was only straightening out my boys. They needed a good scolding.”
“You sound like my mom. She doesn’t waste a second giving us one when she thinks we need it.”