by Krista Wolf
Seven
AUSTIN
She was stubborn as hell, I’d give her that. Strong-willed and intelligent and unable to take no for an answer.
In short, she was exactly like Connor.
I couldn’t help but stare at her during the ride back, one leg up on the dashboard as she painted her toenails. Dallas had dragged me to nine different shops, including three grocery stores and a stop for lunch. Three fish tacos each later, we were almost home, no worse for wear.
God, she’s gorgeous.
She really was. I mean, we’d known her forever… at first through photos Connor showed us, then through watching her on the monitor for so long. But now she was here. Actually here! Sitting beside me in the passenger seat, window down, her blonde hair blowing so wildly it was whipping around her beautiful face.
“Stop for beer?”
I shook my head. We were too close to home already, and she’d already been out too much. As far as keeping things low key went, we’d failed miserably on the first day.
Besides, though we weren’t exactly stocked back at the house? Beer was the one thing we had plenty of.
“Got a few cases in the basement,” I said, using the conversation as an excuse to glance right. “I’ll bring some up for us, when we get back.”
Stop looking at her!
It was impossible, though. She was every bit as beautiful as Connor had been obnoxiously good-looking, only with prettier cheekbones and full, kissable lips. She had his eyes though. Those same stunning blue orbs that burned with a distinct inner fire. A burning charisma that converted you without words; a magic that automatically made you want to please her, without her having to say a single, goddamn thing.
Dallas was wearing shorts and a tank top now, and a pair of high-quality mirrored sunglasses that had probably cost us a small fortune. I had no clue, really. I hadn’t looked at the receipts on anything. I’d just given her the card — the one we all shared together — and we could worry about the bill later, when it came in.
“How long did you serve with my brother?”
I was surprised she’d waited this long to ask. So far, our conversations had been pretty limited: shopping and the weather.
“All eight years he was in.”
She turned to look at me. All I could see was my own reflection in her sunglasses.
“So you knew him well?”
“He was a like a brother to me,” I said truthfully. “To all of us, really. But yes. We went through our PST together. Pre-BUDS, BUDS…” I paused. “Do you know what those things are?”
“Basic Underwater Demolition,” she replied, looking away. Her gaze swung casually back out the passenger window. “Yeah. I know it.”
My eyes wandered again, and I had to forcibly drag them from her legs. Purposefully, I thought about Connor. Guilt flooded in.
“Yeah, we did jump school together afterward,” I said. “That’s where we met Maddox and Kane. “Tactical communications, sniper school, breacher certification… the three of us went through the whole gauntlet, HALO insertions and all. “
“Were you assigned to the same unit?”
“Yup. Got lucky,” I said. “Real lucky.”
Dallas switched legs, and I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. This time I was strong enough to keep my eyes pointed forward.
“Everywhere we went, your brother kicked ass you know.”
“Oh,” she said casually, “I know.”
I laughed. “I’ve never seen anyone in shape like he was. He always made us look bad, no matter what we were doing. The man was a freak of nature.”
I could’ve gone on. I could’ve told her how Connor Winters always ran faster, went further, and jumped higher than any one of us. That I don’t think in all the time I knew him I’d ever seen him out of breath. That he could stay underwater almost a full minute longer than anyone else…
“We loved him,” I said instead. “All of us.”
Dallas remained silent, adjusting her sunglasses. I could tell my words had hit a nerve, though. Whether it was a good or a bad nerve, I didn’t know.
“I— I’m sorry for everything that happened to you.”
The sun sank a bit more on the horizon, and the miles stretched on without answer. Not that I needed an answer. I just needed to tell her.
“Fuck it,” I said suddenly, pulling off the main highway. “Let’s stop for beer.”
Off to my side, I noticed my passenger perk up a bit. Her mouth even curled into the slightest hint of a smile.
“The shit in the basement is probably old as hell anyway.”
Eight
DALLAS
“Okay, so I need to say a few things…”
We’d finished eating an hour ago, and were just lounging around the table now. The beer was ice cold, and it was going down way too easily. Then again, hitting rock bottom tended to make everything go down easily, whether you wanted it to or not.
Buck up, Dallas.
The bad news was that I’d lost everything… and I mean everything. Probably even my job with the casino, because I had no clue how long I would need to stay away.
The good news though, was that there was no place to go from here but up.
“First, I wanted to say thank you,” I said, trying to be genuine. “I know I was a little rough around the edges yesterday, but I had a bad night. A really bad night.”
“Totally understandable,” said Maddox. He looked buzzed. His cheeks were flushed red, like he wasn’t used to drinking like this. Navy SEAL discipline maybe, and all that jazz.
“Yeah,” said Austin. “And you sure as hell don’t have to thank us.”
“Oh but I do,” I went on. “I realize now I’d be dead if you hadn’t shown up. That in keeping your promise to my brother, even if it meant stalking me for a whole year…” I smiled a little at that part, “the three of you totally and unselfishly saved my ass.”
The guys were staring back at me a little differently now. Much more relaxed. Austin raised his bottle in salute, and the others toasted.
“Next, I want to say thanks for putting me up in your place. I know this is probably a pain in the ass, having me here…”
“Not at all,” said Austin. “In fact—”
“Give me a few days,” I cut in, “and I promise I’ll be on your shit list. I’m sure to do something to piss you off; clog the shower drain with my hair, leave the toilet seat down all the time… fun stuff like that.”
They guys looked on, letting me do my thing. Giving me the floor, so to speak.
“I need you to make me a few promises though,” I said, “if I’m going to stay here. And I’ll need all three of you to agree.”
They looked intrigued now, or at least Maddox and Austin did. Kane just stared on impassively, twisting the cap from his fifth or sixth beer.
“First, I need complete transparency. Whatever you’re doing to find who’s after me, or who hurt Connor? I need in on that.”
Maddox squinted in confusion. “What do you mean by ‘in on it’?”
“I mean you share all your intel with me,” I said, intentionally using the military jargon. “You keep me in the loop. None of this ‘we didn’t tell you for your own safety’ crap. If you learn something — no matter how bad or scary — I need to know about it. And the door swings both ways.”
“The… door?” asked Austin
“Look, I’ve already decided that no matter what you say I’m helping out,” I replied. “I may not have your field skills or your physical training, but four heads are always better than three. You give me your info, your theories, your whatever you have, and together we’ll all try to piece together what’s going on.” I tipped my bottle back and finished it before clapping it to the table. “You might not know from watching me parade around my house in my underwear, but I’m pretty fucking surgical when it comes to the internet.”
All three of them blushed instantly, knowing what I’d said was true. After long shifts in a
stuffy casino uniform, stripping down to my underwear had always been my way to unwind. Surprisingly enough, it was Kane who turned the brightest shade of red.
I’ll have to remember that in the future…
“So are we all on the same page?” I asked.
Slowly they exchanged glances, each nodding some sort of eventual approval.
“Yeah,” Maddox said at last. “We’re up for that.” He paused for a moment, before giving me a bleary-eyed shrug. “Seems only fair.”
I nodded for a good several seconds, to drive the point home. “Good. Now onto the next thing…”
“You’re pretty demanding, you know that?” Austin quipped.
“I know.”
“No offense or anything.”
“None taken.” I leaned back in my chair. “Now, let’s talk about the house…”
It had taken several hours of soul-searching and staring at the ceiling to realize the guys were right; if I didn’t stay here laying low, chances were good I was an easy target. The admission hurt, but it was also one I had to swallow and move on from if I wanted to help find Connor’s killers.
And I definitely wanted to find Connor’s killers.
“Don’t take this the wrong way,” I started off, “but top to bottom this place needs some serious TLC.”
“TLC?” swore Austin, lookin indignant. “I’ll have you know—”
“Yeah yeah,” I cut him off. “I know it’s squeaky clean. It’s tip-top, as far as cleanliness goes, but not very… homey.”
They looked even more confused now, and it wasn’t just from the buzz they had going. Basically, they were guys. Military guys. As utilitarian as they were, they had no idea what I meant.
“Look around,” I sighed. “This place looks like a halfway house. There’s barely any furniture. Nothing on the walls. No lamps, no rugs, no anything to make it a home. It looks like you decorated with the Bachelor’s Starter Kit. Like you went out and bought a couch and a television and a few bags of pretzels, then you sat down and called it a day.”
All three of them said nothing. I couldn’t tell if they were shocked or offended. Maybe both.
“I stuck my head in the fridge this morning and my voice echoed. I slid open a drawer and moths flew out.”
“So what are you saying?” asked Maddox.
I shifted my gaze to Austin. “That credit card we used today. Whose was it?”
“All of ours,” he said. “House account.”
“So you’re sharing expenses.”
“Yes. We share… pretty much everything,” he shrugged.
“Fine,” I said. “If I’m gonna lay low here all day, I’m gonna need a copy of that card. And that’s because I’m gonna need something to do.”
Maddox scratched at the stubble on his chin. “Do?”
“Yup.”
“Like what?”
“Oh let’s see…” I said, listing things off on my fingers. “Food, for one. And not just a couple of days worth of groceries, but some stockpiling of necessary essentials.”
“What else?”
“Your toilet paper is one-ply.” I said, making a face. “Not acceptable. Half the light bulbs in the house are out. It’s dismal in here. The walls need a fresh coat of paint.”
“Which room are you talking abou—”
“Every room!” I cried. “Everything’s white. Or grey. Or shit brown. And I don’t know about your rooms, but the guest room’s bedding is scratchy as all hell. The thread count is so low it ought to be criminal.”
“Wow,” Maddox smirked. “Tell us how you really feel.”
“Everything’s disorganized,” I went on. “You moved in a year ago and still have piles of boxes against the walls. You need shelves, you need bookcases, picture frames…”
Austin held up one hand. “Picture frames?”
“Window coverings, better towels in the bathroom…”
Kane laughed. “I told you those towels sucked.”
“A stereo system, or at least a couple of speakers so we could stream in some music…”
“That,” Austin nodded, “I can agree with.”
“A couple of throw pillows. Maybe a few scented candles…”
I ran out of fingers. When I was finished, the guys were all staring at me.
“Look, if you’re gonna babysit me for a while, the least I can do is pitch in,” I said. “I’m not trying to be difficult. But if I don’t have anything else to do…”
I shook my hands anxiously, trying to get the point across. None of this was an act, really. I tended to go stir-crazy a lot quicker than most people I knew.
“Here.”
Kane reached into his back pocket and tossed me a credit card, scaling it like a baseball card. All three of them looked surprised when I caught nimbly between my fingers.
“You deal a lot of cards,” Maddox guessed. “Don’t you?”
“You’d better believe it,” I said, slipping it in my pocket.
Nine
DALLAS
The next few weeks were interesting ones, to say the least. Even for being holed up in an old house, somewhere out in the desert.
As far roommates went, the guys were extremely chill. I learned tons more about them and they about me, sharing meals and stories and drinks — both in the kitchen and out.
I even learned more about my brother. Much, much more. It was amazing, hearing all about the other side to Connor’s life. I couldn’t get enough of listening to the tales of the exotic places he’d been, and all the incredible things he’d done while there. And the guys never held back. They never tired of telling me.
They never really ran out of stories, either.
It turned out that my brother was absolute badass, which I already knew. But apparently he was the King of All Badasses, and after some of the shit he’d been through with Maddox and Austin and Kane, they revered him almost as some of deity or god.
“If it weren’t for your brother,” they told me on more than one occasion, “none of us would even be here.”
They said it solemnly. Soberly. Without bragging or boasting or even a trace of a smile. And while none of them would go too deep into the specifics of the actual combat missions they ran with Connor, each of them had their own tales of his sacrifice and unwavering bravery.
I learned that Maddox was retired from service, and doing private-sector work. Austin and Kane were still technically enlisted, but had received a highly-specialized, temporarily leave.
“We’re not going back until we figure this out,” Austin had assured me gently. “And neither are you.”
As for me, I was keeping busy. ‘Work’ around the house consisted of everything I’d said and more, including painting, redesigning, and putting the place together. The house was bigger and brighter now, with more powerful bulbs and accent lamps that lit up every room with a warm, welcoming light. I’d ordered chairs, tables, rugs. Cabinets and cases and shelves. And of course I’d painted… I’d painted every room and every ceiling — including the guys’ bedrooms.
I’d even cleaned out and refurbished the old fireplace, which had apparently been used at one time to heat the entire house. It was a big hit the very first time I lit it; everyone retired to the living room to eat dinner while watching the flames.
There was a computer in the corner of the den, hooked up to the internet through an encrypted VPN. It turned out Austin was the technical guy, and he maintained the cameras and alarm systems as well. He’d been the one who tapped into Connor’s security system, where they’d all taken turns watching me. And watching me. And watching me…
Anything I wanted, I ordered. Anything I needed to see firsthand, I was driven into town. The guys took turns watching over me, sometimes two at a time while the third one was out. It was their only stipulation: that I never be permitted to be alone. That, and the phone they made me carry with me at all times. It had no contacts on it other than them, but it allowed them to pinpoint my location and get in touch with me w
henever they wanted.
It was strange at first, not having my old life. But as time went on, I realized just how disconnected from the world I really was. I had no family, no job, no boss. Any friends I had were work friends from the casino. Strangely enough, even after three weeks away I still didn’t miss them.
“We need to go out,” I said, time and time again. “You guys have to take me to dinner, or a maybe a bar, or maybe—”
“Too dangerous,” they’d always reply. “These are places where the men looking for you will expect you to turn up. Places they’ll have paid people to be watching for you, people ready to call them in at a moment’s notice.”
That part sucked, always having to stay at ‘home’. My only consolation was to keep telling myself it was temporary. The guys were making some headway, even if it was slow going. They were learning more about the type of organization that had showed up at my house that night, and none of the news was good.
“They’re military,” Austin said one night, clear out of the blue. “And there’s a good chance Connor found out about something he shouldn’t have...”
It made me angry, to the point of tears. Tears I couldn’t show however, because I didn’t want to run the risk of looking weak. Of looking unable to handle anything they threw my way.
Instead I cried at night, into my pillow. Tears of fury and frustration that, when sleep finally took me, always ended up resulting in some very bad dreams.
Still, I grew closer with each of them as time went on. Austin and I bonded over all things tech, the two of us setting up a killer house stereo system that made me a little frightened to tell them how much I’d paid. Maddox and I shared our deep love for Connor, trading stories about my brother one for one. He loved hearing what Connor was like during our childhood and teenage years. I enjoyed laughing at all the funny stuff he did in the Navy, from playing pranks on guys in his unit to some of the more personal details about my sibling I never really knew.