“Is that singing I hear?” I asked, pausing when a familiar tune started to rent the air.
“Marty’s singing Christmas carols.” Bennett snickered.
My lips twitched when Downy joined in.
“What?” he asked when all of us looked at him.
“John called me,” Luke said, breaking into the silence. “He said that things were going great in Denver.”
John, our resident computer wizard, still worked for the SWAT team. He was, however, on an extended vacation through the holidays as his youngest daughter was getting married this weekend to a career Army man and following him to Japan at the beginning of the year.
“Is he done cursing the kid yet for getting her pregnant?” Foster asked.
Luke snorted. “No. But he’s getting on board. I think he’s mostly mad that the kid’s going to be born over in Japan and he’s not going to be able to be there.”
Foster was already nodding. “I think that would be pretty tough. I mean, yes, I’d be mighty pissed if I found out that Beckham was pregnant without being married first, especially if she was eighteen like John’s kid, but I’d also be sad as fuck that I couldn’t be a part of the kid’s life for that first year.”
“John has a lot of leave built up,” Luke said. “I imagine he’ll be making quite a few trips to Japan in the next two years.”
“I would be, too,” I admitted. “I’m too young to be a grandfather right now, though. We’ll leave that shit for y’all old folks.”
Downy and Luke flipped me off.
I grinned. “Katy pop that baby out yet?”
Luke shook his head. “Kid needs to cook for at least another month. She’s only thirty-two weeks right now. And, I imagine, she’ll make it. Logan’s pretty fucking cautious when it comes to the number of hours that Katy’s working. Plus, just sayin’, but it helps that she works with dead people. They don’t care if she takes extended breaks now that she’s so far along.”
“That motherfucker.” Downy shook his head. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me that he was gonna be a father the moment he knew.”
“Didn’t they go straight to your house?” I asked. “Maybe he was going to, but didn’t have a chance to since you went on this SWAT call.”
Downy grimaced and looked at his watch. “That’s true. But even if they weren’t planning on telling me, I’ll be getting confirmation the moment I walk back through my door.”
“Come out with your hands on your head!” I heard yelled.
I looked up to see the first team’s captain on the roof with Marty, calling him away from the ledge.
“Kid’s good,” Michael said. “Made a good decision sending Saint out. He’s going to make a good negotiator.”
I thought so too.
Hell, I’d allowed him to talk me out of beating the shit out of him the other day when I’d seen him flirting with my daughter.
Though, Michael hadn’t done the same when Saint had been caught with Caro, his daughter.
“Back away slowly!” Saint urged.
Marty leaned farther over the edge, his shotgun leading the way.
“You think he’ll jump?” I wondered.
We weren’t altogether worried that he’d jump. There was a swimming pool underneath of him, after all.
It’d just be cold as fuck to have to fish him out. It might be seventy-two outside during the day, but the water temperature had to be fifty degrees.
Chapter 5
I’m only a morning person on December 25th.
-Foster’s secret thoughts
Foster
“Ten bucks says he jumps,” I murmured, texting my wife.
Foster: What’s this I hear about Beckham being at the hospital today?
Blake answered in seconds.
Blake: Who’d you hear that from?
Foster: So you’re not denying she was there. You’re lying to me.
Foster: You’re taking too long to respond. I’ll talk to you when I get home.
She didn’t reply back, which gave me an even worse sinking feeling.
Whatever it was that’d happened, it really was bad.
Or, if not bad, something that they knew that I wouldn’t approve of.
Blake never kept shit from me.
The one and only time in our entire relationship had she kept something from me was when we’d found out that she was carrying our second child, and she’d wanted it to be a surprise so she could reveal it in a cute way.
She’d made it all of an hour and a half after finding out before she came and told me about her pregnancy status while I was at work.
Over the radio.
While I was responding to a robbery in progress.
It’d been awesome at the time, but having to keep my shit in check while twenty-five other officers and personnel could hear? That’d been the hardest part.
My radio squawked then, causing me to frown.
I thought I turned that off…
“Foster.”
I blinked and looked down at my radio that was attached to my belt.
“Your daughter is pregnant. We were at the doctor’s getting it confirmed. I’m telling you on here because I don’t know how to text it all out. Also, sorry to say, but the baby daddy is joining us for Christmas dinner. Oh, and she’s thirty-two weeks along. Love you.”
Then the radio went silent.
All was silent as we all—every last one of the SWAT team, new and old—processed that news.
“I think she tells you this shit over the airwaves.” Miller pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers. “Because she knows that you won’t kill her if everyone knows the motive.” He paused. “How the hell have we not noticed that she’s that far along?”
I breathed in roughly, then breathed out. “I have no fucking idea. But you bet your ass I’ll be finding out.”
“Hey,” Luke said, trying to sound comforting. “We’ll be grandfathers right around the same time.”
That news dropped like a bomb. Then Louis, taking time off of his mission to reply, came over the airwaves.
“If you hadn’t noticed, Mom, this is a private channel used only for SWAT traffic. We’re in the middle of an actual SWAT call, and you just announced that my sister’s a who—” There was a muffled sound, and then Louis’ voice cut off so abruptly that I couldn’t help it.
I laughed.
“You don’t care that your son just almost called your daughter a whore?” Bennett asked, sounding curious.
I rolled my neck, working out a few kinks.
“My daughter and son call each other all kinds of names,” I said. “Last night they-—”
“Listen here, little tinker dick.” Beckham came onto the mic then. “I’ll shove my foot so far up your—”
She abruptly cut off, too, leaving us silent once again.
“I love my kids,” I said to no one in particular. “I love my kids. I love my kids.”
Luke snorted. “I’m glad that this isn’t that big of an op.”
No joke.
Had this been any other operation, I would’ve lost my shit.
But Marty really was pretty fuckin’ chill.
We couldn’t have asked for a better guy for the SWAT team to run their first solo call on.
“Silent night!” Marty started to yell. “…whole. All is bright.”
I tuned him out and turned back to Miller.
“You’re coming over while I meet this kid,” I said. “You promise?”
Miller looked torn.
“I…”
“You’re coming over,” I ordered him. “I’ll return you any favor. Anytime, anywhere. No questions asked.”
“No questions?” he confirmed.
“None,” I promised.
“Deal,” he said. “I’ll text Mercy to head over there now. Feel it out.”
That’s what he did, typing away on his phone while I tried t
o get my head on straight.
A fucking baby. A grandbaby.
I was too young for a grandbaby.
“I found my first white hair yesterday.” I said to nobody in particular. “I tried to pluck it, and Blake made me keep it. It’s the only goddamn white one on my entire beard. Right in the middle of my lip. It’s all I can look at every single time I look in the mirror.”
“That’s all that’s growing in for me now,” Luke said as he ran his hand over his beard. “At first I thought it was good. I loved how Reese loved it. But then that’s all that grows in now. I’m gonna resemble goddamn Santa Claus soon with my beard.”
“At least you don’t have the gut,” Miller offered. “I made a deal with Mercy. If she thinks I’m gaining weight, she tells me. If I think she’s gaining weight, I tell her.”
I scoffed. “You wouldn’t tell her in a million years if you thought she was gaining weight. You’d sit there and let her be fat and happy.”
Miller snorted. “Goddamn right I wouldn’t. But she would do it for me.”
“So what happens if she tells you that you’re getting fat?” Bennett asked, leaning his backside against the car.
“I go on a diet and stop eating donuts every Saturday morning.” He shrugged. “I’m already on high blood pressure meds. I really should stop with that shit altogether, but donuts are life, man.”
I chuckled.
I didn’t do donuts.
Blake made me pancakes every weekend, though. And I wouldn’t want to give that up for anything.
“Goddamn, I’m going to be a grandfather,” I told everyone. “What the fuck? When did my baby get old enough for that?”
Luke slapped me on the shoulder and I felt my entire body jolt forward.
I didn’t notice, though, because Marty was now about to take a dive into the pool.
“About to get real interesting…”
Chapter 6
Will trade sister for presents.
-Bennett’s secret thoughts
Bennett
“Ten bucks says the fucker makes one of them jump in and get him,” I said.
“Ten bucks says that we’re gonna be spending Christmas in the ER with one of them because they get pneumonia from having to fish him out,” Michael muttered.
I snorted. “I already said that.”
Michael grinned and shrugged.
“What are y’all’s plans for tomorrow?” I asked, looking at my watch. “I have to go help with Reagan and Tyler’s kids while they build a fucking jungle gym for them mid-morning. But after that, we can meet up like we always do.”
“The kids are under two. What the fuck are they gonna do with a jungle gym?” Luke asked.
I threw my arms up. “That’s what I’m fuckin’ saying. I asked them what the deal was, and they told me to stop being a backseat grandparent. Whatever the fuck that means.”
“It means if they want to buy their kids a stupid jungle gym that the kids won’t be able to utilize for the next three years, let them,” Downy muttered. “And weren’t you the one to buy those kids a scooter? An electric one?”
I grimaced. “I thought it was one you sat on and rode it. Not one that you had to balance on and pushed it.”
The scooter was stupid. You had to get on it, push it to a certain speed, and only then did the electric part kick in. My grandchildren wouldn’t be riding on them anytime soon.
They were right.
“I heard a rumor that you’re getting another one.” Michael elbowed me.
I sighed.
I was the youngest man on the team. And the first one to become a grandfather.
“I suspect,” I said. “But they haven’t confirmed it. Reagan and Tyler are under the impression that I’m a dumbass or something. I know when a woman is pregnant. Knew Reagan was the first time weeks before she did. I’ve had to deal with my share of hormonal women. And the last time she was pregnant she became so fucking emotional. Cried over everything. One time I cooked her eggs and the yolk popped as I was putting it on her plate. Shit she used to do when she was a baby.”
“What makes you think that she’s pregnant again?” Foster asked.
“We went out to eat barbecue last week. They were out of sloppy joes. And literally almost had a crying fit before her husband explained that they could make more very easily.” I shook my head. “There was one time Lennox was pregnant with our third that she completely lost it in the middle of the grocery store. She got a cart that had a squeaky wheel. She couldn’t stand it anymore and decided carrying her things was better than listening to it. Only she got too much and ended up dropping a gallon of milk in the checkout. Since the only thing she went for was the milk, she started over, grabbing her discarded buggy as she went. She was back by the milk when it all became too much for her. I came inside to find her crying next to the whole milk she wanted but said she couldn’t have.”
The men around me chuckled.
That story was funny now. Then, not so much.
I’d been waiting in the parking lot thinking she was only getting milk. After parking and searching for her, she’d gotten mad at me for not going to get the milk myself. Milk that I’d already offered to get.
“To answer your earlier question, I should be fine to meet at the usual place by mid-afternoon. It doesn’t take the kids long to rip their shit open,” Foster answered. “Plus I’m fairly sure we got them money this year instead of presents.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Miller asked.
I agreed. Money was so impersonal. Not that I was one to do the Christmas shopping or anything. It just seemed that there wasn’t much thought put into money.
The only present I worried about was Lennox.
“I got my wife a new band for her wedding ring,” I said to nobody in particular. “What did y’all get yours?”
“I got mine a new wine subscription,” Michael answered, his eyes on Marty. “It’s supposed to send a bottle of your favorite wine to your door each week. They also send a surprise one every month. A new and popular one that’s getting a lot of buzz. The local winery is trying a new thing this year. I hope she ends up liking it. I went the ring route last year.”
I grinned.
“I haven’t gotten mine shit.” Downy winced. “I’d intended to go tonight, but then this happened and yeah. I’m fucked.”
We all laughed at that. Downy was notorious for waiting until the last minute.
“I texted Lock. I’m hoping that he’ll pull through for me. He said he’d go.” Downy grinned. “His new girl went with him. So I’m sure it’ll be something decent.”
Everybody groaned.
“I got Georgia a new horse. Ever since hers died last year, she’s been reluctant to get a new one. I’m hoping she doesn’t hate her,” Nick offered.
“She’ll love it,” Luke said. “She was just talking with Reese about getting another one. Which was how I heard what to get mine.”
“What?” Miller asked. “Because all I got mine was about forty candy bars from the gas station and some scratch offs.”
Luke snorted. “That’s good. I’ll bet she loves that. And I got mine a cruise. We leave in about six weeks.”
“So who’s gonna be chief while you’re gone?” I asked curiously.
“That’d be this dumbass.” Luke pointed to Downy. Downy who was now tense and watching Marty teeter on the edge of the building.
“You come any closer and I’m jumping!” Marty bellowed.
All the men on the roof froze.
“Marty, that pool is going to be very cold,” Saint tried to soothe Marty. But Marty wasn’t having it.
Chapter 7
Santa is my homeboy.
-Coffee Cup
Michael
Marty didn’t just jump into the pool. He swan dived like a motherfuckin’ boss.
“Three,” I said.
“Two,” Bennett countered.
“Three and a half. He definitely had some height to his jump,” Miller supplied.
“Two.”
“One.”
“Five.” Nico was the last to supply his score of Marty’s dive. “I’m giving him extra points for going in head first. That took some balls.”
He was right. It did.
My phone rang, and I absently answered it and placed it to my ear.
“Yeah?” I said, distracted.
“Dad,” Caro said. “I’m being pulled over but… I feel like it’s not right.”
I frowned. “Where are you being pulled over at?”
The men around me turned their attention from the men now trying to fish Marty out of the freezing cold pool to my face.
“Just outside of Kilgore,” she said. “It’s an unmarked police car.”
My eyes focused on Saint of all people and I frowned.
“When he gets there, roll down the window just enough to hear him. Give me a few seconds to call in to dispatch to see if anyone is being pulled over. Don’t hang up,” I ordered.
Luke was already on it after I gave him the details of where my daughter, Caroline, was at.
I covered the mouthpiece as I saw something sparkle against the pool’s light.
I stiffened and called out.
“Saint!” I said, unable to help myself.
This may be their mission, but I didn’t want to spend the night in the ER.
Except, Saint wasn’t fast enough.
Marty, who must’ve hidden a knife at the bottom of the pool, came out swinging.
The knife caught Saint across the arm, slicing into him and immediately drawing blood.
Saint didn’t waste time, though.
He kicked him hard in the chest, causing Marty to drop the knife into the pool and him to go careening the other way.
“There isn’t a fuckin’ cop pulling her over right now,” Luke snapped, drawing me out of my worry over Saint.
My eyes went to Luke’s as I said, “Baby, just leave. If it doesn’t feel right, leave.”
I heard her car gas up, and then she said, “Oh, shit. He’s. Oh, my God, Daddy. He’s shooting at me!”
Code 11- KPD SWAT Box Set Page 146
