by Cee Bowerman
“He heard you, huh? I’ll just swing by there when I leave the job site. I may not get to take you to lunch, but I’ll at least get a kiss.”
“Okay, see you in a bit.”
I put the phone in my purse and looked up at Marcus’s smiling face.
“I’ll need a bouquet of baby pandas to make up for that grievous insult,” Marcus laughed. “And I’m not a fan of calicos, they’re too gamey. I like the little gray kittens with white on the tips of their tails. They taste like cotton candy.”
“I’m sorry.” I knew I was blushing and felt a little sympathy for my kids because I busted them saying shit they shouldn’t all the time.
“Why don’t sharks attack lawyers?” Marcus asked with a smile. When I shrugged, he laughed and said, “Professional courtesy.”
I laughed at his joke and he stepped to the side and motioned for me to come back into his office.
“I drafted up the document and just need your signature,” Marcus explained as we walked through the reception area and back to his office. “I’ve got two witnesses ready - they’re some of my employees. My secretary is a notary. We’ll get this taken care of and then I’ll file right away.”
“Thank you for working so quickly and again, I’m sorry about the insult.”
“Oh, Reba, I’ve heard so much worse,” Marcus laughed. “I didn’t take offense at all. And I’ll expect that bouquet of baby pandas soon.”
◆◆◆
“Thank you for lunch.” I squeezed Mace’s hand in mine and let him lead me to my car. “Are you busy this evening?”
“I’m going to work with the guys on the last of Greer’s stuff,” Mace told me as he stopped next to my car. “I can make it in time for dinner, though.”
“Cyrus requested meatloaf, so you might not want to get too excited.”
“Meatloaf is good.” Mace smiled and pulled me into his arms. “The company is what I’m after. I’ve got a book for Cyrus.”
“Oh, that’s sweet.”
“Yeah,” Mace laughed but didn’t explain why. “I think he’ll like it.”
My phone rang in my purse and I pulled away so I could get it out.
“Hello?” It was a number I didn’t recognize and I was afraid it might be Ellen.
“Ms. Lane?”
“Yes.”
“This is Ms. Proffer from Bivins Academy. There’s a man here who wants to pick up Cyrus and Vada, but he’s not on the approved list. He says he’s their father. He got very agitated when I explained I’d need to call you. I assured him I was going in to get Cyrus, but I called you instead.”
“Call 911 and don’t let my kids anywhere near him! I’ll be there in just a minute!”
Mace’s truck was parked next to my car and he yanked open the passenger door before he ran around to the driver’s side.
“Bivins, right?”
“Yes,” I barked as I yanked on my seatbelt.
I dialed Sonny’s number and when he answered, I quickly told him what was going on. Sonny lived in our neighborhood just a block or two away from me and even closer to the school than my house. He assured me he’d get to my kids as quickly as he could.
“It’s going to be okay, babe,” Mace assured me as he turned off the main road onto the street that led to my neighborhood. I reached up and grabbed the ‘oh shit’ handle to stop myself from being thrown around as he took another corner at almost full speed.
We got to the school quicker than I could have ever imagined and I was glad to see Sonny’s motorcycle parked up on the sidewalk close to the front door along with two police cars in the parking lot. Mace and I both jumped out of the truck and hurried into the school.
I could hear Travis before I could see him and I was filled with rage.
“Those are my kids, too, goddammit!”
“That son of a bitch!” I growled as I turned the corner that led me into the office. “I’ll kill him.”
Mace took my hand and held on tight as we walked through the double doors and he bumped into me when I skidded to a halt at what I saw before me.
Travis was on the floor with my cousin Sonny sitting on his back. Sonny had a hand on the back of Travis’s head, holding him down on the tile. Officer Nick Cardenas and his partner who were standing just a few feet away seemed unconcerned and were watching the spectacle with interest.
“Reba!” Travis yelled. “You have to talk to me!”
“This is the part where you’ve got to make a decision, babe,” Sonny said in a perfectly calm voice. “Do we give Trav here a chance to talk this over or do we let him go so these fine officers can haul him away.”
“Hey, Reba. Looks like he’s got a few outstanding warrants from Ohio and I think they’d probably like to have him back.” Nick smiled at me. His partner nodded and I gave the two of them a grin before I looked back at Sonny.
“Let him up so I can talk to him,” I told Sonny.
Sonny smacked Travis on the back of the head and then jumped up off his back. Sonny moved a few feet away and stood next to Nick and the other officer while Travis took his time getting up off the floor.
“What the hell are you doing, Travis?” I said as calmly as I could.
I inspected every inch of my ex-husband, so disgusted at the changes in him that I was almost sick. His once muscular body was painfully skinny now and his skin was covered in sores that were in varying states of healing. His hair was lank and dirty, much thinner than it had been just a few years ago. I saw that he was missing one of his front teeth and the other one was broken almost in half.
“You’ve got to give me that money.”
“I’ll give you a ride to rehab, Travis, but that’s about it.”
“He knows about the money and he wants it. There’s no stopping him.”
Nick approached Travis and reached out for his arm. Travis tried to jerk his arm away, but Nick was much stronger and had him cuffed within seconds.
“Who’s “he”? What the hell have you gotten into, Travis?”
“I owe him and this is the only way I can pay him back. He knows that the kids have that money coming to them, Reba, and he’s going to come after us all.”
“You fix this, Travis Lane. Whatever you’ve gotten into doesn’t have shit to do with me or my children,” I growled at him. “You get the money from your mom and then the two of you disappear from our lives forever. Do you hear me?”
“Mom’s out of money,” Travis whined. “She can’t even get out of jail.”
I glanced over at Nick and saw him shrug.
“Who do you owe?” Sonny asked Travis. “What’s his name? How much?”
“I lost a shipment. Me and Mom were going to drive it to Phoenix, but something happened and we lost it. He wants all the money to make up for it.”
“And how the hell did you bring my kids into this?”
“Mom told him about the trust fund. She thought we could get you to sign the papers if we promised to just disappear.”
“I notice you said disappear rather than pay your debt,” Mace said angrily from beside me. I’d honestly forgotten that he was there even though he still held my hand in his.
“I mean, after we paid him, we could go away with the rest of the money,” Travis sniveled. Even with Nick holding the cuffs at his back, Travis couldn’t be still. He shuffled from foot to foot and occasionally his whole body seemed to twitch.
“Will they extradite him back to wherever? Are the charges that big?” Sonny asked Nick.
Nick shook his head as he stared at Travis before he spoke. “He’s been a very busy, very bad guy. He jumped bail for drug trafficking along with a whole list of stuff they want to prosecute him for. I assure you they’ll be thrilled to get their hands on him.”
“You’re going to tell me who you owe the money to, Travis, or so help me, I’ll pull your nuts out through your nose.” I took a step toward him and the look on my face had him shrinking back toward Nick. “Who is it?”
“It’s Darryl,�
� Travis whispered. “He’s the big guy now.”
“Oh my God.” My whole body hummed with fear. “Darryl isn't in prison anymore?”
“No, he got out a year or so ago and took over,” Travis was still whispering. “He let me work with him because we’re family.”
“You told him how to find our kids? You told him they have something he wants? Travis, I always held out the tiniest bit of hope that someday you’d get your head out of your ass and be a father. But now, I don’t anymore. I hope that Darryl gets a hold of you and does what he does best and I hope it takes him days and days to finish playing with you. That’s what I want now, Travis.”
“Reba,” Travis pleaded.
“You’re dead to me. When he gets done with you and they bury your body, I’ll go to the cemetery just to dance on your grave.”
I turned around and looked at my cousin.
“Darryl’s out?” Sonny looked just as shocked as I was. “Oh, fuck.”
“Who the hell is Darryl?” Mace asked me. I glanced over at the cops and they were both staring at me, their eyebrows raised, waiting on an explanation.
“Darryl is the devil,” I whispered. “And now he wants me and my kids.”
◆◆◆
“What do you want to do, babe?” Sonny asked as he moved in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders.
We had just watched the police cruiser drive off with Travis in the back and now we were standing in front of the school waiting on the principal to get Cyrus and Vada out of class and bring them to me. I couldn’t leave them in school, or anywhere, until Darryl wasn’t a threat.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to do yet, but in the back of my head I was planning the route I would take when I took my kids and ran.
“Get that look off your face, Reba,” Sonny ordered me. He glanced up at Mace and explained, “She’s thinking about running.”
“Reba, talk to me.”
I shook my head slowly and wouldn’t look at either Sonny or Mace. I couldn’t let them talk me out of this. I needed to protect my children and the only way to do that was to get them as far away from my big brother as possible.
I wondered how long it would take for the three of us to lose our accents if we moved to a different country. I’d always wanted to go to Ireland. All the pictures I’d seen made it look like a beautiful place to live.
Sonny shook me gently until I finally looked at him.
“You’re not going to run, Reba. You and the kids come to my house. We’ll …”
“Brenda and the baby, Sonny. Don’t give him more targets.”
Sonny pulled his lips in between his teeth and looked away. I knew that he understood what I was saying and I wasn’t upset at all that he’d choose his family’s safety over mine.
“Reba, I need you to talk to me, sweetheart.” Mace took my hand and turned me around to face him. “What’s going on?”
I smiled softly at Mace, wishing with all my heart that we’d had a chance together. I needed to distance myself from him just like I was doing with Sonny. Mace had a big, happy family. His niece and nephew were so small. Mace and his brothers couldn't protect them from Darryl if he got it in his mind to hurt one of them.
“Mama!” Vada yelled as she bounded down the steps toward us, Cyrus on her heels. I could see that Cyrus’s mind was working overtime trying to figure out what the special occasion was that pulled them out of school for the rest of the day.
“Hi, baby.” I smiled down at my little girl and hugged her close to me when she threw her arms around my waist. “Surprise! You guys get to hang out with me today instead of staying in school.”
“Yes!” Vada pumped her fist up and down and then did a little celebration dance.
“Why?” Cyrus stared at me for a second and then looked around as if he could sense there was danger.
“I just wanted my babies close to me,” I said as I reached over and pulled him toward me. I hugged him tight even though I knew that irritated him.
I just wanted to hold them close for a second to reassure myself that they were both really okay.
“Mace, can you drive us to my car?”
“Reba,” Sonny put his hand back on my shoulder and leaned closer to me. “I have an idea, but I need to talk to a few people about it first, okay? Don’t do anything until you talk to me.”
I smiled at my favorite cousin and then tiptoed up to kiss his cheek.
“I love you, Sonny.” I shook my head for a second. “Mace?”
“Yeah,” Mace said softly. “Let’s get you guys home.”
“No.” I shook my head again. “Just take us to my car.”
“Reba, don’t do anything for just a few hours, okay?”
“Bye, Sonny.” I walked over to Mace’s truck and waited by the passenger door with my kids.
Mace stood next to Sonny and I saw the two of them talking heatedly for a second. I watched every nuance of the two men. I wanted to hold this memory in my brain like a photograph and later, when I was far away from here, I could pull it out and think of home.
◆◆◆
MACE
“Don’t let her out of your sight,” Sonny ordered me as soon as Reba was out of earshot. “If you take her to her car, we’ll never see the three of them again.”
“This guy is her brother? What the fuck did he do? Why is she so afraid of him?” I was exasperated and my voice was strained. “Why the hell are you so afraid of him?”
“Someday, they’ll write a book about him. He’s that bad.” Sonny looked down at the pavement. “I can’t take care of Reba at my house because she’s right. I don’t want to put my wife and baby in Darryl’s crosshairs. Let me talk to some of my brothers and we’ll come up with a plan. Just drive her around until I call, okay?”
“Why was her brother in prison?”
“Because he tried to kill her.”
13.
“You shoot that bastard if he gets within range and we’ll worry about the fallout later.”
Martha
MACE
“Why are you doing this?” Reba asked quietly. We had been driving around Rojo for an hour and I’d refused to take her to her car or stop for any longer than a red light or stop sign.
“Because you aren’t going to run away, Reba. And you’re going to explain what this is all about.”
Reba turned around and looked at her kids who had fallen asleep in the backseat, both of them leaning into the middle with Vada’s head resting on Cyrus’s shoulder.
“It would be safer for everyone if we just disappeared. I’ve got some savings. I’m going to hire one of the girls from work to pack up my house and put it in storage for me. I’ll figure out a way to get it all later.”
“Not the right answer.”
“What do you want me to say, Mace? You saw it. Even Sonny is freaked out that Darryl is out and not much rattles my cousin. He’s been to prison and seen some really rough shit, but the thought of Darryl setting his sights on his family scared the piss out of him.”
“Tell me, Reba. What happened?”
“My brother is nine years older than me. From what I understand, he was an okay kid, but a little high-strung. My Aunt Sandy said he was always odd, but she’d never been afraid of him. But after I was born, he changed. Our father left and our mom started drinking heavily.” Reba stopped talking and stared out the window quietly for a minute. When she started speaking again, I glanced at her and saw that she had tears in her eyes. “My first memory is of my brother holding me down and poking me with a stick.”
“How old were you?”
“I don’t know, maybe four or five?”
“And he poked you with a stick?”
“Yeah,” Reba laughed darkly. “Not really poking me. He was trying to stab me with it, kind of slowly. Like he was trying to push it into my arm.”
Reba was rubbing her forearm unconsciously and I realized that was probably where her brother had hurt her.
“If my mom wasn’
t paying attention, which was most of the time, he would torture me. He put me in the dryer one time, he tried to drown me in the bathtub more times than I can count, and he even poisoned me once.”
“Holy shit! What did your mom do about it?”
“She’d get him away from me and try and keep me close to her, but inevitably she’d lose interest or drink too much and it would start all over again.” Reba sighed. “When I was in first grade, he locked me in the trunk of Mom’s car. The neighbors saw it happen and called the cops. They took him away somewhere and sent me to stay with Aunt Sandy and Uncle Tink. Mom came and got me and it was okay for a while. He was gone and I had a normal life.”
I raised my eyebrows and glanced at her.
“Okay,” this time she actually laughed. “Normal-ish. Is that a word?”
“But he got out.”
“Yeah, he was gone for a long time. When I was in the third grade, he came home. He was quiet and just watched everything around him. He’d follow me around the house and just stare at me. It was creepy.”
“Yeah, I can see how that would be.”
“He got kicked out of school for the millionth time and my mom lost her freaking mind. She was yelling and throwing things around the house, calling him names and stuff. He just sat there and didn’t say a word. I ran off to play outside with one of my friends,” Reba’s voice trailed off and she was quiet for a few minutes. “He, um, came out and said that mom wanted me. I went home and Mom was on the living room floor. She was tied up. He tied me up, too, and then he set the house on fire and left.”
“Holy shit.”
“Yeah.” Reba blew out a breath. “A lot of other stuff happened before that, but I hit the highlight reel for you. He sat on the porch while the house burned. The neighbors could hear me screaming and one of them tried to get in to save us. He hit the man with a brick to get him off the porch. The firemen and cops came. They subdued him and came in to get us. The fire had gotten close enough to blister us and singe our hair, but the worst part was the smoke inhalation. Mom and I were both in the hospital for a long time and then I went to live with my aunt and uncle while he was on trial.”
