by Freya Barker
Along the other wall are three sets of bunk beds end to end. Next are six large water bottles meant for a cooler stacked on their side, and a makeshift counter with a small two-pit burner on top.
Everything is covered in a layer of dust and grime. I doubt anyone’s been down here in many years.
“This is so cool.” Ezrah steps up beside me, and gapes slack-mouthed at the cavernous space. Then he lifts his face to me. “Can we have a sleepover here?”
I bust out laughing. Typical boy.
“Don’t know about that, kid. It ain’t too clean down here and there could be critters in them beds.” He visibly shivers and I put a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll see what we can do with the space, but first we’ve gotta make sure there’s enough room in the house for all of us.”
“You staying then? With Finn? You gonna live here?”
There’s worry in his voice and I wonder what plays inside that head of his to make him doubt me. I turn to face him and put a hand in his neck.
“Bud, how many times I gotta tell you; I ain’t goin’ anywhere.”
“You almost got killed,” he throws back, a stubborn set to his jaw. “What if they come back for you?”
I don’t have the heart to tell him it might not just be me they’re after.
“That’s why we’re all sticking together. You’ve seen the brothers, you think anyone can just walk in here and hurt one of us? They wouldn’t dare try,” I tell him.
I have no idea how far off the mark I’d turn out to be.
CHAPTER 21
Lisa
“CAN I HELP?”
I turn around as Sophia walks into the kitchen.
Two of the boys just finished setting the big table for the kids, and the adults will have to find their own spot. It’s a pretty full house tonight with the new additions so I cooked a vat of chili—a favorite for the guys—and I’m about to pull the cornbreads from the oven.
“Sure, wanna dress the coleslaw and toss it?” I point at the massive bowl.
“The whole thing?” She holds up the Mason jar I used for mixing.
“Yep. Throw it all in.”
She’s a pretty girl. It’s no wonder half the male eyes in the clubhouse follow her every move. All legs and ass, and she knows how to move all of it. Yet she seems oblivious to the attention. Her eyes are sad—I’m sure she misses her friend—and her friendly smile doesn’t quite mask it.
“You settlin’ in okay?”
“Sure. Everyone’s been really nice.” She doesn’t look up and her answer is a little evasive.
“You know,” I proceed cautiously. “You’re fine to stay at my place if that’s more comfortable.” In my head I’m already bunking Kiara and Ezrah together, something the boy may not appreciate, but it’d only be temporary.
This time she does turn to me with a smile.
“Kind of you to offer, but I should be fine here. Besides, you already have a houseful.”
I shrug. “Offer stands if you change your mind.”
“Thanks, Lisa.”
I focus on cutting the three pans of cornbread in pieces when Tse walks in. He’s never far away when there’s food to be found.
“Gonna be long?”
He leans a hip against the counter right next to Sophia, watching her toss the salad. I notice a faint blush on her cheeks as she tries to ignore his scrutiny.
“Not if you’ll carry in the chili, the pan’s heavy,” I tell him.
He throws a rakish grin my way before straightening up and grabbing the heavy pot.
“We better get out there. Can’t trust him alone with food.”
Sophia snickers, grabbing the bowl of slaw. I carry the cornbread as she follows me inside.
To my surprise, Wapi has surfaced, sitting beside Nosh. He’s still looking a little green around the gills, but he has food in front of him. Somehow Tse manages to coax Sophia in the seat next to his, right across from Wapi, who doesn’t look happy.
I can smell trouble. Tse is a relentless flirt and tease, and Wapi is a sensitive soul. It was clear last time the girl was here, he’s sweet on her. Problem is, I’m not sure she sees him as anything more than a nice kid.
Ezrah and Brick walking in makes for a good distraction. Ezrah is more animated than I’ve seen him in a while, especially talking to Brick who smiles indulgently. The two pull up chairs and, with everyone scooting over a little, find room at the table.
“You’ve gotta see this,” Ezrah tells the other boys in between bites. “It’s like a cave down there. Creepy as shit.”
“Mind your mouth, boy,” I warn, pinning him with a glare. “And while you’re at it, mind your manners too.”
“Sorry, Nana. Can we have a sleepover in the bunker?”
All that is said in one breath and seems to strike the men as funny. I don’t find it funny.
“Me too!” Kiara pipes up.
No way on this earth I’m gonna let my babies sleep down there. Lord knows, there could be mold, bugs, rodents. Nu-huh. No way.
“When you’re twenty-one,” I declare firmly. “And not a day before.”
Loud complaints go up from the kids at the table, and I catch Brick watching me, amusement making his gray eyes dance, while I shush the young ones.
“Feeling better, kid?”
I look down the table to where Tse is leaning back from the table, his arm resting on the back of Sophia’s chair, directing the question at Wapi.
Oh boy, here we go.
“Don’t call me kid. I’m your fuckin’ brother,” he spits his response, clearly agitated and going from zero to sixty in a hot minute.
“Not at the dinner table,” I announce, but neither listens.
Tse is wearing his relaxed shit-disturber smile, while Wapi stares back shooting daggers.
“Just askin’ if you’re feeling better, brother,” he says, sarcasm dripping from his words. I notice his fingers lightly stroking Sophia’s upper arm. Poor girl sits ramrod straight beside him. Wapi notices too.
“Enough.” Ouray’s voice is low but firm, inviting no argument. “We’ve got kids at the table. You wanna piss all over each other, do it outside.”
“I’ve lost my appetite,” Wapi announces, shoving his chair back and getting to his feet. Then with a last angry look at Tse he marches out, slamming the door behind him.
I notice Sophia leaning into Tse, her head jerking slightly as she says something softly before moving her chair back as well. She turns to me.
“Dinner was delicious, Lisa. Thank you.”
Then without another glance at Tse, she grabs her coat from the rack at the door and hurries outside.
“Kids, you done with dinner?” I ask, attempting to distract from the tension at the table. A choir of yeses goes up. “Good, Kiara? Wanna grab that big tin from the kitchen table? You guys can have dessert in front of the TV.”
For the next two minutes all you hear is chairs scraping over the wood floor as the young ones make their way over to the large sectional on the other side of the clubhouse. The adults now have the table, and it’s suddenly quiet.
“Care to share what that was about?” Brick is the first one to break the heavy silence.
“Was simply asking a question,” Tse dismisses with a shrug.
“Goading is more like it,” Ouray corrects. “Which I’m sure has nothing to do with the pretty girl who just ripped you a new one in her soft, sugar-sweet voice, now would it?”
“Hardly a girl,” Tse immediately reacts, and with that confirming Ouray’s suggestion. “She’s thirty-four years old, for fuck’s sake.”
“And you’re forty-one, yet here you are, throwing down with a baby brother like a couple of teenagers with a hard-on for the same girl.”
Tse forces a grin on his face and shrugs. “Nah, just ribbin’ the kid.”
He’s lying through his teeth. Ouray knows it, I know it and so does the rest of the table, but more importantly; Tse knows it.
“Keep telling yourself t
hat,” Nosh signs, a smirk on his scraggly face.
“I need a drink,” Tse announces.
“Right behind you.” Ouray gets up from the table as well, following his brother to the bar.
“Going to my room.” Nosh’s hands indicate as he shoves back his chair. “Watch the news.”
Watch the news, my foot. He’ll be asleep in front of the tube in minutes.
I get up as well and start gathering the plates.
“I can help,” Brick offers.
“You sit. You’ve already been on your feet enough today. Thought the doc told you to keep off ‘em?”
“I’m fine,” he pouts and I hold back a grin.
“Yes, you are.” I bend down to him and kiss his mouth. “You most definitely are.”
His hand in my neck holds me in place, when suddenly a sharp yelp sounds from outside followed by a window shattering.
Above the screams of the children and the barking voices of men, a staccato volley of cracks can be heard outside.
Brick
I let go of Lisa and reach for my gun with my good hand.
“Under the table,” I bark at her, already on my feet.
Should’ve guessed she wouldn’t listen, not when kids’ loud fearful screams can be heard from the other side of the clubhouse.
I notice only three of the undercover agents taking up positions by the shattered front window, weapons in hand, while Ouray runs to the back. I’ve lost sight of Tse when Finn starts to cry in his stroller, where he was asleep next to the kitchen door. I duck and aim for the baby, snatching him up, and clutching him one-armed against my chest. Crouching low, I make my way over to where Lisa is pulling the kids away from the large side window, pushing them down behind the sectional couch.
“To the back,” I yell at her over the shouting and the gunfire. “Nosh’s room.”
“Follow me,” I hear her tell the kids, scooping a hysterical Kiara in one arm and grabbing Ezrah firmly by the hand. “Stay low.”
I coax the other boys to follow them, backing up behind them as I keep my body turned to the front of the clubhouse until I enter the hallway.
Ouray is already barking into his phone inside Nosh’s room, who is herding Lisa and the kids into the small adjoining bathroom. I follow in behind them. The boys are huddled in the bathtub as Nosh pushes Lisa down between the toilet and the small vanity, Kiara clutching to her like velcro.
When Nosh moves past me out of the small space, I meet Ezrah’s eyes, wide and afraid, but still he holds his arms out.
“I’ll take him,” he says, his voice tight.
I’m reluctant to let go of my grandson, but I hand him off anyway. I’m needed out there and he’s safer in the tub.
Ezrah must see the struggle on my face as he curls his ten-year-old body around Finn and says, “I’ll look after him, Papa.”
Words stick in my throat so I nod instead, turning next to Lisa who is as wide-eyed as her boy.
“Go,” she urges. “But by God you come back to me.”
“Take this.” I shove my gun in her hand. “I’ll grab a weapon from the office.” Then I step out and shut the bathroom door behind me.
Nosh is peeking between the closed blinds covering his window, a weapon by his side. He waves me into the hallway where I can still hear some gunshots from the front of the clubhouse but more sporadic than earlier.
Ouray is in the hallway, his weapon trained toward the back, where someone is banging on the door.
“Fucking let me in!”
“Tse.”
I recognize his voice. So does Ouray, and both of us rush to the back door. Ouray takes up position in the corner while I unlock it. I slowly pull it open, Ouray training his gun on the widening gap.
Tse shoulders his way inside, Sophia in his arms.
“Fuck, what happened?” I follow behind him into his room, leaving Ouray to relock the door.
“Fucking saw her come out of the bunkhouse, heading this way, and suddenly she went down,” he mumbles, as he lays her on his bed, tugging at her long, thick, winter coat. She’s white as a sheet, her dark hair plastered against her skin. “Blood in the snow underneath her but I can’t find where it’s coming from.”
I help him roll her and as soon as she’s on her side, we both see the dark stain blooming on the back of her left leg.
“Scissors,” I bark, and start pulling off her boots while Tse rummages in the bathroom.
“She okay?” Ouray asks from behind me.
“Leg shot.”
“Got this?”
“Yeah. Go,” I assure Ouray.
Tse hands me a pair of scissors and I quickly cut open the leg of her jeans. “That’s an entry wound,” I conclude, looking at a relatively tidy hole in the back of her leg, but when we roll her on her back, the front of her thigh is a mess. “Towels, brother,” I nudge Tse who seems frozen on the spot, his eyes locked on the gaping wound. “And a belt. She’s bleeding a lot.”
That seems to jar him and he rushes back into the bathroom, returning with an armful of towels. I leave them folded, pressing one to the front and one to the back of her leg.
“Wrap the belt around,” I instruct him, pulling my hands out of the way.
I suddenly notice it’s gotten quiet. No gunshots, no yelling. I can’t even hear the baby crying.
“How tight?” Tse demands my attention.
“As tight as you can.”
When he cinches in the belt Sophia moans and I round Tse to get to her head. I stroke the hair off her face.
“Hey, sweetheart. You’re gonna be okay.”
“What…”
“You got shot, babe.” Tse pushes me out of the way and leans over her. “We wrapped you up until EMTs can get here.”
As I try to squeeze by Tse to go check on Lisa and the kids, I notice blood on the back of his shirt.
“Brother…”
“I’ve got it,” he says, dismissing me before he turns his attention back to the pale-faced woman in his bed.
“Tse, man, take off your shirt. I think you got hit.”
CHAPTER 22
Lisa
THE GUN IS shaking in my hand.
I’ve never held one before, although there’ve been times I wished for it.
I’ll never wish that again, it terrifies me.
What if I have to shoot and the bullet bounces off something and hits one of the kids? I couldn’t live with that.
I don’t know how long we’ve been hunkered down here, but Kiara stopped screaming, although her little body still shakes against me. Finn is quiet after I noticed Ezrah pop a knuckle in the baby’s mouth, something he’s seen me do from time to time to soothe him.
Outside the sound of gunshots seems to have died down, but instead of bringing relief, in here it only raises anxiety. The boys are all staring intently at the door and I find myself doing the same, waiting for someone to burst through, and my hand starts shaking harder.
My heart is hammering hard in my chest when I hear someone moving around on the other side. Then the doorknob turns and my breath sticks in my throat.
“It’s me,” I hear whispered on the other side before the door slowly opens, revealing Brick’s face.
The clatter of the gun falling to the tiles is loud in the small room as it slips from my hand.
“Papa,” Kiara wails, releasing her death grip from my neck as she flings herself at him.
“It’s okay, Princess. It’s gonna be all right,” he coos, pressing her head in his neck. Then he turns to the kids in the tub. “You doing okay, guys? Ezrah?”
“We’re fine.” His words may be decisive but his voice wobbles.
I try to get up to take the baby from his arms, but I barely have my ass off the floor when I drop back down. I’ll try again in a few minutes, when I’m not so shaky.
“Is it over?” Ravi asks, his eyes large in his face.
“Not sure, kid,” Brick tells him honestly. “I wanted to check on you guys first before I g
o out there. Can you hang tough for a little longer?” The boys nod, but Kiara clamps on to his neck tighter. “Lisa?”
“Go check.” I nod at him and hold my arms out for my baby. “Kiara, let Brick go, honey.”
Just that one sentence leaves me out of breath and I force myself to inhale deeply. Luckily Kiara doesn’t put up too much of a fight and climbs back on my lap, as Brick leans down and kisses our heads.
“Right back,” he mumbles before he disappears out the door again.
I don’t even bother with the gun anymore, it’s on the floor by my knee, but the effort to pick it up seems too much. Instead I fold my arms around my granddaughter, and lean my head back to the wall. Then I turn my eyes to Ezrah, who has the baby’s downy blond head tucked under his chin.
Brick
Nosh is still standing guard by the window when I carefully tap him on the shoulder.
“You good here?” I mouth at him when he turns around.
He nods and waves me out the door.
It’s quiet in the clubhouse when I walk in. The only person I see is Shilah standing by the front door, looking out at something.
“What’s going on?”
He turns at the sound of my voice. “I’m not sure. One minute we’re getting peppered with bullets and the next it’s over.”
I look over his shoulder and see a crowd stand around something on the ground. Then Ouray breaks away from the group and starts this way.
“We’ve got ambulances en route,” he informs me when he gets close. “She hanging in?”
“Tse’s with her. He got winged himself while rescuing her. Left upper arm, minimal damage.”
“The kids?”
“Freaked but unharmed. I kept them in the bathroom for now. Anyone else hurt?”
“None of ours,” he says. “Wapi is still holed up in the bunkhouse with the other two boys. They’re all in one piece.”
Elan and Ishtu are the last victims of that stomach bug that’s been doing the rounds. After Wapi got it too, we moved the sickbay from the clubhouse to the boys’ dorm, trying to minimize the spread.
