“Well, I say we err on the side of caution and not assume anything and consider everyone a threat for now. We know we uncovered something huge with high stakes that leads all the way to Washington, DC. Anyone can be bought. Anyone.” Wylie let out a deep sigh. “Look at our own government. It’s full of the most powerful people in the free world, and we know it’s full of dirty bastards who make up that damn club that we know is somehow involved in all this.”
“So, we trust—”
Wylie cut her off. “No one. We trust absolutely no one.”
“Your brothers…”
“Not even my brothers for now. If they know we’re on the move and get infiltrated, we’ll be in trouble with no support anywhere,” Wylie continued. “We lay low, make our way to the rendezvous, and plug back in when we know we’re close and it’s safe enough to do so.”
Eva laid her head on Wylie’s chest in a defeated embrace. It was hard for Wylie to decide to keep his brothers out of the loop since they were the most important people in his life. But right now, he was choosing Eva. She needed him more than he needed them at the moment.
“You’re safe with me,” he declared before kissing the top of her head. “It’s just you and me, now.”
10
The day was coming to an end, the sun was setting and the night sky rising. Wylie sat in the dining room of the taqueria with Eva and her aunt…Salma.
“Have you had enough to eat?” Salma asked, her demeanor more welcoming and kinder than before. “I have plenty more.”
“I’m fine.” Wylie leaned back and rubbed his abdomen. “I don’t think I could eat another bite if I wanted to. It was incredible. Thank you.”
“I will make you plates to take with you,” Salma countered. “I don’t want you to go hungry.”
Eva smiled. “Thank you, tia. We appreciate you feeding us.”
“I wish I could do more for you, mija. At least I know you won’t starve this way.” Salma smiled a hard, weathered look. “Where will you go now?”
Wylie laid his hand over the woman’s hand as her eyes began to well with emotion. “Somewhere safe. I promise. I won’t let anything happen to her.”
Salma sandwiched his hand between her own. “I know you won’t. Or you’ll have to deal with me and my broom over there.”
“Tia. Be nice.” Eva laughed for the first time since Wylie’s arrival. The first real sign of anything other than fear and sadness. “We will be okay. I told you. This man and his brothers are the kindest, most honorable men I know. I feel safe with him. I promise. Remember, I told you he would come, and he did. It’s going to be okay.”
Wylie let what Eva said wash over him. It both flattered him and intimidated him. He was glad she felt so safe with him and that she trusted him so deeply. But she put so much faith in him that he was worried he’d fail to live up to the standard in which she held him. One thing he did know was that she was safe with him. He’d fight for her and even take a bullet for her. It pleased him to see that she recognized that too.
“We will meet with the rest of the team in a few days. We’ll be on the road a lot to make up for lost time and stay off the grid,” Wylie assured them both. “I’ve already mapped out our route and pinned a couple of safe places to stop and rest along the way. If we run into trouble, there will be help nearby with a single phone call.”
Salma patted Wylie’s cheek before resting her hand there. “I knew you were the one when I saw you standing across the street. You’re the one for her…”
“Tia,” Eva scolded. “Seriously, this isn’t the time for…”
“Hush, girl. I just mean he was the one coming to help you.” Salma looked at Wylie and winked.
Wylie squirmed in his seat, unsure how to respond to what Salma had said. Was Eva the one? Only a few weeks or so ago, he’d say he couldn’t stand to be in the same room with Eva, but her disappearance changed everything for him. He realized he couldn’t stand to be in the same room as her because he couldn’t focus, couldn’t think straight, couldn’t see anything but her.
Wylie was enamored by her presence, and more so by her absence. Pair that with a threatening circumstance, and the façade could no longer stand. Was she the one? Maybe for now. Was she his forever? Well, that was a premature topic, and he quickly took Salma’s prediction and tucked it away for another day. His only focus right now had to be getting them out of there because they knew trouble was in town.
“We’ll need to make contact with the team soon, or they’re going to come looking for you.” Eva changed the subject to something more comfortable.
“We aren’t close enough yet. I’ll need to feel them out first anyway.”
“It’s not your brothers behind this. We’ve already decided that,” Eva reasoned.
“I don’t think it is them either, but valid points were made earlier, and I can’t stop considering someone on the team—with them—would double-cross us. We need to get closer before we show our cards. We’re being set up, and until we know who is doing it, we play it safe, okay?”
Eva nodded.
“We’ll know when it’s safe to join them, but until then…”
The door to the taqueria began to rattle. Someone wanted in. The blinds were still closed, and Salma hadn’t reopened since locking up earlier in the day.
Wylie raised a finger to his pursed lips, and whispered, “Shh.”
The door continued to rattle more vigorously. The bell attached at the top began to jingle.
“A customer?” Salma questioned in a low voice. “I’ll get rid of them.”
She began to stand, and Wylie grabbed her arm and shook his head. They all stood, and Wylie positioned himself between the women and the door. He reached for the bank of light switches and flipped them off before they slowly backed away from where they’d been sitting. Wylie pulled his weapon and aimed it at the door.
Salma whispered, “The lights were on. Surely, they know someone is here?”
“They need to take a hint then and go away,” Eva replied, patting her waistband. “Shit. I left my gun in the back room.”
“We are closed,” Salma yelled. “Come back tomorrow, please.”
There was a brief lull before there was banging on the door, followed by someone kicking from the other side, determined to get in.
“They aren’t here for tacos. Get behind the counter now.” Wylie tossed a gun at Eva. She was well trained and knew what to do with it.
“Maybe it’s a robber,” Salma ventured. “Maybe they aren’t here for you.”
“They’re fucking here for us,” Wylie blurted as a round of gunfire sounded, and the doorknob fell from the door.
Wylie pulled a table to its side to use it as cover and kneeled behind it, ready to pop off whoever walked through the threshold one at a time like a prizeworthy game at a carnival. His adrenaline was rushing, and the only thing he could hear was the sound of his own heart beating loudly like a war drum ready for battle.
Two barely there ear-piercing sounds filled the space, and then a certain calm descended on the other side of the door. Wylie knew that sound. It always baffled him how something so quiet could leave his ears ringing, and the silence that would follow was even more eerie. He also recognized the two thumps that followed as bodies falling to the ground. Whoever was on the other side of the door was no longer trying to breach it.
Carefully, he made his way to a window and peered through the blinds to see a pile of two bodies resting just outside the door. The men in jeans from earlier in the day, if the designer sneakers were any indication. It didn’t matter because they were neutralized. But he wasn’t the one who took them out, so they weren’t out of the woods yet.
The streets were bare, so his gaze peered upward where he saw a dark, shadowy image move from atop the building directly across from them. Before he could move or find a better vantage point, the source of the silhouette moved out of sight into the distance.
“Shit. We need to get out of here,” Wylie
snarled, finding his way through the tables to where the women were hiding. “Someone’s out there.”
“Who?” Eva asked. “Who was it?”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t tell. But they took out two of the guys from earlier,” Wylie added. “I don’t know if that makes them friend or foe.”
“Come,” Salma insisted as she made her way toward the back room. “Come with me. I can get you out of here.”
Wylie put his hand on her shoulder. “Salma, I can’t let you walk out that door first. Let me…”
The old woman put her hands up and waved him off as she reached in the closet of the back room Eva had been staying in and pulled out a gun. “I know how to handle myself, mijo. Some things die hard.”
Wylie made eye contact with Eva, who shrugged her shoulders, stunned by her aunt’s actions.
“You watch my back, Wylie,” she blurted. “Keep Eva between us, m’kay?”
Salma pushed on a cabinet against the wall, and it popped open, revealing a long tunnel-like passageway. “You come. Follow me.”
They passed a city block, maybe two, before they made their way down a bank of steps where they continued to travel several more blocks. The tunnel ended at three doors, and Salma chose the first on the left.
“Come, we are far from the restaurant. But you keep watching,” she warned.
Wylie nodded. “Following your lead. I got your back.”
Salma led them down various alleyways, none of which looked familiar to Wylie, nor did they match the aesthetic of the area they’d been in. It was rougher, dirtier, and felt like one of those places where you didn’t wander alone at night. Despite not seeing a single person, he felt peering eyes every step of the way.
“Here,” Salma shouted, circling behind a lone garage between two brick buildings. “This is it.”
Inside were two vehicles, both covered amongst an organized space with a few tools and random car parts. It was a nondescript space that baffled Wylie. Why did Salma have such a space? Surely, she didn’t live here, although a bank of stairs in the back led to what looked like an office space but could be a small studio apartment.
“You will need this,” Salma said, tossing a black duffel bag to Eva. “There’s money, weapons, and a few clothing items and toiletries. Oh, and there’s water and granola in there too. Don’t stop unless you need gas.”
Wylie cocked an eyebrow, utterly shocked. “Um…”
“Don’t ask questions, boy,” she scolded as she pulled the cover off the car nearest them. “Take this. It’s unassuming and won’t stand out. It was your uncle Antonio’s, God rest his soul.”
Wylie’s jaw dropped at the sight of Uncle Antonio’s classic cherry Cadillac. “Oh, this thing sticks out. It’s not something you see on the road often. It’s pretty…huge.”
“Well…” Salma patted his rock hard abdomen, then squeezed his biceps. “You’re not a small man. You’ll have room in it.”
“Tia, this was his pride and joy. Are you sure…?”
“Mija. I’m sure. Now go. Go before it’s too late,” Salma urged.
Wylie tossed the black bag in the car. “Salma, you’re coming with us. It’s too dangerous for you here now.”
“Pfft. I remember a thing or two from my past life, growing up in my brother’s…business.” Salma reached into the same cabinet as before and pulled out another black bag. She opened it, checking her gun and making sure the clips were loaded. “I’ll go to my sister-in-law’s in…Arizona. I’ll be safe there.”
“Then we’ll take you…” Wylie began.
“Nonsense. You have too many people counting on you. You’re both needed elsewhere. I’ll be fine.” Salma pulled the cover off the other vehicle, revealing a black Prius. Salma looked at the expressions of Wylie and Eva, and gushed, “I know. It’s nice, right? This is why I gave you the Cadillac. You would need to drive the small one from the back seat…long legs.”
“Right.” Wylie nodded, realizing the woman he once saw as older and frail was anything but. “This day has taken an interesting twist.”
“Will you be okay all alone?” Eva asked her aunt as she hugged her.
“Of course I will. I didn’t make it this far without knowing how to survive. Remember, I once stood up to your father and lived to tell about it. I have my ways…and connections.”
Eva smiled. “I love you.”
Salma patted Eva’s cheek. “I love you too, my sweet girl. I’ll see you soon enough, okay?”
“And you, Wylie O’Reilly. Such an interesting name for an interesting man.” She chuckled. “I can trust you to keep both of you safe?”
He wrapped his giant arms around her small body. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll protect her with my life. Are you sure you won’t come with us?”
“No, no. We’re safer apart. Hey, maybe I’ll draw attention away from you and give you a head start.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. These people, they don’t hesitate to take out a threat or an obstacle,” he insisted. “I don’t want you to get caught in the crosshairs of either.”
Salma pulled a cell phone from her pocket and clicked on the screen. “That’s my cue to leave. I won’t be in anyone’s crosshairs, and I’m not going to be alone for long. I have this covered, mijo. Now, we both need to get going.”
With that, Salma tossed her bag across the car to the passenger seat of the Prius. She paused quickly to look at Wylie and Eva and winked.
“I guess that’s our cue,” Wylie concluded, opening the passenger side door for Eva. He reached in his backpack and tossed her his hat. “Put that on.”
He pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head, Eva’s scent teasing his senses from wearing it earlier that day. Once he was in the car, Salma rolled down her window and signaled for them to do the same.
“Seat belts. Make sure you wear your seat belts.” Her strict tone was serious.
Eva snorted. “Yes, tia. Seat belts. Got it.”
The large roll-up door began to rise, and the two cars left simultaneously, each going in opposite directions.
Wylie noticed a single tear trickle down Eva’s face as she watched her aunt disappear in the distance from her side-view mirror.
“She’ll be okay, darlin’,” he assured, reaching over to wipe her tear away. “I think I know where you get your thick skin, toughness, and general badassery now.”
That made Eva smile, which pleased him. His heart was a little fuller now with his sidekick along for the ride.
11
After they’d left the immediate area and had been on the road for some time, Wylie broke the silence.
“What was that back there?”
“The old lady or the dead men at her front step?”
He snickered. “Both.”
“My aunt is an incredible woman who’s led a fantastic life. She and my uncle Antonio were always on adventures.” Eva continued, “I always looked up to her. She was always so…cool, ya know?”
“I can see that. She actually scares me a little bit.”
“She should. I know she said she left the life for my uncle against my father’s wishes, but I believe she had her own little something going on. Did you see how she pulled out that cell phone? She wasn’t scared. She has help out there.”
“Do you think she does, or did, what your father did?”
“No. She was above that. What my father did made it easy for her to leave. She detested everything he did and stood for. But he was the one who always took care of her. He was much older than her, and it was just the two of them for as long as she remembered. I think that’s why he let her leave when nobody else got to. She was the only family he had.”
“That’s actually a pretty incredible story. Your father wasn’t a good man, but that…that was good.”
“Probably the only good thing he did.” Eva said with solace, “He wasn’t a total monster, I guess?”
“It wasn’t the only thing he did right…look at you. How he could live the life he di
d, and you come out of it…you, is beyond me.”
“Well, I guess I’m more like my aunt than I thought. Despite their cut ties, he still let us have a relationship with her. My brother quit going to visit when he was old enough to decide. His heart became dark and small like my father’s early on, but I always went. I treasured my time with her.”
“She’s pretty great.” He looked at her. “But so are you, I guess.”
Eva smacked his arm and laughed. “You guess?”
“Yeah, I guess,” he teased, enjoying this lighter side of Eva. “If you think she has…associates, do you suppose it was her people on the roof with the long gun across the street?”
“Long gun? I thought you couldn’t see…”
“I could see the shadows and silhouette when they stood…he had a long gun.”
“He?”
“Had to be a man. Or a really large bulky woman.”
She laughed again, bringing her hands to her face. “You are too much, O’Reilly. I don’t know if it was someone there for her, someone there for us, or someone there out to get us? It’s anyone’s guess at this point.”
“I agree. The men I saw in town were definitely there for you because they had no idea I was even there. Nobody knew, and they were there before me. I’d say the guy on the roof was either there for one or both of us at this point, or you have a guardian angel.”
“I’d like to think the latter, but I’m not naïve enough to believe it. We are being hunted, and if we aren’t careful, we’ll be picked off one at a time. We need to get to the team, don’t we?”
“We do,” he countered, “and we will, but we’ll play it safe and take our time making our way there.”
“Then where to now?”
Wylie shrugged. “Somewhere far from here. We have a long drive ahead. I know a safe house we can hit.”
“Is there even such a thing anymore?” she asked sincerely.
“I don’t know. At the very least, we need distance between us and whoever we left back there. We just need to stay a step ahead.” Wylie reached for her hand and looked between her and the road. “We’re going to get through this, okay? We stick together. We’re a team. We’ll stop at the safe house, catch some sleep and a shower, swap cars out, and hit the road again.”
Brother's Keeper V: Wylie (the complete series BOX SET): NEW RELEASE + Series Box SET included! Page 123
