Anything For Them

by Lola StVil

  “I stayed behind and watched him handle his gun. He was awful at it, but not hopeless. I gave him a few pointers. It took a few days, but soon his aim had improved. I learned to shoot from different people, my dad being the first. But the person who had the most impact while teaching me was my brother Cash; he’s never missed his target. He gave me pointers on how to work with Green.

  “I drilled him hard, and he never once complained. It took weeks to get him anywhere near ready to reattempt his firearms test. We got closer as he trained. I learned that he was about to marry his high school sweetheart, Megan. The two of them were about to have their first baby. They were looking forward to moving out of her mom’s house and starting a new life together. Mia, I really liked the guy. He had integrity, and he genuinely gave a damn about helping people.

  “He invited me over to dinner to meet his fiancée and the rest of his family. I went, and I had a great time. Megan was funny, loud, and silly, a really nice girl. Just after dessert, Megan offered to take me on a tour of the house. She did that so we could be alone. And once we were, she asked me for a favor.”

  “What did she want?”

  I can feel the memories of that night flooding my body. My chest tightens, and my shoulders tense up. I know how this story ends, and telling it doesn’t change that. But I keep going; it’s too late to turn back now. And Mia is worth it. I want to be open with her.

  “Megan asked me how Green’s training was going. She said that he was positive that he would pass this time. I told her that he was right. We had been doing drills that were above and beyond what the department required. There was no doubt in my mind he’d pass. We even drilled under stressful situations where Green was on a timer and had to hit a moving target.

  “She said, ‘If that’s the case, I need a favor. I need you to reject his transfer to active duty.’ She went on to tell me how terrified she was that something would happen to him in the field. Every time he failed his test, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief because she hated the thought of his getting hurt. But since he was always failing his test, she thought she had nothing to worry about.”

  “And then you started training him, and she got nervous,” Mia reasons.

  “Yeah, she heard how well he was doing. She started to freak out at the thought that he’d soon carry a gun and go into danger. So, she asked me to sabotage him so that he would stay safe at a desk job.”

  “Jackson, do you have that kind of pull with your bosses?”

  “Unofficially, yes. It’s rare to lead a team at my age. Teams are usually run by guys seven to ten years older than me. And because I do head the team, if I rejected Green, he wouldn’t have gotten very far. Megan knew that. She knew that if I voiced any objection to Green joining us, it wouldn’t matter what his firearms test results were, he’d never be chosen for field work.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “I said no. I told her that he had worked hard and that she should talk to him about her fears if she felt that strongly about it. She said she’d talked to him, but he wouldn’t listen. This was his dream, and he couldn’t let it go.”

  “I take it she didn’t let it go either?” Mia says.

  I laugh bitterly. “No, not a chance. She kept calling and coming by the office. She said she had a bad feeling about him being in the field and that it was my duty as his friend to protect him from himself. She came to me, Mia, sobbing, pregnant, and desperate. She begged me, ‘Don’t let him get the promotion. Do this for our baby. It’s a girl. Her name is Willa. Please don’t let her grow up without a dad.’” My voice fades. I hang my head between my hands and massage my temples.

  “Jackson, what happened? You can tell me,” she says as she rests her forehead on my arm and patiently waits. I get up and walk towards the window. There’s very little room in the house with all the space my guilt is taking up.

  “No matter how much she begged, I said no. When the time came to take his test, he aced it. He was so damn happy, baby. He actually danced his way out of the gun range. He wanted to go out for drinks and celebrate. So we did. The whole time Megan was looking over at me with dread in her eyes. She tried one last time to get me to reject him, but when the time came, I approved his transfer.

  “Two weeks later, we got a tip about a terrorist cell that had been activated. They were planning an attack in the heart of midtown, using suicide bombers. We were dispatched immediately, and out of the nine bombers, we stopped eight of them. But the last one had gotten away. When I caught up with her, she turned to face me. That’s when I saw her eyes—she had Rose’s eyes.

  “I begged her to surrender and put her hands up, but she wouldn’t. When she went to arm the bomb, I tried to talk her down. But I was lying to myself. The girl could not be talked out of it. She set the bomb off and took two members of my team, including Green.

  “His body was shredded. They didn’t even have enough of him left to have an open casket. I saw Megan at the funeral, and she was in such bad shape she had to be taken to the ER. That was my fault.”

  “No, Jackson, you didn’t do anything wrong,” she pleads as she comes closer.

  “Mia, I could have saved him. I could have done what she asked me to do and rejected him. He’d still be here, taking Megan to get checkups and preparing for his first kid to arrive. Instead, he’s gone, and some poor baby will never lay eyes on her dad. Why didn’t I just…” My voice dies in my throat.

  “Why didn’t you just lie and say Green wasn’t field ready? Because that’s not who you are. And because that’s what he wanted. We don’t get to choose how we die, Jackson, just how we live. And he wanted this to be his life. You are not to blame. You felt he was ready. The department felt he was ready, and most of all, Green himself felt that he was ready.

  “You can’t let this eat away at you. It’s a sad thing that happened. But I have news for you, Agent Hunter; it’s not your job to stop every bad thing from happening. Honey, you’re just one man, that’s it. You go out there and do what you can. The rest is out of your hands. And you need to know that, or you’re in for a very rough ride.”

  “Mia…he was so happy to make the team. I can still see his face in my head. He was on top of the world.”

  “Yes, and you gave that to him. You helped him make his dream become a reality. And when that kid grows up, she’ll know that her dad was fearless, and determined in pursuing his dreams. That’s the stock she comes from. One day, Megan and her daughter will stop grieving and look at the legacy Green left behind and not the pain of his absence. It just takes time,” she says as she takes my hand in hers.

  “You really believe that?”

  “Yes, I really do.”

  “I can’t sleep. I try but…”

  “Hey,” she says softly as she gets up on her toes and gives me a quick kiss. “Jackson, you can’t save everyone. And if you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t help save anyone.”

  She’s right; I know that. It’s just that I never thought of it that way. Green was happy in the end. He had this inner glow. He died, yes. But he did so doing the thing that made him feel most alive.

  “God, you’re amazing!” I reply as I wrap my arms around her.

  “See, you missed out on a great therapist,” she teases.

  “That’s okay; I got an even better deal: a super-hot girlfriend who is easy to talk to and very easy to love.”

  “Well, just so you know, I’m billing you for my services.”

  “Oh, I see. This isn’t a freebie?”

  “Nope. Pay up.” We laugh, and I gaze into her eyes, those beautiful eyes that seem to haunt me at times. That gets me back to the reason I started this. “Mia, something is wrong. I can tell. Please tell me, what’s going on with you, baby?”

  ***

  For the record, I was going to tell Jackson right then and there. But then he got a call from work, and they needed him to go in right away. He couldn’t tell me exactly what was going on, but I could tell by his tone
it was urgent. He got his gun and his jacket and headed towards the door. Before he left, he made me promise to stay here and wait for him.

  “We are not done. You’re not getting out of talking to me. Stay, get some rest, I’ll be back as soon as I can. I love you,” he said, followed by a quick kiss.

  “I love you too. Please be careful. And remember—I hate heroes. Don’t be one,” I replied, only partly joking.

  “Promise,” he said as he took off.

  I have mixed feelings about what just happened. On the one hand, I’m glad to spare Jackson my drama for yet a few more hours. But on the other hand, it would be good to come clean. Maybe Argo was right, and I should have told him in the first place. Okay, I can’t change not telling him, but I can try and fix it. I sat on the sofa and turned on the TV, thinking I’d wait up for Jackson but I dozed off.

  It’s morning now, and sunlight is streaming through the windows. I text Argo and ask if everything is okay. He texts me back, saying, “6 AM on a Sunday, let me and the boy sleep. Go take a ride on the Hunter train and don’t get off until he gets off.” I shake my head and laugh at his text.

  “Wow, that laugh must drive Jackson crazy with lust. Good for you, Mona Lisa,” someone says from the corner of the room. I nearly jump out of my skin. I leap off the sofa, turn, and find a beautiful, impeccably dressed black woman standing in the corner. She’s dressed in high-end designer garb from head to toe. She’s the kind of woman that has daily manicures and spa treatments. Her skin glows, and her makeup is immaculate.

  “Who the hell are you? And how did you get in here?!” I demand.

  “I’m Shelby—Jackson’s sister-in-law. I married the first brother, the CIA guy,” she says proudly.

  “Are you supposed to be telling me that?”

  “Well, we’ll most likely be family someday, so…”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I have a talent for spotting the women the brothers will marry. And you, Mona Lisa, fit the bill. You’re hot-tempered, you do charity work, and you have a great ass. So again, good for you! Now coffee, how do you take it?”

  “Okay, I’m not sure what’s really going on here but—wait, how did you get in here?”

  She tilts her head back and laughs. “Please. I’m Shelby.”

  “Is that supposed to mean something?”

  “I have keys to, well, everything. It’s just my way.”

  “Your way is breaking into people’s homes?”

  “Sometimes. It depends on my mood.”

  “Okay, you’re nuts.”

  “Well, a little insanity might help you in this family. Things can get crazy. The long hours, the cases, the stakeouts, the bullets, and anyway, I thought I’d take a look at Jackson’s very own Mona Lisa. And you know what? I approve.”

  “Um, thanks. Why do you keep calling me Mona Lisa? My name is Mia.”

  “Is it?” she says with a knowing smile. She goes to the kitchen to make me coffee.

  “I don’t want any, thank you. Maybe you should come back when Jackson is here,” I offer.

  “Mona Lisa, you and I should get to know each other.”

  “And why is that? And again, my name is not Mona Lisa!” I counter.

  She sits at the kitchen table and signals for me to sit next to her. This lady is crazy. But I do as she asks.

  “First off, congrats on landing Jackson, he’s a very high-quality find. A few things you should know: I’ve talked to some of the women he’s hooked up with, and well, make sure you stretch and hydrate.”

  “Oh my God,” I reply as I bury my face in my hands.

  “The other thing you need to know is that you will need to develop a ‘don’t try me’ stare to ward off all these women trying to claim him. And there are many. Hell, if I wasn’t married… He’s got that searing alpha stare but balances it with his witty charm. Again, good for you!”

  “Are you usually like this?” I ask.

  “No, sometimes I can be intrusive.”

  Seriously?

  “Look, I meant to see you earlier, but to be honest, I was having a hard time getting the info I needed on you.”

  “Info? Your family is checking up on me?”

  “Come now, the Hunters are worth half a billion dollars. Do you think they wouldn’t have background checks?”

  “So, Jackson is having someone spy on me?”

  “Oh please, men know nothing. His mom is having you looked into. She does it to all the women her boys are into—don’t take it personally.”

  “What? This is crazy! What kind of family does that?”

  “Oh, so you’d let Aaron just walk in the house with any girl and not ask questions?”

  “How do you know about—never mind,” I sigh.

  She laughs. “I think we are starting to get each other.”

  “I don’t know about that,” I reply. She gets up and noses around the room. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll tell Jackson you came by, Shelby.”

  She heads towards the window and speaks in a light voice as if she’s whispering something that should never be said out loud. “Did you know that Mona Lisa wasn’t her real name?”

  “Um no, I didn’t.”

  “Her real name was Lisa Gherardini. She was painted in 1503. The painting appears massive, but it’s actually kind of small, fragile. She sits in her own room in the Louvre, in a climate-controlled space; she sits in the prettiest prison in the world. She’s been attacked, she’s been scarred, and since she was created, she’s been hunted by men who thought they owned her…”

  My throat goes dry, and my voice barely makes it out of my mouth. “Are you saying that’s me?”

  “You don’t exist online. There’s the handle of what appears to be a Taser sticking out of your handbag. And when you turned around and saw I was here, you weren’t scared of me; you were relieved to know it wasn’t the person you thought it would be. You were expecting someone else. Someone you fear. I know that look very well.”

  I ask her pointedly, “Why do you know the look of fear so well?”

  “For years, it was the only expression I ever wore,” she says, lost in thought.

  “Shelby…”

  She turns back to look at me. She’s smiling and engaging like she was when I first laid eyes on her. The soft-spoken woman is gone. “I have to go. I don’t know what Dr. Mia Samuels is up to, but I do know that Mia Avery needs to be honest with Jackson. Because if you are in as much trouble as I think you are, you’ll need him. In fact, you’ll need all five of the brothers.”

  I’m in Aaron’s room fighting a battle with his unruly hair, and his hair is winning. It takes almost twenty minutes to get his curls somewhat under control. He hates me playing with his hair and complains the whole time. When I’m done, he quickly runs out of the room fearing I may call him back to torment him some more.

  “We’re leaving in half an hour. Don’t get your clothes dirty, Aaron. I mean it!” I shout.

  “Girl, leave him alone. Jackson’s family will love him. He’s seven. Cute is built in. The person who has to worry about impressing his family is you,” Argo teases from the doorway.

  “Well, I’m sure that’s already blown since Shelby probably told everyone my real name.”

  “Well, they didn’t cancel on you, that means they are still interested. And most importantly so is Jackson.”

  “Yeah, he’s a really good guy,” I reply sadly. Argo goes over to the bar cart in the living room and pours us each a glass of red wine. I sip it as I get lost in thought.

  “What is it?” Argo asks.

  “I’m planning to talk to Jackson tonight after the dinner, but I can’t help but feel awful about dropping this whole thing in his lap.”

  “It’s not your fault this is happening. He will understand, and you two will face it together. So stop worrying.”

  “You’re right. We will go to his parents’ place, have a nice dinner, and then talk afterward. Everything will be fine.”

&
nbsp; “Okay, now say that again, but this time, do it without your hands shaking,” Argo instructs. I take a big gulp of my wine, and Argo takes it away from me. “Drunk while meeting his parents is trashy and basic. We are better than that.”

  “Okay, you’re right again.” I walk over to the mirror and look myself over. I take a deep breath and ask, “How do I look?”

  Argo will be the first to tell me if what I’m wearing does or does not work. I picked out a simple yet elegant emerald green pencil dress. I matched it with my favorite pair of heels and diamond stud earrings. I put on eyeliner and lip gloss with a hint of color.

  “Yes, you are all of that!” Argo says, looking me over. He puts a strand of stray hair back in place and smiles. “Enjoy this, okay, Mimi? Don’t go all nuts on me. Be easy and relaxed. Jackson is lucky to have you, and he knows that.”

  “Thank you. Now what about you, what’s going on with you and your dad?”

  He rolls his eyes and sighs heavily.

  “Uh-oh. That can’t be good. What happened?” I ask.

  “So, we’ve been talking, right? And so far, it’s been really nice and everything. But then the other day, he asked if I was seeing someone. I said no. And he seemed kind of relieved. Like maybe I was taking a break from being gay. Is that it? Does he think me being gay is a phase? Cuz, um…no!”

  “Argo, I’m sorry he reacted that way, but give him a chance. You two are trying. That’s what’s important.”

  “Yeah, but what if he never accepts me?”

  “He wants you in his life; otherwise, he would break off contact. The thing about parents is that they have our lives planned out for us. Your dad had a picture in his head of how your life would look: Argo will be married, he will have kids, and he will have a good paying job and be happy. When he learned that you are gay, that picture faded.”

  “Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I can’t have those things.”