by Cee Bowerman
Crow sat up, still clutching his arm to his chest. As I sat behind him, to let him rest against me, I saw Kale through the windows of the Suburban. He had a man hefted over his shoulder like a fireman would carry someone they were rescuing. Kale walked right through the front door and into the house carrying the man. Clem and Bird were right behind him. Daughtry pulled the front door closed behind his brothers and walked across the grass to me.
He knelt down and put his hand on Crow’s face and then looked up at me.
“They are going to take him to the pool. They’ll wake him up and make him talk. We’ll keep the cops out front as long as we can, hoping they get something out of him.” Daughtry still had his hands on Crow’s cheek, wiping the tears away with his thumb. “That’s my good boy, Crow. You’re going to be just fine. Such a good, strong boy you are.”
The ambulance was coming down the road, followed by two patrol cars.
I turned around and looked at the house when I heard the door open.
Terra pushed Hawk and Petra toward me and then turned to rush back into the house. Both children ran into the grass. Petra went to Grunt and threw herself into his arms. Hawk ran to me and slid down beside me in the grass.
“Keep the kids out here, sweetheart, let the cops talk to them out here where they can’t see into the backyard, okay?”
“They have my Phoenix, Daughtry. They took your Mom.”
“Gamma ran and got in the car with the bad men. They didn’t make her go.” Hawk wasn’t screaming anymore, if anything, he was emotionless.
“My Mom jumped into the car so she could take care of Phoenix, Summer. We’ll get them both back, honey. I feel a little sorry for the fuckers, whoever they are. You’ve never seen my sweet Mama when she turns into Mama Bear.”
~*~
BIRD
I ran around the end of the Suburban to see Kale shaking a half-conscious man in the grass.
“They took Mama and Phoenix, Kale. Make him talk.”
“Oh, you motherfucker.” Kale growled. He stood up and hefted the skinny man up onto his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. He walked toward my front door and I followed close behind him.
“Clem, call Pop. Fuck.”
“Oh, fuck, man. Yeah.” Clem pulled his phone out of his pocket just as Kale threw his phone toward Terra. She reached out and caught it with one hand, putting it straight into her pocket.
“Find me some good conversation tools, baby. I should have a box in the pantry.” Terra nodded at Kale’s words and took off toward the pantry, the baby in her arms.
Kale slid the back door open and walked out onto the patio and straight into the pool, the man still on his shoulders.
“You awake, fucker?” He asked as he shook him off his shoulder, letting him slide down his chest into the water. “Good. Take a breath.”
Kale dunked the man under the water and held him by the hair as he fought valiantly, scratching at Kale’s arms and hands. After quite a few seconds, Kale pulled him up out of the water and held him up by his hair. The sirens had stopped out front, so I knew we didn’t have much time alone.
“Why did you come here?”
The man was still sputtering and shook his head. Kale smiled at him.
“Take a breath.”
Kale pushed him back under the water just as Terra came out onto the patio with a long screwdriver, a hammer and a mallet. She gently sat them at the edge of the pool close to Kale and he smiled up at her and said a polite, “Thank you, baby.”
She moved over to the lounge to sit in the shade, and lifted Lark up to lay on her shoulder. She watched Kale drown the man as she gently patted Lark’s back.
Kale pulled the man up out of the water again. “You ready to tell me who sent you?”
“Old lady.” He gasped. “Get the baby.”
“What old lady?”
The man shook his head and Kale pushed him back under the water.
“Old lady? Get the baby? Is it that Reynolds bitch?”
“Fuck. She got out on bail last week.”
“Dad’s on his way. Brother, he’s no good to us dead, he’s not moving anymore.”
“Oh, shit.” Kale pulled the man up out of the water and shook him until he started sobbing.
“Where are you taking the baby? Where are you meeting her?”
“At her fucking house, man. At the golf course.”
“She paying you?”
“Yeah. She said the baby is worth a lot of money.”
“You picked the wrong family you dumb fuck!” Kale roared and pushed the man back under the water.
“Where the fuck does she live?” Kale asked me.
“Fuck! I don’t know.”
“I’ll call Chandler. He can track Mama’s necklace.” Clem had his phone up to his ear already, waiting on Chandler to answer.
“Kale!” Terra shouted just as I heard a man’s voice speak.
“Kale. Gonna have to let the man up for air, brother.”
Kale’s head snapped around and he looked at the uniformed police officer. I recognized him as a member of the Texas Knights, a good friend of Sam and Zeke’s. He had only been a member a year or so, since right after Carlie was kidnapped.
“He fell in. I was going to give him mouth to mouth.”
“With a hammer?”
“Maybe.” Kale said with a shrug.
Kale pulled the man out of the water and he gasped for air, clutching his throat, rather than Kale’s arm.
“What do you know?” The officer asked me.
“Ms. Reynolds. She lives on the golf course. She’s my daughter’s grandmother. She broke in here and tried to snatch her up two weeks ago and was arrested. She got out last week.”
“Okay.” The officer, I remembered now that his name was Gus Cardenas, pushed the tools into the pool with his boot just as another policeman walked through the back door. “I’ll get on that. The lady out front is awake and gave us a description of the car, including a partial on the plate. I’ll get some more information out of Greg Louganis here.”
Kale picked the man up by the throat, lifted him into the air and slammed him down on the concrete beside the pool. The man groaned and clutched his throat as he rolled onto his side.
Kale stood there in the pool, water up to his waist, and stared at the man laying poolside.
“He took our boy and our Mama. You should get him away from me now.”
Gus nodded at the other officer and they yanked the man up off the ground.
“I’m glad you caught him as he tried to run away, Mr. Forrester. Good job.” Gus nodded at me as he and the other officer took the man toward the side gate. “The ambulances took both women and the little boy to the hospital. Your other brother is with the other two kids inside.”
Kale pushed up onto the side of the pool and lifted out of the water.
He tossed a wallet at Clem. “I lifted that out of his pocket. We can see where he lives. If he gets out on bail, I want to chat with him again.”
“Go get some dry clothes out of my room. I have to go to the hospital to check on Crow and Summer’s Mom. I need to be with my wife. Terra, will you take care of the kids?”
“Of course, Bird. Go.” Terra stood up and walked toward the house with Kale.
“I got Chandler on it. He’s getting a lock on Mom’s necklace, and he’s calling Marcus to see if he knows that bitch’s address from some of that paperwork.”
“That old bitch needs to die. She wanted my baby girl, took my son, hurt my other son, God knows what’s going on with Mama right now.”
“Go take care of your woman and your kid. We’ll get on this. Maybe we can get to her before the cops do. Mama will take care of Phoenix.”
“Yeah.” I walked into the house. Daughtry was sitting on the couch. Hawk was curled up under one arm, Petra under the other. “Terra’s going to keep the kids. You can go with Clem and Kale to find them. I have to go to Summer and check on Crow.”
I knelt in front of Daug
htry so that I could speak to the kids.
“Hey, guys.” I said softly. “Petra, sweetheart, I’m going to check on your Mom. You and Hawk stay here with Aunt Terra and the baby. I’ll call as soon as I know anything, okay?”
Petra nodded and sniffed, she fisted her hand and rubbed the tears from her eyes.
“Hawk, I’m going to go be with your Mama and Crow. Aunt Terra will take care of you.”
“What about Nix, Daddy? Where is he?”
“He’s with Gamma, son. I bet she is doing her very best to take care of him, okay? I’ll get everyone back here as soon as I can.”
Hawk let go of Daughtry and jumped onto me. I stood up, clutching him to my chest. “It’s going to be okay, son.”
“I was scared. So scared.”
“I know, little man. I know. I’m so sorry. You did good though, buddy. You did everything that you could think of to help. You did so good.”
“Find Nix, Daddy. Please?”
“I will son. I will.”
Terra had walked back downstairs and laid Lark in her playpen. With tears streaming down her face, she took Hawk out of my arms and sat down where Daughtry had been. She pulled both children close and held them in her arms as she talked softly to them.
I moved out the front door and heard the roar of a motorcycle. My Dad slid to a stop next to Kale’s bike. Dad pushed the kickstand down and jumped off his bike as I rushed toward him.
He grabbed me by the front of my cut. “Where is she, son?”
“I don’t know yet, Dad. Clem has Chandler tracking the bug in her necklace. We know that Lark’s grandma hired the men to take her. They took Phoenix instead and Mama jumped in the car after she knocked one of the men out.”
“Fuck, Bird.” Dad let me go and ran his hands through his hair. “Oh, fuck.”
“She’s gonna be fine, Dad. It’s Mom. Nothing can hurt her. You know that.”
“Yeah. Fuck.”
“Mr. Forrester?” The second officer that had been in the backyard walked toward us. His radio was squawking but I didn’t understand the codes they were saying. “Your Mom called 911 and gave them her location. She and the boy are both fine and officers are on their way.”
“Where are they?” Dad roared and reached for the officer. I grabbed him in a bear hug before he touched the officer. “Where’s my wife?”
“Sir, from what dispatch said, the woman and the boy are just fine. She overpowered the driver and they wrecked but she reported that she and the boy aren’t injured.”
Cardenas walked up, the phone at his ear. At the news that Mom was fine, Dad calmed down and I let him go.
Gus flipped his phone shut and nodded at me.
“The first officer that arrived on scene after your Mom called 911 reported that the driver was dead. He had been garroted with a shoelace from the backseat as he was driving. The woman was walking on the side of the road with the little boy and they were hunting for bugs. She told the officer that she secured your little boy in a seatbelt and then took matters into her own hands.” I knew that now was not the time to laugh, but it was such a relief to know they were both okay that I couldn’t help myself. Both officers stood there stunned as Dad and I kept laughing. “Officers found Ms. Reynolds at her house; her bags packed by the door. She’s being taken to the police station, and as soon as the other guy gets medical attention that’s where he’ll go. They are taking your Mom and son to the hospital by ambulance just as a precaution. I can drive the two of you there.” Cardenas offered.
“No. We’ll ride.” I turned to Daughtry and saw that he was smiling, his arm around Clem’s shoulder. Kale was still inside with Terra, but I knew that one of my brothers would tell him what had happened. Knowing Kale, he’d get a good laugh out of it too.
“You’ll tell Kale? Will you ask Terra to follow us up to the hospital in the Suburban? We'll need a way to get everyone home from the hospital.”
"Yes. We'll be right behind you."
I drove off with Dad, the two of us going well over the speed limit. Gus was in his patrol car behind us, but he didn't seem to have a problem with our speed. Once we got to the emergency room, Smokey and I both parked our bikes on the sidewalk and jogged inside. The nurse at the desk had seen us coming, and somehow knew who we were there for. She ushered us back into the bowels of the ER, and I could hear Phoenix, Summer, and Mom talking. Once the nurse opened the curtain, I rushed inside to be close to Summer and our boys. I saw Dad pull Mama into his chest and bury his face in her hair.
Summer smiled slightly as she looked up at me. She was perched up on the edge of the bed, Crow's sleeping body right behind her. Phoenix was curled up in her lap.
"Is it broken?" I reached down and touched his fingers gently. There was a bandage wrapped from his shoulder almost to his wrist.
"No breaks. His elbow was dislocated. The man tried to drag him away, so he and Mom had a Crow tug of war. She won, but he hit her in the head, and she fell on top of Crow. That’s when he saw Phoenix was smaller and grabbed him instead. Mom’s awake and alert now, they are checking her for concussion. They gave Crow something to calm him down and knock him out before they took him for x-rays and re-set his elbow."
I wrapped my arms around Summer and Phoenix.
"God, baby, I was so fucking scared."
"The police said they found her."
"Yeah. She was packed and ready to run with Lark."
"You know, I had planned to give this some time to blow over and let everything calm down before I approached her to make sure she was part of Lark's life. That went away when she came to our house, and after the shit she pulled today, I'm going to have to try really hard to not wish horrible things on her. It's all swirling in my head and I’m afraid it will eat me up."
"Oh, honey."
"I was so scared, Bird." Summer burst into tears and clutched the front of my cut. She put her head down on my chest and sobbed. Phoenix looked as lost as I was, seeing his Mom cry. He patted her gently on the shoulder as I rubbed my hand on the back of her head.
"It's all okay, Sunshine. It all worked out okay."
Just then, Terra walked in holding Hawk and Petra's hands. I took Phoenix from Summer and she jumped from the bed to squat down to hug her son and her baby sister. I saw that Kale was just a few steps behind Terra with a sleeping Lark in his arms. Daughtry and Clem stood at the edge of the room, barely able to fit in the space.
Mama and Smokey were still quietly embracing on the other side of the room. The rest of the world had fallen away from the two of them, and they just held each other.
"Your Mom okay?" Kale asked Summer. "Grunt with her?"
"Yeah. He rode in the ambulance with her and I rode with Crow."
"Okay. He'll watch out for her. What do we need to do now?"
"My brother and sister are headed to town now. Spruce, Terran, and Jewel are still at their day camp downtown, but they will need to be picked up soon. Can you do that for me? Sarah is in charge of the camp, so she’ll let the kids go with you. You can take Mom's car. It's parked at our house."
"I followed Terra in Dad’s truck. We’ll leave your car with you and take the truck to get the others. We’ll take the kids to your house once we get them. If you don't mind, I'm going to swing by and get Rolo and Leon. I’ll bring them over to love on the boys. I can leave them there for a day or two and let the boys snuggle with them. Might make all three of them feel better."
"That would be great, Kale. Thank you."
Just then, Jenna and Fain rushed into the room together, hand in hand. Jenna went straight to her Mom and Dad, Fain stood uncomfortably by the curtain as if he didn't know what to say. I realized that Bird and Kale were both staring at him, their glares icy. Emotions were already high, and I could tell that all four brothers wanted to rip Fain apart at the sight of him holding their baby sister’s hand.
"Thank you for bringing Jenna to her parent's, Fain. Will you do me a favor and take the kids down to the cafeteria to get snacks
with me while they all talk to their Mom and Dad?"
"Of course, Summer." Fain's smile didn't quite reach his eyes, but he seemed relieved to have a reason to leave the room.
"You guys talk, stay here with Crow for me. I need to get the kids some food. We were headed to lunch when this happened."
I stood to take Lark from Kale, but he waved me away as he patted her on the back. She looked content sleeping where she was at, so I ran my hand through her hair and left her with her Uncle.
As I led Phoenix, Hawk, and Petra through the curtain, I realized I didn't have my purse or any money. "Can I have some money, Bird? I guess my purse is still on the table in the living room."
