Rusty Nail

by Lani Lynn Vale

  Xavier’s eyes went wide.

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re coming home with me.”

  ***

  “What the hell, Wolf?” Nancy, Nathan’s grandmother, asked as she got out of the car.

  I pointed at Xavier. “Stay there.”

  “Who’s that?” Nancy asked as she got Nathan’s bag out of the back of the truck.

  “That’s a kid I found living by himself today,” I said. “He’s going to be spending the weekend with me until I can find him somewhere to go.”

  “Oh,” Nancy said. “I fed Nathan after I picked him up from school.” She handed me a bag of old French fries and nuggets. “I got enough for you, but they’re cold now.”

  I grinned and pulled Nancy into a one-armed hug.

  “How’re the knees feeling today?” I asked.

  Nancy sighed.

  “They’ve been better. I have a doctor’s appointment to get a couple of cartilage building shots in them to see if that helps. I have to have three injections before they’ll even consider surgical options.” She winced when she stepped to the side and hoisted up Nathan’s bag.

  I took it from her and walked it to my truck, throwing the bag over the side of the bed before turning back to Nancy.

  “Let me know if you need me to take you,” I told her. “And I want to know how this weekend goes.”

  Nancy grinned.

  “I’ll be fine, Wolf,” she smiled. “You’re such a worrywart.”

  “I haven’t met your new friend who’s somehow managed to keep himself hidden every time I try to meet him, so excuse my worry.” I pulled her into a short hug.

  Nancy giggled.

  “You’ll like Frank,” she promised. “I’ll be going to the Texas Rangers’ game. Maybe you can watch and see him there.”

  I snorted and let her go.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” I told her. “Nathan got his medicine already tonight?”

  Nancy nodded her head. “He has. I gave it to him before his dinner.”

  I walked around to the opposite side of Nancy’s three quarter ton Dodge and opened the passenger side door.

  The first sight of Nathan after such a long time apart hit me straight in the heart just like it always did.

  I sure did love the kid like crazy, and it bothered the hell out of me that I needed Nancy’s help.

  It helped us both out, though.

  We both compromised, and the schedule really worked out well for both of us.

  Nancy ran a farm outside of the city and had no trouble keeping Nathan during the week. Fridays through Sundays were a problem for her since her work hands had those three days off. Her granddaughter helped her on the weekends, but it was definitely not something she could do with a small child running underfoot.

  Hence, why I got him for those three days.

  She was just happy that we could work something out.

  When Darren had died, I’d been named as Nathan’s legal guardian, and since that was what Darren wanted, nobody, not even Nancy, had protested it.

  “Daddy,” Nathan’s sweet, soft voice filled the cab the moment I started to unlatch him from the car seat.

  “Hey, boy,” I said. “You fell asleep.”

  “Tired,” Nathan muttered, his voice thick with sleep.

  I chuckled under my breath and picked him up.

  Nathan automatically curled into my chest and wrapped his arms around my neck.

  And everything inside me that’d felt unsettled, instantly calmed.

  Nancy’s eyes were happy as she watched me round the car with Nathan.

  “He helped me birth a couple of goat kids today,” she smiled. “I remember doing the same thing with Darren. I definitely wore his little hiney out.”

  I laughed.

  “I was there enough with Darren when goats were born. That is tough work, even if you’re only watching,” I told her, remembering my own experiences.

  Goats were cool and all, but they were a hell of a lot of work, and although I had the land for them at my house, I wasn’t ever going to have animals there. Even if they would help me get a tax write off on the land.

  “It wasn’t that bad,” Nancy laughed as she went to the passenger side door of my truck and closed it.

  “No,” I agreed. “But it sucked.”

  Nancy laughed, and continued to laugh about the situation until I waved goodbye to her and pulled out of the parking lot five minutes later.

  My first time seeing a goat birthed had traumatized me, and it tickled the hell out of Nancy to know that I got squeamish when it came to birthings of any kind.

  I’d, of course, thrown up the moment I’d seen the hooves coming out of the goat’s vagina and that gave Darren material to rag on me for years to come.

  He was also with me the first time I’d witnessed a woman giving birth while on patrol during our deployment in Iraq. I’d thrown up then, too.

  And Darren had promptly told his mother. Again.

  “This kid doesn’t look like he’s yours,” Xavier observed as we pulled out of the parking lot.

  “That’s ‘cause he’s not,” I said. “He was my best friend’s son. When my best friend died, I was given custody of him.”

  Xavier made a humming noise under his breath, and stared straight forward, not saying a word, for the remainder of the drive.

  The moment I pulled into the driveway of my place, Raven opened the door, and her eyes took in everything at once.

  She came to Nathan’s side and opened the door as I got out, followed shortly by Xavier.

  “Sleepy boy,” Raven said as she got Nathan out of his car seat and pulled him into her arms.

  I nearly laughed at the sight.

  Nathan, at five years old, was almost her height. His feet hung past her knees, and his head was nearly as big as hers.

  Did she care that he was practically as big as her? Hell no.

  She loved Nathan and had since the moment they’d met.

  Two wounded souls always gravitated towards each other, and Nathan was definitely a wounded soul.

  Although he’d been given everything he could possibly want in life, he’d had a tough time of it.

  When he was only a year old, the man who had shot his father and mother had shot him as well.

  He’d taken a bullet to the head and had to have fifteen surgeries to repair the damage.

  Although he was okay now, it was touch and go at first, and it’d been a very long road to recovery.

  Seeing the two of them together again had my heart fucking pounding for a different reason than had been normal for me lately.

  “She the baby mama?” Xavier asked as Raven turned around and walked inside.

  “No,” I grunted and pushed Xavier. “Get inside.”

  Xavier reluctantly followed me inside. As he took in my house, I couldn’t help but notice that his eyes were haunted, too.

  Leaving me to wonder what exactly I thought I could fix with this kid when I couldn’t even fix myself.

  Chapter 13

  Of course I’m an organ donor. Who wouldn’t want a piece of this?

  -Raven’s secret thoughts

  Raven

  “Why are we watching the baseball game when soccer is on?” Xavier asked.

  “Because I want to watch the baseball game, and it’s my fuckin’ TV,” I told the annoying kid. “Why don’t you go watch your precious soccer on the TV in the room I gave you?”

  Xavier grinned.

  “I like baseball, too.”

  Wolf held his hand out for the computer, and Xavier grimaced before giving it to Wolf.

  I wanted to laugh.

  The two men were very alike, and the fact that they’d just met less than three days ago was telling.

  “Nathan,” Wolf called. “Your grandma will be here in less than twenty minutes. Are you ready to go?”

  Nathan started stompi
ng down the hallway, and I looked up and watched as he made his way toward us dragging his R2D2 rolling bag down the hallway in his wake.

  “Dad,” Nathan growled. “I can’t find Chewy.”

  I got up and immediately walked to the last place I’d seen his Chewbacca figurine, and immediately cried out in excitement. “Found it!”

  Nathan came clomping in with his two-sizes-too-big boots that he just had to have and held his hands out for the tiny figure.

  “Where’d you find it, Rave?” Nathan asked, throwing himself at my thighs.

  I rocked back on my heels, thankful as hell I had the table at my back.

  “On the hutch next to the cars you lined up. And I’m glad Marky Mark didn’t find it first,” I pointed to the make-shift garage he’d been using as his Hot Wheels’ storage facility.

  Nathan followed my hand and nodded.

  “Those better be there when I get back,” he said, pointing at me for good measure.

  I held my hand up in a ‘I promise’ gesture and tried not to break out in a smile.

  “Good woman,” Nathan said, sounding like he was Wolf’s age of thirty-five rather than his actual age of five.

  “Dad!” Nathan cried as he walked out of the room, shoving Chewy into his pocket as he went. “Make sure you don’t let any girls play with my cars!”

  I nearly laughed my butt off, but managed to withhold it. Although, that was only because the doorbell rang, detouring my path to the front door instead of standing at Nathan’s back listening to him tell his father about why girls shouldn’t be able to play with cars.

  “Hi!” I said to the older woman. “You must be Nancy.”

  The woman’s face, very pretty for an older woman, stared curiously at me for long moments before her face split into a grin.

  “You look like a fairy princess,” the woman replied to my greeting.

  “She’s an evil fairy princess,” Nathan muttered as he walked past us towards the stairs.

  Wolf caught up with him before he could even make it to the steps and scooped him up into his arms, tossing him over his shoulders.

  “Daaaddddy!” Nathan squealed. “I’m going to barf!”

  Wolf ignored him and continued to swing them in circles.

  I was dizzy just watching them.

  A chuckle had me bringing my gaze back to Nancy.

  She was watching me watch Nathan and Wolf.

  Her eyes filled with something I couldn’t quite decipher.

  I turned away from the scene outside and continued to get to know Nancy. “I made him eat his vegetables,” I explained. “He didn’t want to eat the asparagus, but I told him if he didn’t eat it, he couldn’t have any of the chocolate cake I made.”

  Nancy grinned.

  “My granddaughter and Nathan get the same treatment at my home,” she smiled. “Although Nathan’s a lot more receptive to vegetables than Iona is.”

  I leaned against the door frame. “How old is Iona?”

  “Twenty-four.” Nancy continued on describing her obviously loved granddaughter.

  I started to chuckle. “No,” I agreed. “I don’t think she would be very accepting of her grandmother telling her how to eat at twenty-four.”

  Nancy grinned. “My house, my rules.”

  We continued to visit until Wolf came up behind us. “Doesn’t Iona pay for groceries, utilities and the car insurance?” Wolf asked, scaring us both.

  Nathan was asleep against his shoulder, and yet again I was surprised by the fact.

  I’d realized over the last weekend that Nathan could sleep still anywhere and everywhere.

  Not much had changed on that front in the months since I’d first met him.

  “I still own the house,” Nancy said somewhat defensively. “She’s more than welcome to leave.”

  I looked to Wolf and immediately had to cover up a choking laugh as I saw him roll his eyes so far heavenward.

  “You know Iona will never leave you,” Wolf grinned. “But let’s go. If I hurry, I can get dressed in some different clothes before I leave for work.”

  I looked over to Wolf.

  He was dirty.

  How had he gotten so freakin’ dirty?

  Wolf caught me studying him and immediately became enthralled in the conversation he was having with Nancy.

  I could tell something was wrong, though, especially with the way his eyes seem to light with an inner fire. Or possibly the way he scanned the nearly deserted neighborhood.

  The only person doing anything on the entire block was a woman four houses down smoking a cigarette and speaking to someone on her cell phone while she pushed a lawnmower around almost as an afterthought.

  “Let’s go, Nancy,” Wolf ordered, holding his arm out like the gentleman he was.

  I backed into the doorway and stared at the dark night waiting for Wolf to come back.

  It didn’t take him long.

  Maybe four minutes tops.

  However, the moment he came back around the bend of the house, I knew something was really wrong.

  “Wolf,” I said, moving forward.

  “Inside,” he snapped.

  My brows rose, but I backed up and moved until he could get inside, which he did moments later.

  He slammed the door shut and turned to survey the room.

  “Xavier,” Wolf called.

  Xavier’s head, which had been resting on the couch, jerked sideways.

  “What?” he asked, standing up slightly.

  “Pull up the video feed for the house,” Wolf ordered, threading the chain through the holder before backing away and heading toward the living room where Xavier was seated.

  “What angle do you want?” Xavier asked.

  “Back porch near the driveway,” Wolf said in anger.

  I watched in fascination as the cameras pulled up on Xavier’s small computer screen and then started to replay the last ten minutes.

  “Holy shit!” I cried, leaning forward over Xavier’s shoulder. “What the fuck was that?”

  “That,” Wolf said, crossing his arms over his chest, “was someone trying to kill me.”

  “Where is the body now?” I whispered worriedly as he dragged the man to where the trashcans were in a small enclosure on the side of Wolf’s house.

  The moment he passed behind the trashcans, we lost the angle, only for it to appear five seconds later, from a completely new angle.

  “Chained up on the water faucet,” he replied, taking his phone out of his pocket.

  “That his foot?” I asked, pointing at the screen.

  It was the only thing I could see poking out of the portioned off area.

  “Yep,” Wolf confirmed, then held up a finger for me to hold on and not speak. “Ridley. Got a trespasser. Tried to hurt my boy … Yes.”

  My brows rose.

  Had the man tried to hurt Nathan?

  Now I could see why he’d be mad. Enraged even.

  ***

  “Where are we going?” I asked Wolf for a tenth time, dipping a finger into the cast that was really starting to get on my damn nerves.

  It itched like crazy. It never fucking stopped itching.

  “Clubhouse,” he answered distractedly.

  I sighed.

  I’d gotten the same answer five times now, and I was getting quite annoyed by his one word answers.

  “Why?” I pushed.

  “Because Xavier needs to stay somewhere that we’re not. We’re fucking screwed if everyone gets taken out at the same time. No witnesses, nothing,” Wolf explained patiently.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Dramatic much?” I teased.

  Wolf’s eyes were serious when they turned to me.

  “We’re all likely going to be giving testimonies on the stand that explains what we’ve all been going through the last month,” Wolf said. “How fucking convenient if he took all three of us out at the same damn time.”r />
  I looked over at the sleeping Xavier. “I think Peek might kill him.”

  Wolf snorted and shifted down into third, making me jump when he copped a feel.

  “You’re doing it on purpose, aren’t you?” I asked him.

  “He might want to,” Wolf said, ignoring my question. “But Alison won’t let him. They’ve never been able to have kids, and Alison does everything she can to live vicariously through the members of the club who have babies.”

  “She’s the one who introduced me to Nathan,” I reminded him. “I know how much she wants babies.”

  “Don’t mention that in front of Peek,” Wolf muttered as he took the final turn that would lead us to the clubhouse.

  A strong bump had something solid in the truck bouncing, and then a low moan followed the thump.

  “What was that?” I asked in confusion, looking behind us.

  “Did you call your credit card company this morning?” Wolf asked, distracting me from the sound.

  “Yeah,” I sighed. “Card is now canceled. As well as my debit card, and all of my checks. The account is frozen, so they can’t access it anymore, and when I’m ready, I’ll start a new one.”

  I’d found out earlier that morning that someone had charged nearly fifteen grand on my credit card.

  When the bank noticed the charges, they deemed it suspicious and called to see if I had made the purchases.

  I, of course, hadn’t been. So that started a series of telephone calls to everyone and their brother about canceling cards and closing out accounts.

  Now the only thing left to my name that wasn’t frozen in my account was five hundred dollars that was burning a hole in my pocket.

  Cash always had that effect on me.

  If that same cash was in my bank account, it wouldn’t affect me at all.

  The fact that it was sitting in my wallet made me think of going to the store and spending every single bit of it on three hundred bags of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

  I never said my mind was logical.

  He pulled up to stop at the same flat bottom boat that he’d used a few days ago, and I stared.

  “The water’s gotten higher,” I muttered.

  “Supposed to go up a few more feet before it crests,” Wolf agreed. “Fucking terrible, isn’t it?”

  I nodded forlornly and got out, being sure to shake Xavier awake as I moved.