Anna and Jackson

by Tigris Eden

  “I don’t care about anyone shining. What I care about is my family. If anything happens to them, things are not going to be pretty for anyone involved. I want to be able to have full access to the girl. She’s a key character witness in the case against Peretti now that Morales is gone. I know we need to tread carefully, but let’s do it, be done with it, and get on with our lives.”

  Catch didn’t say anything else but moved into action. An ambulance could be heard approaching along with squad cars. Good. Jackson needed to get home to Anna. Quickly. They had no clue where Fabiano was, and while Jackson trusted Catch’s men, he still didn’t like that there were only a few of them watching the house. He knew Ryland was there, but it didn’t make him feel any better.

  “If you’re gonna surround me with hotties, the least they can do is take off their clothes,” Lola complains.

  “Lola, Bear would not be happy knowing his wife wants to see someone else’s ass besides his.”

  Chantelle and Lola have been arguing for the last couple of minutes about whether or not our bodyguards should take off their clothes. I’m in the kitchen with Ava, trying to make cookies. She likes being in the kitchen with me, and I like having her there.

  “You want to go and get me that measuring cup over there, Ladybug?”

  “Sure, I’m the bestest helper ever, aren’t I, Mommy.”

  She’s been calling me “Momma” or “Mommy” all the time now, and each time she says it, I want to cry. I’m an emotional wreck and have been for the last couple of days. Jackson tells me it’s just nerves. The wedding, the fact that the person who stabbed me is somewhere in town, stalking me. That I’m now finding out that some big, commando, tough guy who goes by the name of Catch and looks like he just stepped out of World’s Deadliest is watching out for me. All of that, while previously oblivious, will make any girl nervous. Or so he says. But I’m not nervous; I’m more like sappy and overly dramatic in the tears department. I have an appointment with the doctor in town tomorrow just to do a routine checkup. I’m hoping it really is what Jackson says, just stress, because otherwise, I’m having a mental break of some sort.

  “You are the best helper ever, beautiful.”

  What I want to add on to that is, “The best helper ever, now go and get Mommy that cup.” Anna, you’re falling apart. I am definitely falling, but I wouldn’t call it completely apart.

  “Hey, you, can you at least show us your stomach?” Chantelle says to one of Catch’s men. I think his name is Arlo, or Artlo, something like that. I don’t really remember. The entire time Jackson gave me names, I was busy thinking of worst case scenarios. I was planning my, ‘how to survive in Shreveport.’ There are exactly four exits in the house. Back door, front door, garage door, and the windows on the top floor. So, really, that means there are eight exits. Yeah, eight, only one of those is the crappy bathroom window that doesn’t shut, and the only person that can fit through there is Ava, and it would still be a tight squeeze.

  “Anna! Anna!” Lo screams from the other room. “Come out here, girl. Let’s get this bachelorette party started right.”

  “Lo,” I laugh. “Be serious. I have Ava in here in the kitchen making cookies with me. You and Chantelle need to get over it. Stop harassing our guests.”

  They snicker at my answer, and I can hear Lo, still trying to convince the man to take off his shirt. Ava hands me a cup, and we go back to making cookies. My gut is telling me there is something wrong. I don’t know if it’s because Jackson’s in some kind of a situation, or if it’s just the entire debacle tonight that has me on edge. I can’t call him to check on him, he’s working. Just as I’m about to stir the cookie mix together, I hear Lola.

  “What the hell does he mean my brother was shot?”

  “Who was shot? Who shot one of my cousins? Do those motherfuckers know who we are? Nobody messes with a Danvers. Fuck that. Oh, hell no. Fuck that,” Chantelle yells.

  One of the guys moves towards Lola as I step into the living room.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Trill got shot, that’s what. Everyone else is okay. A lot of bad guys are dead, and Bear has a dislocated shoulder and a gunshot wound to the leg that he says is just a scratch,” Lola answers. She has her head down and is reading her text messages that must be from Bear.

  Everyone else is okay. That means Jackson and Treat are fine. I look over to Joey, who has tears in her eyes, like me. We aren’t accustomed to dealing with our men being put in potential danger. I don’t know if Lola is used to this or not, but maybe Shreveport sees way more action than Beauville. I walk over to Joey, who’s gently rocking Xavier back and forth as he nurses. I wrap an arm around her shoulder.

  “Our men are okay, sis.”

  She sniffles a bit before offering me a smile.

  “They are, but poor Trill.”

  “Yeah, he’s going to be so grouchy when he comes home from the hospital.”

  It was true. My cousin had a temper and despised hospitals. This wasn’t the first time he’d been shot either. I remember visiting one summer as a kid, and there was an actual drive-by. It was the last summer my mother let me come up to hang out with my cousins.

  “I hope this means the case is closed now.”

  “Me, too.”

  That’s what we all want. We want things to go back to the way they were. Jackson is officially resigning after this, as is Treat. That way, they can’t be reactivated. We talked about it a few days ago, and it started off as Jackson suggesting it. I quickly agreed. They’ve done more than their fair share of service.

  “I’m going to put Xavier to bed.”

  “Ava should be in bed, too, but she knows I’m being jumpy, and is being extra loving this evening. We were making cookies. I’ll throw the dough in the fridge and start getting her ready for bed, too.”

  “You going to sing to my little man again for me?”

  I had been since they came home.

  “You’re going to have to learn sometime, Joey.”

  “Your voice is beyond amazing. But I promise, once I get the hang of the words, I’ll take over and hope Xavier loves my voice just as much as he loves yours.”

  “He will. You’re his momma, he loves you the most.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re his God momma, and I’m thinking we’re neck and neck. He never fusses with you the way he does with me.”

  “That’s because he can sense you’re nervous. You’re going to be an awesome mother, you just need to have faith. And confidence. Babies can sense our hesitation.”

  “Why yes, guru Anna.” Joey laughs and starts making her way upstairs to the bedrooms.

  “Hey, Joey?”

  She stops at the foot of the stairs and looks back at me.

  “Yeah?”

  “Can you and X stay in our room tonight? Just until the guys get back?”

  “Sure, no problem.”

  I don’t want to alarm her, but I can’t shake the feeling that something is really wrong. I make my way into the kitchen where Ava is still stirring the dough for the cookies.

  “Mommy, did I do good?” She looks up, and I can see there is evidence of sampling on her face. I smile, walk over to her, and pinch her nose.

  “Yeah, you’d have done even better if you weren’t stealing the cookie dough.”

  “I had to make sure it tasted right. We can’t have them taste wrong.”

  Laughing, I pull her out of the chair and move the dough from in front of her—which makes her frown. I cover it and put the bowl into the fridge.

  “I thought we were making cookies for Daddy and Uncle Treat,” she pouts.

  “We are, baby, but tomorrow. Right now, we need to get you cleaned up and ready for bed. Your little cousin will be sleeping in the room with us tonight, along with Auntie Joey.”

  The news immediately makes her happy.

  “Yay!” she squeals, then runs from the room and up the stairs.

  “You need to control that little heathen running
through my house like she on fire or something,” Lola comments as I walk by.

  “Any more news?”

  “Nah, Bear said something about paramedics for him and Trill, and that they sent some units over—along with the trucks—to start cleaning up the mess. The Feds are there, and so is some other outfit that isn’t saying who they are but has higher jurisdiction than Bear and your man.”

  That’s strange. I look over to the guy named Wilson and ask, “Do you know what’s going on over there at Harry’s? Have any of them contacted you?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’ve talked with Catcher, and Dorian. They’ve given me updates. Trill was shot in the shoulder, nothing serious, and Officer Roundtree is just a little banged up and has a flesh wound.”

  “Don’t be calling my Bear, Roundtree, he hates that name.” Lola stands up and wipes her hands on her pant leg. India and Chantelle, are over by the back door talking quietly. They both look fine, none of this fazes them, like they’re just used to this kind of thing.

  “Sorry, ma’am,” Wilson says to Lola before turning back to me. “Jackson says they should be home early tomorrow morning, there is still a lot left to do.”

  “What about the men who showed up with the higher jurisdiction?”

  “Not at liberty to say, Miss Macon. All I can tell you is that things are being seen to. Why don’t you all turn in for the night, and let me, Thatcher, and Riley do a quick perimeter check?”

  I knew the moment he suggested we head to bed that Lola was going to throw in her two cents.

  “Oh, hell nah. Did you just try and put me to bed like I’m some child?”

  “Yeah, Lo, he sure the hell did,” Chantelle chimes in.

  “You ladies need to calm down.” This came from Riley, who was at the front of the house. The men Catch had left behind were serious about their jobs.

  “Calm down? Who you telling to calm down?”

  “You. Now, Wilson says it’s time for bed, so get your ass to bed.”

  “Or what?” Chanty chimes in.

  Riley walks over to Chantelle, and she’s not small by any means, but neither is Riley. He’s a mountain of a man in every sense of the word, and on his best day, I would not want to stand in his way.

  “Listen up, honey, you can stop trying to intimidate us. It won’t work. If you don’t want to go to bed, I’ll put you there, and you won’t like my methods. At all.”

  “I don’t like your methods now, Riley.”

  “Too bad, sugar.”

  Before Chantelle can say another word, Riley has her up and over his shoulder and is headed for the stairs. Chantelle, well, she’s speechless. I don’t think any of us have ever seen a man handle her the way Riley does. Wilson looks to Lola and India.

  “You ladies need help?”

  Thatcher comes in the front door, wearing a huge smile on his face. There are no words to really describe him. He’s just…more. More of everything any man should ever be. He looks over at India and smiles.

  “She the one that’s getting cozy with the twins? If she doesn’t want to go to bed, I’ll put her there and stay with her. If she needs the company.”

  “What am I? Does no one see me here?” Lola stomps her foot at Thatcher’s words.

  “What you are, ma’am, is married. India here is not, which means she’s fair game should she decide to jump ship.”

  “Well, I’m not jumping anywhere but to bed. I’m out, ladies, taking the room next to Anna.”

  India didn’t have to be told twice, she walks out of the living room and towards the stairs.

  “Fine, I’m fucking going to bed already. You guys are seriously no fun.”

  “Appreciate your cooperation, Ms. Danvers.”

  “What the fuck ever.”

  “Ms. Macon?” Wilson looks over at me as if I’m about to be the next female to give him trouble. I’m not. I want this night to be over.

  “I’m headed up, Wilson. Thank you for the update.”

  “That’s what I’m here for. We’re going to do a perimeter check. It should only take five minutes, and then we’re here for the duration of the night until Jackson and the others come home.”

  “Okay, goodnight.”

  “Night.”

  Until Her: Chapter 23

  It’s the sound of a body hitting the floor that wakes me up. I’m not dreaming, and I know it because I’m not sweating in the least. This is real. Slowly, I creep towards our door and make sure it’s locked. I don’t know who managed to get past the three large men who are supposed to be guarding us, but someone did. Lola, India, and Chantelle are in the room next to mine, and there is no way I can warn them. Not without alerting the intruder.

  I wanted Joey and the kids in the room with me, not because I feel I can protect them, but because I figured out every possible way out of this house to get us to safety if need be.

  The window!

  I can let Lola and the girls know from their bedroom window that we needed to get away from the house and quick.

  Shit.

  I am no Indiana Jones or Lara Croft, but I have to do something. They’re my family. The lights are off, and when I look at the bedside table, the digital alarm clock is black. The electricity has been cut. From the looks of it, whoever our intruder is, took out the entire block. No one, and I mean no one is awake. A few blocks over where the shops are, I know someone is up. They have to be. Guys hang out on the street, drinking their forties, and old men play spades well into the morning, their wives not caring one bit.

  I need to get us out of the house, and then I can call someone. You can call someone now.

  Right.

  My cell.

  Only it’s downstairs on the fucking kitchen counter.

  Way to go, Anna!

  Ava and the baby are sound asleep, as is Joey. I go for her first.

  “Joey,” I whisper. “Shhh, don’t say anything, just nod if you’re awake.”

  I can’t see shit, but I feel Joey nod.

  “Okay, good. Someone broke into the house, and you need to stay calm. We all do. Get Xavier dressed and ready to go, I’ll work on Ava.”

  Ava… I’m hoping she doesn’t wake up loud. She’s a very vocal little girl.

  “Ava, Ladybug, we’re going to play a game, but you have to be super silent or you’ll lose. Okay?”

  I put my hand around hers and kiss her knuckles.

  “Now, I need you to squeeze my hand one time for yes, and two times for no, okay?”

  She squeezes my hand once, and I hope she can stay the course. No little girl should have to go through this, and I’m hoping she never will again. I don’t want her to think of this night any other way other than this was the night we played a crazy game. She’s in sleep pants and a shirt. The weather is too hot for her princess onesie, and trying to get her to understand that hadn’t worked out too well at first, but she eventually understood why she couldn’t wear it to bed.

  I pull Ava to the window that I purposely kept slightly ajar. I should have done the same in Lola’s room, but it didn’t cross my mind. It’s like I hadn’t thought they were in danger, when in fact, we all are. There is another noise, and it sounds like a muffled grunt or someone gasping for breath. I can hear the door being tested, and I panic. Outright freak as I try to get us all outside quickly and quietly. Joey is handling things a lot better than I am as she gives Xavier to me and crawls through the window.

  Just as I’m handing her Ava, someone opens the door and shines a flashlight on us.

  “Miss Macon, what the fuck are you doing?”

  It’s Thatcher, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

  “I heard a noise, and the lights are out.”

  “Yeah, I know the lights are out. The fucker cut the power.”

  “I thought he broke in.”

  Thatcher walks over and pulls Ava back through the window, sets her down, and then helps Joey back in.

  “Oh, he did break in. We let him. It was the only way we could get him.”


  “You mean you let him break in here? What if he came through one of the windows? Into the room I’m sleeping in with my sister, nephew, and daughter? What the fuck, Thatcher!”

  “Ma’am, you need to calm down. Riley was on the porch for just that reason. I was in the shed in the back, and Wilson was on the couch. We had it covered.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Downstairs, waiting for pickup. Jackson and the others are on their way.”

  I need to set eyes to this man. The one that tried to ruin my life.

  “I want to see him.”

  “Can’t let you do that, ma’am. You’re staying up here.” Thatcher hands me the flashlight and turns to leave, but I grab him by the shoulder. The look he gives me could skin a man alive.

  “Is there something else you want, Anna?” It’s the first time he says my name, and it’s not in a nice way either. It’s in a way that makes me think he doesn’t like people touching him unless he’s initiated contact.

  “Thatcher, I need to see him.”

  “Well, I need you to not touch me, but you did anyway. Your man says he doesn’t want you in the same room as Fabiano, and I’m inclined to follow that order. You have a problem with it, you can take it up with him when he gets here. Now, if you’d be so kind as to remove your hand, we can all go our separate ways, and you won’t have to worry about fearing for your life. Let us do our job, Anna, so that you can have some peace of mind.”

  He walks out of the room, and Joey and I sit on the bed. Ava grabs my hand and tugs.

  “Yes, baby, what is it?”

  “Is the game over?”

  I can’t help but laugh. She was quiet the entire time. Such a smart, beautiful girl.

  “Yes, Ladybug, the game is over, and you’re the winner.”

  She claps her hands excitedly, and little Xavier fusses before Joey has him quiet again.

  “Well, I better feed him, he’s awake now.”

  “Can I help?” Ava asks.

  “You can sit next to me.”

  “Okay.”

  Ava’s content to sit next to Joey on the bed, and I can hear Lola and the others in the next room. Lola is complaining about not being able to sleep because of all the noise. Do they even know how close we all came to being in some serious shit? If it weren’t for Thatcher and his men, things could have gone a lot differently. The man who tried to kill me is downstairs in Lola’s living room. How crazy is that?