“I’m going to tell you a few things. A few things that you should take to heart, so you live just a little longer.” She looked at him, then at the store where he’d seen the girl go in. “That little girl is my niece. Stay away from her. I’m not going to threaten you in any way, but I make you a promise that if any harm at all comes to her, you will suffer in ways you cannot imagine.”
“You bad enough to make that happen?” All she did was smile and then nod at something across the street. The man standing there was the same ass that hadn’t allowed him to come into his house. “So? He’s a pussy, like the rest of the men around here.”
While he watched, the man was suddenly in front of him. Not even a sheet of paper could have come between them; he was that fucking close. Trying to back off a little, Charles was just afraid enough to make sure he didn’t touch him. When he disappeared, Charles looked at the woman again.
“You’ll be careful now on touching anyone I love. That would include that man’s brothers. They’ll kill you in ways so your own mother wouldn’t be able to identify you when they’re finished.” Charles asked her why she thought he should be warned. “Because I know who you are. Who you’re connected to as well. Does the name Sandy Farley ring a bell?”
It hit him then. “The woman in the jail with me. Christ, she’s gotten huge. What the hell has she been eating? Other people?” He laughed, but the woman didn’t join him. “Oh, come on now. You have to know that’s funny. She used to be this skinny bitch that was high as a kite all the time. Now you’d think—well, she’s gotten fat.”
“That girl over there is her daughter.” He tried to remember if he’d ever seen her at the house. When nothing came to him, he asked why he’d care. “Because when Sandy goes to prison for all the shit she’s done, you’re going with her. Unless, of course, you play ball with me.”
“What’s in it for me?” She told him he got to be free for a little bit longer. “Being free without any dough isn’t really all that fun. What kind of money are you offering me if I help you with convicting her?”
She stood up, and he waited. When she simply walked away, Charles called her back. But she didn’t turn in his direction, nor did she say another word to him. It wasn’t until he saw a cruiser going by him that he thought perhaps she’d been right in one thing. If he decided not to help her, he was going to have the police up his ass the entire time he was in this town.
Charles had no idea how he could help her without getting himself in deeper shit. He’d not only supplied Sandy with enough drugs to kill a horse most times, but he also helped her out when she needed a partner in crime. The last thing he remembered doing with her was robbing the convenience store not far from where she’d lived. That had to have been a few years ago.
He had seen her a couple of times off and on before he’d fucked up and ended up in prison this last time. They’d fuck like donkeys, the two of them, and then he’d give her drugs. If there were kids in the house back then, he’d not heard a sound from them. It’s not like they wouldn’t have heard the two of them. Sandy was a screamer in all things, he supposed.
Finding himself a place to stay was going to be near impossible. There were places he could flop, but nothing that had heat and running water. It wasn’t like he was fixing to take a shower or some shit like that, but he did, on occasion, need to clean himself up.
Thinking about his situation, he realized he’d more than likely missed Jefferson going into the station house. Jefferson had always been a goody-two-shoes person. Not even when they were kids had he wanted to have any fun. He thought about the one and only time he’d tricked Jefferson into helping him rob the next door neighbor. Not only did Jefferson tell on him, but he even worked to pay for the things Charles had broken in his attempt to get out of the house ahead of the man with the shotgun.
“Fucker.”
Walking around, Charles could see several buildings that were being worked on, but nothing he could use for a few nights to have himself a warm place to stay. Not only did the signs outside of the construction sites proclaim that there were cameras all around, but dogs were roaming the premises when they were done for the day. Charles thought everyone and their brother had cameras out now. It was getting so that a dishonest person couldn’t tamper with mail anymore too.
Just as he was going to see about sneaking into one of the older buildings that at the moment wasn’t being worked on, he saw Jefferson. He was with a pretty little woman, and they were holding hands. Charles wondered what that was all about until he saw the woman kiss Jefferson before she went into the drugstore just down from the station.
“Hey, Jefferson? I gotta talk to you.” He crossed the street, unmindful of the traffic, and nearly got himself T-boned. Cursing at the guy, he nearly lost Jefferson when he started walking back to the station house. Catching up to him, Charles told him to hang on a minute. “I need someplace to stay and some money. Now, Jefferson. I’m hungry and cold, and you’re going to give me some relief.”
“No.” Jefferson turned on his heel and walked away. Catching up with him again, Charles grabbed him by the shoulder to turn him around. Jefferson looked at his hand, then at him. “Remove your hand from my person, Charles, or I’ll remove your arm and beat you to death with it.”
“Christ, is everyone in a shitty mood nowadays?” Jefferson told him it might just be him. “Nah. People love me. Hand it over. I don’t have the time or the energy to fuck with you right now. Why did you wait until right before lunch was served before you let me go? I got nothing here, and you’re going to help me out.”
“I’m not going to do shit for you, Charles. I don’t know if you remember this or not, but you’re a grown man and should be looking out for yourself.” He asked him about the broad he was with. “My wife.”
Nothing else. Not when he’d been married or what her name was. It was like the rest of the town—they didn’t want him to know shit. Charles told Jefferson that he’d put him up for a few days and make sure the little woman fed him. Instead of telling him his address, Jefferson just walked away.
“I’m getting sick of people pretending like I’m not talking, Jefferson. You might want to remember this warning I’m giving you. I surely would hate for something to happen to that new little family of yours.” Instead of turning back and telling him to back off or something along those lines, Jefferson laughed, like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard. “This shit is getting old. I’m going to have to teach someone a few lessons.”
He didn’t know how he was going to do that, or for that matter, who he was going to mess up. But someone was going to have to take him seriously, or they’d be deader than a doornail. Whatever the hell that meant.
~*~
Sean was hunched over his desk when he realized someone had come into the room with him. Turning to see who it was, he saw that Jon had come in. How long he’d been there, Sean didn’t know, but he’d made himself at home, apparently. Clearing his throat caused Jon to look at him and smile.
“You really get into your work, don’t you?” He said he did, but this was something special. “Yeah, I got that. Did you know you talk to yourself? I know Aunt Rachel will love it, whatever it is. I know you’re worried about that on account of you asking yourself that over and over. I have a problem I need to talk to you about.”
“All right. Is this problem going to entail me killing someone for you?” Jon laughed and said it wasn’t really a problem, but a dilemma. “To keep me from guessing a bunch of stuff that’s wrong, why don’t you tell me about it?”
“I know that you and your family are planning a huge Christmas. Misty was measuring me for clothes and stuff. You really think she’ll get me clothes? Anyhow, I was wondering how a kid like me would be able to make some money to be able to buy a few presents. Not a whole lot of people, but a few. Is it all right that I call your dad Grandpa? He wants me to, I can tell.” Sean asked hi
m which of those were the dilemma. “Oh yeah. The money. Clothes will be all right, I guess. I surely don’t need any, not with you and Aunt Rachel getting us so many, but I’ll love them. Also, the grandpa thing. That’s not a big deal unless you’re going to say no, then I’ll have to tell you that it’s already going on. Becky and I, we decided he’s the only grandpa we’re going to get, so we’re going to call him that.”
“Good to know. I doubt that Dad would care if I had an opinion about what you call him anyway. He’s been begging to be a grandda since Jason got married.” Leaning his back against the table, he asked Jon what sort of job he was looking for. “I know you will have to do your homework before the job. And if your grades slip, then the job will have to be put off until you bring them back up. That was something I heard on television a few days back.”
“You sounded like a dad would, I think. Is that what you were going for?” Sean said it was. “Well, you passed as far as I’m concerned. One that pays good. I’m sort of getting a late start on making some cash. When we moved here, I thought it was going to be just for a little while, until we were safe. Now that it’s full time, and I’m happy for that, I need to figure out something to catch up with gifts.”
“What can you do?” Jon told him his only talent so far was making his bed and taking the trash out. “Those are admirable jobs too. Also, you don’t want to forget that you take a shower nightly in addition to making your bed. Another thing that shouldn’t be overlooked when you live with people that can smell you a mile away.”
“Good point. I can sweep the floor too, but then I get dirty looks from the staff.” He laughed. “Not really, but Becky said I need to stop looking for housework to do because the people that work for you are excited to be doing it for us. Is that right?”
“It is. Living with me all these years, they’ve not had an occasion to have to clean up after me. Cooking either.” He said he got the cooking part. “So you can do pretty much anything domestic. Also, I noticed you help your sister with her homework. I’m very proud of you for helping her.”
“It’s a tradeoff. I help her with her social studies, and she helps me with math. I’m okay with math, but sometimes I need her to tweak me a little. That’s what she calls it.” Jon smiled at him. “Becky sure is happy being here. I am too, but I don’t think she’s been happy for a long time. She’s also not having any nightmares. Maybell told me that she helps her when she starts having one. I think that’s the best reason in the world for having a faerie around.”
Sean was getting used to having a conversation with the kids. They could bounce off several subjects quicker than his dad could. And they’d be able to keep straight if you’d answered them or not. Jon was the most brilliant scatterbrained kid he’d ever met. Sometimes he’d listen to him talk to his sister just to be in awe of how they were so connected with each other.
“Jobs? There are a few things you can do for me in here. Remembering to take the trash out on trash days gets me into trouble when it starts piling up. I know it’s not much, but it’s a start. Who else have you asked about working?” He remembered that Killian had asked him for some help too. “Also, I know you’ve met the queen. She told me just yesterday that she could use some help with feeding the baby animals that were born. I don’t know what that entails, really, but she did mention it.”
“How do I get in touch with her? I don’t mind taking your trash out on Tuesday nights.” He laughed when Sean asked him if that was trash night. “It is. I saw that you had a lot on Monday, so I took it out with the rest of the stuff in the house. Why do girls keep the bags of stuff they get things in? I don’t understand girls at all.”
“I don’t either. To get in touch with Killian, you only need to ask your faerie to make an appointment with her. Or you can go out into the lawn and dig your fingers into the dirt, and she’ll answer you if she’s not too busy.” He tried to remember if he’d answered everything, and Jon asked him about the bags. “I don’t know. Bags are bags, aren’t they?”
“I don’t know myself. The other day Becky nearly took my head off when I suggested that she throw some of them away. She told me they were treasured.” Jon rolled his eyes. A typical reaction that most men had for women, Sean thought. “Anyway, I’m going to contact her in the dirt. Thanks.”
After he left, Sean sat there for several minutes, thinking about having kids around all the time. They weren’t so bad, he thought. Chase was bonkers about his kids, telling anyone that would listen that his two were sleeping through the night. When Sean told him that his two were as well, he got offended. Turning back to his work, he looked up when Jon came back into the studio with Killian.
“I should like to give your children some time in my realm. If that’s all right with you.” He said it was. Sean said he’d ask Rachel, but he didn’t think she’d have any trouble with it either. “I’ve asked her, and she is all right with it as well. Jon and I are going to work on getting the babies we have fed. Thank you for telling him about it. I think this might work out well for both of us.”
Becky came into the room with them, out of breath and smiling from ear to ear. She asked him if she was allowed to go, as well. Sean told her so long as they weren’t a pain in the butt and that they behaved around Killian.
“We will. We’re going to feed baby animals.” She squealed, and Sean laughed. “Have you ever fed a baby animal before? I’m so excited I could bust.”
Jon rolled his eyes at his sister, and that, of course, set her off. All he had to do was clear his throat, and they stopped. His dad used to do that when they were younger. To this day, Sean didn’t know what that meant. But it had the desired effect. They, like his own children, had stopped what they were doing and paid attention.
After the three of them left, Sean got to work again. He didn’t mind the interruptions as much as he thought he should have. Having someone come in and out seemed to keep him more focused on things. When he worked for several hours straight, he’d be sore and cranky about how his piece wasn’t going as well as he wanted. He didn’t have that problem anymore. At least not so long as the kids were around. Rachel too.
Putting his things away an hour later, he went into the house. There was forever food around now, and he was glad to see that someone was keeping the juices and other drinks stocked up as well. As he was sitting on one of the stools in the kitchen, Rachel joined him there. After kissing her on the mouth, a habit he was enjoying with her, she asked him when the kids were coming back.
“I didn’t think to ask. I’m sorry.” She said it was fine that she was thinking of taking him out to dinner. “Great. I’d love that. Just you and I? Or are we meeting the rest of the family there?”
“Just us. I wanted to talk to you about a few things.” He said he was all ears. “I know. You listen to me very well. Even when I don’t know what I’m saying.”
“I just had a conversation with Jon. Or several of them, I guess. I think you’re a piece of cake compared to him. He and my dad are just alike in that. People will think they’re blood related once he gets out on his own around town.” She said she was getting used to his dad’s way of talking as well. “What is it you need from me, darling? Other than you taking me out to dinner?”
“I’ve been talking to the other women in this family.” He said he was sorry. “They are a little intense, aren’t they? But they were telling me some things I’m missing out on by not sleeping with you. Having, you know, sex and stuff.” They both laughed. “I had no idea that you needed me to feed you from now on. I remember you telling me about it, but I wasn’t really paying attention to your needs when I was bitching about what I was losing. Which, comparatively, is nothing. You’ve given up a great deal to have us here with you.” He said he never thought of it like that at all. “I figured you’d say that. But I heard from one of the brothers that you’re a loner and that it was funny to see you out with the kids, or even with me. I’
m not used to being around people all the time, either. It took me some getting used to just to have my sister-in-law and the kids in my home.”
“I might have been a loner, love, but with you guys here, I have certainly become very dependent on hearing your voices. I don’t think I was so much a loner as I was a watcher. I love going to the mall or wherever and watching people just move from one place to the other. The way they interact with the people with them or the staff in the store.” Rachel said she rarely hung out at the mall when she had shopping to do. “Now that you mention it, I’ve not done that in a while either. It’s sort of sad the way the malls have become so empty. Anyway, anything else I can do for you other than get all spiffed up and go out with you?”
“Have sex with me.” He dropped the little box of knives he’d been just about to put away. “I know that’s very cut and dried, saying it that way, but I want you to have sex with me. A lot of it.”
“I see. Because of the magic you’ll get, or is it something else?” He didn’t mean to sound hurt. When she looked at him, he could see the confusion on her face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to whine at you.”
“I didn’t think of the way that sounded. I’m sorry.” She stood up. Pulling his stool out that he was sitting on, she sat on his lap, facing him. “I’m not sure of myself. Not like the other women are. I mean, just look at them. They’re so buff and outspoken that I feel like I should just stand back and stay out of their way. I’m also not really sure how to feel about being your mate. I mean, do you get any kind of say in the fact that we’re just supposed to be together?”
“I like the fact that we’re supposed to be together. I love you, too.” She laid her head on his chest. “As for you not being outspoken, that’s not true. I saw the way you handled Charles this morning. I thought it was great how you just walked away from him without a second glance.”
Sean: The Sons of Crosby: Vampire Paranormal Romance Page 5
