by Aliyah Burke
“She’s never coming back.”
Roz stared at him in the rear-view. “I’m sorry, baby. No, she’s not.”
He rolled his head to the side as tears fell and he stared out of the window. Roz put the car in gear and began driving. She played soft jazz as they headed out of town and despite the fact he had just eaten a bowl of ice cream, Brenn crashed and slept the entire time.
She slowed and turned into the drive of the winery. Lian stood at the top step when the house came into view. His expression, as always, was composed. She parked and left Brenn sleeping in the back as she got out.
Lian came down and hugged her. “You are troubled, child.”
“You always know, don’t you?”
His smile was familiar and comforting. “Who is the boy sleeping in the back of your car?”
A deep sigh. “That’s Brenn. His mother was killed early this morning.”
“And his father?”
“As far as I know, there isn’t one in the picture. I represented her a while ago. An abuse case. I’ve already checked that it wasn’t the guy she put away. Now, he could have hired someone, but I will look into that later. So currently he’s in need of a foster home.”
“A room is always ready for those in need here.” He shifted and she noticed how drawn he looked. “I will send someone for his things. Maybe he would like to walk around before he is left here with us.”
She stared at the man who was a father to her. When had he started to look so tired and old?
“Roz?” he asked.
She blinked. “Yes, that sounds good. Thank you, Lian.”
“I love having children around.” He gestured with his cane. “Wake him.”
She opened the back door and slid onto the seat. “Brenn,” she said, placing a hand on his leg. “Come on, buddy. Wake up.”
“It wasn’t a dream.”
She helped him free. “No, I’m sorry. It wasn’t. I want you to meet someone. This is Mr. Yang. This is his home and he’s sharing it with you.”
Brenn gazed about before sitting on her lap and burying against her. She held him tightly. “I’m here forever?”
“You’re here until we can be sure you’re safe and when we find some family of your mom’s.” She brushed some of his blond hair back. “I think you will like it here. There are other kids to play with and a lot of space to run in. Come on, I want to show you a bit.”
Lian waited until they were outside. Then he crouched before Brenn. “I am glad to have you here, Brenn.” He pushed to his feet and turned when Tiarnán walked from the house.
“Lian. Roz.” He gave them each a nod. When he looked at Brenn, he smiled.
Roz was always amazed at Tiarnán. He might be cold-blooded and harsh to the majority of people, but he always made the children feel welcome. She tossed him her keys as he neared. He went to the trunk and pulled out the small suitcase of Brenn’s things she’d gathered.
“Who’s he?” Brenn whispered, unaware that Tiarnán could hear him with ease.
“Tiarnán. He is like the older brother around here. If you need anything—anything at all while you’re here—you can always go to him.”
“Any time, day or night, bud.” Tiarnán slammed the trunk lid and gave him another smile. Then he trotted off and vanished back inside.
Curling her hand around Brenn’s, she smiled briefly. “Come on.”
She led him out away from the house and to a small hill she loved to come to. Taking off her heels, she sat on the thick grass, legs beneath her.
“Where are we?” he asked.
“Still on the property. I come here when I need to think and get away.”
“Why?”
“Because of this,” she said as on either side of them, behind their fences, the horses galloped by. “Fields of thunder.” She placed his hands palm down on the earth, allowing him to feel the rumble kicked up by the animals as they ran past, wheeled around then went back.
“What are they doing?”
“Playing. Running.”
“Why?”
“It makes them happy. Listening to them makes me happy.” She touched his face. “I know this isn’t going to be easy for you, Brenn, but the people here can help you. Just ask. I will be back to check on you and to be at your side for her funeral.”
“You’ll find who did this?”
She cupped his cheek. “I promise I will do the best I can.”
He began crying and she gathered him on her lap. “I miss her,” he wailed.
She rubbed his back, not saying a word. He had every right to cry and miss his mother.
By the time she left later that day, Brenn had learned where his room was and had met most of the kids. Her last view was of him standing beside Tiarnán as she drove away.
She beelined it to the police station. Officer Trace was out but she located Menkin. “Any other news thus far?” she asked.
“Nothing.” He slid a box toward her across the metal top of his desk. “How’s the kid?”
“Traumatized. Not sure what’s going on.” She put the bag with his clothing on the desk. “This is what he was wearing when I found him—and the address of where they lived, so you can check the place out.”
Menkin placed a call then leaned forward. “Do you have anything else you can give us?”
“Nothing you can’t find out for yourself. I checked the man she testified against and he’s still locked up. Nathan DeLange. You can see if any of his visitors may be who you’re looking for. Before you ask, no, there’re no more names I can give you. That’s the only one I dealt with when I represented her.” She reached into her purse and gave him a card. “When the body can be released, please give me a call. I’ll be handling her burial if we haven’t found any family.”
“You’re doing an awful lot for a woman who was just a client.”
Cocking an eyebrow, she held his gaze. “Would you rather I leave all these details to her six-year-old son to handle? Should he be down here asking you to call him when the body can be released? Would that appease your curiosity?”
“I was just making an observation.”
“Here’s one of mine. Not everyone who is found dead in an alley is scum of the lowest order. And even if they were, there is an innocent child mixed up in all this. Showing a little compassion isn’t far-fetched, not where I’m coming from. It’s called being human.” She stood. “Good day.”
* * * *
Roz was flagging when she finally made it back to the house. The outside light was on, welcoming her, and she smiled at the new door. She unlocked it and walked inside.
“Hello,” she called out.
“Hello back.” Altair walked into view. “You okay?”
She shook her head. “Not even close. How’s Klaus?”
Altair kissed her lightly and stepped back. “Outside right now. What can I do?”
“Glass of wine?” She offered the box. “And put this in the living room so I can look at it while I drink. Please don’t let Klaus get a hold of this. I just need to shower and change quick.” She moved to the stairs and lifted one leg to undo the heel on that foot. A groan slipped free as she put her flat foot on the floor. “God, that feels good. Be right back.”
Altair sat beside Roz as she sipped her wine. The box rested on the coffee table before them. The woman next to him was the opposite of the one who’d walked through the door earlier. That one was all business. This one—pleasure. Her off-the-shoulder, bright yellow shirt had him longing to drag his lips along her exposed skin. The black with pink lipstick kisses boxers weren’t helping. She had her feet on the table and occasionally she wriggled her toes.
“So what happened then?”
“I changed his clothing and bagged the ones full of blood, packed a bag for him and eventually we ended up out at Lian’s.”
“Did you think you were in danger while there?”
“No. I checked it out first but I trusted that my sign would let me know if something was c
oming.”
“People sometimes return to the scene of their crime.”
She topped off her glass. “I know, but that’s the strange thing. Wherever she was killed, it wasn’t in that place. There wasn’t any blood there except for the stuff on Brenn’s shirt.”
He sat forward, noting how when he moved, Klaus perked up a bit more. “How old is the boy?”
“Six.”
“She had to be killed in that area. A boy covered in blood would not get very far without someone asking questions.”
“I was thinking that as well.” She leaned back and he draped his arm around her, pressing his lips to her head. “I can’t concentrate on that right now, though. I have to go through her items and see if that will give me something else to go on—or give the cops.”
He sat forward and brought the box to her. She crossed her legs and put the box there before carefully lifting the lid. He looked past her to find she’d put the glass down on the end table.
There were only a few things in there but as he watched, Roz took her time looking at each one. A black button. A matchbook. Wendy’s identification and a small flip notebook were inspected then set aside. She also glanced over a postcard then put it back in the box. When Roz pulled out the final item, he focused on it, surprised to see it nothing more than a dark brown flat stone. However, her sharp intake of breath jerked his gaze to her face.
Bolts of colored lightning spat from her body. Why she was so worked up, he didn’t know. Staring down at the rock, he frowned. “Roz?”
“Those fucking New Order bastards killed her.” She clenched her hand around the rock and more bolts shot out from it.
Thankfully they do not harm anything. He reached for her hand, opening her fingers to take a better look at the rock. “How do you know this?”
“This is one of their calling cards. I’ve seen it at enough places they’ve brought their destruction. What if…? What if she’s dead because of me?”
He shook his head. “You cannot think that way, Roz.”
“Why not?” she snapped. “I helped her. I’m a goddamn Guardian. And she’s dead, killed by one of Their lackey nitwits.”
Her rage was pure and palpable. After taking the rock from her, he placed it back in the box and pulled her close. Deep shudders racked her body and he just held her. He wasn’t good at comforting people. In the list of things he did, this wasn’t ever one required of him. But with this woman, he wanted to offer what he could.
“I’m really beginning to hate these fuckers,” she snarled.
He didn’t speak. There wasn’t any need for him to agree—this wasn’t about that. It was about her getting out what she needed to. When the haze rose, he just closed his eyes and held her. It bothered him on some level that she’d gone to one of her fellow Guardians for something, yet, being as she never moved from his lap, he wasn’t as upset as he’d first thought he might be.
* * * *
Klaus’ whine woke him. He went from sleeping to awake in a heartbeat. Roz lay in his arms and the light was still on. He glanced at the clock and saw three hours had passed. Placing Roz carefully on the couch as he stood, Altair then stretched.
“Come on, boy. I will let you outside.”
The dog surged to his feet and led the way to the sliding door. Altair stepped out onto the porch with him, keeping an eye on him as he navigated the one step down to the ground. Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned against the house.
Off in the distance a storm brewed, the air ripe with the promise of rain. The rumbles of thunder were ominous in a way he wasn’t sure he wanted to break down. The air had taken on a much cooler caress since the last time he had ventured outside.
Klaus reached his side and together the two of them returned back inside. Roz was in the kitchen.
“Did I wake you?” he asked.
“In a manner of speaking, but that’s okay. My stomach was all for my getting up. My food intake today hasn’t been the best. I had breakfast with you, then ice cream and finally wine.”
“That is all you had?” There was disapproval in his tone.
“Yes.”
“You need to eat.”
“Hence why I got up.” She scrubbed her face with the heels of her hands. “I could go for a burger and fries right now.”
He smiled. “I know a place. Come on, get ready, grab your shoes.”
“What about Klaus?” she asked, as she left the kitchen.
“He is about to go back to sleep. He will be fine.”
He swiped his keys and waited by the door for her. She jogged back down the stairs and shoved her feet into her white canvas slip-ons.
“Ready.”
She’d exchanged her boxers for a pair of white lounge pants. She had left her hair loose, how he preferred it to be. Holding out his hand for her, he smiled when she took it. He led her out to his waiting truck then slid behind the wheel.
Altair drove them to a bar he knew had really good burgers. He held the door for her at Mick’s Shanty and followed her in.
“Altair!” the cry came.
“Guys,” he returned.
“Whooee, look at what you have on your arm,” one of the men along the bar said. “Where did you find her?”
“Court,” he replied, showing her to a booth by the window. The first drops of rain began to fall, splattering onto the pavement with increasing frequency.
“Told you about being in trouble, man.”
“Sure did, James.” He looked at the bar. “Two burgers and two fries, Eli.”
The bartender sent him a nod and relayed the order to the back.
“I take it you used to come here a lot,” she commented with a smile.
“I did. This was a second home for a while.” The moment the words were out, he wished he could retract them. Thankfully, Roz didn’t press any further.
She stared out of the window and watched the rain until their food came. At her first bite, the moan of appreciation that escaped shot lead to his cock.
“Oh, God, this is delicious.” She sucked the ketchup off her thumb.
“I know.” He salted his fries before adding ketchup of his own.
“Thank you so much for bringing me here. And look, they have real steak fries—thick and warm.”
“And beers for the happy couple,” Eli said, placing them down.
Roz looked up at him, swiping at the corner of her mouth with her tongue. “Tell whoever cooked this, I am in heaven. This is incredible.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He rapped once on the table before walking away.
Altair smiled as she dove back into her food. She even ate some of his fries. He didn’t mind.
“Better?” he asked.
“Much.” She clasped her hands together and rested them on the table. “I never knew about this place. I have a feeling I will be frequenting here.”
“I know that will make Eli happy.” He slid out and stood. “I will be right back.”
On his way back from the bathroom, he stopped in the kitchen to speak to Carl the cook. They were in the middle of a conversation when Eli stuck his head in.
“We’ve got trouble up here, Altair. You’d best get up here fast.”
Roz.
He ran up to see the guys standing by the window. “What is going on? Where is the woman I was here with?”
James pointed outside. “There. With…” He shook his head. “Go out and see. You need to see if you can stop them. We couldn’t.”
The street was nearly deserted and the downpour had increased, so it was hard to peer through it. Regardless, he could make out the women standing out there. Roz had her left hand raised, fist curled. And the one she was attacking… His heart stopped.
“No,” he cried, bolting down to insert himself between the two of them. “Roz, stop!”
There was no emotion in her gaze as she stared at him, other than rage. “She is New Order,” Roz growled, a knife materializing in her hand. “Get out of the way, Altair.”
“Don’t let her harm me, Altair. Please.” The woman behind him grabbed hold of his shirt, drawing it tighter against him than the pounding rain had plastered it. He could feel the warmth of her skin fading as she pressed into his back.
“I cannot allow you to kill her.”
“She is New Order.”
“I cannot allow this.”
“Are you saying you would make me hurt you in order to get to her?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She is…”
“Is she that important to you? More than your own life?”
“Yes.”
He wasn’t sure what he expected from Roz’s reaction but the devastation in her expression—before it was wiped away—tore out his heart prior to tap dancing on it then kicking it down in the sewer.
Roz turned around and walked away. Altair took one step after her before he was dragged back. “Roz,” he called out. “Let me explain.”
She was gone. Not a look back, nothing. Just gone. He whirled around and faced the woman he’d thought he’d never lay eyes on again.
“Hadil,” he said.
“Altair.” She hugged him tightly. “I have missed you, my husband.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Please don’t start, Tiarnán.” Roz walked toward him as he stepped from his truck, oblivious to the rain that soaked him in seconds.
He opened his arms and she ran into them, allowing him to comfort her again as he used to do all those years ago. Then again, it truly wasn’t so long ago—some days it just seemed to be.
“Where is he?”
“With the New Order woman he stopped me from eliminating.” She didn’t even feel anger—just loss and the pain of betrayal.
“Who was she?”
“I don’t have a clue. She had the mark on the side of her neck when she walked in the bar we were at. I followed her outside.”
“Did he know her?”
She nodded against his slick shirt. “Looked to be the case.”
“What do you want to do?”
“Be a little girl for the night and forget all this shit exists.” She wrapped her arms around him. “But being as that is unlikely to happen, I would like to get out of these wet clothes and dry off.”
