The Ford Brothers Series Box Set, page 127
“The sex or the after stuff?” Wade takes a sip of beer, grinning as he tips his head back.
“What do you think, dipshit?” I bark snidely, kicking his leg under the table. “You like living vicariously? Why don’t you get a life of your own, man?”
“I have a life. Not nearly as complicated as yours, I’ll admit.” He giggles.
“Fuckoff.”
He chuckles. “Seriously…what happened?”
I give him a thin-lipped smile. “She found one of Kristina’s hairpins in my bed.”
“Before or after?”
“After.”
Wade makes a sizzling sound and winces, like the thought is painful. “Fuck. What did you do?”
“Told her the truth.”
“How did she take it?”
“Well, do you see her here? If things went well, I would have answered the door in my robe all hot and bothered, but you don’t see that, do you?”
“Shit.” Wade shakes his head, laughing. “The single life. Can’t say I miss it.”
“Shut up. If you’re gonna start with your marriage righteousness bullshit, get the hell out now and save me the trouble of kicking you out.”
Wade lifts a hand. “I’m done. I never started anyway, but whatever. I was just enjoying seeing my big brother squirm.”
I change the subject after a beat. “So you wanna go hit a bar or something, or do you want to hang out here?”
“We can hit a bar if you want. It’s been a while.” Wade frowns. “How about we give Dalton and Garrett a call and see if they want to join us?”
“Garrett’s on a flight and I know Dalton’s busy; some kind of pussy anniversary or something.”
“Ah. Gotcha. Okay, we can just head out. How about we hit that rocking sports bar up the street? Little chance of running into fans there.”
“Oh yeah…I keep forgetting that shit.” It sometimes slips my mind that my little brother is a multi-platinum recording artist, and he gets recognized a lot by female fans.
“Don’t sweat it. It bugs Kendra sometimes, but usually when she and the baby are with me, chicks are pretty respectful. I take a picture with them and give them my autograph and they leave me alone.”
I shudder. “I’m not up for any of that shit.”
Wade wrinkles his brows. “Guys won’t do that, bro. We’re going to a sports bar.”
“Fine. Let’s go.”
Five minutes later we pull up to the bar and go inside. We order a pint and sit, watching a rerun of a golf tournament on the big screen television mounted on the wall by our table. The bartender recognizes us, and we chat for a few minutes before he leaves to go serve other patrons. There aren’t many people in the small bar for a Friday night. “Man, this place would rock if they had a band or something.” Wade comments, looking around.
“You wanna play here?” I joke.
“I’m just saying. This place is dry. How do they even stay in business.”
“It’s no Mingles, but it’s quiet and they have the best wings in town. You wanna order some?”
“Sure.”
We order a plate of wings and eat them, making a complete mess of the table. “Hey, are you coming to the gala?” I ask Wade.
“If I’m not on tour, yeah, why?”
I shrug. “Just asking. I was hoping the whole clan could be there.”
“None of us have missed an event yet, bro. I’ll let my agent know the date, so we keep it blocked off. I’m not playing there though, am I?”
“Hell, no. We’re keeping this formal. You can play all you want when we do the one at Colton’s in the summer.”
“Good. I’ll do that one for sure.”
Suddenly, I get this weird feeling that I’m being watched. I slide my gaze throughout the place as I wipe my greasy fingers. Wade catches the expression on my face. “Whatsa matter?”
“I don’t know. Gut feeling.”
Wade sighs. “You can take the man out of the military, but you can’t take the military out of the man.”
“Something like that.”
He tips his chin towards me. “You still go to the firing range?”
“Every week.”
“Me too. Kendra and I go together and sometimes we take Peter.” Peter, Kendra’s father, is also former military, and boasts his gun collection proudly. He exposed his daughter to guns, too, so she and Wade have a lot in common.
I see a van parked just outside the main lot. In the darkness, I can’t see the faces of the van’s occupants clearly, but I can see the faint outline of a tattoo on a bald guy’s head. “Nights like this I’m in the mood to go shoot.”
Wade follows my gaze to the van, which pulls away slowly, being almost too careful not to peal the tires. “Someone you know?”
I swallow. “Yeah.” My flat expression is telling.
Wade and I exchange a look. “Something tells me there’s more to this fight between you and Colton than you’re letting on.”
“You’re intuitive, little brother.”
“That’s what they tell me.”
“I think I might have bit off more than I can chew with these two Russian chicks.”
“That bald guy have something to do with it?”
“Yeah. Colton was probably right. I should have let the other blonde go.”
“My big brother has more of a paternal instinct than what’s good for him. That’s always been the problem. Probably why you can’t get close enough to a woman; you’re afraid you’ll hurt them first.”
I wrinkle my brows at him. “What the fuck! You been watching Oprah with Kendra or something! Where do you get off!”
He pinches his lips together, satisfied. “I figured that’s how you would react.”
“Wonderful. What the fuck…you get your crystal ball working and come on over to dump on me with your female fucking intuition?”
Wade pushes his plate away. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. This place gives me the creeps and it always sets you off. Let’s hit the range.”
“Fine. Just keep away from me or I’ll shoot your fucking ass.”
“You sure you’ll be able to fit the cans over your head with those fucking girly curls?”
I punch his shoulder and he slaps my head. We both smile at each other and laugh. “Always a fucking fag.” I say as we walk out the door.
Chapter 21
Skinhead
We get the addresses for all the Ford assholes and the Russian girls. Jughead pulls through again like the hero he thinks he is. Whatever. It’ll keep us fed and out of jail, and most important…alive. We Google all the Ford brothers and figure out that it’s Jack who has the hard-on for Kristina, the older of the two sisters. After checking out the girls’ address and realizing that they aren’t home, instead of staking the place out, we figure we’ll check out Jack’s pad. If he has such a hard-on for Kristina, maybe she’ll be there.
Sitting in front of his house, I look at Jughead, who smells worse than earlier, and crack the window. “Hey, what’s this, what’s this?” Jughead says, ignoring the sneer I’m giving him. Some dark-haired chick is leaving Jack’s house, looking pissed off and disheveled, like she’s been in a windstorm. “I wonder who else he’s banging?”
“The guy’s a whore.” I comment matter-of-factly, as I watch in disbelief while this chick from the other side of the street leaves Jack’s house.
“Why, you think he’s banging Yolanda and Kristina, too?”
“How the fuck do I know? He’s clearly banging this chick.” I gesture with my hand. “And not doing a good job of it based on how sour she looks.” I giggle.
Jughead snorts a laugh. “You want to beat it and go back to the girls’ house? See if they’re home now?”
“Na, we gotta come up with a plan first.”
“What plan? We never have a plan.” Jughead lifts his hands in the air. “We just get it done.”
“Well, this time it’s different. There are two of them. And if we have to take both to get one that could be quite an undertaking.”
“We should take both for bonus points with Treble.”
“Now you’re thinking the way I’m thinking.” I snap my fingers. “Treble’s pissed at us now but if we get both girls, he’ll be set for a while. We might even be able to take a vacation or something.”
A half hour later we have a plan and we’re about to turn on the engine and leave, when a car pulls up in the driveway. “Shit, check it out, man.” Jughead says, even though we’re both staring at the car. The lone passenger is male, and he walks up to the door and knocks. Jack answers and seems very pleased with the guest’s arrival. “That’s probably one of the other Ford faggots.”
“Yeah,”
“Wanna sit here and see what happens?”
“We should, but not for too long. If we want to keep up with plan A, we don’t have a lot of time.” The guy goes into the house for a short time and then they leave together in Jack’s car.
“Should we follow them?” Jughead asks from the passenger side.
“What do you think, shithead.” I say snidely, growing irritated by the stupid questions. Keeping at least two car lengths behind them, we follow the Ford boys. They land at some cheap-ass dive up the street and walk in like they own the place.
“You think he’s meeting Kristina here?” Jughead asks, his hopes showing.
I give him an agitated look. “I don’t think his life revolves around the girl, stupid. He’s just taking his brother out for a beer.”
“Should we get outta here? Go head back to the girl’s house?”
“We’ll stick around for a bit just to see what he’s up to. But yeah, we should go and take the girls down at the house. They live in a little shit hole. It’ll be a lot easier to take them down there. Less attention.”
Jughead rubs his hands together and blows into them. “Can we at least turn the heat on? It’s getting fucking cold tonight.”
“Pansy.” I say, adjusting the heat.
We watch Jack and his brother sit in a seat viewing distance away. “The guy’s an idiot. He hasn’t even caught on that we’re onto him.” Jughead comments, leaning towards the heater vent, which is forcing his body odor to flow in the van. I turn my nose up and wince, shutting it off.
“Fucking shower tomorrow, man. I refuse to get in the van with you again if you smell like a fucking sewer.” I crack the window, as Jughead wraps his arms around himself. Suddenly, Jack looks my way and we lock eyes for a split second, before I turn the steering wheel and drive out. “Fucker saw me.”
“So?” Jughead says.
“So, nothing. He saw me. He knows I’m watching him.”
“Big whoop. Let’s head to the girls’ house and get this job done.”
“You know where the tie wraps are?”
“In the back. Go grab them before we get there. Put some in your back pocket. I’ll grab one girl and tie her up, while you knock the other one out and we take care of her.”
“And you’ve got the rags, too? In case they start screaming and making noise?”
“Yeah,”
We drive to the house, and as we enter the tiny, dilapidated old neighborhood, we see flashing lights, hear sirens and it’s like the entire area is surrounded with its people.
“What the fuck is going on, man? We have work to do.” Jughead asks, his anxiety clearing shining through in his voice.
“I don’t fucking know!” I say, mirroring his anxiety. Then we see it. One of the houses on the block is completely ablaze. The shoebox of a bungalow is engulfed in flames from the floorboards to the shabby roof. Firefighters have clearly given up on dousing the flames but are instead soaking the surrounding houses, to prevent the flames from spreading. Six firetrucks surround the area, which is cordoned off with yellow caution tape. Neighbors are scattered throughout in cliques, corralling themselves inside buses that have been commissioned for the occurrence. The temperature has dropped to almost freezing in the past hour.
Checking my phone, I note the address of the girls’ house. It’s difficult to tell the houses apart, especially under the circumstance, with the fire and no cars parked in the driveways. The neighborhood looks completely different and we’ve only been here once. I spot a grouping of ambulances parked on the other side of the street. “If the girls are here, they’ll be in one of the ambulances, I’m guessing.” I say, since I don’t recognize any of the faces that I’ve seen since we arrived.
“You think they got out okay?”
“Don’t worry, Lassie. I’m sure Timmy is fine.” I tease. “If she’s barbecued we still have to bring her to Treble.”
“But she’ll be no good to him if she’s charcoal.”
I give him a look. “Either she’s charcoal or we might as well be. We were given twenty-four hours, man; the clock’s ticking.”
A cop pulls us off to the side, not allowing us to enter with our vehicles into the area where the ambulances are. We hop out of the van, leaving it abandoned on the side street. As I walk past one of the ambulances, I spot the girls. Yolanda’s face is soaked with tears and reddened with emotion. Kristina looks like she’s keeping it together, but it looks like she’s done some crying, too. They’re talking to a couple of police officers. We stand off to the side and eavesdrop.
“Do you have any pets in the house, ma’am?” one officer asks Kristina.
“No.” she shakes her head. “Just our belongings.”
“Do you have any identification or money with you?”
“Yes, both Yoli and I got our purses. We kept them on our bedside tables.”
“And you say that it looks like the fire started at the baseboard heaters?”
“I believe so. That’s where the fire was coming from when the smoke detectors woke us.”
“This was the first time turning them on this season?”
“Yes. I gave them a wipe before turning them on, and there was a slight smell, but they always do that when we first turn them on.”
“Were there any linens or draperies by the heater?”
“We have drapes, yes. But I think one of our coat racks must have fallen over, too, because I saw it on the floor beside the heater. The coat was in flames, too.”
Yolanda is sobbing next to her sister. Her hair is disheveled from sleep. They’re both wrapped in robes and wearing slippers on their feet. Al that’s missing is hair rollers and bobby pins.
“Do either of you smoke?”
Yolanda interrupts. “No. Never.”
“You girls have somewhere to stay?”
This is where I hear Kristina’s voice crack. “No. But we can find a shelter.”
Oh, I can give you a place to stay…
Jughead elbows me in the ribs. “Let’s get out of here, man. This place is crawling with cops.” He hisses.
I walk nonchalantly towards the van. Neither of us speak until we’re inside. “Fuck! Now what the hell are we going to do, Twitch?”
“Shhh! And stop calling me that!” I warn. “We’ll have to tail them until all this hoopla settles down. Wherever they land for the night, that’s where we’ll make our move.”
“But this place is crawling with cops, man! They’ll be with the cops all night at this rate!”
“Would you calm down, stupid! We’ll figure something out. They can’t stay with the cops all night. Once they turn their backs we go in for the kill.”
“Are you crazy? We can’t kidnap them now! We’ll get caught for sure!”
I turn to him and grab his scruff. “Will you calm the fuck down?! We have to figure something out or Treble will kill us! You heard him! Now get a grip so we can think!”
“Oh, man, we’re dead! We’re so dead!” Jughead repeats, panic registering in his voice.
I pull him closer, so we’re nose-to-nose. “If you don’t calm the fuck down, you’re a dead man now! You know Treble will get me off if I end you! He’s gotten me off every other time! Now shut the fuck up!” I toss him to his side and his head thumps off the window.
“When all these witnesses go back into their houses after the fire’s out, the girls will have to leave and go somewhere for the night. They may end up in a hospital; I’ve heard of that if there’s a fire or an accident or anywhere where there’s a possible injury. So we may be in luck. If they go to a hospital, we have a few opportunities there, but we’ll have to wait and see. If they send them to a shelter, we just have to check security and/or cameras. We’ve got disguises in the back, so don’t sweat that.” I look at Jughead. His chest is heaving up and down. “Are you with me?”
He nods his assent. “Okay. So we sit tight and wait. And hope to God that one of the Ford fuckers doesn’t show up.”
Chapter 22
Jack
Even though my little brother pisses me off a lot, he’s fun to hang around with. He’s the only guy I can fuck around with, insult, beat the shit out of, and bounce crazy shit off, and he’ll still tell it to me straight. Out of all my brothers, Wade’s my favorite. Not sure if I’m his, since he’s so close to Colton, but we’re close enough, at any rate. The kid’s got a sixth sense about a lot of shit, and it’s freaky sometimes. When he has a nugget of intel, it’s always best to listen to him, because he never repeats himself. Sure, he’s right about me never wanting to get close to women. I never have and probably never will. He doesn’t judge me for it and I love him for that. Everyone else can go to hell.
As we drive back to my house, I switch on the radio and listen to the local news. “You still listen to this shit since Garrett’s plane went down, don’t you.” Wade assesses. Our oldest brother Garrett was in a plane crash about five years ago. He almost died. That was a night I’ll never forget. Ever since then, if I’m in my truck, I always listen to the local news. It’s a compulsion.
“Yeah, so.” I shrug. We listen to stuff about a car accident where someone is in critical condition, a missing kid that is found unharmed, some local business that is buying out some other local business, and then breaking news comes on about a serious, three-alarm fire going on in an area that sounds familiar. “Shit…that’s over by where Kristina lives.” I say aloud.
