Chapter 16
Ricky threw the deadbolt on his bedroom door. He didn't always keep it locked. Neither Marlene nor Jack had ever waltzed into his room without knocking first. Even so, he wanted a few minutes of guaranteed privacy while he made a quick phone call.
If he made the call at all.
It wasn't as if his mother ever seemed at all happy to hear from him, but he still needed to know she was all right. If she wasn't, well, then maybe his foggy memories of the night when he'd gotten beaten up would come back into focus. Nothing would make him happier than to see good old Lawrence hauled off to jail. The trouble was that it wouldn't make Ricky's mom happy, not when she depended on the bastard to pay the bills.
And if they'd made good on their plans to start a family of their own, well, that was a whole other story.
He stared at the screen on the cellphone Jack had gotten him. His list of contacts was pitifully short: Jack, Marlene, and Caitlyn. He hadn't stored his mother's number on the phone in case Jack ever decided to do a little snooping.
Even though it was Saturday and Lawrence was probably off work, Ricky really needed to hear his mother's voice. He drew a breath and dialed her number. His pulse kicked up a notch as he waited for her to pick up.
Instead, he got a message that made his blood run cold. Her number had been disconnected. What the hell? She'd had that same number for as long as he could remember. Even when money had been tight, she'd always made sure to pay the phone bill. Had he hit a wrong button?
No, he'd dialed the right number. Maybe there was a technical problem or something, but he didn't think so. He'd wait a couple of days and try again. If she hadn't hooked up with Lawrence, Ricky would have run straight to his mother's house to check on her. However, he suspected this was just one more step in the process of cutting him out of her new life. It could also be that Lawrence had found out that Ricky had tried to call her a couple of times. She'd never picked up, but at least he'd gotten to hear the sound of her voice when the call had gone to voicemail.
Regardless of the reason, he hated-hated-both of them at that moment. Lawrence for being the asshole he was, and his mother for … well, for being who she was, too.
He punched his pillow and then buried his face in it to wait for his eyes to quit stinging. He wouldn't cry over her. Not again. It wasn't like he was some little kid who needed his mommy. That part of his life had been gone for some time now. There were good reasons for that, too, and he was better off without her. To emphasize the point, he deleted his mother's number from his call log.
When that bit of defiance didn't help, he threw the pillow against the wall, which didn't do a damn thing to dull his temper. Son of a bitch, it was hard to breathe around the jagged chunk of fury lodged tight in his chest. Maybe taking his temper out on one of the punching bags in Jack's gym would help even if he could only punch one-handed.
After shoving the phone into his pocket, he checked his face to make sure that no tears had actually escaped before heading downstairs to the kitchen. There was no sign of Marlene anywhere, which was a good thing. The woman had an uncanny knack for knowing when something was bothering Ricky. She never pressed for answers, but she made sure he knew she was willing to listen if he needed to talk.
Like words ever fixed anything at all.
He ducked out the back door and crossed the driveway to the annex. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, either. Marlene wasn't the only one whose radar picked up on Ricky's moods. At least when Jack asked if something was up, he took no for an answer and didn't try to force the issue when Ricky didn't immediately pour his guts out.
He knocked on the door and waited for Jack to answer. The SUV was parked out front, something Ricky had checked on as soon as he'd gotten up that morning. He'd halfway expected it to be missing since Jack had taken Caitlyn out last night. They tried to play it cool around him, but he wasn't an idiot. The pair obviously had the hots for each other. That was their business, at least as long as Jack treated her right.
After a few seconds, he knocked again. This time he heard footsteps headed his way. But when the door swung open, it wasn't Jack standing there. Ricky backed up a step, preparing to bolt for the house, when he finally recognized the guy as one of Jack's brothers. He'd never met him, but he'd seen enough pictures of him scattered around Marlene's living room.
"You're the army cop."
The man nodded. "I'm Tino. You're Ricky."
The conversation coasted to a stop at that point. Tino stared at him for a couple of seconds before stepping back. "I assume you want to talk to Jack."
Well, duh. "Yeah, if he's here."
"He is."
Tino cocked his head to the side as if listening. "Unless I'm mistaken, big brother is just now dragging his lazy ass out of bed. Do you want to come in and wait for him?"
"Yeah."
Tino shrugged. "Suit yourself. I was going to fix breakfast. Want some?"
Unsure what else to do, Ricky followed Tino into the small kitchen. "I ate earlier."
"Doesn't mean you can't eat again. I thought I'd make pancakes if Jack has the ingredients. Mine aren't as good as Mom's, but they're close enough."
"Sure, I'll have a couple."
While Tino started pulling out bowls, plates, and a griddle, he nodded toward the coffeemaker. "I don't know what you need from Jack, but he's usually easier to deal with if he's had a hit of caffeine. Make yourself useful and put on a pot."
Ricky didn't bother to reply. He headed for the canister where Jack kept his stash of dark roast and then got out the coffee bean grinder. A couple of minutes later, the scent of coffee filled the air.
Tino drew a deep breath. "God, that smells good. I'm betting Jack will be making his appearance any second."
Sure enough, the steps overhead creaked. Ricky grabbed three mugs from the shelf over the sink and filled them with coffee. He scooped sugar into his own cup but left Jack's black. "Do you take anything in yours?"
Tino shook his head as he flipped the first two pancakes onto a plate and held it out to Ricky. "Black is fine. Better start eating those quick before Jack commandeers them."
"Too late. You should have moved faster." A big hand reached over Ricky's shoulder to grab the plate from Tino. Jack parked himself at the kitchen table and grabbed the maple syrup. "Besides, considering I paid for the groceries, I deserve to eat first."
Tino sneered. "You're just lucky Mom isn't here. She'd smack your hand for stealing food from a hungry kid."
Ricky didn't much like being called a kid, but Tino's grin invited him to play along. "Yeah, I know she'll be disappointed in you when I tell her what happened. Don't forget that she expects you to set a good example for me."
Tino laughed. "Good one, Ricky."
Jack snorted. "I'm guessing Mom fixed him a huge breakfast already this morning, which makes me wonder why he's over here mooching from us."
Ricky accepted the second plate Tino held out to him. "Hey, you weren't bullshitting me. These do look like the ones your mom makes."
"Watch your mouth, kid." Jack gave him a hard look. "You know how Mom feels about cursing."
"Yeah, I do." Ricky paused to douse his pancakes with a thick layer of syrup. "And I also know how mad she'd be if she knew how you talk around me when we're out on a job or when you think she isn't listening."
Tino joined them at the table. "I like this guy, Jack. He doesn't put up with any crap from you."
Jack shot his brother a bleary-eyed glare. "Keep it up, little brother, and I'll use you instead of the punching bag for my morning workout."
Evidently Tino took Jack's threat seriously, because he immediately shut his mouth. The three of them ate in silence until they finished their first round of pancakes. Tino picked up his plate. "How many more do each of you want?"
Ricky shook his head. "I'm good."
Jack held up four fingers. "I want them full-sized, too. None of those stupid silver dollar ones you tried to sneak over on me last time."
Tino returned to the stove and began ladling more batter onto the griddle. Ricky sipped his coffee and watched Jack wipe up the rest of his syrup with the last bite of his pancakes. "So what brings you over here this morning, Ricky?"
Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. He hadn't expected Jack to have company. "No special reason."