“That’s easy for any of us to say, Eddie, but we don’t know what she went through. Hell, she never even told any of us any of the details,” Lance replied.
“Do you blame her? She could have died in there like all the others. She’s living with survivor’s guilt. I guarantee that,” Eddie replied.
“I guess all we can do is just be here for her, try to make her feel at home again, and hopefully with time, her heart will heal,” Tyler stated, as he stood up and headed toward the door. “I need some rest. My night shift starts this week. You two enjoy the easy shifts.”
“Easy, my ass. Let’s just hope for quiet days and nights all around,” Eddie replied.
“Amen, brother,” Lance added as he stood up prepared to leave as well.
Chapter 4
“Have you lost your fucking mind, Kent?” Duggy Perrone asked as he stood in the main office at Kent Real Estate and Construction.
Kent shot him a look. That expression, the custom business suit, and the arrogance of the multimillionaire was hard to stand up to. He wasn’t exactly standing up to him. He just thought the fucker was out of his mind.
“I’m dead serious. You can handle this process, can’t you?” Kent took a deep breath and released it as he ran his hands through his shoulder-length hair.
“Fuck. Are you certain you want to do something this extreme? What will it get you? The property still belongs to Shannigan.”
Kent clasped his fingers under his chin and stared at Duggy with a very smug expression. He was up to something, that sneaky bastard.
“I will handle the paperwork, the behind-the-scenes process, per se. You, and that connection you have, begin planning the destruction.”
“But, Kent, there are hundreds of people living in that condominium by the water.”
Kent slammed his hand down on the desk. “That piece of shit condo is blocking my hotel’s beachfront, ocean views. That land should be mine. I’ve made Shannigan offers over the years, but the old bat refuses to give it up. Now can you handle this job or what?”
“It’s going to take some time to plan this accordingly. I mean, abandoned buildings, clubs, restaurants, are one thing, but a whole condominium complex with that many people in it?”
Kent stood up and walked around the desk. He stared at Duggy.
“Hey, didn’t I help get your brother out of the area months ago? He fucked that job up, almost cost me.”
“No one was onto him. He needed the time off anyway,” Duggy replied, but in his head he thought about Denis. His brother’s obsession had been getting the better of him. He swore that he heard voices in his head, and that a higher power, his master, was telling him what to do.
At first Duggy didn’t mind how his brother knew how to rig wires, and set off fires and explosions without leaving forensic evidence for the arson investigators. It made them a shitload of money fast. In fact, they could probably get the hell out of here, but Duggy owed Kent big-time. After Denis set that fire at the club in North Carolina, killing all those people, he became obsessed. Kent knew people that could help him. Give him drugs to stop the hallucinations. It had been nearly nine months since the incident and no records were on file of his brother’s treatment or any indication that the cops were on to him. Kent had saved his brother’s ass.
“Let me talk to Denis and see what he thinks. But I think this may be our last job.”
Kent smiled. “You pull this off, and there’ll be a hundred thousand sitting in that savings account I set up for you. Do it right. No loose ends and no fuckups.”
Duggy nodded and then headed out of the room. He wondered if Kent would really let him and his brother go, or if it were too late. Kent was big-time, and he had money, power, and a family name that could wipe out any bad publicity. From experience, Duggy knew that name could even wipe out murder.
* * * *
Eddie and the rest of the crew were exhausted. They had three calls back to back and still a half an hour left in their shifts to go.
“Damn, I’m starving,” Lance told Ice as they checked over the equipment on the truck, along with Bull, Ace, and Eddie.
“We all are. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we just did our last call of this shift. I’m looking forward to a few beers and a nice, thick, rare steak,” Ice said as he hauled the extra hose across the way and placed it into the holder.
“Sounds good to me. How about you guys? Are you up for some beers and steaks at Sullivan’s? I can guarantee a rare steak,” Ice teased and Eddie chuckled. Of course he could. His parents own the place.
“We need to check in first. We weren’t sure if we were eating at home tonight,” Lance said as he pulled out his cell phone.
“You’ve been eating home the last week, which is fine, but usually you guys are hitting the Station for beers, burgers, and broads,” Ice teased.
Lance laughed but Eddie was too occupied thinking about his sister. She had been quiet all week. Maybe he expected her to just break out of the shell she was in, but she didn’t. It was frustrating. She hadn’t even ventured off the property except to their grandparents’ for lunch yesterday.
“Hey, you in, or are you eating at your parents’ house again?” Bull asked Eddie.
He nodded toward Lance who called home to talk to their dad.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Ace asked him. Ace was a good friend. He was also a big guy, standing at over six feet three inches. They had very similar personalities.
“Nothing,” Eddie replied and then grabbed his gear after checking it over. He walked toward the back room where they stored their extra stuff.
Ace followed.
When Eddie turned around, Ace was leaning one shoulder against the door staring at him.
“What’s the deal, junior? You’ve been acting off the last few days. Meanwhile, last week you were in a great mood.”
“It’s nothing. Just personal stuff.”
Ace raised his eyebrow. “Really?” He chuckled. “Not so long ago you were talking to me about getting my shit together. What’s up?”
Eddie took a deep breath and then released it. “My sister moved back from North Carolina.”
Ace stood up straight and undid his arms. “When? You guys didn’t mention this. That’s what you all wanted, even the old man, right?”
Eddie looked at Ace. “It’s just tough. Too much to explain.”
“How about over some beers then?”
Eddie smiled, and before he could answer, Lance was interrupting.
“We can go to Sullivan’s, Serefina went out with Tasha.”
“Where?” Eddie asked. He couldn’t help but to worry about her.
Lance cleared his throat, looked at Ace, and then back at his brother.
“I didn’t ask. You think I should call back, or maybe call her cell?”
“No. It’s okay. I’ll text her. We’ll go to Sullivan’s.”
“Yeah, and grab those beers,” Ace said as he turned around and headed out of the room.
Eddie walked toward Lance. “Hey, this is a good thing that she went out with Tasha. It can help her to relax and take her mind off of it all.”
“I hope so. This is going to be crazy, I can see that.”
“What?” Lance asked as they headed out of the room.
“Worrying about what guys are going to be hitting on her, and what they might try. We lost some years protecting her and I’m not taking any chances this time.”
“Eddie, she’s a grown woman.”
“Who’s a grown woman?” their dad asked as he came up from behind them.
“Serefina.”
His dad scrunched his eyebrows together. “What about her?”
“She went out with Tasha. We just spoke to mom,” Lance told him.
“I know. Mom called an hour ago to let me know. They were meeting some of her other old friends from town.”
“Great. And you’re not worried?” Eddie asked his dad.
“Eddie, the last thing we need to do is smother her,” he said as he placed his arm over Eddie’s shoulder.
Lance laughed.
“Mom told you to relax, too, didn’t she?”
“Sure as shit did. I’m headed home soon for dinner. What are you two doing?”
“Going to Sullivan’s,” Lance said and then headed out of the room toward the lockers.
“I don’t know why, but I feel like I should be watching over her, making up for lost time, I don’t know, maybe just protecting her from any further harm.”
“Believe me, son, I know how you feel.” His dad looked around them and then whispered. “So many times I wished I could turn back time and changed the things that happened to her, but I can’t. All I can do now is be supportive, and let her know how much I love her. Same for you and your brothers. Besides, Tyler saw her before she left and got the low down of where they were going, who was with them, and when she would be back.” He winked.
Eddie chuckled. “I guess with four men to watch over her like this, she’ll be as safe as we all want her to be.”
“Bet your ass. Have fun tonight and don’t stay out too late. If tomorrow is anything like today, you’ll be sleeping all weekend.” They both laughed as they headed toward the garage bays.
* * * *