Her Dominant SEAL(10)

“Goddammit, Norville, you piece of shit. What the hell have you gotten yourself into?” Drake muttered as he spotted the swastika tattoo.

The little fellow talked to the two of them for a while. Since his face was away from Drake, he couldn’t make out what he was saying, but he did take note of the hundred dollar bills that he handed the two men when he waved them away. These two must rank higher in the food chain if they got cash and the first guy didn’t. They walked down the street and got into an older model black Escalade. Apparently, they didn’t have any qualms about sticking out in Jasper Creek. He watched as that car went the same direction as the station wagon, then he turned his attention back to the man under the carport. He was smoking like a chimney, and talking on his cell phone.

Why wouldn’t the man turn this way? Drake wasn’t great at lip reading, but he could get by. The man was holding his cell phone, like a speaker, in front of him. If he would just turn around, Drake would be able to see what he was saying. Finally, he turned.

“The boss is rabid about his daughter. Find her.”

He hung up his phone and went back inside.

It made no sense to Drake that Norville could hold this kind of grudge against his youngest child. Had Piper seen something when she was five that could still be used against their father? It was the only thing that seemed reasonable. Thank God Larry was getting her to a safer place.

Drake waited another hour, and the little guy finally left the house and got into a silver Dodge that had been parked in the driveway. He drove away, going East, instead of West, down Dogwood street. So, the bad guys weren’t all staying in the same place. Interesting. That left just one car in the driveway and one in the carport. Most of the other cars parked on the street were trucks and the type of SUV’s that mothers drove their kids to school in. Drake was willing to take the chance that the population in the house had gone down to just his parents. Now was the time to get a little closer.

He stilled, and let the mood of the neighborhood wash over him. Two houses to the left, a dog was prowling around in its dog run. Now that he wasn’t trying to block it, he could hear the slight sound of the TV in the Pauley’s house. They’d always kept it on throughout the night, which had made it even easier to cut through their property. There was one more sound that took him a moment to place. Finally, he grinned. The Pauley’s were doing a little more than watching TV. Good for them.

Drake climbed out of the tree without making a sound. Like a shadow, he was across the street and in his old home’s backyard. The kitchen was on the first floor. The drapes over the sink were open. He peeked inside and easily saw through to the kitchen table. His folks sitting there, like they had years and years ago, in the early days of their marriage, back when his mom had been pregnant with the twins. They were smoking and playing cards, with beer cans in front of each of them. He could see them clearly. He could hear them because even though it was freezing, they had the window cracked so the smoke would disperse. Not that it ever really worked.

“Your play, Wanda. You better not be cheating,” his father said in a menacing tone.

His mother giggled like a teenaged girl. “I want you to win. I like it when you win, Norville.”

“Damn right you do.” He crushed out his cigarette and took a sip of beer, eyeing his wife over the can. “Play your card.”

Drake couldn’t see the card she laid down, but his dad grabbed her wrist in a punishing grip. “Now that’s not the card I needed. Try again.”

“You’re hurting me,” she whimpered.

He let go of her arm. “Pick up the card and discard another one instead, and think this time. Think about what I need.”

Had it always been this bad? He remembered his dad taking it out on him, but he’d been male, that’d been okay.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking, you’re right, darlin’.”

Drake shuddered. He hated the endearment darlin’. Now he remembered why. It was what his folks used. It all came flooding back. Jesus, how much had he blocked? And it wasn’t just his dad, it had been his mom allowing it. Sometimes egging it on.

Wanda picked up the card on the pile, put it back into her hand, then discarded another one. Norville grinned, picked it up.

“Gin,” he said with glee.

His mother smiled brightly. “You always win. Do I get my prize?”

“Pretty soon we’re both gonna get our prize.”

Wanda giggled. “We deserve it after everything I’ve put into this. I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you more. You haven’t been cheating on me, now have you?”