The Prey Bites Back: A Jesse Watson Mystery Book #8 (13 page)

I seriously
thought about calling Lila to get a Xanax for Mom, but I didn’t want to drag
her into our mess. Mom was scared and her husband had been brutalized. She
could use a tranquilizer right about now. I pulled Helene over to the side and
asked, “Got any drugs in that purse?”

“Just some
aspirin,” she replied. “Why?”

“Mom needs to be
tranquilized. She’s a wreck. Look at her. I’ve never seen her like this.”

“On the ride
over here Minnie said something to Jonathan about getting Eddie’s prescription
filled, but he told her not to worry because he had something for his pain at
his
Reboot
Center
, so
maybe he has something for her.”

“
Reboot
Center
?”

“Seems he has a
trauma room down here. They call it a
Reboot
Center
because that’s where they go to get fixed up and reboot.
Kind of like a computer. Patch up and go back to work. Yeah, it seems Jonathan
has everything you need right here to survive a nuclear attack.”

“Hope he isn’t
expecting one.”

“No,” Helene
replied. “He expects a collapse in the economy. What do you think he means by
that, Jesse?”

“I don’t want
to think about it.” And I didn’t, so I brushed that thought aside. I had enough
to worry about.

The second door
on the left was the
Reboot
Center
, it
said so on a brass plate, and as we entered, I could see why Jonathan had named
it that. The room was equipped with everything you’d see at an emergency room.
It even had an x-ray machine overhead.

“Wow!” I said,
impressed. “Who needs a hospital when you have this? All you need now is a
doctor.”

“That would be
me,” Jonathan said as he helped Shark up on the table.

Billy led Mom
to a seat off to the side. “Sit here, Minnie. I need to help Jonathan.”

Mom complied.
The rest of us stood out of the way and watched as Jonathan and Billy helped Shark.
Billy grabbed a pair of scissors and started cutting Shark’s pants while
Jonathan went to a cabinet and unlocked it. He grabbed a bottle of pills,
walked over to Eddie, and offered him one for his pain.

“I’m okay,”
Eddie said, declining his offer. He looked at Mom. “Got anything for her in
that cabinet? She’s very distraught.”

“I’m fine!” Mom
said. “I don’t need anything.”

“Yes, she
does,” I agreed. “Unless you want her to flip out. Look at her hands. They’re
shaking like a leaf on a windy day.”

Jonathan walked
back to the cabinet and then returned with a different bottle. “They’re very
mild,” he said to Mom. “I promise you won’t get addicted. Just take one, okay?”

“If you say
so.” Mom took the pill and washed it down with the glass of water I’d fetched
for her. “But if I start acting crazy, I don’t want to hear a word about it.”

Once Shark’s
pants had been cut, exposing the gunshot wound, Jonathan said, “Anyone with a
weak stomach might want to leave now.”

Blood was
running from an open gash in Shark’s leg. That was enough for me. I walked to
the door and started to leave the room.

“Perhaps we all
should leave,” I said. “We’ll go see the kids.”

“Eddie can’t
walk and I’m not leaving him,” Mom said.

“I’ll be fine,
Minnie,” Eddie said. “I’ll sit right here. Go with Jesse.”

“Take a left,”
Jonathan said. “The hallway leads to the house basement.”

I grabbed the
doorknob and opened it at the same time the door across from us opened, and a
man walked out.

The man didn’t
look like he belonged in Jonathan’s group of butt-kicking, cutthroat, body
smashing guys. Instead, he looked more like someone who manned the security
system or ran errands. He was five-eight, weighed about one-sixty, and his
muscles didn’t bulge. And, he was Mexican. How destructive could he be
considering his size? Another guy walked out behind him. He, too, was Mexican,
same size, same dark, curly hair and dark skin. The only difference between the
two that I could see was that one wore small, round glasses. Neither one looked
like they could hurt a fly, but I’ve learned that looks can be deceiving.
Perhaps, that was the case here.

Both men were speaking
rapidly in Spanish, arms flailing, eyes bulging. I wasn’t sure about anyone
else, but I couldn’t understand a word they were saying. However, the look on
their faces was undeniable. Something urgent needed attention.

Jonathan
stepped into the hallway. “Speak English,” he said, and then went on to quickly
introduce them to us. “Meet Gator and Mason. They monitor everything that goes
on, but don’t let their size fool you.” Jonathan looked directly at me. “I know
what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong. They’re just as tough as the rest of
us. They’re fast and can snap a neck with the best of them.”

“I didn’t say
anything.”

“We’ve been
monitoring Gavin Preston’s cell phone location by
GPS
,” Mason the guy with the glasses said. “He just pulled onto
Bear Mountain Road
.”

“Intercept
him,” Jonathan commanded, motioning to Mason and Gator. “Bring him here.”

Both men turned
and took off down the hall to the garage.

Jonathan spun
around to Billy and said, “Get them out of here. Take them to the house until I
tell you everything is secure.” He looked over at Eddie. “He can stay with us.”

Billy rushed us
down the hall as fast as he could. Mom didn’t want to leave Eddie behind, but
Billy assured her he would be in good hands.

“I want to be
here when they catch Gavin Preston. I want to give him a piece of my mind,” Mom
said to Billy.

“You’ll get
your chance, but for now, we’ve got to get out of here, Minnie, so please move
a little faster.”

“The kids,” I whispered
to Billy as we climbed the basement steps to the house. “I hope they don’t
freak out when they see me. The last time I came home with a black eye, Maisy
cried and Ethan looked at me funny.”

“They know pain
when they see it,” Billy said. “You can’t shield them from life, `ge ya. They
can deal with a few bruises as long as they know you’re still here. I have
talked to both of them. They just want to see their mommy.”

What a good
man.

Twenty minutes
later, Billy got a call on his cell phone. Mason the Mexican with glasses was
on his way over to the house to guard Lu Ann and the kids while Gator,
Jonathan, and a patched up Shark had
Preston
under
control in the bunker. That’s what Billy said when he got off the phone.

“Let’s go!” Mom
demanded, and was the first one to head to the door. “I have a few things to
say to that man!”

“Wait a min…”
Billy started to say, but was interrupted.

“Don’t tell me
to wait, Billy Blackhawk. You said I would get a chance to speak my peace, and
I’m going to!”

“Mom, please don’t
go,” I begged. “Let the guys handle him.”

“I’m not going
to do anything stupid. I just want to see the man who has caused us so much
pain.”

Helene got up
and started to follow.

“Where do you
think you’re going?” Billy asked, defiantly.

“Hey, today I
heard Minnie cuss for the first time ever. There’s no way I’m going to miss
this.”

“Okay,” Billy
said, looking frustrated. “But everyone stays behind me. Am I clear?”

“Gotcha,” Mom
agreed. “You’re the man. You lead the way.”

“You don’t have
to worry about me,” Helene said. “I don’t want to get near that guy. I just
want to hear Minnie cuss him out.”

“I’m not going
to cuss…”

“Come on,”
Billy interrupted. “If y’all are coming, let’s go.”

The four of us
made our way down to the stairs and hallway to a different room.

“Here,” Billy
pointed. “They’re in here.” The door clicked, and he opened it making sure the
rest of us stayed behind him as he entered.

The room was completely
empty, except for the chair Gavin Preston was sitting in. He was bound at the
feet and his hands were tied behind his back. He had been beaten and looked pretty
bad. Blood ran from his face. His head hung down in defeat. Jonathan and Shark
stood on either side of him.

“How does it
feel?” I asked, hatefully. “Not so good, huh?”

All of a
sudden, Mom stepped out in front of us, pulled a small handgun from her purse,
and then shot Gavin Preston in the foot. “The Bible says an eye for an eye.
That’s for hurting Jesse and Eddie.”

Gavin Preston
screamed from the pain; Mom had gotten her revenge.

Sometimes, you
can only push a person so far, even a good-hearted one like my mother.

Chapter 8

Mom stuck her little handgun
back in her purse, slipped the straps of the purse back over her forearm and
crossed her arms as if nothing had happened. “What?” she asked, looking around
the room. “He got what he deserved.”

I was
dumbfounded, as was everyone else. My sweet, God-loving, Southern Baptist
mother had turned into one of us. I guess you can only push a person so far.

“Hand it over,
Minnie,” Billy demanded, “before you shoot someone else.”

“I can’t
believe you just shot the guy,” Helene gushed. “You got more guts than …”

I grabbed the
purse from her, pulled out the gun and handed it to Billy. “Mom, have you lost
your mind? Where’d you get this gun?”

“Your dad
bought it for me when we moved here. It’s only a twenty-two. It’s a bee sting compared
to the monsters you guys carry. Besides, I didn’t want to kill him… just cause
him pain like he caused you and Eddie. It’s not as if I shot him with that big
gun Billy gave me.”

“Trust me, Mom.
He’s in pain. Look at him.”

Out of the
blue, Helene ran over and stomped the foot Mom had just shot, and then quickly
backed away.

Gavin Preston squealed
in agony and tried to lurch at her, but couldn’t. All he managed to do was turn
over the chair. In one swift movement, Jonathan snatched him upright, drew
back, and slapped him across the face. He then turned and said, “Maybe we
should let the women have a go at him. We’re not getting anywhere.”

Mom stepped forward,
but Jonathan held up his hand. “I was just kidding, Minnie. Stay back. He looks
like he’s harmless in this condition, but he’s not. If he got loose, he’d rip
your guts out.”

“Let him try. I
got some pepper spray in my purse. I’ll squirt his eyes out.” She looked at me.
“Give me back my purse, Jesse.”

“What has
gotten into you?” I asked, surprised at her behavior. “You’re starting to act
like… me.”

Mom had never
been violent to anyone in her whole life, so her actions were a shocker. I dug
around in her purse until I found the pepper spray, and then searched for more
weapons. After the gun incident, it would not have surprised me to have found a
knife hidden amongst her possessions. Finding nothing else, I removed the
pepper spray, and handed the purse back to her.

She innocently
took the purse, and before anyone had a chance to stop her, she lunged at
Preston
and smacked him across the face with it.

“Geez, Minnie,”
Shark said as he grabbed her and tried to pull her away from
Preston
. “Enough! I think you got your payback, don’t you?”

Gavin spit
blood at Mom and some landed on her arm. “Aids!” she screamed. “I’ve got aids
now!” She leered at Gavin and said, “You’ll pay for this young man. If I get
aids, you’re going to burn in Hell. God is going to get you for what you’ve
done to people. You killed Mae!”

“I haven’t
killed anyone!” Gavin fired back. “You people are crazy!”

Mom wasn’t
herself. She was defiant and ready to do battle. She tussled with Shark, trying
to free herself. “Let me go, Shark! This man needs to be taught a lesson, and
I’m the one who can do it. I’ll show him what it’s like to be on the receiving
end of the stick.”

“What stick?”
Helene asked. “You don’t have a stick, Minnie.”

“This is like
something out of a bad movie,” I said, shaking my head. I looked at Shark. “Would
you please escort Mom and Helene out of here before they get us all killed?”

Before leaving,
Mom looked back at Gavin and said, “Go brush your teeth and gargle with some
Lysol. Your breath smells worse than donkey do-do.” She laughed and then was
led out of the room.

Once Mom and
Helene were gone, we all looked at each other and smiled… well, except for
Gavin Preston. He was in too much pain. Between Mom, Helene, and the guys, he’d
been worked over. He moaned and groaned like a wounded animal.

“Wow, Jesse,”
Jonathan said. “Your mom has gone off her rocker. I’ve never seen her like this.
Normally, she’s so nice. What happened? I think I like her better this way.
She’s got spunk. She kinda reminds me of you.”