Word of Honor, Book 2 (39 page)

As soon as she sent the papers for a child support increase after obtaining such information, he had her served with a request for full custodial guardianship. He stated that was the last damn straw, and proved once and for all that she didn’t care about their daughter one bit. It was all lies! She was taken aback, head over heels in hate. Surely it must’ve been some joke, but alas, it was not. Before she could blink an eye, she and Aaron were standing before a judge…

The old, withered white woman with a face the color of uncooked pig guts sat up there on her high horse, behind the big bench, condemning her for her excessive drinking and not spending enough time with her child. She had a beer every now and again – so what! Aaron had yanked the system on his side, kept them in his pocket, in his favor. Like a magic trick, he littered the place with receipts and cashed checks from the past eight years, including the ones sent by his accountant while he was in prison. He showed off fancy spreadsheets and neatly typed bank statements detailing all the money, minus the cash contributions, he’d given in care for his daughter. The sum totaled to over $62,000, on average, per year… Not including gifts and the mortgage payments he made on her behalf.

The judge declared that she should be ashamed of herself and though she stated Aaron was not exactly parent of the year either, she felt that he, of all people, was the better option. In an act of desperation to keep her daughter, she’d tossed anything she could at him, hoping it would stick. Due to her allegations, he was forced to take a drug test. The results came out squeaky clean. He’d kept on the straight and narrow ever since his release and he’d been acquitted.

What more could be said? She had nothing to accuse him of or hang her hat on. He looked like a damn martyr, and she was escorted out of the courtroom after she lunged at him, wishing nothing more than to gouge his amber eyes clean out of his skull. Everyone already knew the truth. Aaron only drank a few beers a week, or a glass of wine or two if he was feelin’ highfalutin.

He smoked cigarettes, but nothing illegal. He worked a great job; he was the owner and the boss for God’s sake, and allegedly had a wife now that was a pretty principal of a well-respected school for retard children… Never mind that the cunt was a damn monkey. No matter how many degrees she had, she still was a motherfucking baboon. She hadn’t seen her in person, but she did see a picture of her – searched it out online…

Leave it to Aaron that if he was going to get a primate for a bride, he’d get the best lookin’ one he could find.

Regardless,
he
looked like a gleaming star in the eyes of the court. Surely his criminal record should have sunk his ship. Instead, some pea-sized-headed fucker in a tweed suit sat his happy ass down and put the final nail in the coffin. It was a doctor from the prison. He’d come on Aaron’s behalf as a character witness… and boy did he witness alright. It was a regular ol’ church revival. Not only that, the snooty faggot presented written evidence that Aaron had gone through extensive deprogramming, and his progress—under a pseudo name—had been discussed in several college classrooms by future psychiatrists, as well as analyzed in special studies. The fucker was now in textbooks. Unbelievable. Aaron had in fact turned a new leaf.

Laura was due to arrive in his custody the following month. He’d conceded to allow her to finish a few more weeks at her current school on account of a special award she was due to receive for her grades, attendance, and being helper of the year. Her father was little to be celebrated, however.

The race traitor, 8-Miler, coon caper and chocolate dipper had broken her heart for the last goddamn time.

It wasn’t enough that you abandoned me… It wasn’t enough that you turned your back and I had to watch you date other women, flaunt them in my face after our break up! I had to deal with you calling to speak to your daughter, never askin’ about her damn mother! You told me you’d always love me… you lied! I accepted that we were over, moved on with my life, and then, you caused problems in my marriage by bad talking my man. At least he’s here! Now this… you take our daughter away from me?! Out of the only home she’s known her entire life? My only reason for living! Laura is my everything!

“I hate you, Aaron! You twisted fuck! Rot in Hell!” she screamed out at the top of her lungs.

She stretched lazily over her laminate end table, a high, pyramid-shaped pile of used Kleenex stained with dark blue mascara from her never ceasing tears. A couple of pieces fell to the floor as she gripped her white landline phone to make a much-needed call.

“Yeah.” She sniffed, trying to keep herself together and not fall apart once more though that feat proved damn near impossible. “It’s me, Sarah…. You asked me a while back if I knew where Aaron was stayin’. I told you I didn’t; well, that isn’t true. Grab a pencil or something, you’ll want to write this down…”

Chapter Seventeen

Two days later…

“A
ARON, IT’S GETTING
late,” Mia hollered out through the open window.

The paint fumes had been going to Aaron’s head, making him woozy and high. What was life without a tree house? Surely Laura would want a tree house; what child of his wouldn’t?

He sighed as he looked at the time and plopped the wet paintbrush, dyed in crimson, back into the bright red canister.

“Alright, Boss Lady.” He looked across the backyard and smiled at her as she waved in his direction, closed the thing and disappeared. The curtain swayed back and forth for a small period of time, then ceased to move altogether. He missed her already. Butterflies danced in his stomach as he anticipated Laura’s arrival. He’d let her get her bearings for the first few days, and then, she’d start classes at her new school. Much to his surprise, his daughter was not as upset about her leaving her mother as he’d thought she’d be. That belief had worried him so much and caused him to drag out the inevitable.

He’d spoken to her after court, and though she struggled to understand the adult nature of the situation, she seemed genuinely excited to spend time with him, as if it were a new adventure. Aaron, however, wasn’t expecting a utopia. Laura would have some growing pains for things in West Virginia were so different. Unlike her mother, he was more of a disciplinarian, but he prided himself on also having compassion. All Sarah did was ignore and yell at her, depending on her mood and the offense. Aaron still couldn’t wrap his brain around what had possibly gone wrong along the way…

Sarah had started off as a good mother, and then, as times passed, she seemed to withdraw into some hard, deep shell that no one could crack. She became angrier, more destructive. He should have seen the writing on the wall; she’d simply given up on life. Harboring hatred had a funny way of doing that. It would eat the host from the inside out. Sarah’s guts, heart, and soul were all torn apart and chewed out. She had unresolved issues stemming from childhood abuse as well, and now, they were making a comeback. There was nothing left of the woman he once knew but a piece of a spirit with no direction, dimension, or desire to be a better version of herself. She reviled tenderness, and worshipped abhorrence. It was comfortable; it was all she’d known. These similar philosophies had, in fact, brought them together; but whatever was created from angst and hostility was not bonded for life – it was bonded for death… and the death of a relationship built on such notions was a sure-fire thing.

“I guess I can leave this outside. I’ll put some tarp on it,” he mumbled as he searched around the base of the large red maple tree.

He reached over and grabbed his toolbox to put his items neatly inside as the dusk reached across the land and colored the sky in soft, billowy hues of purple. Suddenly, his ear caught the sound of what seemed to be a humming bird. He paused, his lips kinked in a smile…and then the smile faded.

Hummingbirds aren’t out right now…

Cautiously, he placed a screwdriver in the bin, clutched the toolbox, and got to his feet, his steps careful and steady as he made haste… but not too fast. A cluster of trees stood a mere fifty feet away, and in that distance, shadows and light interrupted one another, shaky and uneven.

Being an avid hunter, he knew the movements of a deer, wood rats, flying squirrels, and coyotes. His heart beat a bit faster as his brain computed ways to handle a multitude of scenarios, but he paced himself, counted his steps, and made mental inventory. He burst through the doors of the house, relieved he’d made it inside. Whipping out his cell phone, he made his way down into the basement.

“Why are you calling me from your cell phone, silly? I just heard you come inside the house. I’m in the bedroom waiting for you. Bring me up a sandwich, too. You make the best grilled cheeses,” she teased.

“Where did you see me come in at?” He kept moving… maintained his pace.

“You’re in the kitchen being greedy, of course.”

“Mia,” he stated calmly. “I need you to lock the bedroom door,
both
locks, and put the wedge stick in front of it, too. Then I need you to lock yourself inside our closet but before you go there, set the silent alarm, but on the timer, just like I showed you a long time ago. Put it for twenty-one minutes. If I do it from my phone, it will beep.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I want no noises, no alerts.” He waved his hand frantically around as he moved here and there. “After you go into the closet, I need you to silence your phone and not make one sound. Do NOT, under
any
circumstances, Mia, call the police right now. If you do not hear from me in twenty minutes or less, then call them but don’t leave that closet until I tell you to. It doubles as a shelter, so you should be fine. Start counting the minutes right now.”

“What in the world?! Aaron what’s going on? You—”

“Now!”

He disconnected the call and burst into the room where he kept his treasure trove of artillery. Fast like lightning, he picked up his 7mm Remington Magnum. He loaded the damn thing, placed it to the side by his leg, then peered to his right. More shadows appeared around the perimeter of the house…

She’ll be safe in the bedroom. It’s the safest room in the house…

He sent her a text message.

Aaron: Baby, stay put.

Mia: I’m scared.

Aaron: Don’t be. What do I always tell you?

Mia: You got this…

Aaron: That’s right. Sit tight.

He turned the volume of his phone off, slipped it inside his pocket, then grabbed two fully loaded Nighthawk 1911 pistols and slid them into double holsters along his waist. As if beating on a drum, he hit a panel, causing the entire house to grow dark. As he expected, the roaches and rats reacted to the sudden change of scenery. Footsteps grew quicker, more frantic as they pounded above his head. He hated how his adrenaline rushed and fed his need to make something bleed…

Turning on a dime, he moved about the place, knowing his surroundings almost better than he knew every curve of Mia’s naked body. Sliding up the wall with guns loaded and ready to wreck shop, he made his way back up the steps, his own breathing too loud for his liking. He paused, closed his eyes, and exhaled.

Muffled voices could be heard from where he surmised was his living room. Suddenly, the basement doorknob turned. Like a damn jackrabbit, he hopped away from the door, hiding in the darkness of the cove below the stairway. He peered through the obscurity, barely able to see his own hand in front of his face until the light from someone’s cell phone shined the way.

At least two are in the house…

He kept his tallies straight as sweat poured down his face.

The stranger’s heavy gait made the wood he treaded upon creak and moan as he descended down the steps… closer…closer…

BAM!

“Ahhhhhhh!” The big fucker fell forward, tumbling the rest of the way down the stairs. Aaron jumped out from his position, blasted the body twice in the gut, and one more time in the leg before making a mad dash back to the first floor. Items were falling, cracking, and breaking all around. Confusion reigned when light met its enemy, and the darkness grew teeth…