Word of Honor, Book 2 (41 page)

There was a brief silence, and then a full force eruption like thunder beating against a tin roof.

“What have you done?!” she screamed out, her voice shrill. He heard something topple over and break, as if she’d knocked a lamp upon the ground and shattered into a million pieces.

I’ve broken lamps, too…

“What have I done? I’ll tell you what I’ve done, sweetheart. Oh, wait a minute; ‘Night Moves’ by Bob Seger is playin’!” He paused and began snapping his finger, the tune sending him down memory lane. “My sweet Patti used to play this all the time! Anytime I took care of business, that’s what I’ve done, too,” he said matter-of-factly as he continued to bob his head and dance about. “You knew you were sendin’ these guppies into the shark tank, didn’t you, darling? But you were so hell-bent on revenge, bein’ silly and butthurt that you didn’t think this through.”

“Aaron, tell me what you’ve done!”

“Oh, I didn’t do shit.
You
did this… all of this. You gave that man my address, he brought some friends, so now, their blood is on your hands.”

“I did not give anyone your address!” Her voice trembled.

“Why, sure you did! You were always such a liar. That’s another thing I hated about you. See, I’m an asshole and I own up to that. I’m wild, uncontrollable, enjoy physical confrontations, and maybe you were right, I am a psychopath. I’m insane; that much is true, honey. My wife thinks I’m a good guy. I’m tryin’ but people like you make it
so
goddamn hard!”

He burst out laughing as he cocked his head back and spit a loogie on one of the bodies loosely wrapped up in thin linens, now stained in blood.

“I’ll do just about
anything
to make her happy, so I’ll keep tryin’… but all efforts will have to stop at least for tonight. Now look, back on topic. No one is goin’ to ever find them. I’m puttin’ ’em in a special place and sooner rather than later, they’ll be wild boar food. I gotta dig these ditches though; wouldn’t want for a fisherman to see these bastards just lyin’ about out here. This way, the boars will get a whiff, come runnin’, and I get left the hell alone. I’ll come back soon after and cart away the bones. Now, you of all people should know I’m a pro at this.” He cackled.

“Oh my God, you’re crazy! You’re fuckin’
crazy
! I’m calling the police.”

“And tell ’em what, Sarah?” He plucked his shovel from the saturated ground as a light drizzle began and started to dig, dig, and dig once again while he cradled the phone in the crook of his neck. “That a money hungry, bitter, unemployed drunk who just lost custody of her daughter due to neglect gave confidential information to my enemies and their frontrunner came onto my land without permission, armed and dangerous, and then disappeared into thin air? No bodies, no evidence, no witnesses. Your word is as good as a water balloon shootin’ out of a canyon. Now, you got what you wanted, okay? Don’t be angry because the outcome didn’t suit you.” He paused, placed the shovel back down, and took a deep breath. “You failed.”

“I’m calling—”

“Who? are you goin’ to call
now
, darlin’? Ghostbusters?” He laughed a mirthless laugh. “They can come get these spirits of these bastards… But yeah, you could send more brothers, and then they’ll be dead, too. You fucked with a king-sized motherfucker and lost.
Accept
it! If you call the police, you’ll just make a bunch of trouble for yourself. Now, I suggest you let this whole little thing go, so that no one else gets hurt. Our daughter will be living here soon, and in your own fucked up way, I know you think you love her. So, I recommend you let her live in peace…with stability for a change.”

“You just shot and killed your brothers and you want to talk to me about stability?!”

“No, YOU just shot and killed
your
brothers. They came to a party they weren’t invited to, so I sent them on their way with parting gifts. Now, just in case you get some liquid courage, even after all that has happened, let me explain to you just how motivated I am. You know that I love my kid; you always accused me of loving Laura, but never really loving you. Well, I got another one comin’…”

He could hear the woman’s breathing accelerate.

“Things have gotten even more serious. The game changer is that she’s carryin’ my son now and you know firsthand how protective I am over my children, Sarah. I’m a damn good father, and you know it. I’m not fuckin’ around with you, you hear me?! You better
know
and understand that shit! I taught you good, but you learned that the
hard
way.”

“She’s…”

“Yeah, she’s pregnant, Sarah. She’s goin’ to have my baby. That baby is innocent and didn’t deserve to be dragged in your shit. You sent men shootin’ around my goddamn house while my ol’ lady is in there
pregnant
! Bullets were flyin’ too close for comfort around my unborn child! You can hate me, you can hate her, but that baby didn’t deserve this!”

The Grateful Dead hummed ‘Touch of Grey’ as emotions roiled inside him.

“What you’d think was goin’ on over here, huh? That we just slept next to each other, on our backs, stiff as boards, and holdin’ hands? No ma’am! I make love to that woman every chance I get… and you
know
I make sure I get a lot of chances…I’m certain you remember how I was…” He plunged his fist into the air as if fucking for dear life, getting a kick out of it all.

Though he couldn’t see her, he was certain that revelation of a woman bearing his child made Sarah even angrier than the dead men, their bloodied and bruised bodies still warm in the near distance.

“You tried to take her away from me, ruin everything… You sent guys here to kill us all because I got Laura and your money train is over. Our Laura is goin’ to have a little brother soon so you better be on your best fuckin’ behavior from this day forward because if you pull
anything
like this again,” he said, pointing at nothing in particular, “or even if I hear a rumor of you kickin’ up dust, some things are goin’ to happen, Sarah… some real fucked up, ugly, evil things. And yeah, I’m threatenin’ you, bitch.”

At that, he disconnected the call and slid the phone back in his pocket. On a sigh, he picked up his shovel again and continued to dig to the tune of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Free Bird’. A nice breeze blew to help cool him down a bit. He smiled as the music played.

Hey Mama… Patti, I miss ’nd love you! This was your song, wasn’t it?! You’d play this day ’nd night! You were a rock ’n roll DJ. Helped me appreciate the classics.

He tossed more dirt to the side as the fresh scent of death perfumed the stagnant, muggy air around him. As he peered around, he could almost hear the hogs on their way for their breakfast…

The Appalachian Mountains were particularly beautiful at sunrise; he’d be home just in time to see it.

You always told me that a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do, and I’m doin’ it. Some would say I’m evil, the Devil himself. I’ve been called better, I’ve been called worse, but I know you’d say I’m just perfect the way I am. Thank you for teaching me how to go from being a boy to being a man. Thank you for being my true mother. Motherhood is a beautiful thing. Isn’t it, Mama? Somethin’ to be cherished and protected… Yeah, I’m your son, and I know I’ve made you proud…

T
HE MAN KNELT
low, dipped his thick fingers in the fragrant, bubbly water, then looked up at her, sporting the most peaceful, serene smile that one could imagine. Aaron ran a slow hand over his thighs, wiping away the moisture from his palm over his jeans.

“The water is perfect.” He then rose to his feet, took her hand, and helped her in the garden bathtub. “Watch your step, baby…”

He placed one hand at the base of her abdomen and the other at her lower back as she gripped the edges of the tub and lowered down into the warm liquid.

Alina Baraz & Galimatias’ ‘Can I’ played softly, adding to the ambiance of pink candles that flickered about the bathroom. The water sloshed back and forth as Mia got comfortable, still trying to calm her rattled nerves from the recent violent events. She’d seen nothing, but she’d heard it all…

For half the morning, she was placed in isolation. She’d been carried like a precious jewel down into their basement while her husband cleaned, ran the vacuum, bleached, painted, and moved about in a frenzy from the sound of things above her head. He’d initially removed her from the bedroom closet, blindfolded her, carried in his arms down to the cellar, removed the scarf, then handed her a cup of tea and a television remote. Soon, the house smelled of assorted cleaning agents, and she soon discovered the dining room rug had been removed and replaced with something elegant and lush. Every hour he’d go down to check on her, bring her food, and reassure her that everything would be okay. He was so calm, so fine with it all, and in that, she did find a sense of peace. She’d entered into another world, one where men behaved as beasts, but Aaron stood by his word. He finally brought her back upstairs and told her he wanted to give her a little unwind. So, he ran a bath and poured her a glass of non-alcoholic wine…

As she sat in the tub, she stared into his eyes, feeling a sense of urgency. She grabbed his arm.

“Aaron…what…did you do?”

“Baby,” he said seriously, “when the Devil comes knockin’ to reclaim a lost soul, he doesn’t come to go back home empty-handed. I had to take care of business.” He leisurely handed her a loofah.

“Those men were National Socialists, weren’t they?” She ran a slightly shaky hand up her arm and observed the white suds sluggishly flowing down her flesh.

“Yes.” He gingerly reached behind her, pulled her hair up and tied it in a ponytail. “They were on our private property. I had the right to shoot them. And before you ask – no, the police would have been the last resort. I can’t have the police involved in this, baby. Look at my record.

“There are people that want me in prison for the rest of my natural born life. This would ensure it! No one is goin’ to take my word for it, I have a history.” He crossed his arms and leaned over the side of the tub, staring into her eyes. “And I need my daughter, Mia, and she needs me, too. Laura can’t live with her mother; nothing and nobody is gonna mess up me gettin’ custody of my child and this situation would have fucked everything up if the law got wind of it. My number one priority is protecting you, my daughter, and my unborn child. I told you I got this. My word is bond, and my bond is my word of honor…”

Chapter Eighteen

…Two weeks later

T
HE ‘
S
OUL
I
NSCRIPTIONS’
business hours sign rocked back and forth as the door slowly closed behind him. Aaron pressed a palm to his nostrils, blocking for a second the overly sweet scent of patchouli and jasmine incense. Van Halen’s ‘Jamie’s Crying’ played on, making him feel as if he were in the back of Patti’s truck, jammed between a few cartons of cigarettes she was illegally selling out of her home and a bunch of stolen jugs of whiskey she planned to sell to the local bars.

Aaron tossed his black leather jacket over his shoulder and ran his hand over his freshly buzzed head. He didn’t miss the stares as he slowly stomped through, his thick chain rattling on his jeans’ back pockets. He’d worn a white tank top, slightly torn jeans, and his damn pride. His tattoos all up and down his arms were showcased. What point was there in trying to hide them now?