17. Lourdes
17
LOURDES
‘Styx’
After we left Nova’s unexpectedly and as we are rushing back to Jeremiah’s house, I’m worried about this next incident but feeling sad too. Not sure why, but my heart is heavy knowing the girls will be going tomorrow on a new adventure, even though it’s not a true vacation. I told Jeremiah to make sure the folks out at The Refuge try and make it fun for the girls. Even though I know it’s to keep them safe but shit, I’m not liking it. Only thing keeping me from calling it off is that not many people know what’s going on: just the chief of police, Nova, Danny, Lil Man, and Jeremiah. Per Nova, he won’t tell the other guys any more than they need to know, though he promised me his team is vetted for just about anything. The two going with will learn their next mission late tonight.
Jeremiah is quiet too, so I look at him to see a frown all over his face. I know he was speaking to Nova off to the side, so I wonder if that’s what put that grimace on his face. Reaching over, I grab his hand, squeezing lightly.
“Hey, you okay? Nova give you some bad news because you look like you lost your best friend, Jeremiah? Anything I can do to help?”
“Not right now, Violet, though thanks. Let’s handle this next crisis and I hope to Christ it’s not something bad again, or I’ll lose my fucking mind. Then maybe we can talk later. Thanks for caring, Lourdes.”
He squeezes my hand and doesn’t let go. This is how we drive the rest of the way back to his house with everyone else behind us, as we have no idea what we’re going to find. Jeremiah turns down the long driveway to his property, and when we get to the gate and guardhouse, it’s a standoff for sure. No one has gotten out of the darkened SUVs and the security shack is closed up tight, except for the automatics pointed at the vehicles. Probably not a good idea to get out of Jeremiah’s bulletproof SUV, but that’s exactly what he does when it stops. He stops right in front of the guard shack. Nova is behind us. Hoping these guys have a plan because we need to get the girls out of here. As Nova walks up to us, Jeremiah leans over and they have a one-on-one conversation. Trying not to listen, I look around and that’s when I see the passenger window on one of those blacked out vehicles coming down slowly and a hand pop out.
“Jeremiah, they have grenades. Watch out!”
I fall to my knees on the floor of the passenger front seat, hands on my head. I hear both men swearing like truckers, right before a loud explosion. When I peek up, I see they are trying to blow open the gates which, unless they have a missile launcher, ain’t going to happen. Jeremiah said the entire fence is just about a permanent structure with the way it was built with concrete footings for every post. When I hear pinging off the side of the vehicle I’m in, I realize it’s gunfire. Fuck, I think to myself right before Nova and Jeremiah jump in with me.
“Not sure who the hell they are, but they are packing a punch or two for goddamn sure.”
Hearing the frustration in Nova’s voice scares me. Usually that man shows no fear. Jeremiah grabs his phone.
“What’s up, Boss?”
As Jeremiah speaks to his second-in-command of security, Charlie, my mind is wandering. I feel my phone vibrating, telling me I’ve received a text. Looking down, I see it’s from Beatrice, shooting me a photo of the girls sitting at a poker table in the basement room playing what looks to be Candy Land. Well, at least they are safe. Beatrice texts she’ll protect the girls with her life, as will Lucille. That puts my mind at ease, at least a little bit. Jeremiah disconnects then redials. I hear him giving Malachi an update, so I sit quietly. Nova reaches over from the back seat, squeezing my shoulder. When I turn to him, he mouths, “It’s gonna be okay.” God, I pray he’s right.
Just as Jeremiah disconnects with Malachi, the five vehicles start up. Nova tells us to brace as we hear a very loud noise. Looking up, I hear Nova chuckling so I’m assuming this is his helicopter. When I look up in the sky, that’s when I see Bones hanging out of the helicopter, a huge gun in his arms. Somehow, he looks to be clipped to the helicopter, though not sure how but I pray he is. Guess that scares those assholes or maybe not, as the back end of one of the vehicles opens and a dude sticks out with a huge gun aimed up into the sky. Everything happens at once, not sure how but Bones sees it and switches his position. Before the car on the ground can fire, Bones aims and I watch as a mini missile comes down from the sky and literally blows that vehicle into tiny bits, and pieces shower our vehicle. I can hear screaming but don’t know where it’s coming from until Nova is in my view, telling me to, “Calm the fuck down, woman, and breathe.” As the burning pile of rubble continues to smoke, the other vehicles are trying to get away, which isn’t happening with the ton of police showing up and the helicopter extremely low to the ground, with now both men, Bones and Sardines, hanging off the side, weapons in their hands. I can’t believe this is my life right now is the thought that goes through my head as I see the chief of police pulling up, with Mayhem and Coma directly behind him in the big guy’s enormous truck. Not how I thought this day would go.
Another long-ass day. Thank God I’m not on the rotation at the firehouse because I’d be useless. It was a standoff for a while until state troopers arrived, along with what I think was the FBI. The four vehicles must have seen they were screwed. Each SUV had four to six men in it. What was beyond surprising is that none of us knew any of them. Not one of them is talking, except to request an attorney. When the police searched the vehicles, they found in the back of one there were some signs of a struggle, and a huge stain of what looked like blood. No way to know whose because the jerks aren’t talking.
Finally, I’m in the tub soaking, trying to relax. Jeremiah was going to work in his office and Beatrice left dinner in the oven. She went home to pack and get her things together for tomorrow when the girls, along with Beatrice and Lucille, head to New Mexico and The Refuge. I’ve been adding hot water because I don’t want to get out. I’m just about to doze off when something, and I don’t know what, jerks me awake. I open my eyes and don’t see anything out of order but my gut is telling me something is off. I reach for my phone that is on the ledge and dial Jeremiah’s phone.
“Hey, Lourdes, you okay?”
“Not sure, I’m still in the tub but something is freaking me out and I don’t know what.”
“On my way up, don’t move, be there in under a minute. Stay on the phone with me.”
I can hear him running up the stairs and before I know it, he’s pushing the door open and slides right to the tub. I feel the air rush out of me just at the sight of Jeremiah. Before he can say a word, we hear screaming coming from the girls’ room.
“Fuck, stay here, call 9-1-1. I’ll go check and see what’s going on with them. What the fuck how is shit happening with all the security around this place. Here, let me help you out.”
“No, go to them, Jeremiah. I’ll be fine. Just throw my robe over here. I’ll be right there, please check on them.”
I watch him struggling, but in the end, he turns and runs toward the girls’ room. I reach for the bar and pull myself out of the tub, quickly dry off, and put my robe on. Then I follow Jeremiah’s footsteps to the girls’ room to find them all on Ellie’s bed, hugging Jeremiah. The sorrow in his eyes breaks my heart, though I have no idea why or what the hell is going on. Until Wren starts talking,
“Please don’t send us away, Styx. We can try to be gooder and not so loud. And we will clean up our messes. We don’t want to go away. Please…”
Oh, son of a bitch. I feel my heart tearing in two. I never thought the girls would think they did something wrong and we were sending them away because of it. This whole situation is so fucking messed up. I crawl on the already crowded bed and pull Wren and Lottie to me and grab Ellie’s hand. I try to think of what to say, but figure it’s best to be honest.
“Sweetie, none of you did anything wrong. There is a lot going on that you don’t know about. Jeremiah and I are doing this because we care about all three of you beautiful girls. We want to keep you safe and, right now, going to stay with Brick and Alaska is what’s best for all of you. I hear they have animals, including a very friendly cow who gives kisses. It won’t be for long, but knowing that people are keeping you safe is what we want. Do you trust us?”
They look at each other than back at me, nodding. Well, that’s a relief, I think to myself. We talk quietly and even Jeremiah is doing his best to sell The Refuge as a vacation spot, though for them it will feel like it, even with the therapist checking in with each of them to gauge where they are at with all that’s been going on. First Lottie then Wren drift off, leaving Jeremiah, Ellie, and I talking quietly. This young girl is wise beyond her years, that’s for sure. Especially when she asks us the question about which one of us is in trouble. She looks us both in the eyes when asking and I can feel Jeremiah tense up, but once again, I’m a firm believer in telling the truth, even to children.
“Ellie, someone has been watching me and it’s gotten worse. So between Jeremiah and Nova, we decided that for now, I would stay here and when working my crew will keep an eye out for me too.”
“Why do you have to work, Styx? Jeremiah is rich, can’t you just stay home and what do they say…Mom used to say it all the time to Daddy. Oh yeah, that’s right, ‘I sit home all day and eat bonbons.’ We all knew when Mom said that, she was getting mad at Daddy.”
I wait for it and it comes sooner than I thought it would. Ellie puts her head on Jeremiah’s chest and first her shoulders shake, then she starts to sob. It literally breaks my heart because there isn’t a goddamn thing either of us can do to ease the agony of losing her parents. Already she’s taken on the role of surrogate mother to her two young sisters. Lots to carry on such tiny shoulders. I glance at Jeremiah, who to my utter shock has tears running down his face as he watches Ellie break in front of him. He’s got one hand on her back, moving slowly up then down. He must feel my eyes because when he looks up, I gasp at the look of pain in his eyes. We stay just like this until Ellie’s sobs get less and less. When she lifts her head, her eyes catch first Jeremiah’s then mine.
“I’m sorry for being such a baby. If you think this is the best thing for us, then we will go to your friends’ and not cause any problems. Beatrice said that both her and Lucille are coming too. Thanks for that, the girls really like them both, they are so nice. We will come back here, right? And has there been anything on our brothers?”
Since we have nothing to share, we tell Ellie that. I move to the end of the bed and slowly get up. Reaching over, I grab Lottie and gently lift and carry her to the bottom bunk bed, placing her down and covering her up. She never even opens her eyes. Poor thing is beyond exhausted. Jeremiah is already lifting Wren and he puts her in the same bed, lifting the cover and then placing it over both girls. Ellie is standing and when I get close, she hugs me tightly. I’m filled with such emotion for this young girl, it’s overwhelming. Feeling his warmth first, then Jeremiah wraps us both up in his huge arms and we stay like this for a bit. Finally, Ellie whispers a soft, “Thank you,” and goes back and gets into bed. Jeremiah tucks her in, then sits down next to her, pulling me close.
“Ellie, I promise you this will pass and we’ll figure out what’s next. All five of us together will make decisions going forward. From Lourdes and my point, if at all possible, and remember we need to talk to an attorney and CPS, maybe we can keep you all here. Hey, don’t start crying again, but this is between us for now. Let’s get through this and once all three of you are back, we’ll have a talk and see what you three girls want to do. Sound good?”
She nods, trying to pull herself together.
“Jeremiah, I already know because we talked in your secret room earlier. We feel safe with the both of you, and if it’s not too much trouble, we all agreed we’d like to stay here. We’ll do chores and not ask for a lot; we just don’t want to be separated.”
After hugging her, we both say goodnight then leave, closing the door but leaving it open enough to get the light from the hallway. Dark is not good for the three girls right now. Jeremiah grabs my hand, leading me to his, no, our bedroom. Shutting and locking the door, he reaches for the tie to my robe and opens it to remove the robe, flinging it on the floor behind him. Then he leads me to the bed and shows me exactly how he feels, and he never says a single word.