Chapter Four. #2
“Are you hurt?”
He shook his head and, keeping it down, began trudging away. The liar. He was limping.
“Hey, stop! You’re injured. What hurts?”
“My leg, Jed kicked it really hard. My ankle twisted when I fell.”
“Sit down and let me check,” I said.
“No. I gotta get home.”
“Kid—what’s your name? I’m Falcon.”
“Jayes Beauregard, sir.”
“Call me Falcon. Jayes, I need to examine your injury. Is that okay?” Jayes nodded, keeping his head down.
I was trying to figure out how old he was, and it was confusing.
I had younger siblings. Nokomis and Nashoba were now ten, while Keme was nine, Lakota six, and Aponi five.
After Aponi, Mom had threatened to give Dad a vasectomy herself, and Dad wisely took himself off to the doctor.
Mom had loudly stated her name wasn’t Sinclair, which made everyone wince, while Jett had paled. He was infamous amongst us and the allies for constantly knocking his old lady up. Even when Jett had had the snip, he’d still managed it. Sin had nearly cut his throat.
Funnily enough, I had younger aunts and uncles—Eagle and Kite were also ten, Halona eight, and Kai was a mouthy six-year-old. I found it hysterical that I was older than Dad’s siblings, as did Nova. Dad didn’t give a shit and just treated them like he did my brothers and sisters.
“Okay, bud, that’s bad, and you can’t walk on it.” I winced at the swelling and bruising appearing. Christ, he’d definitely wrenched it.
“It’s fine, I’ve had worse,” Jayes stated, attempting to get up.
What the fuck? What kid throws out a comment like that while trying to stand? There were tears in Jayes’s eyes even as he struggled.
“Sit your ass down. Do you know a phone number for your parents?”
Jayes shook his head, and now there was trepidation in his expression. What the hell was going on? Shit, my gut was telling me something was seriously off.
“Who were those boys?” I demanded.
“One was my cousin Jed; the others are his friends. They’re meant to be watching me, but they don’t like me. Jed said I smell funny,” Jayes admitted.
“You don’t stink, kid,” I blurted, and he didn’t. Jayes’ clothes were clean but clearly hand-me-downs and too big for his slight frame. “How old are you?”
“Five.”
Fuck, my protective instincts were in overdrive. “And Jed?”
“Nine.”
“And he’s beating on you. You’ve gotta tell your dad.”
“Dad won’t care; he says I need to toughen up and be more like Jed,” Jayes said without thinking and then covered his mouth. It was as if he tried to snatch the words back out of the air.
“Yeah, Jed’s an asshole,” I replied, and Jayes’s eyes widened. “Okay, I’m going to take you home. What’s your parent’s names?”
“Dawson and Myka, and you can’t carry me back. If Dad sees you, I’ll be in trouble. Dad’ll say I’m weak like Mommy.”
Whoever this asshole was, I was disliking him more and more as Jayes kept speaking. Jayes shoved up, surprising me, and began limping away before he could react. I stood and hurried after him. No way was I the prick who’d let a small kid walk home alone.
“Hey, I’ll give you a piggyback and then when we get near your home, I’ll put you down, and you can go from there. Your dad won’t even know I’ve helped,” I said.
Jayes stared as if he was weighing that up. He nodded slowly, and I crouched down and let him climb up. Jayes’ sigh of relief hit my ear, and I knew I was doing the right thing. Poor fuckin’ kid. I hated shit like this.
Jayes was able to tell me how to get there, and I was surprised at his intelligence.
Kai and Aponi couldn’t find their way out of a paper bag.
The street he lived on wasn’t the best, but certainly wasn’t the worst. The houses were run-down, but one stood out, simply because of its neatness.
Something told me that was Jayes’s home.
I was right when Jayes pointed and moaned.
“Daddy’s waiting!” he sounded terrified, and I studied the man—Dawson—sitting on a chair in the neat garden.
Dawson appeared a typical, nasty, bullying asshole.
He wore jeans and a tee, which were clean and pressed, but held a beer bottle in one hand and a smoke in the other.
This was a manual worker at home in his kingdom.
A tired, run-down woman would support him in the shadows.
“Jayes, what the fuck!” Dawson exclaimed as he spotted us. There was a hint of anger in his voice as he checked me over. The fucker didn’t know whether to holler or hold back because I was an unknown.
“Jayes was injured,” I replied, approaching. Jayes held me in a stranglehold. Fear rolled off him in waves.
“Where have you been?” Dawson demanded.
“I found him at the river where your nephew was kicking the shit out of him with six other kids. Some fuckin’ babysitter he is,” I snarled.
“That’s a damn lie. Jed was playing with him. Anyway, if they were fighting, why didn’t Jayes fight them off? Kid needs to tough up.”
“Maybe because it was seven on one!” I snapped. “Shall I phone six of my brothers down here and we’ll see how you cope?”
“Jed came past, said some guy attacked them, and they ran off. That you? Attacking innocent kids?”
“Then we’d better call the cops,” I stated, folding my arms. “Because that had to have been half an hour ago. So, what the fuck are you doing sitting here drinking and smoking after you’ve been told someone assaulted your kid?
Let’s get that little prick out here right now, and he can say it to my face. ”
Dawson shook his head. “Nope, I sent Jed home where he’d be safe.”
“Oh, so you protected your bullying asshole of a nephew but didn’t come looking for your son?” I snarled as my temper began riling.
A soft voice spoke his name, “Dawson,” and I looked toward the door. A woman emerged, her eyes fixed on us. “I’ll take my boy, thank you. Where was he injured?”
“Jayes hurt his ankle when your nephew pushed him into the river and kicked the hell out of him,” I retorted. She stiffened and glanced at Dawson. Dawson held her gaze, and she dropped it.
“Jed plays too roughly,” she whispered, and Dawson’s fists clenched.
I was trying to gauge the situation because it was seriously off.
“Jed’s a real boy, not like the mama’s boy you’re raising. He’ll never toughen up clinging to your apron strings, Myka. Get me another beer,” Dawson demanded.
“I’ll take Jayes and go clean him up,” Myka said, stepping into the sunlight. Taking a deep breath, I held my temper back. There was a fading bruise covering her jaw and cheekbone, and her hand covered it as she caught me staring.
“I fell down the stairs and hit the door. Here, give me Jayes.” Myka reached for Jayes, who I noted went willingly into her arms. He snuggled in as Dawson offered a disgusted snort. It was clear what he thought and believed.
“Jayes’s ankle is black and blue and double the size. It might be fractured,” I declared softly, and she nodded.
“Ain’t broken, kid’s got a sprain. Thanks for carrying him home, but fuck off.”
“Jayes needs a checkup,” I stated and faced Dawson.
“Yeah, whatever. Get lost, ain’t tipping you for bringing him back,” Dawson said, sipping his bottle insolently.
“Are you going to be okay?” I asked Myka, not liking the vibe I was picking up.
“Of course,” she replied, and I sensed it was by rote.
Dubiously, I eyed her. “Myka, you goddamn lazy bitch, I told you to get me another beer!” Dawson snapped.
He smirked at me as I caught his gaze. “Shut the hell up.”
“You’re on my land, asshole. Don’t like it? Get the fuck off. You delivered the kid. I’ll handle it from here.”
I moved forward, but Dawson didn’t have a lick of common sense. Dawson held my eyes and stared at me.
“Take Jayes to the hospital. I’ll check back in a few days and see how he’s going.” It came across as a threat, and I meant it as one.
Dawson stepped backward, and regretfully, I walked away.
I could hear him shouting at Myka as I did.
Christ, what was she doing with him? She was beautiful, although desperately underweight.
Somehow this asshole had gold in his hands and didn’t recognise it.
I suspected mistreatment, but had no evidence.
Myka was one of those people who’d deny abuse if the cops turned up.
My hands were tied. I couldn’t rescue someone who didn’t want to be rescued.
I felt bad for her, but Myka needed to reach out for help.
Until she did, she was, sadly, alone. There were too many women like her.
But I’d make sure I checked up on Jayes. He was innocent, and if they didn’t look after him, I’d report it to the authorities. Poor fuckin’ kid growing up in a house like that. I shook my head and finished my run.