72. AliveDead
Alive or Dead
Fly
How I didn’t end up being pulled over on my way here, I don’t know. But it turns out this rental car can move.
I stop right in front of the door, not caring if they tow it or not.
A man in a suit stands by the door.
As I reach for the handle, he reaches for a gun.
Friendly place.
Of course it’s friendly. Vex picked it.
She’s alive.
All that matters is that Sheri’s alive.
“Vex sent me.”
The man’s hand returns to his side. Is his name like a get out of jail free card? Because it might be fun to use on occasion.
The security at the desk inside the door aren’t exactly slouches either. They have training and are armed. This friend of Vex’s seems like a welcoming chap.
What kind of trouble is this guy into? This place isn’t far from Beach Haven.
“Vex sent me. I’m here to pick up a package.” There, that sounds like something a spy would say. It doesn’t matter that the package is currently in love with me and in so much trouble…as soon as I finish kissing her.
The man makes a phone call. “Head right up.” He nods to the elevator without telling me the floor. This place is wired…literally.
Why didn’t I come armed?
Because there’s no way you would make it out of here in a gunfight. Be smart and keep your eyes open. They didn’t miss one of the cameras placements. There are no blind spots.
Bet this place has a backup generator. It’s a fortress.
There are weaknesses that could be exploited, especially since it’s in a city, but overall, this guy is smart and careful. Both are good for a man holding your woman.
He’s going to be smart enough to understand what would happen if he upset Vex…though it wouldn’t compare to what I would do.
The elevator doors open, leading to an office door.
Time to get my woman.
I knock on the door.
“Enter.”
This is it.
I push the door open to find a gun trained on me.
Gunfight it is. I drop to the floor and roll towards the wood table.
“FLY!!!!” Sheri screams.
This went sideways.
“Don’t shoot him! I know him. That’s Fly!” Sheri screams. “Draven, don’t shoot him! I know him. That’s Fly!”
The man lowers his gun but doesn’t set it down. “This would have been safer if you had told me that before he walked in the door.”
“She didn’t know I was coming.” Though she should have. We’re going to talk about that too.
“She’s unharmed, as Vex requested.”
Be bold. I stand up. “That doesn’t look unharmed to me. Were you the one who did that to her?”
“No.”
“The one who took her do it? Because I’m already going to have a discussion with him before I leave, but he’s a dead man if he hit her.”
“Viktor isn’t smart, but he wouldn’t hurt Sheri.”
Sheri. Draven just called my woman Sheri. “I have a video that says otherwise.”
“Fly, he didn’t hurt me. Viktor just pushed me a little. I left way more bruises on him.”
“Good girl. I’ll show you how to do more damage later. Uncuff her so we can go.”
Draven sets the gun down and saunters up to me. “Who are you? And why are you looking at Sheri with lust in your eyes?”
“It doesn’t matter who he is, Draven. Leave him alone.”
I really don’t like the familiar way this man is acting towards my woman. “I’m Fly. A member of Children of Chaos and a representative of Vex. And I’ll look at my woman any way I like.” That probably wasn’t the best way to phrase that.
“Your woman. Is that true? Are you his, Sheri?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know.”
“Sheri.”
If he calls her Sheri one more time—
“Dra, I don’t know. I want to be, but things are complicated.”
What did she just say? “No, they aren’t. I love you and want to spend forever with you. Everything else is details that we’ll figure out along the way.”
“Details. They aren’t details. What happens in a few years when I’m madly in love with you, and you decide to leave? I can’t handle that. I can’t.”
I take a step towards her. “Sheri, I’m never leaving you. This is it. You and I are forever.”
“No one in my life stays forever.”
Draven reaches toward her and stops. “Sheri, I didn’t ditch you. I was always there.”
And that’s when the details hit me. They’re related. Draven isn’t flirting with her. He’s her brother.
“Like you were there when Grammie punched me today. Or when she threw a chair at me four years ago. Or when she tried setting fire to the house a little over a year ago. Where were you then?”
“I sent money.”
“Love isn’t a transaction. You can’t pay me to be my family. A friend taught me that recently. So if you want to be my family, you actually have to be there. Not just hand me checks that I’m not going to cash.”
Well, that explains the money.
“What do you mean you haven’t cashed my checks?”
“Not one of them.”
“Sheri. Do you know what I did to get you that money?”
“I don’t care. I need my brother, not money.” Sheri starts to shake.
There isn’t much I can do as the two of them stare each other down except walk over and wrap my arms around her. Like she always does, Sheri melts into them, giving me all her physical load while she’s burdened mentally.
Draven folds his arms over his chest and glares at her. “Fine, you win. You have your brother back, but don’t be upset with me when you find out I’m not the person you thought I’d be.”
“As long as you aren’t a monster, I love you.”
“I love you too. And you're done taking care of Grammie. From now on, she’s my responsibility.”
“Oh really? And how are you going to check on her without visiting Beach Haven?”
There’s a story there.
“I’ve been to Beach Haven. I’m just careful.”
Definitely a story.
“Plus, there are nursing homes here.”
“Not ones with good dementia units. I checked. She’s in the best one around now.”
“How have you been paying for that without my checks?”
Not well. Might as well pull off the bandage and get it all out. “She’s been living in her car.”
Sheri swats me. “Don’t tell him that.”
Draven looks at me. “Are you going to see about that, or am I?”
“I’ve got her. There won’t be any more times where she doesn’t have a home.”
“Good. And just so you know, if you break her heart, I’ll kill you.”
“Back at you.” Even the strongest among us has a weakness, and I’ll find yours.
Draven nods.
“No one is killing anyone. Now can I get out of these cuffs?”
Draven turns towards the desk, while I reach over and unlock them.
“How did you do that?” He stares at me.
“Fly is full of tricks.”
“I’ll show you that one later.” I wink at her.
“You know, I could just kill you now and find another person for her to fall in love with.” Draven slips the key into his pocket.
“No, you can’t, because there’s no other man that I could love as much as him.”