35. Alana #2
Lance and Izzy are already running to the garage with Drew, some extra food and a small arsenal.
Everyone else stands in my living room with military-grade weapons.
To the kids' credit, no one looks scared, and that breaks my heart. They shouldn’t live in a world where this barely registers.
Maria has her puppy in her arms, its tiny legs swing from side to side. It’d be cute if it wasn’t so awful.
“Aunt Alana, where are you going?” Only Ian gives me a quick hug.
“I’m locking down here.” I order the rest of the group, “All call when you lock down. Secure channels only. Wait for instructions.”
Grae’s safety: check and accounted for.
Mastodon is initiating the protocol for Lena, Amanda and Craig. CJ… shit he’s not a client. I just have to hope he’s ok. I don’t have the agents to track him down.
Four Families, check. Who else? My fingers almost press the wrong number, but Hadeon answers on the third ring. “What’s up?”
“River Styx,” I say and hang up. He knows the code name and protocol. The Olympians will be in motion in the next two minutes.
I check the monitor by the doors and wait until the last car pulls out of the garage before I start the lockdown sequence for the house.
The same female voice pumps through the surround sound.
‘Sealed Zone to Protocol initiated. Three life forms detected. The scan shows Phoenix, Lioness and Midge.’ The windows slam shut, and the guest rooms doors lock.
No need to secure empty rooms. The countdown begins and ten seconds later everything is as secure as money can make it.
The house is quiet, the blood pounding in my ears is the only sound.
The protocol starts moving items around, revealing computers and screens, turning my living room into a command center.
My TV becomes a monitor flipping through every camera I have access to.
Now there is the whirl of computers in the once homey space.
My phone buzzes.
Hadeon: Ferryman paid.
I take a breath and turn to find Grae. He stands on the stairway, sliding his phone into his pocket. He looks pale but focused. No early signs of a panic attack, but that could come later when his adrenaline lowers.
“Um,” Stay cool. I keep my voice even, so I don’t stress him out any more than he probably already is.
“The TV in the bedroom still works, if you want to watch something.” He says nothing but takes a few steps closer.
“I did not give you to Amanda to keep you safe for the last twelve years to screw it up now.” I add so he doesn't argue with me.
A notification chimes on the screen. Unicorn is in motion. I point to the screen. “Your mom is secure.” He takes a few more steps closer but leaves an arm’s length apart from me.
“Who’s Fuck Nugget?” He says in a way that makes me think he knows exactly who it is, but he wants me to say it.
“Your father.”
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. The wounds between them run deeper than the Grand Canyon. “Why?” He’s never questioned any of this, taken it on face value. I’m expecting fear or anxiety, but this seems closer to anger.
“This is the one secret I’ve kept from you.”
His jaw tightens and his eyes blaze. “Did you fuck him?” His words feel like a punch.
“Ew no, gross. Why would you even suggest that?” As if I couldn’t be under more stress at the moment.
His anger dampens slightly. “You hated me, you’ve got this big secret, you’re hot as hell, he looks like me and you’re petty as shit. It’s a logical question, given the circumstances.” Oh, yeah when you put it that way, I can see why he would think like that.
“I act more like Kinsley when I’m dealing with him, he doesn’t get Alana’s kindness.
” I look away from the screen and down at the coffee table with half empty cups.
“I broke his jaw, his nose, six fingers and his left leg. And probably a few toes.” Fuck Nugget’s bloody body fills my mind.
No guilt, no fear, just self-satisfaction.
Grae’s lip curls and he whispers, “That’s my girl.”
“He owed money to the cartel. Thiago found him and thought I might want to beat the shit out of him... I did. Your father said some nasty stuff to me and kept calling me Kinsley, so she came out to play.”
“But why cover for him?”
I sigh, because this is where things get complicated. “He owed your mom alimony and child support, so that needed to be fixed. I called your sister and asked what she wanted. She chose to keep a relationship with him.”
Grae turns away and takes another deep breath before he can talk again. “She was always closer with him, and I got all of his abuse.”
I need something to do with my hands. A fidget toy, or a gun to disassemble, something to keep them from reaching out to Grae.
“He’s under surveillance. I control his life.
He works in a bar I co-own, his checks are docked to pay for his kids, and he lives in one of my buildings.
His food is delivered. He has three streaming services and a hundred a month for fun money.
” I bite my cheeks to hold back a smile, “He even got a vasectomy while he was healing in the hospital. You’re twinnies now.
” Grae does not laugh at my joke, and honestly it stings.
Another notification pops up. Fuck Nugget has been secured. He wants to know if he’s getting a colonoscopy when this is over. I type ‘Obviously’ into the chat. In my peripheral vision, Grae raises his eyebrow. “He gets colonoscopies whenever I’m in a bad mood.”
A small huff of air leaves his nose. It’s the closest thing I’m going to get to a smile. “Is that everything?” He asks.
I sigh and sink my shoulders. “No, but I don’t want to tell you the rest because then you’re going to be all like, ‘See you’re totally obsessed with me,’ and I can’t deal with that at the moment.”
“I’ll be sure to tell you later.”
“This is the one decision I made where you were an itty-bitty factor, when I made it.” One deep inhale and I say, “If you ever wanted closure with your dad or whatever, I didn’t want to be the reason that couldn’t happen.”
He ices over. “I don’t.”
“You never have to, not for me, or your family or him. It’s an option if the whim strikes you.”
He steps forward, his eyes burning with something else.
Not the confusion or rage that he once had.
His hands press against my cheeks, and he kisses me, hard.
It’s like every emotion he has felt since we were kids comes out at this moment.
It’s freeing and confining at the same time.
Sad, and joyful. There’s a sense that we have a future, and a lingering of forgiveness.
“Thank you for everything,” he whispers.
“You’re welcome.”
“Do you need anything?” His hands drop to my shoulders, and I shake my head ‘no.’ He gives me one more quick kiss on the forehead before walking upstairs.
The only thing I need is for everyone to be okay.