Chapter 17 The Punishment #3
As soon as Tyler read it, he laughed too. “Oh, we gotta frame this and put it on our bedside at home, baby!” he exclaimed, giving her a long kiss in the middle of the parking lot. She was elated, like a helium balloon, and only his tight grip of her hand kept her tethered to Earth.
“Awwww, our bedside?” Nicki asked.
“Of course, baby, everything is ours. You have my whole kingdom—”
“Let’s goooo!” Vinnie shouted. “We need food!” he added impatiently.
The crew returned to the ranch for a country breakfast insisted by Marge and Ron. They gladly chowed down on free-range scrambled eggs, potato hash, toast, pastries, and bacon on the outdoor patio overlooking the sunny field.
The country life was peaceful. The American flag waved proudly in the light breeze, paired with the dreamcatcher.
“It’s good to see you boys, all grown up and doing well,” Marge said.
“You should come and visit us in Seattle sometime!” Nicki offered.
“Oh, I’m not much for travelling, dear, but the ranch is always open for all you’s. Tommy, what the hell are we gonna do about that darn horse?” Marge exclaimed.
Jake was getting in all he could, riding Wolf over the grass, sprinting from one corner of the field to the other.
“He will take care of himself, he’s a wild one. Leave the fence open on the side, let him roam. If he comes back, keep him.”
“Maybe his horse family will find him and take him back to where he came from. Where he belongs,” Nicki said.
Tommy made a playful grimace at her.
“Thanks, Margie, for keeping him for us,” Tyler said.
“The horse or Tommy?” Marge asked.
Everyone laughed. The morning concluded sweetly with the boys full and happy and Marge and Ron overjoyed seeing the brothers again.
Tommy said goodbye to Wolf, rubbing him on the nose a final time. “Take care, buddy. Maybe it’s best if you go back to your family too,” he whispered.
“No more fighting now, you hear?” Marge shouted as she waved to the two SUVs rolling out of the driveway.
“Thanks, Marge!” Tommy yelled back.
The dreamcatcher blew and chimed in their direction, as if waving goodbye.
The crew drove west, where the PJ was waiting at Billings Airport. Some snoozed on the long car trip.
Tyler held Nicki’s arm up and kissed her bruised wrists softly.
“I should invite Sasha out to a big steak dinner and apologize to him for sneaking away under his watch,” Nicki said.
“Ukraine is a bit far for a steak dinner, baby,” Tyler said, continuing his trail of soft kisses along her arm.
“What? What are you talking about?” Nicki asked, taking her head off of his shoulder.
“He’s gone, honey. I will only be employing competent security for you moving forward.”
“What? You fired him? No! Tyler, no! It was all my fault! I did this, please don’t fire him!” Nicki pleaded.
“Too late, baby, he had one job to do and he failed at that, so he’s out.”
Nicki turned to Jake now and threw her arms around him desperately. “Jake! Please, he can’t be serious! Please tell him that’s not fair!”
“Honey, Tyler’s right. Sasha is out. And I’m surprised you’re so upset, when you didn’t want to be followed around in the first place,” Jake chuckled, not budging.
“No! Tyler!” She threw herself back over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He did not reciprocate.
“I don’t want to hear another word about it, baby,” Tyler concluded sternly.
“That’s so unfair!”
Nicki pouted with her arms crossed the rest of the trip, all the way onto the tarmac.
The crew boarded, with Nicki and Tyler being last.
“Don’t be mad at me, baby, I had to do it. We’re going to get you security that can actually keep you secure. That’s it.”
“He was so loyal to you! Honestly, Tyler, that was so unnecessary!” Nicki quipped, fuming.
They boarded the plane.
Nicki plopped down in her seat, angry. But just a few seconds later her eyes lit up at the sight of Sasha standing at the back of the jet.
“Sasha!” Nicki exclaimed, to a laughing plane.
She jumped up on him into a big hug.
“I’m so sorry, Sasha, I’m so sorry! I’ll never do that again to you! I promise!”
“It’s OK, Miss Nicki, I’m glad to see you are safe,” Sasha replied, hugging her tightly.
Tyler couldn’t contain his grin any longer.
“And you!” Nicki said as she turned around. “I can’t believe you did that to me! For like two hours! I was so sad!” Nicki whined, running over and hugging Tyler too.
“Enough with the punishments,” Nicki whispered into Tyler’s ear.
“OK, baby,” he whispered back and kissed her on the cheek.
“Anyone else have anything else to say or any secret escape plans to share before we take off?” Tyler announced to the plane.
“Naw, let’s drink! The whole crew is back together, let’s drink to Tommy boy!” Vinnie shouted.
Sarah the stewardess rolled her eyes with a smile and headed to the bar.
Tommy and his purple face smiled, getting comfortable in the reclining chair.
“Welcome back, motherfucker. Don’t ever pull that shit again,” Tyler said, clinking his glass against Tommy’s. “Let’s go home, boys!” Tyler shouted.
The plane took off for Seattle, back to Dorien territory with the whole crew intact.
Punishments accepted, lessons learned, crew reunited. Brotherhood revived.