Page 32

N AVY

“The security feed is on loop, and the alarm panel has been disabled.”

Preacher’s voice in my ear was comforting, especially since this was one of the more high-tech homes I’d visited. Chewie’s research had helped tremendously. After dinner, I’d memorized the layout of the house and narrowed down the rooms where I thought the office could be.

Apparently, Lurk, Chewie, and Oz were just as bolstered by Preacher’s voice, and we moved seamlessly together across the lawn to get to the back door that Preacher had unlocked remotely.

Just like me, Lurk, Chewie, and Oz were dressed in a disposable hazmat suit that covered us from our boots to our noses with a hood that flipped up over our hair that we had pulled into tight stocking caps.

Our eyebrows were glued down to make sure we didn’t lose a single stray hair at the scene, and we were all wearing goggles so that even our eyelashes couldn’t connect us to the crime.

I was on high alert even though I knew Preacher was watching the cameras and had assured us there wasn’t any security on the grounds.

All I could hear was the sound of my own breathing and the occasional call of a seagull in the distance until Hammer’s voice suddenly came through my earpiece.

It probably wouldn’t have been nearly as disturbing if Lurk hadn’t jumped in and blended his voice in perfect harmony with Hammer’s.

I was so shocked that I slowed down to get my bearings and looked over to find that Chewie was just as surprised.

Oz was the first one to speak when he asked, “What the fuck is happening right now?”

“Damn! He can sing!” Chewie answered as Lurk opened the back door and stepped into the house.

I readjusted the bag on my shoulder and whispered, “We’re all gonna be singing the fucking blues in lockup if y’all don’t get your shit together and act like you know what you’re doing!”

“Is that ‘Hooked on a Feeling’?” Chewie asked.

“I will kill both of you!” Preacher yelled in my ear.

Just to be assholes and because it was so much fun to fuck with our friend,we all started quietly chanting, “Ooga-chaka ooga-ooga.”

As Lurk danced across the living room, Preacher started mumbling a litany of curses and threats. It took every ounce of willpower I had not to burst out laughing.

“What is going on?” Oz whispered.

“I think someone broke him,” Chewie answered.

“I’ve heard some weird shit about the mountains where his cave is. There’s some spooky shit in the Appalachians.” Oz added. “I don't usually believe in shit like alien invasions, but it’s getting easier to imagine.”

“Sounds perfectly reasonable to me,” I said with a shrug. I jumped when there was a muffled scream and then shook my head before I said, “I guess some things never change.”

It didn’t take nearly as long to finish up since there were four of us involved, which was something we promised never to do again in the hopes of avoiding prosecution.

However, Diablo and his freakshow friends were the perfect exceptions for the rule.

Apparently, Diablo thought there was safety in numbers and that holding information on shady dealings amongst higher-ups ensured his safety.

But he was wrong.

In the morning, the newscasters would have four more “victims” to add to the list, one of which was the mayor’s brother. Another was the council member for our area, yet another was a prosecutor at the district attorney’s office, and the coup de grace was the mayor himself.

By the time we made it back to my condo, the world was short four more scumbags, and we had a list of others to research and track down.

Unfortunately, it seemed that there were horrible people in all walks of life.

Tonight, we’d tiptoed into the ritzy side of town and proved that even the rich weren’t immune to vengeance.

Or justice.

It all depended on your perspective.

◆◆◆

NAVY

“Wait! You can’t leave yet!” Dali called as she ran down the stairs. “Did I miss anyone?”

“Let me guess, you want to hug us again, cry a little bit, and tell us to be safe.”

Dali looked over at Donner like he’d just sprouted horns and asked, “Did he bump his head while you guys were out last night?”

“No. Why do you ask?” Chewie answered.

“Because we’re going to eat together before everyone leaves.

I’m not a hugger, I damn sure am not going to cry, and I would assume that all of you are experienced riders and know that the world is a dangerous place.

Most drivers have their heads up their asses while they float around in their little metal bubbles playing on their phones.

The only thing you can do is drive defensively because they’re not paying a damn bit of attention to you. ”

“Preach!” Oz cheered as he started a slow clap. Soon, all the men joined in, and Dali blushed at their praise.

After the guys calmed down, Lurk asked, “If you’re not coming down for any of that, then what are we waiting for?”

“My cousin’s on her way, and she asked me to make sure none of you left before she arrived.”

“As long as she doesn’t take too long,” Donner grumbled as he looked out over the ocean. “I’m starving.”

“Just a few more minutes,” Dali said as she touched his arm and smiled at my friend.

The guys leaving together after being here for more than a week had caused quite an uproar.

Boogie was beside herself with the amount of attention she was getting today.

She started with Chewie and worked her way down the line of men out front before she went right back to Chewie to start the process again.

Even Spicoli had come downstairs to watch the exodus - but he wasn’t interested in any farewell scratches.

As usual, he’d found a shady spot right in the middle of the walkway and camped out there to snooze through everyone’s goodbyes.

We were standing near Spicoli when a bright red Jeep turned in at the mouth of the alley. When it got closer, I realized that there was a young woman driving with Jodie in the passenger seat. But the most surprising part of their visit was in the back seat.

When the young woman stopped, several of us hurried over to help Dali’s aunts out of the back.

They were barking orders at Dali, Jodie, and Jodie’s daughter in Tagalog, which none of us understood.

Judging from the activity, I gathered that they were giving instructions on what to get out of the storage compartment.

“They brought us road snacks?” Lurk asked in a shocked whisper.

I hadn’t spent enough time with Dali’s extended family to know which aunt was which, so I watched as the women addressed each other and figured out that the older woman in the yellow shirt was Aunt Ligaya which meant the one in the purple had to be Aunt Amihan.

I was surprised when Lurk bent forward and took Aunt Ligaya’s hand before holding it to his forehead as he said, “Mano po.”

Aunt Ligaya smiled proudly before she said in English, “God bless you. Safe travels, my new friend.”

Chewie, not to be outdone, followed Lurk’s lead and did the same thing with Aunt Amihan’s hand. She said words in Tagalog that Dali translated to, “You’re always welcome to come back, but be safe until you do.”

“Thank you,” Chewie said as he took the large Ziploc bag of food that Aunt Amihan handed him.

Once Donner had greeted Aunt Ligaya and she handed him a bag, he looked at the contents and asked, “Is that homemade jerky?”

Aunt Ligaya was so tiny that she still had to go up on her tiptoes to whisper in Donner’s ear even though he had bent forward. I was close enough to hear her say, “There’s extra because I want you to come back.”

“I’d come back even if you didn’t feed me so well,” Donner assured her. He looked surprised when Ligaya threw her arms around his neck and gave him a long hug.

I could see the emotion on his face when she leaned back with tears in her eyes and said, “I hope you find the peace you’re looking for, sweet child.”

The rest of the men spoke respectfully to the elder women of Dalisay’s family and then hugged them before they said goodbye.

Once they helped the aunts back into the Jeep, we stood with Dalisay and Jodie and watched it drive away, making sure to wave when they turned to look back at the end of the alley.

“I love your family,” Sully told Dali and Jodie.

“And they love all of you,” Dali assured them. “You’re our family now, too, and that means you have to keep in touch. You know that, right?”

“Of course,” Sully assured her.

“I’ll definitely be in touch because I’m going to be checking in on Jaimee to make sure she gets settled in at college,” Chewie announced.

“It makes me feel so much better knowing there will be a friendly face nearby,” Jodie said cheerfully. “I still hate that she’s leaving, but I’m relieved to know you’ll watch over her.”

“I’m close by, too, so I’ll stop in and say hello now and then,” Oz told her.

Donner nodded and said, “I’m not nearly as close as they are, but I’m only a call away if she needs help.”

“I’m going to come back next month with some things for your aunts,” Bandit announced. He grinned at me and Dali before he said, “If you’re lucky, I may even say hello to you while I’m here.”

“I got their address so I can send them some things from home,” Maple announced.

I checked the time on my watch before I said, “We should probably go. Rafael’s got a whole spread for all of you, and I’d hate to keep him waiting.”

“I won’t have to ride my bike home. Somebody can just push me a few feet, and I’ll roll there on my own,” Goose complained with a grin. “I haven’t ever eaten so much good food before.”

“It’s our love language,” Jodie said as she nudged him with her elbow. “Maybe someday you’ll find a woman who speaks it, too, so you won’t starve to death eating ramen and sandwiches.”

Goose scoffed before he nudged her back and said, “I haven’t starved yet, and the last thing I need is a woman around all the time, especially if she’s as crazy as you.”

“The crazy ones are the most fun,” Trout announced. “They keep a man on his toes.”

“Most of us only develop the trait after dealing with men for years,” Dali announced as she walked toward my bike. “Come on, gentlemen. There’s a feast waiting for us.”

“Will someone give me a ride over?” Jodie asked.

I ushered Boogie and Spicoli back into the gate and then secured it before I followed Dali over to my bike.

I sat and flipped up the kickstand before I held my hand out to hold her steady while she threw her leg over the bike to get settled.

Once everyone was saddled up and ready, I led our group down the alley.

Since it was so early in the day, traffic was even more of a pain in the ass than usual, so it took us a little longer to get to Three Sheets. As we filed into the bar, I smelled bacon, and my stomach rumbled loudly.

Dad greeted my club brothers as if they were his own sons.

I guess they were in a way. He’d welcomed them into our small family just as easily as he and my mom had welcomed Dalisay when she and Corrie were young.

I knew that my brothers loved and respected my father, and if anything ever happened to me, they’d step up and help him get through it just like I would with their loved ones.

It was reassuring to know that even though we were spread out around the country, we could have trusted friends here to help us with just a single call, no matter how big or small the problem happened to be.

Dad and Rafael had already put the plywood over the pool table so we could use it as a buffet, and I saw that there were warmers set up to keep everything hot.

It didn’t take much encouragement to get a line started, and within just a few minutes, my friends were seated at tables around the bar, eating breakfast while they discussed their upcoming trips home and made plans to see each other again.

“In case I haven’t mentioned it, I just want you to know that I love your friends,” Dalisay said as she sat next to me. Jodie laughed loudly from a table across the way where she was sitting with some of the guys, and Dali smiled before she said, “And so does the rest of my family.”

“What’s not to love? We’re fantastic,” Oz teased from his seat across the table.

“And very full of yourself,” Dali retorted with a grin. “You’re not all that, Oz. Clark is . . . Navy is . . . but you, not so much.”

“Burn,” Dad whispered before he put his hand out to bump knuckles with my girl. Dalisay looked shocked as she reached out to grab his hand. She ran her thumb over his wedding ring and said, “You got it back!”

“Anthony brought it to me.”

When Dalisay looked at me, there was an odd light in her eyes but her smile was genuine when she said, “I’m proud of him for doing that. I know how much it means to you and was sad to see how upset it made you to go without it.”

“I’ve had that ring on my finger since the day my sweetheart promised me forever, and I’ll wear it until I join her on the next step of our journey.”

Tears filled Dali’s eyes as she whispered, “I’ve always dreamed of a love like that.”

Dad lifted her hand to his lips and whispered back, “Looks like you may have found it.”

Breakfast went on a little longer than I thought it would, probably because the men knew that this may be the last time they saw this group of friends together for some time, if ever again. But they had homes to go back to and schedules to keep, so before long, it was time to see everyone off.

Dad made sure to thank each man personally before he assured them that they’d always have a cold beer waiting for them at Three Sheets and a comfortable bed to sleep in whenever they had a chance to come back.

Finally, we were all outside, and the guys were saying their own goodbyes to each other.

I joined them in the parking lot to thank them again and make sure they knew they were always welcome.

They all knew that already, just like I knew that I’d have a place wherever they lived, but it was nice to be able to say the words out loud and in person to each of them.

As we watched the last of them pull out onto the road, Dali reached up and wiped tears away before she said, “I’m gonna miss them.”

“They’ll be back now and then, and we can always go see them.”

“Even Maple?” Dali asked with a grin.

“I’m not a big fan of snow or cold weather, but I’d go to Maine if he needed my help or if you asked nicely.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”