Page 81 of Deadly Misfortunes

“Sounds like a great idea.” Damon smiled. “It was a good thing you saw them. I’m sure that they would have been surprised though.”

“I would have loved to have seen the expressions on their faces,” Gregory said.

“Yeah, me too,” Uncle Jimmy said.

The guys were trying to keep a low profile and make sure they could be there for the ladies if they needed them, without interfering with their planned activities in any way. Of course, they wanted to have their own fun at the same time.

The bodyguards protecting the ladies knew Gregory and the other men were staying near them, just in case they needed to get in touch for more backup, but Gregory hadn’t kept them informed of their every move.

The guys finally reached their rental house and went inside. Even though most rental homes didn’t provide a cleaning service, they paid extra for it, and the place was tidy when they returned.

Nick and Red checked the place to make sure no one was there with evil intentions.

The place had its own pool and sauna with a beautiful view of the beach, steps leading to a wooden walkway, and then onto the sand. The house was decorated in a beach style—seashells on the fireplace mantel, blue-and-white striped couches with pillows adorned with seagulls, dolphins, and sea turtles. Hand-carved fish sat on bookshelves filled with books and games for guests.

Large pictures covered a couple of walls, featuring ocean scenes, seabirds flying overhead, waves crashing on the beach, and clouds crossing a beautiful blue sky.

They finished their sundaes at the dining room table, dumped their trash, and then dressed in swimsuits, ready to go to the beach. Their rental house was beyond the ice cream parlor, in the opposite direction from the house where Sascha and the ladies were staying. Uncle Jimmy had casually asked Aunt Meg where they were staying, just in case he needed to know. Hopefully, she hadn’t been suspicious. But that’s why Gregory had rented this particular place.

They grabbed their towels and sunscreen and put on their flip-flops and sunglasses. They had chairs and umbrellas reserved for them on the beach, but when they arrived, they discovered someone had torn off the reserved sign and, most likely, the people sitting in their chairs were the culprits. Since the group of people hadn’t paid for the chairs and umbrellas, they weren’t entitled to them.

The five adults—one woman and four men—all looking college-age, didn’t budge when they arrived.

“Those are reserved for us,” Gregory’s dad said, his dark, deep voice compelling, but still the people just acted like he wasn’t talking to them.

Then finally one, not looking at them, just waved his hand dismissively at them and said, “You’re mistaken. We paid for them.”

Nick and Red stepped in front of them, letting them see the guns holstered under their floral shirts—the shirts courtesy of Gregory. The people began grabbing their towels and such and leaving the chairs, not as fast as Gregory thought they should, but he was glad they had bodyguards with them to make them move.

Anyone staying at the beach at any of the hotels or houses could pay for the chairs and umbrellas, so it wasn’t like they couldn’t get their own. Or they could bring their own.

“Mafia,” one of the men said when he was farther away from the chairs and the armed bodyguards.

“Shut up,” the woman with them said. “Are you trying to get us killed?”

Gregory and his party smiled as they removed flip-flops and shirts and left their towels, cell phones, and water bottles on their chairs.

Then the guys raced toward the water and ran into it, all but their bodyguards. Red stayed with their chairs and stretched out. Nick went with the guys and watched the beach for any signs of trouble.

They dove into the water and surfaced, having a ball. They swam out to a sandbar where small waves crested, then swam back across the trough of deeper water until they reached the spot where they could stand neck-deep in the Gulf.

“Does everyone want to take a run down the beach?” Gregory asked.

“Yeah, I’m all for it,” Damon said, with Camden and Prescott agreeing.

“I’m walking,” Uncle Jimmy said.

“I’ll walk with you,” Gregory’s dad said.

Then they returned to the shore, and Gregory, Damon, Prescott, and Camden all took off running, with Nick running with them. Uncle Jimmy and Gregory’s dad followed them at a walk, while Red stayed with their beach chairs and umbrellas.

They ran/walked for two miles, then turned around and headed back to the house. Gregory and the other runners bypassed his dad and Uncle Jimmy, who kept going to the two-mile mark, and the guys finally reached the beach chairs. They sat on the chairs and waited for his dad and Uncle Jimmy to join them.

Finally, Gregory’s father and Uncle Jimmy arrived, grabbed their things, and headed up to the house. So far, so good as far as not running into the women.

“We planned to go to the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center tomorrow,” Gregory’s dad said.

“Oh, great. They have alligators there, wild ones too, and recovering owls,” Gregory said. “Does that appeal to anyone else?”