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We pull up on the little road beside the East Side cemetery. “A graveyard? This is your special place?” She’s confused, understandably so. It’s not the first place I would think of if someone said they were taking me somewhere special, but it’s important to me, and I want her to know everything.
Shutting off the Navigator, I slide out and round the car to help her out. I don’t release her hand because this might be the last time I get the chance to hold it. I give it a nervous squeeze and lead her to the headstone I'm very familiar with.
Sitting down on the grass in front of it, I pull Tara onto my lap. We sit in silence for a few minutes as I try to find the words to say. Regret and guilt weigh on my heart with each passing second, but she gives me time to process my thoughts. I’ve spent so much time here that I know every chip, line, and crevice of the fading gray stone.
At first, I would come here every day, but then it slowed down to every week. Now it’s just a monthly thing, usually when I start to wonder what I’m doing with my life and my purpose.
“Why’d you bring me here, Rush?” Tara breaks the silence. She was as patient as she could be, but if she didn’t talk first, I’m not sure I ever would have.
Taking a deep breath, I try to work up the nerve to let her in. “Have you ever heard of the Talbott family?”
“The rich political pricks? Yeah, I know of them. Not a lot, but I’ve heard they’re kind of dicks.”
Well, here goes nothing.
“I used to work for them as a personal bodyguard for their fifteen-year-old son Scott. He was the second person I had a job as a personal bodyguard for, and he was such a little shit. Always sneaking around, lying, getting into trouble. He’d do anything to fuck with me and try to get his way. I absolutely hated him, but it was good pay and my family needed it, so I sucked it up.” I remember how much I hated that job, but the money was too good to pass up and I couldn’t afford to say no to that.
Being stuck hereall weekend with this little asshole is incredibly miserable. Mr. and Mrs. Talbott are out of town doing some campaign shit so I got stuck with the kid. I’m just ready for them to get back so I can have a break. They said I could take a short vacation after this round of out-of-town business so let’s hope they stick to their word.
The demon child is a fucking bully that sucks the life out of you. I’ve watched him taunt kids his own age at school so bad they ran away bawling. Hell, he’s even mocked me about my skin color even though I could kill him with one punch. Kid’s got balls. I’d like to show him just how fun it is to be bullied, but I can’t lose this job.
What he doesn’t know though, is I’ve heard it all. What he says doesn’t get to me like he hopes. I’ve been teased my whole life for having a white mom and black dad. “Mixed breed” was everyone’s favorite insult. Now I’m just desensitized to it all, and it doesn’t bother me like it used to.
Beeping on my phone pulls me out of my thoughts, alerting me that a motion detector has been triggered. I quickly pull up the cameras, finding a hooded figure dressed in all black holding a baseball bat. Great. Just what I need, another dickhead thinking they can rob the place. Sadly, this isn’t the first time someone has tried to ransack the place when the Talbotts are out of town. It’s like these thieves have an eye on the house and know every time they’re away.
“Scott.”
The asshole ignores me and keeps playing his game. I stand from my chair, move over to him and push the power button on the console. “Hey! What the fuck, man? I was in the middle of a game.”
“That’s the only way to get your attention.”
He rolls his eyes like the spoiled brat he is. “What do you want?”
I hold my phone towards him, showing him the camera feed. “Know who this is?”
“How would I know? Can’t see their face, asshole. You’re pretty dumb for a wanna-be cop.” If I could wring his neck right now, I would.
“I swear if you’re fucking with me…”
“What? What are you gonna do? Nothing because we have something you need so badly for your poor little momma and your mutt siblings that you can’t risk getting fired.”
Too bad I can’t hit a fucking child because I’d smack the grin right off his entitled face. This kid deserves a fucking beating.
“Do you know them or not?” I ask again because I wouldn’t put it past him to play some kind of trick on me. He’s done it before. One time he hired a member of the Snakes to blindside me on our way home one night. He said he wanted to see if I could really fight or if I was just all talk.
“Nah, don’t know ‘em,” he says, hitting the power button to turn his game back on. The way he’s being so calm about this is even more suspicious.
“Fuck. Stay right here, I’m going to check this out. Do not do anything stupid and don’t leave this room,” I order.
“Whatever you say, help.” He chuckles. I have to force myself to not roll my eyes at his ignorant nickname.
The figure on camera heads around the south side of the house. I silently make my way out the backdoor to find a hiding place around the corner and wait for them. The person comes into view just as I pocket my phone and draw my gun, my heart pounding hard in my chest. I trust my abilities, but I have no idea what kind of weapons the intruder has on them.
The figure heads toward the back door and I slip around the corner. “Stop!” I demand, pointing my gun at them.
The hooded figure moves fast, swinging the metal bat at my head. Ducking, it misses me and the force spins the intruder around like they weigh next to nothing. With his back to me, he reaches into his rear pocket, grabbing a black object that looks like the gun I’m holding. It’s hard to tell from how dark it is, but the person is moving so fast I don’t have time to think as they spin back around in my direction. Fuck.
My finger squeezes the cold trigger of my Ruger, the bullet piercing the intruder in the upper shoulder, right where I want it to. It’s enough to injure them but not kill them.
