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“I’m going to chill out here for a few more minutes. . But just saying, if you want to talk…”
He nodded. “Got it. I’m good. But…thanks.” He headed back into the house.
It was the answer I expected. We weren’t known for being the kinds of dudes that liked to pour their guts out about their feelings. All the same, it was important that when you worked with a team, that meant you had one another’s backs in more ways than just on the battlefield.
I finished my beer, allowing myself just a little more time to relax and take in the calm. When I was ready, I headed back inside and tossed my empty into the trash. I wanted another one like crazy, but decided it’d taste better if I waited until it was with some pizza.
Pyke was on the living room couch, his baseball cap over his eyes as he rested a bit. I left him alone and headed upstairs. Through the door of Hud’s bedroom, I could hear him in the middle of a conversation. I’d given the group an hour of phone time, figuring that if I was going to talk to family, so should the rest of the group.
Hud was chatting with his ma, telling her about the mission and all the things he was going to do for her once the payday hit. I loved to hear it. Hud cared like mad about his mother, and I was glad to give them the chance to reconnect—even if it was only over the phone. There was still the matter of him and Vic, but I didn’t want to make that an issue unless it had to be.
Kid was in a bedroom on the other side of the hall, the door opened enough for me to see that he was getting some rest. Seemed like his shoulder was on the mend, but it was going to take some time before he was back to his full abilities.
Not wanting to bother him, I headed upstairs. The moment I was at the top of the stairs, I could hear Vic on the phone with her friend. My first instinct was to give her privacy. The more I thought about it, however, the more I realized that whatever was going on between her and Hud was a matter of the group’s safety. My decision to listen in a bit was only made firmer when I heard her mention Hud and Kid in the same sentence.
“I don’t know what to do. I slept with Hud, but at the same time, Kid’s into me too…Yeah, I’m definitely into him, both of them, really…I know, I know. It’s such a stupid idea but I told you what he said. I’m guessing Hud has to be cool with it, too. The other guys? I don’t even know. God, why does this feel like the best and worst situation of my life?”
I shook my head, stepping away from the door and giving her privacy for the rest of the conversation. I’d been just about damn sure that Hud and Vic had slept together, but what I’d just heard confirmed it. Hearing that she had feelings for Kid as well, and that they’d talked about them in one way or another, was enough to let me know that there was going to be a damn big headache on the horizon.
I put it aside for the time being, knowing the top priority was keeping the princess safe. As long as everyone was mature enough to push the feelings and drama to the side, we could deal with it later.
The door opened downstairs, and I knew it was Bryan. I hurried to the living room just in time to spot my brother, tall and broad-shouldered like me, but with Dad’s auburn hair, step through the door with a stack of pizzas in his hand.
“There’s the man!” I shouted, coming over to him and snatching the pizzas out of his hands then setting them down so I could give him a big, back-slapping hug.
“Good to see you, bro,” he said, his voice an even thicker Boston accent than mine. “Hear you’ve got a princess in the house?”
28
HUD
“Now, boy, I don’t want you spending too much time in America.”
“Aye Ma, I swear, you’ve got such a weird hang up with Yanks.”
“There’s nothing weird about it, Hudson. Americans are soft, what with their drive-thru’s and Uber Eats and all that. You stay there for long enough and you’re going to look down one day and wonder where that flabby ring around your belly came from.”
“Not a chance with how much I work out, Ma.”
It’d been two days since we’d arrived in Boston. The five of us had settled in nicely, with enough space to spare for all of us. It was damn good that Ajax and his brother were able to spend some time together. Bryan had taken a week or so off, and since the base was only an hour and a half away, he was easily able to get back and forth between the townhouse and his wife. Ajax was out near the base, spending some time with his brother and sister-in-law.
I, on the other hand, had been more than happy to hold down the fort around the townhome. We’d been given the go for a little phone use each day, which meant that I had plenty of time to catch up with Ma.
We were on a video call, Ma’s slender face, her knowing green eyes narrowed in their usual skepticism, staring back at me. Her red hair, the same red as mine, was tied in a simple French braid draped over her shoulder. She was on the back porch of her home outside of Aberdeen, the rolling hills of the area behind her. The whole sight made me more than a little homesick.
“I’m sure that’s what plenty of Yanks think. Then they start driving everywhere and not getting a damn bit of exercise, and before they know it, they’re fat.”
I laughed. Years ago, I’d gotten Ma hooked on exercise. It’d been a rough go of it at first, but once the ball got rolling, she ended up taking to it in a way that almost made me look like a slacker. She loved biking and running and was even involved in a local hiking group. I loved to hear it—the healthier she was, the longer she’d be around.
“Anyway, Ma, this mission…it’s something else.”
“So you say.”
“And most importantly, there’s a hell of a payday at the end of it for all of us. I’m telling you, when I get that money in my account, you’ll be able tobuythat damn pub if you want.”
“Buy it to burn it to the ground, maybe.” That got another laugh out of me. “Seriously, boy, I don’t care about money. I make do just fine here, and as long as I’ve got legs, I’ve got a job at the pub. What Idocare about is you getting home safe and sound, and in one piece. Money means nothing to me compared to my boy.”
I sighed. I believed Ma to her core, that she was more concerned about my safety than anything else. All the same, I wanted her retired as soon as possible. Not a chance in hell I was going to let my mother work herself into the grave, not after all she’d done for me.
