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Frank, Scribe and Priest chuckled at the impertinent little imp.
Grabbing the kid by the scruff of his dirty shirt, I hauled him close until we were nose to nose. “First off, you don’t ever talk to your sister that way. You always show women respect, even when they are annoying you. Second, I got your damn message and arrived as soon as I could to help your degenerate ass out of a jam. And thirdly... Boy, if you don’t take a damn bath, I will hose you down myself. Understood?”
The kid gulped, nodding his little head.
“Mr. Montclair,” the sister carefully muttered. “Please let go of my brother. He’s just a child.”
“He’s a pain in the ass,” I muttered, doing as she asked as the kid ran up the porch steps to hide behind her.
Getting to my feet, I faced the young woman and asked, “What is your name?”
“Skylar Hobbs and this is my brother Cameron.”
“Hobbs?” Scribe and Priest looked at each other, when Priest stepped forward and asked, “Any relation to Gunnery Sergeant Kevin Hobbs?”
“Yes. That was our dad,” thewoman muttered.
Priest walked over to me and whispered, “We have a problem, Pyro. Scribe and I knew Gunnery Seargent Hobbs. He was a good man. Got word about five months ago from a Marine buddy of mine that Hobbs and his wife, Brenda, died in a single vehicle car accident. I knew Kevin. That man was a beast behind the wheel. He taught defensive driving to all the tactical drivers that were heading downrange. There is no fucking way he lost control of his vehicle.”
“Priest is right, Pyro,” Scribe added. “King and I deployed with Hobbs. The man was good. Better than any NASCAR driver on the circuit. Hobbs was all about his family. There is no fucking way he’d leave his kids penniless.”
Looking at Priest, I asked, “That why you’ve been hitting the bottle lately?”
Priest nodded. “Hobbs was the best at what he did, brother. Career service man. Decorated and revered. Hearing him die like that was a shock. I knew even back then, it was impossible. That man saved my ass a time or two. I owe him.”
“What are you saying?”
“I don’t think it was an accident.” Priest whispered.
“That’s not all.” Scribe muttered, looking at the young woman, then at her brother. “King and I are the godparents to the kid. This whole situation just became personal.”
Well... shit!
Chapter Five
Skylar
“You are First Lieutenant Malpas and Chaplain Dalton,” I stated, looking at the two of the men I’d been trying to get a hold of for months. I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I had found their names in some of my father’s paperwork. I also found paperwork that stated that Lt. Malpas and Cpt. Montclair were the godparents to Cameron.
I couldn’t believe I didn’t put two and two together.
Mr. Montclair, my Mr. Montclair, was the younger brother of one of my dad’s best friends. Looking at the man himself as he paced back and forth on a satellite phone, I had to admit my first observation of him was spot on. The man was something special to look at. Tall, muscular in all the right places. Even his broody face was exceptional. Too bad for me the man didn’t give me a second glance. It was probably for the best. He wasn’t interested and I had my brother to care for. No one wanted a relationship with complications.
“You can call me Scribe,” the one with long hair said, smirking. “And this grumpy bastard is Priest. We were really sorry to hear about your mom and dad. If we had known sooner, we would have made ourselves available.”
“It’s okay,” I muttered, turning away from the man who held my attention. “After Mom and Dad died, everything moved so fast. Then Seargent Hiller showed up and I thought everything would be fine. Only it wasn’t.”
“Wait a minute,” the one called Priest interrupted. “Sgt. Wade Hiller? Tall, skinny as a beanpole, laughs like a hyena. That Hiller?”
I nodded.
“Jesus Christ,” Priest cursed, crossing himself immediately before kissing the gold cross that hung around his neck. “Hiller is a snake. A leach. Hiller, who I can only describe as a fucking weasel, had the unfortunate experience of being dishonorably discharged from the Corps just a few months prior to my last deployment. They caught Hiller selling military issued supplies on the side. The Corps sentenced Hiller to seven years in Leavenworth for his crimes. Hiller vowed payback for all involved. If Hiller showed up after the accident, it’s no wonder the kids are penniless. It was Gunnery Sergeant Hobbs who turned him in.”
“Fucker wanted payback,” Frank muttered, munching on a
sandwich before he quickly swallowed and blushed. “Sorry,ma’am.”
Cameron laughed. “She ain’t no ma’am. She’s sissy!”
