AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Suddenly, the sounds of trucks could be heard coming up the dirt mountain road. Mike peeked outside the shack door and turned to his brother.
“We need to leave. Now.”
“Why are they here?” asked Nate.
“Stupid fuck! For you. For both of you!” Nate placed the end of his pistol against the man’s forehead and fired. As he slumped over, Mike gripped his arm, pulling him out the back.
“We split up, Nate. Get to the main road, and we’ll meet at the drop point. Stay safe,” he said, hugging his twin. He wanted them to travel together, but by splitting up, they were giving themselves a better chance.
Both men were in superior shape. More fit than ten men, their speed and agility were a great part of what had kept them alive this long. They’d trained with the best, including their father, uncle, and grandfather. The Redhawk gene of stealth flowed in their blood.
“Keep him safe, great-great-grandfather. Keep him safe so that we can both come home.”
CHAPTER TWO
Sage Marshall stared at her grandmother as she knelt in front of the wooden coffins. One held her mother, the other her father. Her grandmother was crying, but Sage couldn’t. She was done crying for them. Done being angry with them. Just done.
For as long as she could remember, her parents had been arguing and fighting with one another. If it wasn’t about money, it was about jobs. If it wasn’t about jobs, it was about other women or men. She never understood why they stayed married.
That is until she turned eleven. That was the day her grandmother took her to work with her. Symphony Jewelers had been in New Orleans for almost a hundred years. Started by her great-grandfather, her grandmother took over when she was just a newlywed. Her husband died too young, and Loretta Brandenburg was suddenly a widow, a mother, and a business owner. That was why her parents stayed together. The hope that it would all be theirs.
Although Loretta had high hopes for her daughter to take over the business, it was apparent that she couldn’t manage her own life, let alone the life of the business. When Justine Brandenburg married Gus Marshall, everyone thought it was a match made in heaven. Justine was wealthy, thanks to her mother’s jewelry shop, and Gus was wealthy, thanks to his father’s car dealership.
Unfortunately, neither had the common sense God gave them. When Sage arrived two years into the marriage, it could not have been worse timing. They were already arguing, fighting, drinking, and spending money. Fortunately, Loretta was smart enough to restrict access to the business, and attempt to interfere where her granddaughter was concerned. Unfortunately, Gus’s father didn’t do the same.
Burning through their inheritance and savings as if it were newspaper near an open flame, they were often broke. Then, suddenly, miraculously, they would have money again. Just as suddenly, it would be gone once more. When the car dealership was sold to someone outside the family, they no longer had a cash cow to rely on.
When they were tossed from their home, the bank foreclosing on the loan, Sage was sent to live with her grandmother permanently.
At first, she thought it would be terrible. But learning the business of jewelry and gemstones was exciting. She studied books about minerals and gemstones, how gold melts and reforms, the content of high silver versus cheap silver. It was fascinating.
On the days her parents would actually show up to see her, she would often head out the back door and find somewhere to have a quiet lunch alone with the money her granny had given her. She wanted nothing to do with them, and if they were being honest with themselves, they wanted nothing to do with her. They came to the house only to keep tabs on Loretta and her health, hoping to at least get something if the old woman died.
So, it came as no surprise when the police showed up to let Loretta know that Justine and Gus had died, by one another’s hands. That’s why Sage couldn’t cry. That’s why she didn’t see the point. It was wasted energy to cry about two people who never gave a damn about her or her granny. Who hated themselves and life so much that they took their own lives, not caring that they were leaving their only child.
When Loretta took the seat next to her again, she squeezed her hand.
“It’s alright to cry, Sage.”
“Why? They never cried over me,” she said, frowning. “They never cared how I was doing or what I was doing. They left me with you and didn’t care about you or me. I will not waste my tears on them, Granny.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t mean it that way, Granny. I love being with you. It’s been the best part of my life so far. But they were my parents and should have cared where I was or what I was doing. They never even showed up to my dance recitals or school events.”
“I know, baby. You can’t hate someone who is sick, and I think they were both sick in their own ways. Now, well, now it’s just you and me. You’re gonna finish school and go off to college. Study anything you like.”
“Gemology and geology. I want to know about jewels, rocks, minerals, all of it, Granny. I want to be able to come home from school and really help you grow the business. I want Symphony Jewelers to live another hundred years.”
“That makes me very happy,” smiled Loretta, wiping the tears from her eyes. “The one good thing your folks did for you, Sage, is that they never touched your trust fund. It was protected, but still, they coulda’ found a way had they wanted to. You have plenty to go to school, travel the world, anything you want.”
“School,” she said, nodding at the older woman.
At the mansion in the Garden District, throngs of visitors came in and out, hugging her, giving their condolences, and offering support to Loretta. There were dozens of casseroles lining the kitchen counters. So many, that Clara, their maid, had to start putting them in the freezer.
For Sage, it was too much. She slipped out the back door, finding her favorite rocking chair on the back porch. It was her favorite thing to do.
At seventeen, it shouldn’t have been her favorite thing to do, but she loved it. It was a warm summer evening, the pink light of the sun started to fade behind the houses. Her granny’s long-time maid and companion walked out and handed her an iced tea, patting her hand.
