“With all due respect, fuck that, Prez. How can I sleep with all this shit going around my head? If Ace has been talking to her? That kid, the one who’s so intelligent he can hack into the most secure databases, shows he’s got so little common sense he’s probably told his aunt that he lives with my ma. I’m going to sit outside that house until morning to make sure she doesn’t come around. And you can bet your last dollar, as soon as I can, I will fucking be talking to him.”
Prez sits back in his seat. After rubbing at his temples, he starts, “You joined the club, what, thirteen years back? Rose up to an officer role fast. We’ve always accepted Ace as yours. He’s under the protection of the Kings. You’re not fuckin’ alone, Freak. We’ve got your back, just as you’ve always had ours. And Ace? Well, he’s got our support on his own merits. Doubt there’s any brother here that wouldn’t throw down for that kid.” He points his finger at me. “Agree Antoin-fuckin’-nette turning up out of the blue is suspicious. We need to know whether she’s got an ulterior motive before she sets eyes on your boy. I’ll get Genie right onto it once he’s sober. And yeah, you go watch your mom’s house. If you need help, call on Dum or Dee. But, Freak? You need to talk to Ace about the fuckin’ mistake he’s made. Kings don’t volunteer their DNA for anybody.” He breaks off, rubs his forehead, then adds, “It could be a problem for you, Freak.”
I know what he’s thinking. “Nah, Prez. The government already has the information on me. I served, remember? Fingerprints, DNA, blood type, identifying features, shoe size, and probably the length of my dick, fucking any and everything to identify my body, Uncle Sam’s got it all. Ace couldn’t havemade it worse. The issue is, he could have.” Rubbing my temples, I draw in a deep breath. Then I stand. “I’ll get going now.”
“Take one of the club’s SUVs,” Tempest suggests.
At first, I’m going to protest. I ride my bike at all hours and in all weathers, only stopping during the ferocity of the summer monsoons. A warm late spring evening is no problem. Except, I’m tired as fuck. Mentally drained and exhausted, not to mention the drinks I’ve consumed have left me a little worse for wear. I decide four wheels might be safer, and as a plus, in the morning, when I’m bringing Ace back, he won’t be able to avoid talking to me.
I raise my chin and leave them, then hop over or skirt around prone bodies as I make my way out of the clubhouse. Then I exit the compound in the vehicle Tempest had recommended.
As I drive along Ma’s road and park across the street from her Pueblo Revival two-storey home, I eye her property and the surrounding area cautiously. There are no strange vehicles around, and I’m here often enough, dropping off or picking up Ace, that I would notice anything out of the normal. I settle in to keep watch, rubbing my sore, tired eyes. But I’m far from sleepy. I’ve dredged up a lot of history tonight, and my brain keeps reminding me of more and more details.
Dad had died before Ace had been born. Ma never met Josie. Being an odd one, she didn’t like flying, and the thirteen hundred plus mile distance was too far for her to drive. Once I’d joined up, I hadn’t been home except for a couple of times. I admit I was always closer to my dad than to her, and Ma didn’t have many maternal instincts. I didn’t tell her about the baby – maybe I would have – but being likely to be sent away with the team at a moment’s notice kind of made it difficult to do much planning. I’d convinced myself that news like that was better delivered in person, with the evidence in my arms. I’d alwaysthought there was no hurry, that there was plenty of time. Ace had been too young to understand he was being introduced to his nana.
When Josie’s mother had died, time had run out. I was going to Arizona, no longer employed, a twenty-month-old toddler by my side, and with a fuckton of baggage I didn’t feel inclined to share. The accidental death of Ace’s mother would be enough for my ma to take in. I didn’t want to complicate matters.
Sitting in the SUV, eyes still firmly fixed on her house, I recall walking up the path with Ace on my hip, supporting him with one hand, my duffel in the other, and a diaper bag hung over my shoulder. I was Delta Force. I’d faced dangers other men could only imagine in their nightmares. But turning up unannounced at my ma’s with a twenty-month-old toddler in tow? I foresaw that it was going to be a whole level of hell, one Dante could never have imagined.
With only a slight hesitation, I pressed my finger to the bell, and only had to wait a moment for the door to open.
I had a second to notice Ma’s face was more lined than when I’d last seen her, and that her hair definitely had more grey than I remembered. But the slight aging was the only sign she’d changed. She’d come to the door with a shotgun, racking it before she’d had a chance to see who was calling.
It had taken a moment for her to recognise me. The last time she’d seen me, I’d had the short back and sides that my then rank had demanded. When I became Special Forces, the grooming requirements had changed, something I hadn’t thought to alter since leaving, and my hair now reached down to my shoulders.
When she recognised who’d come calling, the shotgun went down by her side. “Levi Moore. Ever heard of this new invention called a telephone, that you could have used to warn me you were coming? And what the hell are you carrying?” Shepeered at Ace. Thumb tucked firmly into his mouth, his big eyes were focused in her direction. “Where the fuck did you get that from?”
Bending slightly, I lowered my son so she could get a good look at him. “This is Ace, my kid. His mom’s dead, and all he has is me.”
After staring into my son’s face for a moment, she shook her head. “I’ve done my time, raised you, and that was enough. You’re not leaving that kid with me.”
I’d huffed a laugh. “Last thing I want to do, Ma. But I’ve nowhere else to go. I lost my place on the base as I didn’t re-enlist. I mean, how could I when I had him?” I’d paused, then when she said nothing, I continued, “I just need somewhere temporary, while I work out where to go and what to do next. And I thought you might like to get to know your grandson.”
“You named him, Ace?”
I’d heaved a heavy sigh. “Fuck, Ma. It’s a long story. But I was overseas and out of contact when he was born. His mother decided what to call him. Thought it odd at first, but have to admit, it’s grown on me.”
Echoing the exhale of breath from my mouth, she stepped back and waved us in.
This might not be the house I’d grown up in, but it still smelled of home. A lingering odour of something she’d been cooking, and that fragrance that always surrounded her, some sort of perfume. Oh, and that was accompanied by a heavy dose of gun oil.
Ace started to fuss as we entered. I placed the carrier down, dropped my duffel, then started to go through the diaper bag to find one of his sippy cups I’d packed. While my mom watched on, I heated some water, mixed some formula, put it in a pan to heat, then, when done, filled the cup. I unfolded the bag, pulled out the built-in changing mat, and expertly changed his diaper,slipping the wet one into a plastic bag. After I redressed him, I tested the milk’s temperature, then put the cup into my son’s greedy hands, and sat down with him on my lap. Milk would be enough for him for now. I’d fight with him over solid food later.
“You’ve had practice,” she grudgingly told me.
“Yeah, that’s what happens when you have sole responsibility for the last fourteen months.”
She came over and rested a hand on my shoulder. “You seem to have it all in hand.”
“I’ve had to, Ma,” I replied, honestly.
“I’m sorry for your loss, son.”
For a second, her words took me by surprise. “If you’re talking about his birth mother, don’t be.” Despite my decision to tell her only the basics, as she busied herself brewing coffee, then putting the makings of a brunch together, I found the whole sad, sorry tale spilled out of me. She hadn’t even blinked an eye at my confession.
I tap the steering wheel, a slight curve to my mouth. Dad had been in the Army. That’s why I’d joined up. Ma, an Army wife, had developed the thick skin and backbone necessary when the love of her life was away half his life serving his country. Whether his military discipline had rubbed off on her, or whether she was naturally that way inclined, growing up, it had been like living with a sergeant major. Discipline was swift, emotions limited. There was no doubt she cared for and loved me, but in her own way. Going into the military wasn’t hard, as I was already prepared by the expectations she’d had of me as I’d grown up.
Ace? Well, she might have been reticent at first, but she soon grew to adore him. And, unlike me, he quickly had her wrapped around his little finger. Pretty soon, it was apparent she’d give him anything, including the affection she’d never offered to me. And when it became evident he wasn’t developing in the normalexpected ways, she was right there beside me, getting him the help that he needed.
