“Did he say how?” I mutter the question while looking to Whip and holding a hand up motioning for him to stop.
“Yeah, he’d been murdered. Jennings said the coroner’s report stated he’d died with PCP in his system, but that’s not what killed him. Fuck, brother, someone slit his throat while he’d been in bed asleep,” K-9 rasps.
My stomach drops at his words and I stagger back a step like there’d been a blow to my chest. Someone murdered Terson in his sleep.
“His little girl?” I ask.
“She’d been staying at the grandmother’s house for a week since Terson was supposed to be on nights.” I close my eyes and lower my head. This is completely fucked up. Who would want to kill a man like Terson?
Shit.
“Alright, thanks for letting me know, I’ll see you tomorrow,” I mutter quietly.
“Yeah, see ya tomorrow. Tell Whip for me. I told Jennings I’d make the rest of the phone calls to give a heads up. Evidently, it’s all over the news down there and he didn’t want us to find out second hand,” K-9 grumbles.
“Appreciated, Whip’s standing right here, I’ll fill him in,” I state, pulling the phone from my ear and hanging up.
Lifting my gaze, I meet Whip’s.
“What happened and who?” he demands through clenched teeth.
Glancing around the room, I notice the music had been turned down, and our brothers were gathered close.
“Terson was found murdered in his bed,” I say, closing my eyes and reaching a hand up to pinch the bridge of my nose.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Why him? Who the hell would want to kill Terson? He didn’t do shit to anyone. Shit. Now his daughter is left without a parent. It was bad enough she’d lost her mom now she’s lost her dad too. Motherfucker.” Whip snarls, the words ripping straight from his chest.
I know the feeling. When you spend so much time with the men in your unit you become connected in many ways and he’d been family.
Shaking my head, I take a deep breath and open my eyes.
“Sorry to hear about your brother,” Stoney is the first to speak up. “We’re here for you all if you need anything,” he says, stepping forward and clasps his hand on my shoulder.
“Thanks, Prez,” I mutter with a nod. “I’m just gonna head out, clear my head.”
“Don’t go it alone, brother,” Stoney states in a commanding tone.
“I’m not, we got a run tomorrow. I need to clear my head beforehand,” I grunt.
Nodding, Stoney steps back and I head for the door. I need to ride.
On the road, I think of the times we’d been overseas. Terson and the others would share the pictures they received in the mail from their wives and girlfriends. I didn’t hold the shit against them. I’d been pissed during the last deployment though. Mail came in and I received two different letters every time, I remember opening the one from Emilia begging me to forgive her and to take her back, how she promised to do better when I got home as long as I came back to her.
The other letter, I never bothered to open. I didn’t need her best friend defending her actions. Hell, it was probably just another letter from Emilia. Either way, I didn’t give a fuck. I wasn’t gonna read anything from the woman.
Amaya was always trying to keep Emilia from doing stupid shit, and I’m willing to bet each of the letters I received from her were all the same. Finally, they stopped coming ten months into the deployment.
I couldn’t be more thankful for that shit. Each letter she sent, I chucked it right to Whip telling him to burn it with his lighter. If he did, I’ll never know.
After taking the long way home, I pull into the driveway. Parking my bike, I cut the engine, climb off, and head for the front door. Whip follows right behind. At the front door, my phone rings again, sighing I pull it out and glance at the screen. I narrow my gaze and clench my teeth as I hit the ignore button. I’m going to have to ask Nerd to block the stupid bitch’s number. I’m tired of seeing her name pop up.
I don’t need her shit. Not now. Not ever.
Chapter Three
Amaya
Two days into the trip and I’m more than happy to see we make it over the state line into Virginia. I’d decided for Lincoln’s sake and maybe my sanity to split the trip into more than a day. I didn’t want Lincoln in a car seat for too long. So I’d driven as long as I could the first day then stopped around dinner time.
We got a motel room and I’d made sure to secure the door by putting something in front of it. I guess it’s my paranoia. I’d seen it on the news about the man who’d been killed and I guess it scared me after what Emilia said.
I know I shouldn’t be scared but the man had a daughter who’d been left without each parent. It had me worried. What if something happens to Emilia or even Isaac, Lincoln’s then left with me. Or what happens if I don’t get this little boy to his daddy and something happens to me. I don’t want to see him go back to Emilia. Not until she gets the help she needs.
During the second day of our trip, I made sure Lincoln had enough to keep him occupied during the time we were in the car. There was nothing fun about being stuck in a car for over twenty plus hours. It’s why I pull off in South Hill shortly after getting into Virginia. I pull into a motel parking lot and figure we can finish the last bit of the journey tomorrow. Lincoln and I have both had enough with being in the car for two days. Tomorrow, we’ll sleep in a bit and then have lunch before getting
