I have never been one to overlook small details. After all it is small details that can get you in a heap of trouble. The kind of trouble we find ourselves in. But then how would you know if somebody else was following the one that is following you. That just makes it pure coincidence, something you can never expect.
There is no time to think of what we could have done better now. All we need to do is get ourselves out of this mess.
I have found myself in a similar situation before but perhaps not so outnumbered yet.
Anthony’s Uncle ~”You assholes can drop your weapons now.”
Gunner ~”How about you drop yours first.”
Anthony’s Uncle Two ~”Do we look stupid to you?”
Damian ~”Do you really want me to answer that?”
Anthony’s Cousin Two ~”Well we got you outnumber here.”
Damian ~”My god can’t you count. How do you see four against four as outnumber here?”
Trayton ~”You might as well give up now, there is no way you getting alive out of here.”
Anthony’s Uncle ~”Did your dumb ass forget that you have a gun pointed at your head?”
Trayton ~”Believe me I can feel the metal of that piss poor ass pocket pistol that you holding against my head.”
Anthony’s Uncle ~”And there I thought you were too dense to feel it. You did after all take my nephew out in plain sight of the whole damn restaurant.”
Anthony’s Uncle Two ~”If you think that move will make us scared of you then you are seriously mistaken.”
Trayton ~”That is exactly what I want two idiots like you to believe, that I am reckless and an easy target.”
Anthony’s Uncle Two ~”Well you and your mute friend over here look like two very easy targets to me.”
Gunner ~”Oh don’t forget that these to sorry asses which I am assuming is sadly related to you, are two very easy targets too.”
Damian ~”So it seems to me with have a little problem over here.”
Dominic ~”See this is how it is going to work. The four of you are going to put your guns down and we might let you live.”
Anthony’s Cousin One ~”Not only are you mute but you are dumb too.”
Gunner ~”You are or should I say the four of you are the only dumb asses in here.”
Anthony’s Uncle Two ~”This is just going round in circles. Can you put your guns down so can fucking shoot you already. I have better places to be than in this dark damn warehouse.”
I watch as terror creeps onto the face of the two cousins. It is like they have seen a ghost. They must have realized this is the moment their sorry asses is coming to an end. The one seem to want to talk but no words are coming from his lips.
Should I not come to the same realisation? Is this how my life is going to end? All the amount of training and experience cannot get the tip of that gun away from head. Is this the time to give up, have I finally met my match, have I been defeated?
But that is when I hear it.
Gunner ~”So what is it going to be?”
Dominic ~”Are you putting those guns down now or what?”
Anthony’s Cousin Two ~”Dad I think we should…”
Anthony’s Uncle ~”We should not do anything! You keep that fucking gun drawn.”
Anthony’s Cousin One ~”But uncle…”
Anthony’s Uncle ~”Do not fucking uncle me. I said no! I am not putting anything down except for these four.”
Anthony’s Cousin Two ~”But there…”
Anthony’s Uncle ~ “For fuck sakes. But there what?”
Jackson ~”But there is someone behind you.”
Anthony’s Uncle ~”Jackson!”
Anthony’s Uncle Two ~”How the fuck?”
Jackson ~”You guys have never been discreet, no wonder I never wanted you part of my crew. Next time don’t advertise what your next move is going to be.”
Anthony’s Uncle ~”But he shot Anthony.”
Jackson ~”Yes because I asked him to.”
Anthony’s Uncle Two ~”But we did not know.”
Anthony’s Uncle ~”We did not know Anthony was a problem.”
Jackson ~”Yes he was a problem to Kayley and that means a problem tome. You all should know not to fuck off the Mafia Queen. Now do you want to kill them and fuck her off too?”
Anthony’s Uncle ~”Does that mean you will let us live?”
Jackson ~ “You just put a gun to my underboss’ head. Do you think I should let you live?”
Anthony’s Uncle Two ~”Please Jackson we really did not know.”
Jackson ~”I really do not give a fuck if you knew or not. You have a gun against one of my crew and you all know how that is going to work out for you.”
Anthony’s Uncle ~”But please…”
Jackson ~ “Stop whining like a bitch. Drop your guns. Now!”
Everyone including the four of us slowly lower our guns and place them on the floor, gently kicking them away out of reach. I have all faith in Jackson, he has the power over these men and he knows what the right thing is to do.
Jackson ~”Matthew get their guns.”
Matthew ~”Yes boss.”
Jackson ~”Drake keep your gun pointed at these two asshole’s heads.”
Jackson comes around to the front and faces Dominic and me. His face is serious but I have known him far too long to know that he is hiding a grin.
Jackson ~”Trayton you are already creating a stir. So what do you think I should do to them?”
Trayton ~”You know you would be starting a war if you take another four of the same family out in one day.”
Jackson ~”That is true, very true but I need to keep an eye on them.”
Trayton ~”Let them work at the docks, you always say that you do not have enough hands there.”
Jackson ~”Mmm you make a good point. It is settled then there. You four will come work for me. If you so much as breathe a word then you are as good as dead to me. I won’t hesitate once to let Trayton whack your ass. Now fuck off here, I will see you in the morning.”
With that the four of them leave. Jackson sighs in relief and relaxes the strong appearance on his face. He slips his gun into the back of his pants before he picks mine from the floor and handing it back to me.
Jackson ~”Damn you guys had me worried. Nice going with the phone thing Dominic.”
Trayton ~”I was wondering why you were so quiet.”
Dominic ~”You should know by now I am always prepared.”
Jackson ~”As soon as we heard the ambush, we tracked your location down.”
Trayton ~ “I guess that it is one for one now.”
The truth is it has always been one for one. We are always helping each other out of trouble. Like Kayley said, we only see each other when we are in shit. Which most of the times seems to be the case?
Jackson ~”You know this won’t be the first time that this is going to happen? Are you still sure you want part of it?”
Trayton ~”Yes but you know I can’t hide shit like this from Ava.”
Jackson ~”I am not expecting you to but you know she is going to flip.”
Trayton ~”Rather that than her finding out that I have kept it from her.”
Jackson ~”Sure, I agree. Now get your ass home, I am sure she is worried to death.”
We all head out of the warehouse and say our goodbyes. The drive back home is fairly quiet except for some small talk. Which is fully understandable, everyone is still shaken up from what just happened. I guess in this business you are just going to have to grow a harder skin.
How do I break it to Ava? “Oh by the way baby I nearly died today.” I don’t think she is going to sit well with that. In fact I know for sure that she is going to ask me to stop. I have not even been on the job for one day and I almost got myself killed.
But this is something I want to do. Yes it comes with a big risk. I cannot guarantee her this won’t happen again when I know it will. Since my father’s death this is what I did, death was a part of my life, death was my job. Running a club comes easy but you get bored. I need to feel adrenalin pump through my veins and this is how that is going to happen.
I know I have a family to think of as well and doing this job does not keep them safe but I have three other men that will give up their lives just to protect mine. I don’t know about Gunner and Damian but I am the only family that Dominic has. If I had to I would protect him with my life as well and Ava understands that.
As we near home I start preparing myself. Ava is going to be mad. There is no way I am hiding this from her. I would have rather have a mad Ava because she knows than a mad one that find out she did not know.
When we get home, we find her and mom sitting in the kitchen.
Trayton ~”Hey you.”
Ava ~”Hey yourself.”
Trayton ~”Sorry we took so long baby girl.”
Ava ~”I don’t think I want to know what happened. In fact please don’t tell me at all.”
Trayton ~”But baby girl I don’t want to hide things from you.”
Ava ~”As long as you not off with some other woman then I don’t mind if you not telling me. Just promise me one thing.”
Trayton ~”Yes baby girl?”
Ava ~”Bring your ass alive back here every time.”
Dominic ~”I will make sure he does.”
Ava ~”I don’t think you can make that promise. If you guys get stuck in a bad situation rather just walk out.”
Gunner ~”We will make sure that will never happen again.”
Ava ~”What do you mean again?”
Trayton ~”Baby girl you said you did not want to hear about it.”
Ava ~”Fine. There is something else we need to talk about in any case.”
She takes me by my hand and lead me into the lounge.
This is the moment I have been waiting for. This is what I wanted to come home so desperately for. All I could think about when I had that gun pointed at my head was this. Nothing in the world matters more than what I am about to hear. God I hope she says yes.
Ava ~”So baby I have been thinking. You know how you so desperately want to see my fat ass in a wedding dress. Well…”
She is sitting next to me with her hand resting on my leg while she is holding her belly with the other. She looks down and looks back up at me with a cheeky smile on her face. That very one that I fell in love with that very first night I saw her.
But that very first time I saw her she very much told me to fuck off. I don’t know if my heart can take her saying it to me now. She can or should I rather say she is the world’s most difficult person when it comes to the things that she wants. Yes she used to always put herself first and did not quite seem to care about how I felt but she has grown up so much with having this baby that I know she will do what is the best for all of us.
Trayton ~”Baby you are killing a man here.”
Ava ~”Hahaha you have never been one for patience.”
Trayton ~”I can see you getting pleasure out of this so come on already, let it out.”
Ava ~”I know you have told this to me before but can you tell it to me again.”
Trayton ~”What must I tell you baby girl?”
Ava ~”Why is this so important? Why can’t you wait until after the baby has been born?”
Trayton ~”Baby you know that I love you, both of you, more than even the sweetest words can say. The truth is we should have been married a long time ago but we both were so full of shit.”
Ava ~”Hahaha and there I thought you were going to say something beautiful.”
Trayton ~”The only beauty around here is you and it is you I want to spend the rest of my life with. In a way I want our baby to know that we got married because we wanted and not because we had to.”
Ava ~”But baby we are getting married because we want to, you are not forcing me to get married to you.”
Trayton ~”What I am trying to say is that I want this baby to be born as a DeCarlo.”
Ava ~”What is so wrong with it being a Brown?”
Trayton ~”We both know that Brown is not your real name which makes it even more the reason to. You deserve a new life, a fresh start. After all the shit you have been through.”
Ava ~”I need to be a DeCarlo. Our baby needs to be a DeCarlo. I get what you mean which makes me wonder. Do you want me to be Ava Brown or Madison Owens?”
Trayton ~”Funny we have never discussed this. I guess I want you as Ava, my Ava, the Ava I fell in love with and the Ava in front of me that I am still in love with.”
Ava ~”Then I guess you want an answer.”