You Don't Touch John's Cousin Read online

  “You’re going to have to wait for a while to get the Angie Garcia truth, I’m sure that is going to work just fine.”

  “Says you!”

  John grinned, “Yup, says me. Now, what do you want to do about Mark?”

  She frowned, “Why, are you going to go beat him up for all of this? This isn’t high school you know.” She really paid attention to him for the first time. “Although you look even bigger than when I saw you last time. Working out?”

  John ignored her second question and answered her first, “Oh, he will pay for what he has done. I told him before he married you, if he hurt you that I’d make sure he would regret it. A promise is a promise. But, if you’re asking if I’m going to go beat him up in front of the teachers and everything, then no.”

  She sighed, “Well, a girl could hope.” She smiled when John grinned at her response.

  “Trust me, he will wish he had only treated you with loving hands. But enough about that dick. How about we find out what you want to do with your life and with the kids. If you could do anything, what would it be?”

  “Why, do you know a prince charming that is unmarried, wants a woman with children and can make a mean lasagna from scratch?”

  John scratched his chin, “Well, they aren’t princes, but you will have their interest when you admit you can cook a mean lasagna.”

  She considered throwing a pillow, but then she stood up and reached around her cousin’s huge chest. She felt John put his arms around her, and the net of safety she had been feeling finally reached into the deep and dark recesses of her soul. There was nothing, she was sure, that Mark could do to her now that ‘little’ John was here.

  She spoke directly into his jacket, “I don’t need nor want a man right now, but somewhere that Tina and Todd can be safe going to school would be wonderful. You know Mark is going to fight, right?”

  She could feel John’s chest rumble when he laughed, “Trust me when I say I’ve dealt with bigger troublemakers than Mark. If you include the planet-sized pricks that have attacked my boss, Mark barely registers.”

  “Is that because she has you protecting her all the time?” Her voice muffled. John’s suit coat was getting extremely wet and not a little messy.

  “Maybe, but maybe not.” John rubbed Cheryl Lynn’s back trying to give what comfort he could. John grunted as he thought back through all of the times he and Bethany Anne had done operations together.

  “Truthfully, it’s usually not.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Mark answered the TracFone. He wouldn’t do anything stupid like take calls on his personal phone. “Hello?”

  “It’s done, but she was a feisty little bitch.”

  “Hey! Watch how you’re talking about my ex-wife. I’m the only one who can talk about the little cunt like that.”

  “Whatever.” Came the reply over the phone.

  “Was she walking when you finished?” Mark asked.

  “If by walking you mean running as fast as she can, scared to death with an ugly ass knock to her eye, then yes.”

  Mark held in his frustration. “Look, I was explicit in that I wanted her to crawl out of a ditch, not run away from three grown men. What, can’t you hurt one little woman?”

  “Which part of she put up a fight and caught us by surprise didn’t you understand?” Was the gruff reply Mark received.

  “The part where I thought you had a clue, apparently. When you guys only split the first half of the money I think you will finally understand!”

  “Don’t be a prick Mark. We are just waiting until past midnight, then we will go back and do a B&E. Eric followed her far enough to see where she went. We know where she lives.”

  “Good… Good!”

  “What do you want done with the children?” He asked.

  Mark considered his response and then answered. “Frankly, I don’t give a damn.”

  —

  “Why is your hair so black?” Tina asked Bethany Anne while stuffing another bite of cheese pizza into her mouth. Her mom and brother preferred pepperoni, so they always ordered pepperoni and made her take off the meat. Tina thought the grease always left too much taste behind and messed up a truly beautiful experience. Cheese pizza done right was an exquisite experience. It was, she considered, the purest form of pizza and should be held in high esteem.

  Bethany Anne cocked an eyebrow at the young girl. The girl had peppered her with questions all dinner long. Bethany Anne had watched the two children eat significantly more than what Bethany Anne thought they would normally eat.

  If they were being fed regularly.

  Bethany Anne kept one conversation going with the two kids. Well, Tina mostly. Todd had asked a couple of questions and then timidly asked Bethany Anne if he could play games on her phone. When she agreed, he finished his dinner by scarfing down six slices and a third of the chocolate chip cookie dessert she had purchased. Then, he took her phone and went to go play a ‘pigs in space’ game.

  She kept her other ear ‘open’ to listen to John and Cheryl Lynn. This husband or ex-husband, she wasn’t sure if they had been officially divorced yet, was a world-class goat fucking douche-bag. On the trip to Dallas, John had given her a background of himself and Cheryl Lynn which had made Bethany Anne happy that she had come along. It allowed her to get a peek into John’s early life. When his life was climbing trees and skinning knees. Long afternoons spent talking to his friends and family, listening to the cicada’s while drinking Kool-Aid or the cheaper Flavor-Aid.

  Good times.

  Times when John was that guy in high-school that you didn’t mess with. Teen-age hormones possibly making him a bit quicker to punch someone than he should. The time before he went into the military. A decision that took him down the road that ended in a screwed-up Forsaken operation in the Florida Everglades.

  When destiny struck, John’s own knife sunk deep in his chest.

  She came back around to think about Tina’s question. “You know? I’m told my mother had the darkest hair. It was so dark you would think it had blue highlights.”

  “Really? I don’t know the genetics behind that happening. I wonder if it is a recessive trait since you don’t see it too often.”

  This time, it was Bethany Anne who forgot to close her mouth.

  “Flies going to land in there, if you don’t shut it.” Tina smiled, then took another bite of her pizza slice.

  Bethany Anne closed her mouth. “What do you know about genetics?” Bethany Anne figured that the three remaining pepperoni slices were probably available and safe to eat now. So, she grabbed one and reached for the parmesan cheese. Before she had been turned, she would drop half a bottle of red pepper flakes on her pizza and was her happiest when it was hot enough to make her sweat. Now, she was very careful. Her modified taste buds could make a hot pepper damn near bring her to tears.

  She wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but she had asked TOM to shut down a few pain receptors the first time she had used truly fresh red pepper flakes sprinkled too heavily on her pizza slice.

  Lesson learned.

  Tina swallowed, “I know a little. I liked the class when we talked about it. I had started to look for websites to learn more before Daddy got so mad and turned off our web access and phones. Now, I’m hoping Momma will let us go to the library so I can look it up.”

  “You want to go to a library?” Bethany Anne was pretty sure she hadn’t wanted to see the inside of a library at Tina’s age. At that age, she was still tagging along with her dad to the base, running through all of the courses and training classes that she could. Sometimes, she got on a physical course that was a little too demanding and she had been lucky to not get hurt.

  She had, however, fallen off of a log that you were supposed to cross that had a four-foot muddy water hole underneath. She had been showing off and slipped, flipped and landed in the water on her stomach. The pain of the breath getting knocked out of her, and feeling like she couldn’t breathe had brought back the respect she should have had for the course.

  Tina answered, “It’s the only way I’m going to learn more about genetics.”

  Not if John and I have anything to say about it, thought Bethany Anne.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Cheryl Lynn left the comfort of her cousin’s hug and reached for the little tissue pack. It was past time to crack this open.

  “Is your boss going to be ok with my kids?”

  “As in, will she be safe or will she want to jump from the window?”

  Cheryl Lynn laughed, “We’re on the first floor, I don’t think she could even sprain an ankle leaping out the window.”

  “You know, I’ve no idea. I don’t hear any screaming coming from the other room so I presume she is doing ok.” John studied the room.

  Cheryl Lynn followed his eyes and looked herself. “It isn’t much at the moment. I’m trying to watch my funds, to make them last as long as possible. Mark has found us, so we are going to have to move again.”

  She watched as her cousin’s visage changed. She got a glimpse of the face that caused more than a few guys in high school and college to run screaming. Well, maybe that was more figurative than literal.

  Now, she could see a darker glint in his eyes. “John, I don’t want you doing something and getting in trouble. Mark has a lot of powerful friends. He’s pretty rich and he knows a few less savory characters.”

  John looked at her face and then her eye, “Apparently, he sicced them on you tonight.”

  Cheryl Lynn reached up to her eye and touched where it had been turning black and blue. It wasn’t as tender as before. That was nice.

  John continued, “I asked you before. What is it you want to do?”

  She exhaled, “I want to leave and go somewhere that
prick can’t find me or the kids. I’m not sure what the law will say. Here in Texas, he owes me half but I doubt I’ll see a penny. I don’t want it for me, but the kids deserve better.”

  John nodded. “I want the three of you to pack. We are going to move you to another location… a safe location.”

  “Are you going to be with us?” She didn’t want to beg, but she hadn’t felt safe in so long. When she opened her door to see John, it felt like hope had entered her life again after a lengthy absence.

  “No, I’m planning on seeing if anything happens here, then visiting Mark in the morning.”

  Cheryl Lynn’s voice came out softer and a little strained. “Can’t you come with us?”

  “That would mess up my plan.”

  “What plan is that?”

  “Find accomplices to Mark’s effort to hurt you and then take their signed affidavit to Mark. He can back off, or he can fight us in court.”

  “He’s got some serious legal connections here in town.”

  John laughed, “Trust me, he doesn’t have near the ability to pull in resources that we have.”

  “You know,” she said, “You never said who your boss is and why she needs you.”

  John agreed, “No, I never did. Is it important?”

  “Well, maybe I’ll want to use my special ‘truth’ opportunity to see if there is anything going on between you two.”

  John shook his head, “I’ll give you that one for free. I’m part of her team. We have a direction and a goal. I’ll take a bullet for her, but I don’t think it’s in my future for anything else.” He added, “Besides, she’s involved in a relationship with another guy already.”

  John could hear Bethany Anne’s voice, “Am not!”

  Damn, that lady was still trying to deny the obvious.

  He decided to play with her. He put up one finger to his cousin again, “One sec.”

  John turned to the door and opened it just a smidgen, “You’re denying the truth, BA. You’ve got to start accepting reality or you won’t ever be able to understand yourself.”

  John closed the door and didn’t hear a response. He figured she was holding her tongue due to the kids being with her.

  “What did you just do?” Cheryl Lynn was curious. “Did she say something?”

  “Yes. She spoke out that she wasn’t dating this guy we know.”

  “You could hear that?”

  He tapped his right ear, “Good hearing. I’ve had a little surgery since joining the team.”

  Cheryl Lynn considered trying another tactic, “What if me and the kids sleep here?”

  “You really that freaked out Cherry Lint?” He said, teasing her.

  She smiled remembering when John was so young he got her name all wrong. She didn’t say anything, just nodded to John in answer.

  He looked around, “I can bring the cushion from the futon in here but the three of you need to sleep on the floor.”

  She looked down, “Why the floor?”

  “Lots of people don’t shoot lower than waist high. If they come in with guns blazing I want a chance you will be safe from a stray shot. Often people will shoot for center of mass which will be pretty high on me.” He noticed her eyes open in alarm, “Don’t worry, I’m going to be fine. There isn’t anything they are going to have that I can’t get through, plus we brought along protection.”

  He noticed her smirk as she put a hand to her mouth. He rolled his eyes, “Chest protection, you perv!”

  At least he made her laugh.

  An hour and a half later, after his cousin and her children went to sleep, John and Bethany Anne prepared for what could be a very boring night.

  Bethany Anne slipped her ceramic armor on. She had switched bra’s and undershirt before putting on the armor. John had turned around when he noticed she had started stripping off her tops. John asked, “You clear?”

  She grumped, “You need to get laid.”

  John turned around, “Hey, I already have a cousin laughing at me when I said we brought along protection, don’t you start into it with me.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  He replied, “So, I can start asking questions about Michael?”

  She put a hand out, “Let’s keep this simply operational, Mr. Grimes.” She smiled. If John wouldn’t allow any direct methods to get him out and about, she would start up a sneak attack with Cheryl Lynn helping her. Bethany Anne figured John’s cousin had to be an outstanding source of intel on one of her earliest and now best friends since she had become a Nicht.

  He snorted, “Man, are you are so easy now.” She let that comment pass.

  She asked him, “You want first or second shift?”

  He looked at his watch, “It’s half past midnight. I’ll take the next couple of hours and you can take the last couple.”

  “Where are you going to be?”

  He zipped up their bag. He had already dressed in black and slipped on his holsters, his chest protection and guns again. He was going to try and keep this quiet if he could, but he wasn’t going into a gunfight with just his fists.

  “First, I’ll drive away and look around to see if we have any eyeballs on us. Hopefully, we aren’t already being watched. There isn’t anywhere to hide out front. I figure I’ll park the Jeep a half a block away stay in there and watch. It’s the best I can think of at the moment.”