Basement Level 5: Never Scared (24 page)

Lei was stunned silent for a minute. Dro was really upset. This was so unlike Dro that Lei had to laugh out loud.

Dro stood up, nearly tipping the barstool over. “What the hell are you laughing at, Lei?”

“
You. I wish you could hear yourself right now. You sound like the jealous boyfriend from hell, and you’re not even her boyfriend.”

“
Who said I wasn’t her boyfriend? Hell yeah, I’m her boyfriend. What do you think we’ve been doing?”

“
Keeping it light. That’s what you said,” he reminded Dro.

“
I can’t stand you sometimes.”

“
Hey, I just call it like it is. Those are the facts, brother. You laid those rules down, and now you can’t take it.”

Dro folded his arms over his chest. “Maybe it’s time to change the rules.”

“
You better hope she’s fine with that,” Lei told him, cracking up. “But welcome to the club.” Lei had always sensed it, but Dro had inadvertently confirmed it. Dro was in love with his sister.

“
Being in love with your sister doesn’t automatically mean we’re in some sort of club.”

Lei smacked Dro on the back. “Well you gave me hell about being in love with Ari. I just feel like I should return the favor.”

“
Go to hell, Lei.”

Lei laughed out loud as Dro stalked out of the kitchen.

***

November 5, 2011
:

Lei entered the safe house behind Dro. Kendrick was standing against the wall talking to Alexa as she took off the rest of her costume. Dro was on a phone call. Lei wondered what Alexa and Dro had been talking about in the truck. Things seemed pretty heated. In his mind, Lei knew she was tired of this life. And the kids being in danger just cemented that in her. And if he was being truthful with himself, he couldn’t blame her. He had thought about it many times as well.

He rubbed the back of his neck and cracked his knuckles. It was hell trying not to think about where their family was. The only thing he could do was hope for the best. He knew Pop would die to protect them, but he was only one man. He couldn’t be expected to protect everyone. And as he thought about that, he thought about his life.

Lei had spent an extreme amount of time doing what everyone expected him to do. Hell, he didn’t even marry the woman he loved because it wasn’t expected. Instead, he married one of his best friends in the name of loyalty and honor. Love really didn’t have anything to do with it. Sure, he loved Makayla, but not the way he loved Ari. He wondered if Makayla knew that. He felt that she did, but it didn’t matter anyway.

Makayla knew Lei would honor his vows to her because that’s the type of person he is. He’d never slept with Ari again once he was married to Makayla, although he dreamed of being with her in that way. And it was hard every time he saw her to not give in to that temptation. He was still wrong, though, because he gave into the temptation to kiss Ari every time he saw her.

He wondered if his wife and the love of his life were safe. He couldn’t help but wonder if he would continue to live the same way once they were back. A part of him hated to hurt Makayla, but the strongest part of him longed to be with Ari and his daughter. And that part was ready to make the most important choice of his life.

Kendrick approached Lei. “I just got the word that Marnie was picked up by Janine’s younger sister, Janet, when Janine and Adam didn’t show up to pick her up. I did a check on her. She works a good job as a nurse. And she’s married with one child. When they never show up again, I’m sure she’ll take responsibility Marnie.”

Lei nodded, hating the fact that the child would grow up without her parents. That was just one of the downsides to this life. They took parents away from children too many times to count. He knew Alexa was thinking about that as well, with her own children being gone. That’s why he had a feeling that she wouldn’t be around much longer. “Did you tell Alexa?”

“
Yeah,” Kendrick confirmed. “She wanted to know as soon as I got word. I wish...never mind.”

Dro stomped over to them. “What the hell was that drug that you gave Melissa, Kendrick? She’s still out cold.”

Kendrick shrugged. “It was a simple horse tranquilizer. She should come to any minute.”

Dro pinched the bridge of his nose. “Who thinks of that? A horse tranquilizer? The woman weighs one hundred and five pounds wet. She could be out the whole night.”

Kendrick sat at the table. “I didn’t give her that much. I do know what I’m doing. She should come to in a few hours.”

Lei parked in a seat next to Kendrick. “Great, I’m going to try some more of Pop’s contacts again to see if he has surfaced.” He picked up his phone and punched in a number.

Alexa walked over to the table. “I know we said we were going to stay together, but can someone get us some food? I’m starving.”

As if on cue, Chase barreled into the safe house holding bags of food. “I stopped at the store and bought food. I saw Kendrick give Melissa the horse tranquilizer, and figured we would be here for a while.”

She smiled and rifled through the bags. “Thank goodness for you, Chase. You’re so dependable.” She pulled a burger out of the bag and sat down next to Kendrick.

Chase smiled. “You’re welcome. I’m going to tell the guards that there is food here.”

Lei slammed his phone on the table. “Damn. I had our contact in the police department look in the trucks to see if Pop left any hints. He just told me there was blood on one of the seats.”

Alexa gasped. “Was it a lot of blood?”

Lei knew she couldn’t take much more of this situation. She already broke down once, which still haunted him. “He said the amount of bloodshed could indicate anything from a bloody nose to a small stab wound.”

“
Well, which truck was the blood in?” Kendrick asked.

Lei paused, glancing at Alexa. “It was the truck Pop was driving, the gray Navigator.”

“
Oh, my God.” She dropped her burger on the table. “Daddy was driving the kids.”

CHAPTER 24

November 6, 2011
:

Chase lowered his head. “Ari and Makayla had Kendrick’s wife and kids. Pop and Ma had our kids.” He sat in the chair closest to him. His son, CJ, was in the car with Pop. He felt Kendrick come up behind him and place his hand on his shoulder. Then he looked over at Alexa, who was sitting oddly calm while Dro massaged her shoulders.

Chase had never married. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to marry though. It was quite the opposite. He’d been harboring feelings for Alexa for much of his life. When he met CJ’s mother, he thought he’d found someone—the one woman he could love that would love him back. When she was killed in a car accident after CJ was born, he had never found anyone that made him feel that way again.

After she died, he poured that love into his son, choosing little league and cub scouts over bars and women. The only time he didn’t have CJ was when the boy was with his grandparents. Chase was really good about letting CJ’s maternal grandparents spend time with him every year. That’s why he had gone to pick him up from the airport. CJ had just spent four weeks at his grandparents’ house and now he was caught up in this mess.

All along Chase had tried to remain calm. When he was separated from Pop, he kept telling himself that everything was going to be okay. Now, as much as he wanted to maintain that positive attitude, it was getting harder by the minute.

“
Well, we don’t know whose blood it is,” Kendrick reassured them. “So let’s not jump to any conclusions.”

Chase looked at his younger brother. Kendrick was the “down for anything, and cool under pressure” brother while Chase was always considered the calm, dependable brother. Kendrick could be shot and still remain composed. He guessed they both got their unruffled demeanor from their father.

***

May 29, 1998
:

Chase watched as Alexa and Dro argued outside of the pool house. He had driven home with Dro from school for the holiday and Dro had just found out Alexa was entertaining another guy at the pool. Dro was livid, but Chase couldn’t understand why. Even he knew that Alexa was in love with Dro even though she never voiced it out loud. He could see it in her eyes when she looked at Dro. And he could feel it in his heart when she didn’t look at him.

Chase felt stupid. He’d fallen in love with Alexa when he was twelve-years-old even after Enrique told every one of them that she would marry Dro when the time was right. Chase had been so naïve he thought if he remained reliable and patient she would pick him one day. He believed all these things even though the other boys teased him about it—even though she never gave him any indication that she thought of him as more than—calm, dependable Chase. In fact, he couldn’t even be first in her “friend” book because she always chose Kendrick over him in that area.

Of course, he saw a lot of other women. None of them made him feel like Alexa did. As corny as it sounded, she could chase all his storm clouds away with one smile. He was doomed to live a life in love with someone that would never be his—someone that was in love with his best friend.

Chase, Dro, and Lei had been partners in crime since they were toddlers. They’d spent countless time playing RISK, Dungeons and Dragons, hunting, and other things little boys did. He trusted them more than he trusted his own brother sometimes. And that bond only grew stronger as the years flew by.

Only as they got older, they stopped playing with toys, started following Enrique’s orders, and sometimes ended up in adjoining jail cells for the night.

Yet, even though they all were loyal to Martinez, they all shared the same vision for the future. They all wanted to take Martinez in a different direction once they were able to control it. They didn’t want to run the same business as their parents. Chase wanted to be like his father though. His father was the president of Martinez Construction and very good friends with Pop and Enrique.

He always knew, though, that he wanted to take his education one step further than his father. He wanted an architecture degree. He wanted to design, not just build. And although he could do both, choosing to major in construction management and architecture, he loved the challenge of design. In fact, he was currently working on his biggest project yet—underground lairs. He wanted to design a complete underground city if he could.

He was jarred from his thoughts when Alexa nearly mowed him down on her way back into the pool house. She turned to him. “I’m sorry, Chase. Your friend just pissed me off.” She glanced back at Dro. “Last time I checked my Dad’s name was Leiland Sr.,” she yelled loud enough for Dro to hear.

“
It’s okay,” Chase assured her, unable to hide his smile. “What’s going on?” Here he was still vying for the calm, dependable friend award. He had to roll his eyes again at his stupidity.

She crossed her arms in front of her breasts, tapping her foot on the cement. “Dro comes and pulls me out of the pool house, to cut the fool on me, for daring to have company.”

“
Why?” Of course, he knew why— but he loved to hear her talk.
Stupid
.

“
How the hell should I know, Chase? He’s your friend. Ask him. Matter of fact, can you ask him up at the house? My friend is waiting for me.”

Dro stalked toward them, fury etched in his face. “All I want to do is meet Jon.”

“
See,” she shouted, placing her hands on her hips. She glared at Dro. “Why do you need to meet Jon? He goes to my school and he’s a good guy.”

Dro looked at her incredulously. “He may not be as good as you think. I think it’s important that we know who you’re hanging out with.”

She threw up her hands. “Why? I’m not marrying the guy. He’s just a friend.”

Chase interjected, “I think Dro just wants to know what kind of friend this Jon is.” He wanted to know too. And he was almost sickened by his own response.

She scowled at Chase. “Do you think that gives him the right to come out here acting all deranged?”

Is this a trick question
? “No?” Chase answered and asked at the same time.

“
See!” Alexa shouted at Dro.

They were all rendered speechless, however, when Jon picked this moment to step out of the pool house. Chase was floored at the sight of him. And then he was immediately irritated.
If
Alexa was with Jon, there must be something seriously wrong with
Chase
. Jon was pretty ordinary. He was short, skinny, and...white. Not to mention, he was probably the president of the math club or something. He was definitely nerdy. Chase looked over at the shocked expression on Dro’s face and couldn’t help it—he laughed out loud.

Alexa turned to Jon. “I’m sorry, Jon. Don’t mind them. They’re just being assholes.” She grabbed Jon’s hand. “Let’s get back to work on this project.”

“
Project?” Dro stopped her from moving past him. “You’re working on a project? Why didn’t you just say that?”

She shoved Dro. “Because I don’t owe you an explanation. I hate to keep stating the obvious, but you’re not my man. Even if Jon and I were going to have hot sex by the pool all afternoon, it would still be none of your business. And you know why? Cause you’re not my boyfriend.”