Basement Level 5: Never Scared (5 page)

“
So you can tell me to prepare for living without you? There’s no way in hell that’s going to happen. I’m not going to sit here and listen to you give me dying wishes, Alexa. My life doesn’t work without you, so
we
are going to have to take steps to prevent that from happening. And we’re going to start by recognizing who this is really about.”

She tried to pull away from him, but he wrapped his hand around her wrist. “Dro, I—”

“
Don’t. Don’t pull away from me now.”

“
I can’t do this right now,” she whispered.

As he turned to face her, she swore when he looked at her, he could see her every part of her soul.

“
Yes you can,” he said. “You have to do whatever it takes to protect our family.”

She tried to escape his gaze. “I promised myself and my children I would never—”

“
You promised them you would protect them at all costs.”

She shook her head, ready to argue.

“
Alexa, you promised me,” he insisted in a lethal tone. “You promised me you would be here with me. You promised that we would live and die together. Live and die. Together. That means you can’t die unless I’m dying too.”

“
Dro, that’s not fair. You know things aren’t the same as they were then. I’m not the same person.”

“
Do you deny there is a problem here?”

“
No, of course not. But—”

“
No buts. This problem has to be solved. I need you here to solve it with me—no matter what it takes.”

“
Dro—”

He grabbed her face between his massive hands. “Stop. Masked men came into a safe house and threatened to take away everything we’ve worked so hard for. Now, it’s true that things are different, but there’s no way the woman I love would sit down and take this. I know you’re scared, but this is who you are. This is the life we lead. It doesn’t matter how much we want to be different, we were born into this legacy. And we have to protect the people around us at all costs. And I need you with me fighting for everything we have to lose.”

He was right, and she knew it just as surely as she knew her name. But it didn’t stop her from worrying. It didn’t stop her from wishing this could all simply go away.

He wiped the tears from her face. “We want to go into the house as soon as it’s clear.” She closed her eyes, but he didn’t let up. “Can you pull that box out from under the bed?”

Frowning, she leaned over and felt under the bed until her hands skimmed a hard edge. Slowly, she pulled out a wooden box. She knew what was inside. Her eyes flicked to Dro as she set it on the bed. She ran her hands over the intricate detailing. It had a ladybug engraved on the top. Taking a deep breath, she undid the latch and lifted the top, revealing the contents.

He placed his hand on top of hers. “She’s been here waiting for you. I knew if we ever had to come to B5, you would need her.”

She picked it up and ran her fingers over it. A quick push of a button and the clip dropped into her lap. She traced the engraving on the side then snapped the clip back into place.

She noticed the gleam in Dro’s eyes as she admired her first baby—her gun, Lady.

CHAPTER 6

August 23, 1993, Alexa’s Thirteenth Birthday
:

Alexa was so excited she ran across the street to Dro’s house. She sprinted into Dro’s room smiling. It was her thirteenth birthday and her mother had straightened her hair. It was almost as long as she was tall.

Dro looked up from his schoolbook. “What are you smiling about, Alexa?”

She was glad everyone had stopped calling her lady. Her father started it when he nicknamed her ladybug. As she grew older, she dropped the bug from her nickname and became known as lady. Now that she was thirteen, she wanted to be called by her true name.

She smirked as she sauntered over to him and perched herself on the edge of the desk. “I got my birthday present from Daddy.”

He removed his glasses and set them on the desk. “What did he get you?”

She pulled out her brand new Sig Sauer .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol. “This. I’m going to call her Lady.”

“
How original.”

She smacked him on the arm. “Stop teasing me. I figure she can be called Lady. I mean, she’s my gun.”

“
She?”

“
Of course, it’s a she. I’m a lady and so is she.”

“
Whatever you say. So, you didn’t want a Barbie for your birthday?”

“
Why would I want a Barbie when I can have one of these?” She held it up to the light and studied it proudly. “Besides, I’m too old for a Barbie doll and you know it.”

He shrugged. “Don’t thirteen-year-old girls still play with Barbie dolls?”

“
Ha Ha. You’re so funny. But Daddy says it’s time to train. And you know my goal is to be the best in the business.”

“
Good luck with that. You may have to beat out your brother for that title.”

“
Lei? Yea right. I already have him on my agility and ability to get into tight places. Not to mention my sex appeal.”

He laughed. “Sex appeal? You’re thirteen. What do you know about sex appeal?”

She smirked. “I know plenty. I’ve already had my first kiss.” She watched his eyes turn a shade darker.

“
Oh really? Who needs their ass kicked?”

“
No comment.” She grinned and changed the subject. “Anyway, I know plenty about sex appeal. Ari said I have to be sexy in order to lure men into my trap. That way I can get anything I want out of them.”

“
What does Ari know about it? Alexa, you shouldn’t be worried about being sexy for anyone, yet.”

“
What do you know about it? You’re only sixteen?”

“
I know way more than you do.” He finally closed his book and pushed it to the side. He was giving her his undivided attention now, and she couldn’t help but feel nervous. “Sex appeal is overrated. If you really want to be the best, you have to make sure you can shoot that thing.”

“
Daddy is taking me out this afternoon to practice. You want to come?”

He took a sip from a glass of water. “I wouldn’t miss it. Maybe I could teach you a few tricks, too.”

She didn’t know why but in the pit of her stomach, she was starting to feel very warm. Clearing her throat, she hopped off the desk. “I can’t wait to get started.”

“
I’ll be there.”

She walked toward the door then turned around and found herself staring right into his smoky eyes. She swallowed. “Dro?”

“
Yes?”

“
Do you think I have what it takes?”

“
For what?”

“
To be the best?”

He sighed. “Well, I’m probably biased, but yes. You just have to be focused, because the minute you lose focus, everything can fall apart. And we don’t want that, right?”

“
Right. I definitely don’t want everything to fall apart. I think I can handle it.” She couldn’t help but smile. She had waited for so long to get her first gun so she could go with the boys to the gun range.

“
Well, then I believe you can be the best.”

She gave him a quick hug. “Thanks. You always believe in me.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed, lifting her off the floor. She had a massive crush on Dro. And some days, she swore he knew it. But then there were the days when he was too entranced with his flavor of the month to give her the time of day. Not to mention the other days, when he treated her like an annoying little sister.

She pulled back and gazed into his eyes. She couldn’t help but wish he had given her her first kiss. But that was all in due time. “Dro?”

“
Yes?”

“
Are you sure sex appeal is overrated?”

“
Why? Did someone else tell you something different?”

There was that spark in his eyes again.
Was it too much to hope he was jealous
?
“No. I was just wondering why sex appeal is overrated when everyone is having sex.”

He laughed and ran his hand through her hair, causing her stomach to flip flop. “Don’t worry about it. You just focus on your training.”

That was
such
a “little sister” move. “For now, but I’ll figure it out.”

“
I’m sure you will. Get out.” He pushed her toward the door. “You have plenty of time, Alexa.”

Before she could think of a response, he’d shut the door in her face.

***

November 4, 2011
:

Alexa wrapped the sheet around her and walked over to the dresser. Placing Lady on the top of it, she bowed her head and took a deep breath. She turned around to face Dro. “You’re right. I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep my family safe. Don’t worry about it.”

He hopped out of bed, crossed to her, and braced his hands on the top of the dresser, one on each side of her, caging her in.

“
I’m not worried. I trust you more than I trust myself sometimes. You’ll do what you have to do to protect our life just like I will.”

She kissed his chin. “I’m not going to lie. I don’t want to take it there. But it’s necessary.”

“
You know what else is necessary?” he asked, placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

“
What’s that?” She wrapped her arms around his neck, letting the sheet fall.

He kissed her deeply and perched her on the edge of the dresser. “A repeat.”

***

An hour later, Dro walked into the computer room. Kendrick was still working. Dro set a hot cup of coffee in front of him and took a seat.

Kendrick remained focused on the monitor, but he picked up the coffee and took a sip. “Thanks. I managed to get sound, but I still can’t make out any voices. The men seem inexperienced, but that doesn’t really matter. They have guns and numbers. More men have come in and out of the house in the last hour. At this point, there’s no real way to determine how many men are on the grounds. Honestly, B5 wasn’t ready to be used yet. We’re pretty limited down here. We were never able to fully test everything. As a result, there are still some issues with security cameras.”

Dro peered at the monitors. “How’s Nicholas doing with that background check?”

“
We should have a preliminary report done within the hour. We’re kind of limited on some things down here. I’m hoping we can figure out more once we are able to get into the house.”

“
I explained the situation to Alexa. She’s down for whatever.”

Kendrick arched an eyebrow at Dro. “Is she? Are you sure about that?”

Dro smirked, knowing Kendrick wanted more details. Kendrick stopped what he was doing and watched him. “What?”

Kendrick snorted. “You’re not going to elaborate?”

“
What for?”

“
You just said she was down for whatever? What exactly did you tell her?”

Dro took a sip of his coffee. “I told her the truth. We don’t know much, but we know these people were looking for her.”

“
Shit. I know it wasn’t that easy. Alexa was firmly in denial last time I checked.”

“
And I thought it was time she embraced her inner self. I gave her a little present.”

“
I’m assuming from your cryptic jargon that you gave her Lady
.
”

Dro nodded. “I did. She needs it.”

“
I agree she needs a gun. But more than that, we need her.”

“
And we have her.”

Kendrick sipped the hot coffee. “I’m glad you got through to her.”

“
It didn’t take much. She wants a resolution to the problem. And as much as I love her, I need her to stop hiding from the past.”

CHAPTER 7

October 19, 1997, Homecoming
:

After leaving the party, Kendrick and Alexa waited in the hotel lobby for Dro and Lei. They had a situation—a threat against Alexa at the party—which left all of them on edge. Alexa was the only one still in high school and the threat had come from a classmate of hers, Steve Hall.

Kendrick had decided to stay local for college, so he was in charge of keeping an eye on Alexa. He made himself available when she needed him. Dro and Chase were away at school for much of the time. Lei was busy with a full load at college and working closely with Pop.

Kendrick had known Steve was trouble the first time he saw him. Steve was a cocky football player who gained some popularity in school and thought he had a right to cause problems. He looked for trouble wherever he went and that was bad news because Alexa never shied away from trouble.

She resented the fact that her father required one of the boys to be with her when she was hanging out with her high school crew. She complained about it constantly. But Pop didn’t play with safety and insisted she have a chaperone whenever she partied. Kendrick understood where she was coming from. Every new friend she made was met with tons of scrutiny.