LINDEN
“It is always like this every weekend?” Estelle asked, a little overwhelmed.
I stopped in front of the fridge. “When the gangs are around, yeah.”
She went to the window of my father’s kitchen with a smile on her face. I took her here this morning since I felt like this was the safest place for her. When I sent a group chat last night, I wasn’t expecting everyone would come. Even Moses was present.
I brought another batch of beers to the backyard. Estelle had a tray of desserts.
“You shouldn’t let a lady carry, asshole.”
“Language.” It was my father scolding Sax.
“Sorry, Pops.” He took the tray from Estelle.
“I pass for the dessert. I think I had never been stuffed in my life. The brisket was so good. The best I ever had.” Moses complimenting my father made him even blush.
“Thank you. It’s a technique made with a good amount of time and attention. Just like a relationship, it needs good nurturing.” I didn’t miss how my father stole a glance in my direction.
“I agree. I can’t have another brisket than this one, Jaymes.” Estelle came to sit beside me. My father’s backyard was not even big, but enough for an entire family. And he also cultivated some herbs on his own.
“That’s kind of you, honey.”
“I thought I had tasted the best omelet. Now I can’t wait to taste the original Linden version,” London took a break from eating for twenty minutes, but she went back to her smoke brisket burger.
“Pop’s omelet is unbeatable. Try asking Willa.” I pointed my thumb at my sister next to me, making Kye and Sax laugh.
“Don’t ever, ever trust her in the kitchen. She’s awful.” Kye had a terrible experience the last time he let Willa take charge of it. He couldn’t forget it. In fact, he made fun of my sister.
“Gee, thanks. I’m a foodie, but I don’t cook, Wilder.”
“Yeah? You’re the only Linden who can’t cook. You should feel terrible about it.”
“Can you?” She glared at Sax.
“Kye, stop it. The next time you come over, she will poison you. Be careful.” Striker grabbed a dessert, giving it to his wife. “Try this one.”
“Can I take it home?”
Striker laughed. “Willa made it.”
London instantly believed her husband. I could see how her expression changed from excited to crunching her nose. Lynx and Qamar were about to shove the spoon into their mouths but paused and put them down.
“He’s joking. Dad made that, London. You, two newbies.” Willa was referring to my new guys. “I won’t embarrass myself. Trust me.”
“You’re silent. Are you okay?”
Estelle looked at me with that sweet smile. “Your dad is awesome.”
“I know. You, too, are awesome.”
Moses, my sister, and Estelle stayed in the living room while I helped my father clean the kitchen. Striker and London were on the porch watching Sax and Kye clean up the backyard.
“When are you gonna pop the question?” Wow. Dad couldn’t make it even subtler.
I laughed as I loaded dishes into the dishwasher. “Really, Pops?”
“You love her. Even a blind can see that. Why wait?”
“I think, yeah. It’s been a while now, but I don’t wanna scare her. She has trauma, almost married a jerk, and she came from a broken family.”
“Then prove to her that you are better, and it won’t happen to both of you.”
“Well, I’m not really the best example, Pops. I don’t even know where’s my mother.” I never even tried searching for her, even if I had the best resources out there. I didn’t want to hurt Dad and disappoint myself.
“Do you wanna know where she is?” Instantly, I saw the sorrow in his eyes. After that car accident three years ago, I didn’t want to see my family in pain and danger. I couldn’t go through that again. I almost lost him if not for an organ donor I owed very much when my father’s liver received too much damage.
I shook my head. “She could have reached out to me. I mean, I might think about meeting her, and maybe I should thank her for not being around. I become what I am because of her absence. Willa and I are good because I have a good father. And I never thank you enough, Pops.”
Pops stopped washing his favorite pan. He never put it in the dishwasher. It happened one time when Willa was in charge of the cleaning. She got at least an hour of his sermon.
“You owe me nothing, Gabe. Looking at you and Willa in a good place, that’s enough for me. And don’t wait for the right time. Marry that woman.”
“Pops, keep your voice down,” I lowered my voice. “What if she said no?”
“Nothing’s going to happen if you think of what ifs. Propose and find out. If she said no, ask why? It’s not the end of the world. The next time you do it, she will be ready. And I can see that she loves you too.”
I chuckled, hoping Dad was right. “We didn’t say the three-letter words yet.”
“It doesn’t matter if you show each other how you feel.”
I let go of a huge breath. “Then I should shop for a ring.”
***
Striker and London left for their doctor’s appointment early in the morning, even on Sunday. Rich people made the impossible possible.
Moses came to me, and when he did that, I had a feeling that he would tell me something that would keep me awake at night.
“What is it, boss?”
“I have something I sent to your house.” He breathed through his nose, watching the guys getting in the SUV.
“Can you tell me what it is?”
“Not right now, but it will answer your questions once you have the package.”
“You make me worry.”
When he turned to me with a disconcerting look, I remembered what my father had told me to do. “Maybe we all have.”
I stared at him for a while before I found my words.” Is it about Jasper?”
“Yes, and among other things.”
I inhaled a sharp breath. “I think I should check it out. Thanks.”
Sax and Kye were already in the car, but their eyes were on us. They must have observed the tension in my body and nodded in agreement as soon as they met my gaze.
I went inside the house once Moses’ car and his detail left the property. My father met me in the kitchen. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing—”
“Don’t. Don’t ever say nothing to me, son.” Of course, he noticed every tiny detail around us.
“Since Jasper left, there’s a lot of tension in all of us. I’m not sure if everyone is in danger because, for the first time, I feel helpless. Even if I have all the resources, Osmium, The Hover, I don’t know who our enemy is or if we have one, but I feel it in my bone. The hair at the back of my neck always rises, and my gut never lied to me.” That was all I could tell him, and the last thing I would do was make everyone worry, especially my father, who had nothing to do with the mess I had.
“You’re good at what you do. Just trust your capability.”
“Thank you, Pops. We should get going.” I hugged him. “You take care, old man.”
“I want grandchildren.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Sure. Whatever you want.”
After I kissed Willa goodbye, I joined Estelle in the backseat with a box on her lap.
“What do you have?”
“Your Pops likes me. He made me a chocolate mousse with cherry ripe truffles.” Her smile was ear to ear.
“Pops loves you.”
“Well, I love him too. He told me something.”
“What?” My head snapped to her side, meeting her gaze.
“I’m not gonna tell you.”
“Baby.”
“Don’t baby me. It’s just between me and him.”
“Huh. Okay.”
Apparently, she found my reply funny, which made her laugh.
***
Estelle fell asleep quickly after I made love to her. I went to my office to check what Moses gave me. It was in a manila envelope. When I dropped the content to my palm, it was Jasper’s security access card and a photo outside the club, but the club name wasn’t in the image. My heart sank. The air held in my lungs. There was only one meaning to it. This picture could have been taken days ago, and he could be dead.
My strength drained. I couldn’t even breathe. I felt the same sorrow when Ward was gone and took half my heart with him.
I found myself on the couch. I suddenly didn’t know what to do. How should I tell Sadie about it?
A sharp knock on the door startled me. I went to open to expect Lynx or Qamar, but Estelle was in her robe.
I didn’t know how I pulled her into my arms and hugged her tight, but I felt it was the right thing to do, or she just became my lifeline.
“Are you okay?” she asked on my chest.
“No.”
When she pulled away, she felt my grief. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
I held her hand to follow me to my desk.
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to be here?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Well, I tried coming here, wanting to use your computer, and also, I was curious about why you spent a lot of time here.”
“I know, baby.” I smile timidly.
Her eyes went wide. “How?”
“When the intruder left a message, I checked the fingerprint on the keypad. I lied to my men when they asked me who owned the fingerprint. I told them it’s mine.”
“Sorry.” She grinned sheepishly.
“The passcode is 823423.”
“You don’t have to tell me.”
“I spent here working, reading files, reviewing my men’s performance. I also looked for clues if Jasper left me a message.”
“So, what did you find out in the log?”
“It was erased remotely.” I showed her the access card.
“Is that his?”
“Yeah. Moses sent it to me. I think this is a message that Jasper is gone.”
“Why don’t you scan it?”
“I’m not good with computers.”
“Baby, a printer, copy machine. Maybe he left a clue.”
I cupped her face and kissed her. “I guess I overthink, and maybe I forget the basics. How do you know all this? Are you some kind of a spy?” I chuckled as I went to the printer and scanned it.
“I love spy movies. When I was a kid, I wanted to be like Ethan Hunt or James Bond, but of course, Dad would never let me.”
“What am I looking for?”
She came beside me to look at the screen. It was nothing out of the ordinary.
She took the card instead and inspected it from front to back, from side to side, top and bottom. And then she pressed it to check the dent or something. “It’s in perfect condition. How did it send to you?”
“With this.” I showed her the manila envelope.
She picked it up and checked inside. Then she carefully tore it open and showed me what was written.
“Fuck me. Coordinates.”
“You’re not thinking of going to that address, are you?” I instantly sense the worry in her voice, making me feel sick in my stomach.
“I’m going to see his father first.”