All That Matters (39 page)

“Not much. Maybe make some coffee and breakfast? I'll order pizza or whatever for lunch. It'll be fun, and the work will be done quicker.”

“I can handle coffee, but breakfast is going to be tricky unless we go to the store. I need more of, well, everything.”

“I can go and get them breakfast, if it's too much.” Train got into the truck.

“It's not. I'm just going to need to go to the store, but you are coming with me. Pick me up.” Her voice shook slightly.

Train realized that she hadn't been to the grocery store alone since the incident with Carlos. Fucking Carlos. “I'll tell you what, I'll go to the grocery store before I come home. Tonight we can have a nice night in, maybe a movie or something.”

“Sure, surprise me. Oh wait, can we have Chinese tonight? From that place I like with the things?”

“They're called cheese rangoon, Meg. And yeah, we can have Chinese. I'll call it in and pick it up before I come home. Also, I know that you know what they're called and that you just don't want to call the order in because you think that Jade doesn't like you.”

“She doesn't,” she protested. “And she always gives you extra crispy noodles. She charges me for them.”

“Alright, I'll be home with the free noodles as soon as I can. Text me your list for the store.”

“I will. Oh, guess what?”

“What?”

“I went back to that store you like today. I think the owner is going to send you a fruit basket or something. She says that I'm her best customer.”

Train liked the sound of that. After her last trip to the store, he'd come home to find her in a barely-there blue number. She'd been so hot, he'd had to fuck her right there against the front door. “Go put on your favorite thing that you bought. We're going to have that food in bed.”

“Last time we ate Chinese in bed, I got scalded by the wonton soup,” she reminded him. “I swear, I can still see the mark on my thigh.”

“There's no mark on your thigh,” Train assured her. He knew every single inch of her body.

“I won't get soup, I promise,” Train replied without missing a beat.

<#<#<#<#

“Don't drop it,” Train shouted as Bones started to lose his grip on the section of fence they were holding in place while Danny and Buster tried to secure it. “I will punch you in the face if you drop it.”

“Threatening me isn't helping my hold, asshole,” Bones said just before he dropped his end. The fence section went down fast, nearly trapping Train's hand beneath. “Shit.” Bones stepped back, held his hands up.

“Relax, I'm not going to punch you before we're done. That would just be stupid. I'm a lot of things, stupid ain't one of them. Fuck it, I need a beer.” Train was starting to get pissed at how long it was taking to get things done despite all of the hands on deck.

“Now, that's the best idea you've had all day.” Danny pulled off his gloves and shoved them in his pocket. “You think they ordered the pizza yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Then who the hell is this guy?” Danny asked as he pointed towards the front of the yard.

Train looked up. At first, he didn't recognize the man, though there was something familiar about him. “Can I help you?” he demanded. Without looking, he knew that everyone else in the yard was as tense as he was.

“I was just looking for Brooks Avenue,” the man called out.

“Never heard of it,” Train replied. A bad feeling started to creep up the back of his spine. He couldn't put a finger on it. “Sorry.” There was something off about the guy, it wasn't just that he seemed familiar. It was the way he was carrying himself, it was like he was carrying.

“You aren't, not really, but you will be.”

Train didn't even have a chance to ask what he meant by that before all hell broke loose. Suddenly, they were under attack from what seemed to be all directions. He turned for the house, ran for all that he was worth. He had at least one gun in the kitchen, probably two. If he could get them, they might have a chance. He made it as far as the porch when he felt a rush of fire through his shoulder. He was hit. Pain made his vision swim.

Train got to his feet, stumbled towards the door, but it was locked. Another shot ricocheted off of the door frame. He took cover the only place he could, behind the patio furniture, and tried to take stock of what was going on. There were men down. He spotted Ryan and then Danny; they were both down.

As suddenly as it had started, it stopped. The three guys took off for the front of the house. Train managed to get to his feet, he followed them as quickly as he could, but by the time that he got to the front yard, the black SUV at the curb was pulling away with the men inside. It was the truck that he recognized, and recognizing the truck made him realize where he knew the man who had asked for directions from.

The supposedly lost man had been one of Gagliardi's guys. Something was going on. It had to have a link to the canceled meeting. A scream, Amelia's scream, tore through the air. Train returned to the back yard. There was plenty of time to deal with Gagliardi. Right now, though, they needed to deal with their own. The first thing that he saw was Meg. She was crying; he could tell even though she had her back to him. Her shoulders always shook.

Train looked ahead of her and saw why she was crying. Amelia had stopped screaming; she was kneeling next to Danny. He wasn't moving, and she was covered in his blood. Train dialed 911, asked for an ambulance, even though he knew that they'd never get there in time.

He walked over to Meg, put his hand on her shoulder, and she jumped. “Meg, I need you to do something for me.”

She jumped at the touch, turned and threw herself at him. Train's vision went black as she pressed her hand down into the wound on his shoulder. “You're hurt.” Her voice shook.

“It's just a scratch. Listen, the ambulance will never get here in time. I need you to see if Ryan's truck will start. We need to get Danny in the truck and to the hospital. Come on, Meg. Focus. Please.” Train was sure that she was going to fall apart on him, even though he had no time for it. “Please, I need you to do this.”

Relief flooded through him when she nodded and took off for truck car at a run. Train walked over to where Buster and Bones were also near Danny. Ace was on the phone, shouting out orders, which was a bit of a surprise. The closer that Train got, the more sense it made because Buster didn't look to be in any shape to do anything.

Train heard the truck start. “Help me get him up. Fuck the ambulance, we'll get him there faster.” No one moved. “What the fuck is wrong with you all? Help me!” Still no one moved. “I'll do it myself.” He took several steps forward.

“No,” Amelia's voice was so scratchy, he wouldn't have know it was her if her lips hadn't moved. “It's too late for that, Train. Look at him.”

Train looked down, really looked at Danny for the first time, and he knew that she was right. The ground beneath him was soaked in blood, so much blood that it was even staining the ends of his hair. His face was pale, his eyes open, but they didn't see anything anymore. It looked like he'd been hit in the side, the shell had torn him apart.

For a moment, Train couldn't do or say anything. He was as stuck as everyone had been when he'd walked over barking orders. He stared at Amelia. He didn't like her, really, something about her had always rubbed him wrong, but he'd developed a level of respect for her over the years. That respect grew as she maintained her composure despite the situation.

“Everyone is on their way,” Ace came over. “Monroe said he'll handle getting the cops here. Train, if you've got anything out in the open in the house, now is the time to get it hidden.”

“Call them back, tell them to not come here,” Buster spoke up. “Except Monroe, he'll be useful with the cops. Tell the rest of them to get out on the streets, see who the fuck is behind this.”

“It was Gagliardi, I recognized the truck, and after the truck clicked, I recognized the guy who said he was lost.” Train spoke up. All eyes went to him.

“What the fuck did you do?” Amelia snarled. “What did you do, Train? What did you do to make him come after Nightshade?”

Train felt offended. He'd honored the vote even though it made him physically sick. “Me? I didn't fucking do anything, just like I said that I wouldn't. This isn't on me, Amelia, but if it makes you feel better to blame me, go right ahead.”

“I'd like to put a bullet in you!” Amelia rose to her feet with a speed that defied her current condition. The composure that she'd shown earlier was gone. Ace grabbed her before she could lunge for Train.

Train felt a hand grab his, looked down and saw that Meg had joined them. He'd forgotten completely about her while staring at Amelia's dead old man, his dead brother. A feeling that he didn't have a name for rose inside of him. He squeezed down on Meg's hand hard.

“Amelia, calm down.” Buster walked over to where she was, nodded for Ace to release her. “If you don't calm down, you're going to hurt yourself, or the baby, or both. We all know that's the last thing that Danny would want.”

“Don't talk to me about what Danny would want! Danny would want not to be dead. I swear to God, Buster, if Train is the reason that this happened, I will end him.”

“Train.” Buster cleared his throat. “Is there anything that you want to tell us?”

“I just fucking did.” The anger returned to Train. Truthfully, he liked feeling angry more than he liked the feeling he got when he looked at Danny. Losing a brother wasn't just a sharp reminder of his own mortality and the reduced life span that came along with the life he'd chosen, it was more like losing part of himself. He and Danny might not have seen eye to eye all the time, but there had never been a moment where they wouldn't have laid down their lives for each other or anyone else who belonged to Nightshade.

“Train, now is the time to say if you did.”

“He didn't,” Meg shouted. “He didn't do anything, because it's what Nightshade wanted. You all wanted Carlos to have a get out of jail free card for drugging and raping me. He got it. This is not on Train. This is on the bastards who came into this yard, into our home, and started shooting. If you want to interrogate someone, I suggest you start with them.”

Train heard the sound of a siren; it wasn't close, but it would be. He wondered who Monroe had called, because the response time was a lot faster than he'd expected. Fuck. At least that bitch Harris wasn't a concern anymore. “Meg, go inside and make sure that everything's put away that should be. We'll have company soon.”

<#<#<#<#

It took hours to be done with the cops and for the medical examiner to remove Danny's body. An EMT had taken a look at Train's shoulder and advised that he go to the ER. He'd refused. Maggie had come and taken Amelia away, to the hospital for observation. Train was reminded of the last time a pregnant old lady had gone in for observation. Jackie had simply disappeared after, but she'd been weak. Amelia was a lot of things, but she wasn't weak.

He jolted as someone touched his shoulder. “What the fuck?” He looked over to see Jillian. “I'm good.”

“No, you're not. Since you wouldn't go to the hospital, I'm going to fix you up. You're going to wish that you'd gone, though. They have much better drugs. And don't argue. I promised Meg.”

“Just do it,” Train sighed. “It was just a graze.”

“A deep-ass graze, any deeper and we couldn't call it one. Hell, a few inches over and you'd be long past anything I could do for you.” Jillian took scissors to what was left of his shirt. She worked in silence. It was something that he liked about her, the way that she could deal with a silence and not feel compelled to fill it with words.

Train saw Meg come in the back door. She'd smoked more cigarettes today than she normally did in a week. He hated the way that she was on edge; he saw it even as she stepped up and tried to do all she could to make things easier for all of them.