Survivor's Remorse: Brothers of Ink and Steel (6 page)

“Let’s just say that I was busy. According to them, they couldn’t take their eyes off of me for a moment. I think I was six when I wrecked my dad’s new truck. And mom’s car.”

“Both? And you were just six?” she exclaimed.

“Yeah. Got in Dad’s truck and was…” he made tick marks with his fingers, “…driving. Knocked it into neutral. It rolled down the drive and rear-ended mom’s car.”

Jamie giggled as she imagined a six year old Leo jumping on the seat of his dad’s truck as it rolled down the hill. “I bet that went over well.”

“I couldn’t sit down for a week. I don’t think he has ever completely trusted me with his truck again.”

“Boys will be boys. I saw a group of them trying to get their dad’s truck out of the ditch on the way home this morning. They had driven the truck into the ditch, trying to cross it, I guess. Except they went straight in instead of crossing at an angle. Looked like they stuck it but good.”

“Where was this?”

“On 118, about twenty minutes north of town. Why?”

“Just wondering. I would say it was drug runners, except that they were kids. It’s probably just a bunch of kids out tearing up someone’s pastures.”

“Yeah, that’s what I figured. They’re going to have some explaining to do if they tore up their dad’s truck, though.”

Leo grinned. “Yes they will. Been there, done that. Except it was a snowmobile.”

“That’s right. You’re from Montana or Minnesota, someplace like that, right?”

“Montana. Grass Range. Grass Range makes Vallecito look like New York City.”

Jamie gave a dramatic shiver. “I don’t know how people live up there. I would freeze my ass off.”

“I don’t know how you stand it down here in the heat,” Leo countered. “I nearly die in the summer. Winters are nice, though.”

“I’ve seen you out walking around in short sleeves in the middle of winter. People think you have lost your mind.”

“Your winters are like our early fall, except sunnier.”

“So tell me about the snowmobile.”

Leo grinned. “Imagine a frozen lake. Now imagine a snowmobile on that lake. Now imagine that the ice wasn’t as thick as a young Lionel Graves thought.”

“Oh my god! You lost your dad’s snowmobile in the lake?” Jamie began to laugh. “I can see why you are an only child!”

“Yeah. My parents are saints.”

“Sounds like they had to be.”

“Are you ready to head back? I’ll help you finish up if you want.”

“Yeah, but you don’t have to do that. You’ve done all the heavy lifting.”

“I don’t mind.” He paused a moment. “It helps to have someone to talk to.”

For some reason, having him say that warmed her. “My door is always open if you need to talk.”

“Thanks,” he said as he started sliding out of the booth. “I’ve got the tip.”

***

“I got an email from my brother while I was in El Paso.” Jamie said as she and Leo stocked shelves. “He will be coming home in about three weeks. I’m so excited!”

“That’s good news.”

“Yeah. After three tours, he’s bailing out. What are you grinning at?” she demanded when Leo looked away to hide his grin.

“You just gave away your age.”

“I did? How?”

“Assuming he went in at eighteen, three tours, twelve years, that would make him thirty or there about, so you’re twenty-six?”

“Twenty-five, thank you very much. But how… oh yeah… I told you he was four years older than me, didn’t I? Don’t you go spreading that around, Leo Graves. I’ll have to hurt you if you do.”

Leo chuckled. “What does your brother do in the Marines?”

“He works on the bomb squad. What does he call it?”

“EOD? Explosive ordnance disposal?”

“Yeah! That’s it.”

“Jesus. Those guys have cajonies the size of bowling balls. Brass ones.”

“Yeah. He still has all his fingers, thank goodness. I’m not sure he can say that about all his friends.”

Leo considered a moment.
If we had someone in Lima 6 that could rig charges, that is a skill we can use. Besides, blowing shit up is just plain fun.

“Let me talk to Ron. See if we can’t arrange a little surprise for him. Where is he flying into?”

“Surprise? What kind of surprise?”

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.” When Jamie cocked her hips, put her hands on them, and gave him the stink eye, he grinned. “Okay… but don’t tell him. Where’s he flying into?”

“El Paso.”

“I’ll see if I can’t arrange an honor guard to escort him back.”

“Lima 6?”

“Yeah. We may not be able to get one hundred percent participation, depending on the day, but I think Lima 6 would be honored to escort your brother home.”

“That would be wonderful! Thank you, Leo!” she gushed as she stepped in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips then a hug. She had intended it to be just a quick hug, but when his arms closed around her back, she found she wasn’t in any hurry for the embrace to end.

After a moment he released her. She stepped back and looked into his eyes.
Damnit! If I didn’t have to open in an hour or so, I wouldn’t mind seeing where this would go.

When Jamie kissed him and stepped in close for a hug, he took her into his embrace without thought and held her warmly. It was a damn nice hug, and he reluctantly released her after a moment. He looked into her eyes as she looked at him, like she was waiting for something. He took her face gently in his hands and held her delicately as he kissed her lightly on the lips.

“Thank you,” he whispered as he pulled back.

“For what?”

“For caring.”

Her lips quirked into a smile. She did care, and how much she cared surprised her, especially after that sweet little kiss he gave her. “You’re welcome. As I said, my door is always open if you need to talk.”

He released her face and took a half-step back… much to her disappointment. “Thank you for that. Maybe I will take you up on it some time.”

“It would be my pleasure.”

Leo cleared his throat and spoke more forcefully. “I need to be going. You will be opening in a couple of hours and you don’t need me getting in the way.” 

“You’re no bother, Leo. You’re welcome any time.”

They looked at each other a moment longer, and Jamie wondered if Leo felt the same little spark that she did. When he stepped in and gave her another soft kiss on the lips before stepping back, she decided that he must have.

“Thanks, Jamie. I’ll see you later,” he said before he turned and walked out of the storage room.

“You’d better,” she whispered to his retreating back. The moment he was out of sight, she softly licked her lips, recalling the warmth and feel of his kiss. She smiled. Yes, he had damn well better come back and see her again.

CHAPTER SIX

Leo sat on his bike a moment, reflecting on what just happened. Jamie had given him a hug in gratitude and then he had kissed her. She didn’t seem to mind and he damn sure didn’t mind.

Those two, three actually, soft little kisses were nice. He smiled as he remembered the thrill that had passed through him when she had accepted his return kiss as he held her face. He had felt it again when he kissed her the second time just before he left. He had done that to confirm that she would actually let him kiss her… and because it was so nice the first time. He grinned as he put his helmet on and thumbed the bike to life, kicked his bike backwards, then snicked it into gear.

***

On a lark, Leo headed north on 118, looking for the stuck truck. He had nothing else to do until Jamie opened. He was rumbling along until he braked hard and turned around. He had just crossed some skid marks perpendicular to the direction of the road. He eased his hog to the side and dismounted before parking his helmet on the mirror.

He toed the broken tail lamp lenses as he looked at the scarred earth. The skid marks, the torn up ground, and the broken pieces of truck spoke of a desperate attempt to free a mired vehicle. This had to be the place where Jamie saw the stuck kids.

Lima 6 wasn’t the police. They worried about the drug trade; the police could worry about trespassing, but he had been doing this long enough to get a feel for things… and this didn’t feel right. Why risk tearing your truck up when a phone call would get out of the jam with no damage? And if they didn’t have a phone, they had the other truck. If they used the second truck to push the first one out, and they had to spin the tires on the pavement to do it, the entire back of the first truck, and the front of the pushing truck, were going to be wrecked. As he looked he noticed a small puddle of black goo. He leaped across the ditch, dipped his fingers in it, and rubbed them together.
Oil. They had wrecked the engine in one of the trucks, yet they kept going,
he mused as he saw another drip several feet away, heading into the desert. Something didn’t add up. Leo pulled his phone and dialed Tuck.

“Leo! How you doin’ man?” Tuck’s voice came over the tiny speaker.

“Fine. Listen. Can you ride out on 118? I want you to look at something.”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“I’ll tell you when you get here. I have another call. Get Two-Tone, too. See you.” He killed the call to Tuck and accepted the incoming call. “Leo Graves.”

“Leo. Chuck Vanderford.”

“Yes sir, Mr. Vanderford.” Charles Vanderford owned the Square V ranch and was one of Lima 6’s benefactors.

“Leo. We got a little problem. One of my ranch hands just called in. Said he caught some kids out joy riding on our land. Except they weren’t just joy riding.”

“Drugs?”

“That’s what it looks like.”

“I’m actually on 118, looking at where they crossed the road, right now. I have a couple of members on the way. They headed north?”

“Yeah. Maybe eight or ten miles from 118.”

“Can your hand hold them until we get there?”

“Yeah. He said they’re scared to death, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“We’ll be there as quickly as we can. I’m sorry about this, Mr. Vanderford.”

“It’s no problem, Leo. I know you can’t get them all, and compared to the way it was… This is the first one we’ve caught on our land in over a year. Y’all are doing a damn fine job. I think you about have ‘em licked if they’re sending boys now.”

“Thank you, sir. We’re doing what we can.”

“I know, son. I’ll let Hector know you are on the way.”

“Thank you, Mr. Vanderford. We’ll get this taken care of.”

The moment Leo hung up, he called Tuck back. “Hey, Tuck. You left yet?”

“In five minutes. I wasn’t ready to ride.”

“Change of plans. Get one of the trucks. Vanderford called. They caught a drug runner. It’s kids.”

“Kids?” Tuck exclaimed.

“Yeah. Still come out on 118. We’ll follow the tracks.”

“Be there as soon as we can.”

***

Leo heard the rolling thunder of the approaching Harleys before he could see them. As they approached, he recognized the ape-hangers of Two-Tone’s bike, then, a moment later, Tuck. Behind them is one of the club’s Chevrolet Suburbans.

Two-Tone and Tuck wheeled around and parked their bikes with Leo’s. “What have you got?”

“Don’t know. But I knew I couldn’t go out there on my bike. Who you got?” Leo asked nodding at the idling SUV.

“It’s Saturday, and short notice, so I rounded up everyone I could. Ron, Lucas, Gigolo, Fitz, and David are in the truck.”

“Going to be tight in there,” Leo said with a grin as they approached the SUV.

“David, you watch the bikes,” Ron said as Leo opened the door.

As the club’s newest member crawled out of the way-back, the others shuffled around to make room for the other three additions. Leo slid behind the wheel.

“Know where you’re going?” Ron asked from the front seat.

“That way,” Leo replied as he eased the big SUV across the ditch. The truck scrabbled and spun the tires as it clawed across the ditch, and Leo had to make two goes at it to get across, but once on the other side, they jostled along with no other problems, following the broken scrub and tracks.

It didn’t take long before a battered Dodge truck came into view. The entire back of the truck was crushed. As they eased past, Leo could see a sizable puddle of oil under the truck, but they didn’t stop.

Twenty minutes later, they stopped behind another mangled Dodge pickup and a Ford with the Square V brand on the door. Four kids were sitting on the ground with their backs against the Dodge.

As Lima 6 crawled out, Leo approached the man holding the gun. “You Hector?”

“Yes,” the man said in his heavy Spanish accent. “I caught them while I was out checking the fences. One shot into the ground and they stopped. I thought it was just kids out tearing up our graze, but then I found this.” Hector nudged a white brick on the ground with his toe. “There are fifty-nine more in the truck.”

Several of Lima 6 whistled softly. “Sixty keys, uncut!” Ron said softly. “That’s a lot of blow. That’s what… one and a half, two, million on the street?”

“There is another truck back there that is broken down and leaking oil. You’ll want someone to come get that one. Do they speak English?” Leo asked.

“They pretend they don’t but I think they do,” Hector said.

“Who are you running the drugs for?” Leo asked, giving the youngest looking kid a nudge with his foot. The kid couldn’t be a day over fifteen. The kids didn’t answer and stared back at him with wide eyes.

“What are we going to do with them?” Leo asked Ron as he pulled him aside.

“What do you mean?”

“They’re just kids. We can’t just shoot them.”

“Why not? They’re running drugs. That’s what we do with drug runners. You know that.”

“Not kids, Ron! That’s not right!”

The President pulled Leo farther away from the group. “What do you suggest? Just turning them loose? Then what? The Prieto Cartel will just start running the drugs with kids. No mercy. That has been our club credo since the beginning. You knew that when you joined.”

“This is different!” Leo hissed. “We don’t shoot kids. Just like we don’t shoot the illegals, just the Coyotes.”

“Okay. Who’s at fault here? Who’s the Coyote? You tell me.”

“Ron! We can’t shoot the kids. It’s wrong!”

“Fuck it,” Ron muttered stepping away from Leo. “Somebody shoot them.”

“Wait!” Leo called, holding up his hands in warding off gesture. “Just wait a minute. We need to think about this.”

“Thinking’s done, Leo. You need to get with the program,” Ron said, his voice hard as diamonds.

“Ron! These are just kids!”

“What’s your problem, Leo? You have been bucking me for the last three months. You have questioned almost every decision I’ve made.”

“Just the wrong ones, Ron. This is the wrong decision!”

“Fine. I’ll do it myself,” Ron said as he drew his sidearm.

“Put the gun down!” Leo shouted as he drew and pointed his own weapon at Ron’s head.

“Whoa! Wait a minute!” Tuck called as he and the rest of Lima 6 drew their weapons and began pointing them at each other. Only Leo’s gun never wavered.

“Goddamit! Are we going to shoot each other now? Everyone, put the guns down!” Ron shouted as he holstered his weapon.

When the last weapon was holstered, Leo lowered his, but didn’t put it away. “We are
not
shooting kids!”

Leo watched Ron’s jaw muscles work. He knew he had seriously crossed the line, but he couldn’t let Ron shoot the kids, President or not.

“Fine. We’ll do it your way. But this is on you, Leo,” Ron finally said.

Leo tucked his weapon away and stormed up to the kids. “Do you speak English?” he shouted into the oldest kid’s face. “Because if you don’t, you’re in a world of shit!”

The kid nodded. “I can speak English.”

“You see that man?” Leo said as menacingly as possible while he pointed at Ron. “That’s a bad man! He was going to kill you! Next time I might not be able to stop him! Do you understand what I’m telling you? The next time someone, bambino or not, comes into Lima 6 territory, they’re going to be killed! If I weren’t here, you would be
dead!
Understand?
”

All the kids nodded frantically that they understood.

“Go! Get out of here!”

The kids needed no more encouragement and bolted back along the way they came on foot.

“Put the drugs in the truck,” Ron said in disgust as he stared at Leo.

***

Leo rode in the Dodge with Gigolo so that he and Ron didn’t have to ride together. There was silent agreement among all the Lima 6 members that having Ron and Leo in the same vehicle probably wasn’t a good idea. When they reached the road, they paused only long enough for Leo, Tuck, and Two-Tone to get out before the truck and SUV roared away toward town.

“That was some serious shit back there,” Two-Tone offered.

“Yeah,” Leo replied. He wanted to be sorry for what he did, but he wasn’t

“You’re going to have to make this right,” Tuck said. “Ron was wrong on this, but he’s the President. And he is right… we have
always
taken out the mules.”

“You think we should have killed the kids?” Leo asked as he stared at Tuck, daring him to admit it.

“No. But pointing a gun at a brother’s head wasn’t right either.”

Leo sagged. He had acted without thinking. “Yeah. I know. But he was going to do it, Tuck. I couldn’t have lived with that. Shit! I don’t even know what I’m doing any more!” Leo growled.

“I don’t know what to tell you, brother. But you have to make this right. Shit like this is what tears clubs apart. Ron has been the President since day one. You rose fast because we could see you were the type to get shit done, but, in this case, I got to back Ron. I don’t agree with what he was going to do, but I agree even less with what you did.”