Seth’s Perspective
I was driving carpool and listening to Freddy tell Teddy all the stuff we were going to do on vacation and Teddy responded, “You’re so lucky! It’s gonna be sooooooo boring without you. All my sisters do is poop.” I listened to the two boys talk about missing each other and thought, ‘why not bring Teddy along? He’s basically one of us anyway?’ I filed that thought away and pulled into the drop-zone at school to let the boys out. Ronda was dropping Sammy off and yelled “hi” from the car window. They were heading off to Florida to visit some relatives over Spring break, yup, Teddy was going to be the lone wolf.
After dropping the boys, I dropped Izzy and Ali off at Mrs. Mavis’s and was headed into the office when the phone rang, “Hey, Seth. It’s me Che” the voice said on the other end of the line.
“Hey Che, What’s up?”
“That cop friend a’ BA’s called me.”
“Officer Booth?” I asked.
“Yeah, that dude. He said they pulled the license plate of the truck off the video you sent. They found it by a motel on the interstate and arrested lobo and Rattler.” Che answered.
“Well, that’s good news.”
“No man, that’s bad news. They impounded Shadow Wolf’s truck and he has to come and claim it, they won’t release it to the other guys. That means he’s prolly on his way to come get it and bail those guys out. We aint safe here anymore, we gotta jet.” Che’s voice was calm and determined. He wasn’t panicking, but it was clear he had decided that they were leaving.
“That’s not the answer” I almost yelled. “If you guys leave, he’ll just track you down and find you again. You need to face the guy sooner or later, and you can’t do it alone. You have support here.” As much as I didn’t want to face somebody known as The Shadow Wolf, I didn’t want these guys getting caught off guard and facing him alone either. “if he threatens y’all, Zach will slap him with a restraining order.” I paused but Che was silent on the other end of the line. “Did you tell Officer Booth you were worried Shadow Wolf might come looking for you?”
“Yeah, he said he knew that and that’s why he called. The cops are gonna drive by the building and the plant while they’re on patrol to keep an eye out. He said if he showed up to call, but I’m tellin’ you Seth, eventually they’ll take his side.”
“I know they won’t” I responded. “He’s got no network or power here.”
“Well, then you don’t know shit” Che barked. I just sighed, we’d been round and round on this topic over the last couple of days and Che wasn’t about to trust anything other than his own gut, and River, so I tried to talk through it with him. “Let’s say you’re right. Let’s say all cops are out to get you and every last one of them will side with Shadow Wolf against you guys. So, then what? You run forever? Sorry dude, that’s not a plan, that’s cowardice. We got your back here, Che. Be honest, have you ever had this many people on your side before?” I asked. Che was silent. “Well?”
Che was silent a bit longer and said quietly, “no” then he sighed, “never.”
“I don’t know shit other than we got your back” I replied. “So, go to work, do an awesome job, live your life. If he comes, we deal with it together. Okay?”
He was silent for a moment, “Fine. I’ll trust you. But I’m tellin’ Izzy you said shit.” He said without breaking his rough character. I was glad he had a little bit of a sense of humor about it.
“You said it first” I joked back. Before I hung up, I said, “Che, we got you.”
“I know” he said, then thanked me and hung up. By then I was at work and Che and River were walking out the door as I was getting out of the SUV. We exchanged good mornings, and I walked with them as far as Marilee’s for coffee before we parted ways, they both seemed nervous as hell.
I got my coffee, did my check in with Ella and Marilee, then went into the office. The first thing I did was call Zach about asking Teddy to come with us. He was on board, he agreed that it would be more fun for Teddy than hanging out with the poop-machines, and that Max and Brody would probably appreciate the bonding time with the ladies. Next, I called Brad to make sure it was cool with him. He was fine, “we’re gonna be packed in and will have to juggle the sleeping arrangements, but we can make it work” he said. It was early there and he and Scotty were both still home, so he got Scotty’s okay before we hung up. The next call was to Max.
“YES!” He said without hesitation and without consulting Brody, then asked. “Are you sure?” “Teddy is going to be bored shitless here without Freddy and the kid deserves some fun. We actually thought about asking you guys, but that’s a big ask.” I could hear him updating Brody on the offer in the background.
“Hell, what’s one more? Besides, it’s Teddy, he’s one of us anyway, and he and Freddy are a huge help with Izzy and Ali.”
“That’s true” Max said, “he’s a huge help with the twins, we’ll miss him around here. But he’ll have way more fun with you guys.” So, it was settled. I forwarded our itinerary, and Brody went online to buy him a ticket with his miles. Max and I made a plan to go shopping the next day to get the kids some new summer clothes; we’d tell the boys in the afternoon.
It was a normal day, although I was in vacation-prep mode. Making sure I had all my work up to date and left instructions for everyone. I had a couple of phone sessions scheduled while I was out, BA was keeping an eye on the mail in case anything needed my attention, and Rodney was covering most of my other duties. We had a grant proposal due while I was gone, I had written my sections and Rodney would finalize the rest and submit while I was gone. Things were covered. As I was leaving the office that night, Colton came up to me in the parking lot and handed me a wad of cash, “Hey Seth, I got paid today. Here’s $500 towards the car, can you give it to Zach for me?”
“Sure” I said. Colton had bought Zach’s old GTI. He gave us half the money up front and then he and Zach had a deal that he would pay him whatever he could each paycheck until it was paid off, no interest. Colton had only had the car two weeks and this was already the second payment he had made. “So, how do you like the GTI?”
He couldn’t contain his smile. “I love it! Everything works, it doesn’t shake on the highway, and it’s all one color!!!” He laughed. He ended up donating his old car to The Village, Daddy sold it for parts, it just wasn’t salvageable, but Colton had gotten his monies worth on the old Corolla that double as his residence for a while.
“How are things going with you and Craig living together?”
“Awesome! Ella loves him, but we’re stepping all over each other up there. We’re ready to move into the bigger place.” We talked a little bit more before he headed off to work, it was rewarding to see him grow. He went from this scared homeless kid living in his car, to responsible guardian for Ella, great partner for Craig, and future chef… he was a man on the path to success. So many of the villagers were and it felt damn good.
Next stop Mrs. Mavis’s, then the school, then BroMax to drop Teddy. When all the kids were in the car, I called Max and Brody on the Bluetooth. “Hey Teddy, we got a surprise for you” Max said over the speaker.
“Not more pooping babies!” Teddy joked rolling his eyes sarcastically making Freddy crack up… those two were each other’s favorite comedians.
“Nope. You’re going to go to Phoenix with Freddy for Spring Break.” Brody said.
“For reals??!!! Are you and the babies coming?” He asked.
“Nope, they’re too tiny to take on an airplane, so it’s just you… are you okay with that?” Max asked his son over the speaker.
“HECK YEAH!” Teddy yelled, then he and Freddy cheered in excitement. The rest of the ride to BroMax was full of excitement as the guys made their plans for four wheeling with Uncle Brad, going to the zoo, and doing cannonballs in the pool. When we got to BroMax I worked the details out with the guys, We were a go!
There were just a few more workdays before our Spring trip to Phoenix. That night we talked to Eli and Riley about taking Petunia while we were gone. She usually went to BroMax, but they had enough going on with the babies. After that, Zach talked to Nathan about Karen’s case. My in-laws would be in town for the court date when we returned from Phoenix. Things were looking good for her and we were trying to help her put a plan together for after she was released (just in case). We had a couple of job interviews lined up for her, her old landlord promised to find an apartment for her, and IF Cay was out of the BroMax guesthouse, she could stay there until her new place was ready. There was a lot going… we needed a break, we still had a couple of days before vacation, but things seemed under control.
That night, I went to bed first and was leaning against the headboard reading the latest David Sedaris book when Zach jumped into bed and sat his solid, muscular body on my lap. I lowered my book to see the brilliant, hazel eyes of my husband looking back at me. “Whatcha’ doin’” he asked in a playful voice with a shit eating grin on his beautiful face.
“Here, do you read brail?” He asked as he grabbed my hand and put it on his raging hard cock and said, “read this.” I laughed as he guided my hand up and down his veiny magnificence. “If you don’t read brail, I’ll translate for you, it says you should give your horny husband a blowjob.” All I could do was grin and snicker at Horny Zach.
“No, no, I’m fluent in brail, and it says, leave your husband alone to read his book” I responded.
“Your brail is rusty” he chuckled back, still moving my hand up and down. One of the millions of things I had learned about Zach over the years was that when he got horny, he would drive me nuts until… well until HIS nuts were dry. I put the book down with a resolved sigh. I slid down the mattress so that I was lying flat on my back. “Flip around horny boy” I whispered. In an instant Zach flipped, lifted a leg over me, and sat point blank on my face. His musk, that intoxicating Zach-musk filled my nostrils, and my tongue instinctively started lapping at the sweet blonde hairs around his pucker. Gotdammit, I was hornier than I thought and went to town on that hole. Meanwhile, down at my lower extremities… Zach’s moist, talented tongue lapped at my soft slab of man meat, marinating it, and evolving it into a rock hard delicacy to be devoured. The sounds of Zach’s moaning and slurping as he worked every flipping nerve ending in my little beast filled my ears with desire. My hands instinctively pulled the cheeks of his soccer-perfected ass apart so my tongue could go spelunking into the caverns of his sweet essence. My hand just naturally gave his firm ass a slap, then another. The echo of my hand against him added to the lustful symphony that consumed my head.
After a while he lifted his ass and touched his plump, purple head against my full, moist, wanting lips and pushed… he got zero resistance. Why fight my own desire? I wanted him to use my throat like a pussy, fuck it hard! I wanted to feel the sharp pains of his head bruising the back of my throat, I wanted to hear myself gag on his love spear. Zach did NOT disappoint, he rarely did; I welcomed the tears flowing from my eyes as he satisfied my awakened lust. I was so lost in the face fucking he was giving me that I lost track of my own pleasure. My climax was done percolating and ready to be served, with a groan I pushed the sweet, salty cream from my scrotum, up through my shaft, and down the throat of my lifetime lover. Zach sucked me dry, and through it all he kept fucking my face furiously and within another five or six thrusts I was rewarded with the Nectar of Zach, the one thing on this earth that was only for me.
Even after our balls were dry, Zach continued to pummel and slurp until he finally collapsed on top of me. His hole just inches from my nose, and his breath hot on my scrotum. He gave my balls a loving kiss before he flipped around, still on top of me, and kissed me. Our cum combined to create a one of a kind taste.
Zach rolled off me, lay on his side, touched my cheek, and said with a satisfied smirk, “Tell me your damn book was better than that.” I loved David Sedaris, but no.
“I’ll read it on the plane when our four perfect wards are sitting quietly for the entire trip” I laughed. Then I assumed the little spoon position and fell asleep in the arms of the person I loved.
I was asleep for about a half hour (it wasn’t even 10:00PM yet) when Max called. “Hey, Ricky just called. The alarm went off, someone kicked in the back door of Harrington House.”
“Shit. Seriously?! I’ll head down there now” I replied.
“I’m getting in the car now, I’ll come get you. The cops and BA are on their way” Max replied in a hurried voice, BA was the registered contact for the alarm so they called her first. We hung up and I told Zach what was going on.
“I’m coming with you” he said not thinking.
“You need to stay here with the kids, Ricky, BA, The Villagers, Zach, and the cops will all be there… we got this.”
“Rivers Dad?” Zach asked.
“I’m assuming. Che warned us.” I responded as I pulled on my jeans from the day before over my naked body and ran to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I was still buttoning on my flannel shirt when I heard the Camaro rumble up the drive. “Hopefully it’ll be quick” I said as I kissed my husband goodbye. “If it’s him we can file for a restraining order” Zach said as I walked out. “Text me when you can to let me know what’s happening” I promised I would as I returned his kiss, then ran like hell down the steps, out the door and into the waiting Camaro.
“Who do you think it is?” Max asked me.
“River’s dad The Shadow Wolf” I answered.
“I figured” Max Scoffed, “The Shadow Wolf, sounds like an evil villain you ordered from Temu.” I laughed at that. Then Max got serious, “I totally trust your judgement, but are you getting through to River and Che? I mean, are they worth the risk?” It was a fair question. I was charged with keeping ALL the villagers safe.
“They’re both good guys who don’t stand a fucking chance against this guy on their own” I answered sincerely. “Max, we’re it, the last line of defense. If we don’t help them then Che is right… he ends up in jail and River ends up under his father’s control for life.”
Max sighed, “So, I guess this is basically why The Village exists.” We both knew this was our fight now, it’s what we signed up for. “So, are you SURE you’re good taking Teddy with you on vacation?” Max asked changing the subject.
“Hell yes. He’s a big help with the little ones, and he’ll keep Freddy preoccupied, they’re basically brothers from another-other” I said without hesitation.
Max laughed and repeated, “Brothers from another-other. Yup, that’s them, I love that our kids are best buds.”
“Yeah, me too. I’m excited Teddy’s coming along” I said. “Hey, what do you think about another Disney trip this summer after Ali’s adoption goes through?”
“That’d be awesome, but the girls will still be tiny” Max replied.
“Riley and Eli will want to come too; they’ll have an even tinier one!’ I laughed. “Think about it” I said as we pulled into the alley. The red and blue lights flashing off the buildings lighting the alley for the second time that week snapped us out of our vacation discussion.
“Shit, I hope we’re not bringing too much attention to Harrington House, we don’t need any neighbors causing trouble again” Max said with a sigh as he parked the Camaro behind Marilee’s shop. We walked over to the cops and saw Officer Booth; I greeted him and introduced him to Max as BA’s son in law and owner of the building. “There’s BA’s Car, I wonder where she is?” Max said as he looked around.
“Well, Ms. Betty Anne James is taking a time out in the back of my cruiser” Officer Booth said in response. “She was ‘bout to introduce one Mr. Hill to her Louisville Slugger when I drove up” he said with a serious look on his face until he saw Max and I trying not to crack up, then he smiled a little.
“So, what happened?” I asked.
“Well, it seems Mr. Hill, or Shadow Wolf as they’re callin’ him, came to town to bail out his two men and get his truck outta impound, then the three of them hightailed it over here and tried to kick in your back door. The alarm went off and the monitoring company called BA, and one of the tenants on the fourth floor (Ricky) called us” he explained. “When we got here, (he started to chuckle) BA had a two hundred seventy five plus pound man pinned against the wall with her baseball bat held against his throat.” Officer Booth was clearly amused by BA.
“So where are the three guys that tried to break in?” I asked.
“Got one in each squad” he said nodding to the police cars blocking the usually quiet alley. We looked around and saw Ricky, Timmy, Colton, Craig, Mason, and all the Villagers standing in a corner with Che and River.
“Nobody got hurt, well The Shadow Wolf almost did” The officer said with a chuckle. “Now I’ve known that woman since high school, and I can tell you BA’s not one you wanna mess with.”
“Hey, you don’t have to tell me, I work with her” I said.
“She’s my mother in-law” Max laughed. Officer Booth laughed with us; he was a good guy.
“Okay, so now what?” I asked him.
“Well, Max, was it?” he asked, Max nodded. “Y’all own the building, we can get him on attempted B&E if ya’ wanna press charges, but that’s about all we got at the moment.”
“Let us talk to the guys first” Max suggested.
“Alright, you talk to them, and I’ll get Slugger out of the back of my car squad.”
We walked up to the guys, “Is everyone okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, just a little shook” River said. “You sure?” Max asked him, he nodded, Che echoed River’s sentiments. We had a deep discussion with the guys about what to do next. We had the opportunity to lock Shadow Wolf and his minions up for the night at least, but River didn’t want that, he said it would just piss him off more.
“I wanna talk to him. He was already in the quad car when I got down here… I want to see his face” River said.
“You aint gotta do that” Che said.
“Yeah, I do, and so do you. We’re done with this shit. We’re done runnin’. No better place to say it than in front of the cops.”
“Well, in front of the cops, BA, and her bat” Ricky said with a snicker. For the record, BA became a legend that night. “Here comes slugger now” he added. BA was headed our way with Officer Booth.
"You, Okay?” Max asked as he hugged his mother in-law. “I’m fine, it’s Chief Running Mouth you gotta worry about. That son-bitch told me to shut up, mind my own damn business, and act like a lady. He’s damn lucky the police saved him, or this lady woulda’ knocked his block off.” She was mad as a hornet, I mean PISSED.
While BA was going off about the guy, Officer Booth walked over to the cruiser where Shadow Wolf was being held and let him out of the back. We were about fifty feet away, and even from that distance he was a menacing figure. About 6’5”, 275 pounds, straight, long, jet-black hair pulled into a ponytail. He wore a black shirt with a bolo tie, and extremely tight jeans for a man of his size. His snakeskin boots clicked on the asphalt as he made his way towards our group.
He was still in handcuffs with Officer booth holding onto his arm. Although his stature alone was enough to intimidate, his steely eyed expression was the cherry on top. This man was frightening. “First of all, I would like to apologize for any disturbance I may have caused while trying to find my son.” Damn, he was good. Smooth, eloquent, and dripping with fake sincerity. “I was very distraught after my son River and his friend ran away, I was so desperate to find them and bring them home safe that I got carried away. But I am happy to have found them here safe and sound. His mother will be happy when I bring them home.” I scanned the crowd, Che was physically shaking with anger but bit his tongue and said nothing, BA was gritting her teeth but said nothing, but it was River who surprised me.
“We’re staying here” he said quietly.
Shadow Wolf smiled a threatening smile at his son, “there is no need for that. Your mother is waiting.”
“I’m not going back. I. Am. Staying. Here.” River said with a resolve I had not heard before. Che was still biting his tongue; it was clear he had plenty to say but was letting River speak.
“That won’t be necessary” Shadow Wolf said to his son with a snarling smile, and an eerie calm about him.
“It absolutely is!” River barked back, a confidence and strength had come over him. “I am an adult and I won’t be bullied by you, your thugs, or anyone else. You controlled every aspect of my life, you kept me locked up in that house all alone with no friends, you terrorized Che when all he did was love me and treat me with respect.”
His father was clearly getting angry, his eyes scanned the crowd. He looked at the officer standing next to him, he saw his men sitting in the backs of the police cars, and he saw a village of people standing behind his son, supporting him. He took a deep breath and said with the voice of a concerned parent, “You need to finish your education, son” then he looked at Che, “So do you, Che. I’m sure your father is worried. I just want what’s best for you boys.”
That was it for Che’s silence, “Oh Bull shit. You want my ass in jail and River under your control again and we aint interested. If my father was so damn worried, he would’ve called.”
River cut him off and brought the conversation back, “We’ll finish school here, and we’ll make our home here, on our terms, not yours.”
That was it, Shadow Wolf was about to lose it, when Officer Andrew Booth took over. “So, here’s how this works. If these people decide to press charges, we lock the three of you up, you wait for bail, and you’re looking at a legal battle. Or Plan B, you listen to your boy, respect his wishes, and maybe these fine people don’t press charges and you go on your merry way.”
“Go dad. Just go” River said.
Shadow Wolf realized that no one there feared him, not even his two favorite targets, his own son and the boyfriend he terrorized. For the first time in his adult life, he had no power. With that realization he agreed to leave and we agreed not to press charges (although BA still wanted to press her bat against his throat). The three thugs got into the shiny red pickup and headed back to Iowa. Officer Booth had a couple of his men follow them out to be sure they left the city. I doubt we had seen the last of Shadow Wolf, but he was gone for now.
Che hugged river and said, “that was brave as fuck” then he turned to Officer Booth and extended his hand, “thank you for your help, sir. And thank you for showing us respect.”
Officer Booth shook his head and said, “never accept anything less, son.” It was clear he saw through the hard exterior to the scared, mistreated kid inside. He knew it was his duty to protect and serve.
To be continued…
