“Did you get new hearing aids, old man? Good for you,” I retort.
“Fucker.”
It’s eerily quiet as we step through the house.
“We’re in,” Uncle Louie says into the comms.
“We’re coming up now,” my dad replies.
“Where the fuck is everyone?” I mutter under my breath while looking around.
“No idea. Let’s clear the place. You two, take upstairs. We’ll do the lower floors,” Uncle Louie instructs.
I follow Elias up the stairs, listening for any sounds of movement while keeping my gun aimed in front of me. Ready.
Come and fucking get me, fuckers.I would rather know where they are than to be walking through this silence. It’s fucking weird.
We clear the first two bedrooms, no proof of life to be seen. I look to Elias, who just shrugs. Walking into the third room, I don’t hear anything. But I smell it, a strong scent of cologne. I tap Elias’s shoulder, letting him know someone is in here.
I walk to the closet door, my gun still raised, and nod at Elias. He opens it and I find some asshole with a gun pointed right back at me. I pull the trigger first, the bullet going through his hand.
“Who the fuck hides in a closet?” I ask.
“A fucking pussy.” Elias reaches in, drags the guy out, and then shoves him against the wall.
“Please let me go. I didn’t do anything,” he whimpers as Elias binds his wrists together behind his back.
“Got one alive,” I say into the comms.
“The fucking place is empty,” Dad replies.
“All outer buildings clear,” Alfie says. He, CJ, and Sammie Junior all went with a team to search the garages on the property.
Once we’re back downstairs, Elias shoves the guy onto his knees. “We keeping him?” he asks Dad.
“Get him in the car. He’s taking a trip to the basement,” Dad says.
I smile. I fucking love the basement. It’s where all the fun shit happens.
***.
The moment I walk into the house, I’m attacked by Frankie. “Thank god you’re back,” she says.
“I wasn’t gone that long,” I tell her.
“It felt like years. I probably have gray hairs.”
“I’d still think you were the prettiest woman I know, even with gray hairs.”
“Thanks. Now take me to your room and show me just how alive you still are.”
“Does being scared turn you on, Frankie?” I question as I take her upstairs.
“No,” she scoffs, but I catch the blush creeping up her face.
This is a theory I’m going to test out. We’ve got some nights of watching horror films coming up.
Chapter Twenty-Eight