Even knowing the groceries were still on the porch and that the front door was wide open, he reached in his pocket for the keys as he marched to his studio. He unlocked and lifted the door, scanning the large space. Everything appeared in order. His focus quickly darted to his new sound bar and Bose components. They were still there. John wouldn’t have stopped had he known they were in there. Kellus grimaced. He’d have made a solid twenty bucks off those.
“I wanted to call the police.”
Kellus looked up to see his neighbor, Ms. Johnson, standing just beyond the door.
“Did you see him taking it out?” he asked, lowering the door, then clicking the lock back in place.
“Yes. He saw me on the porch. Told me it was his, and he was moving out. I told you I wasn’t going to get involved anymore, but he looks so bad, Kellus,” she said, wringing her hands. She’d been a part of the big intervention; she’d been his neighbor since they’d first moved in. She’d seen their downfall firsthand.
“Did he take anything else?” Kellus asked, knowing she’d have seen everything.
“I saw him loading clothes. I figured they were probably yours. When I heard the bang in the backyard, I yelled I was calling the police and he left. I didn’t call, because you need to be the one to call the police this time.”
“I know. I will. Let me get my groceries inside—” he started, but she firmly cut him off.
“No, call them right now. He’s got to stop terrorizing you.” She held out her cell phone, and he saw 911 typed on the screen. He took the phone and it still took a second, but he eventually broke this new ground and pushed send. He wasn’t doing John any favors by shielding him and this had to end.
“911. What’s your emergency?”
With his heart as heavy as it had ever been, he drew in a deep breath and did what he should have done months ago.
“I’d like to report a robbery.”
~?~
Arik moved behind the bar, shoving his rolled shirt sleeves up his forearms as he reached for the bottle of rum, quickly pouring himself then Gage a refresher drink. Even at this late hour, the hotel remained a frenzy of activity. The last-minute grand opening preparations along with all the tedious final inspections created a twenty-four seven atmosphere at this stage in the game.
For all of his adult life, his corporate home base had been located close to family. Luckily, they had lived in a fast-paced city, but when the entirety of Layne Construction decided to relocate headquarters to take advantage of all the tax breaks Texas offered, Arik had been the first to make the move. He’d been in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for the last year, and although he traveled extensively, when in Texas, he could never really find the happening hot spots. The city was a bit of a bore.
He missed the chaos of both New York and Chicago. He found he spent more time in his homes there than he did in Dallas. And to make that far worse, Westlake, Texas, might as well be the straight up country for all the happenings going on there.
It had been exciting to see the Layne complex come to life. Watch the city name the streets after his father and uncle who had taken the risk and started their own business all those years ago. However, the area had lost some of its luster when the cows in the neighboring pasture next to their construction site had gotten loose, leaving big piles of cow shit decorating the middle of the road right after the dedication ceremony.
Not much had changed since that day.
“So how did it go today? Did you find a place?” Arik asked, sliding the cocktail glass across the bar and then taking Gage’s now empty glass and placing it in a plastic bus-tub nearby.
“Yeah, we put in an offer on a place in McKinney. Trent liked the house. He liked the schools there and the highway access. Hunter’s big into baseball and there’s a select program that fits his ability and age. Em’s starting tumbling, so Rhonny’s been on the lookout. She found a gym—a cheerleading gym that she’s got Emalynn all excited about. It’s Colt Michaels’s husband’s place, I think.”
Arik cut him off, laughing as he leaned back against the workspace counter behind him and swallowed a gulp of the drink he’d poured for himself. “It’s honestly hilarious listening to you talk about your kids like that.”
“Whatever. It’s a million times better than that pretty-boy you brought in here this morning. What the hell were you thinking, A?” Gage’s whole attitude and tone changed, like he remembered he wasn’t talking to a card-carrying member of the relationship brigade. He’d watched that same thing happen over and over with his married friends. Parenthood and marriage were clubs he didn’t fully understand.