CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“Isaac will be home soon,” said the woman sitting across from him. She was rocking back and forth, rubbing her arms as she always did. When she was younger, she would rub them so much they would bleed. She was mad. Truly mad.

“Isaac is gone, Marilu. He’s not coming back, remember?”

“Gone? Gone where? Did he go overseas again? Is he at war?” Brockman took a deep breath and shook his head, sitting beside his sister.

“No. He died. I told you that. He had to die in order for us to get what we needed.” She stared at him, seemingly unaffected by the news.

“What do we need?” she asked.

“Money, darling. We need money. Lots and lots of money, and then I can buy you all those pretty jewels you like so much, even the green sparkling ones.”

“Ohh, I like the green sparkly ones,” she smiled.

“I know, I know,” he said, patting her hands.

He’d taken care of her their entire life. Considered ‘mentally challenged,’ they didn’t bother to tell Isaac that when they were dating. She’d been given just enough medication to control her outbursts and craziness. Her parents felt no guilt in that at all. They just wanted to be rid of her.

Her episodes had begun when she was just eight years old. The first one happened at school when she went into the bathroom, stripped to her panties, and came back to class. The teacher, horrified, covered her with a coat and dragged her from the room. That was the first episode, but there were dozens more, some leaning toward violent.

In all, she’d attended more than twenty schools before finally graduating. With a plethora of medications keeping her regulated, she entered college and seemed to have an unusual, yet useful, skill. She could manipulate data or anything involving numbers in her head in split seconds. Brad saw his opportunity.

With a high-ranking position at the Pentagon, she shared with her dear, beloved brother that she was responsible for emptying the money from the bank accounts of terrorists and move it into accounts that could help the refugees from the countries or into accounts of organizations fighting the terrorists.

Millions and millions of dollars, and she had all of it at her fingertips. Her brother began giving her advice, and she began funneling the money to him in order for him to invest in weapons manufacturing and sales. As the pressure mounted and people began asking questions, he knew that his sister would crack sooner rather than later. And she did.

It would have been easy to control, except that her husband had good intentions. The best doctors, the finest hospitals, all for naught. Brad made sure it was all for naught. He undermined the therapy, replaced her medications with placeboes, and filled her head with stories of her husband wanting to hurt her.

“Are we still going for a boat ride?” she asked.

“Yes, darling. We’re going for a boat ride very soon. I’m getting some men together to help us. We’re going to need to create quite a stir. Then, you and I will board another boat and speed away! Whoosh!” he said dramatically.

She giggled like a little girl, and he smiled at his sister, pushing the hair from her face. It was a mess, and he’d have to fix it before they went out, but most of it would be covered with her elf costume.

“Can I take a nap?” she asked with a childlike gaze.

“Of course,” he nodded. “You go and take a nap, and I’ll make sure all of our plans are ready. When you wake, we’ll get some dinner, and you can even have dessert if you like.”

“Promise?” she asked with a pout.

“Promise.”

She disappeared into the small bedroom off the living area of the rented home. He’d been able to find a small rental property fully furnished and was grateful to be able to keep her away from the crowds.

“Yeah,” he said, answering his phone.

“ We’re all set, boss. The pontoons are decorated like shit, but they’re decorated.”

“They can’t look like shit,” he growled. “Find someone to help you if you have to, but you’ve got to get them looking perfect. These people eat this shit up. If we don’t look like we belong, that’s a problem.”

“Fine. We’ll find someone to help us.”

“Idiots. I’m in the company of idiots.”

“You ain’t rolling that up the bayou lookin’ the way it does,” said the old woman.

“Listen, I know it’s not special, but I don’t know what you expect,” he said.

“I expect you to make it festive, not frightening,” she said, curling her nose. “Ladies! I need y’all to come help with this.”

Six women walked toward him, and he wanted to say a silent prayer. They were fucking hot as shit but also looked like they could take care of themselves. Besides, he didn’t need that headache right now. Maybe after his payday, he’d come back and visit for a while.

“Hi there! How can we help?” asked the beautiful woman with a big smile.

“Well, names first,” he grinned. “I’m Charlie.”

“Charlie, nice to meet you. I’m Piper. This is Lucia, Addie, Hazel, Ellie, and Tila.”

“Beautiful names for beautiful women,” smirked his buddy behind him. Auggie was an asshole, but he was the best shot on the team. He’d be able to take out a dozen people before anyone knew what hit them.

“Ignore him,” smiled Charlie.

“No worries,” smiled Hazel. “Our husbands think we’re beautiful as well. I see you boys need some help with your floats. Why don’t you go grab those crates over there, and we’ll start changing a few things.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” nodded Auggie. He and Charlie walked away to grab the crates, two other men joining them along the way.

“Assholes,” muttered Tila. “I’d like to put my foot up his ass.”

“Don’t worry. We’re going to help them out,” smiled Hazel. As they carried the crates back toward them, the men noticed two women standing near the engines.

“Hey! What are you doing?” asked Auggie.

“Oh, sorry,” smiled Sophia Ann and Macie. “We were just admiring your big engines. They’re really cool looking.”

“Yeah?” he smirked. “Well, stick around, and I’ll show something even bigger and cooler later.” The women giggled, nodding at him as he walked away.

“Why are men so stupid?” asked Macie. “I mean, not all. But that one is definitely stupid.” Sophia Ann just laughed, shaking her head.

“Come on. We’ve still got work to do.”