Page 36 of Rough Choice

“Man, fuck you!” Kye cursed and grabbed the bottle before sauntering toward the exit.

“No, seriously,” Grier said, following his friend out. “You’re being a total chump. So, she brought up kids; stop having a meltdown. She's a woman and at her age, she’s probably already thinking about kids. Now that she’s reunited with the love of her life, holed up in the most romantic paradise on earth, and lord knows you two are going at it like rabbits, it’s only natural she’s thinking about it. Honestly, you should have been thinking about it too.”

“Grier, we’ve only been here six months. We haven’t tracked down who was shooting at us in Monterrey, and who knows how safe we are. We haven’t put the bunker to test…”

“Dude, shut up,” Grier interrupted. “You’re not scared of the compound being safe; you’re just scared.”

“I…” He was going to protest and say he wasn’t scared, but he had to admit that he was. The moment he’d thought Eliana was telling him she was pregnant, the only image that flashed through his mind was staring at the brake lights of his dad’s truck as it drove away leaving him on the side of the road with no family. “I can’t be a dad, Grier. I don’t know the first thing about being a dad.”

“No guy does,” Grier said casually. “You don’t get to some magical age and all of a sudden you know everything about parenting. It’s a learning process. You make a mistake, you fix it and move on. That’s just life.”

“No, it’s not just life; we’re talking about a kid. A little baby.”

“A human baby.”

“Yes, a fucking human baby,” Kye said, narrowing his eyes. “What if I make a mistake and permanently fuck this kid up?”

“Like abandon it and put it in the foster care system to grow up feeling unloved, unwanted, and alone?” Grier asked and took the bottle from Kye only to help him pour another, smaller, glass.

“Maybe not that drastic but…”

“That’s what you’re really scared of, though,” Grier said knowingly. “You don’t want what happened to you to happen to your kid, and you don’t want to turn out like your old man. Or worse, Max.”

“Grier,” Kye said in a warning tone of voice. He thought about it for a moment as he stared inside his glass at the amber liquid. He’d been in a cold sweat all afternoon since she’d brought it up, and the idea that he would be responsible for raising a child made him more afraid than any gun he’d faced down. “Yeah, okay… you’re right,” he finally admitted.

“I know I am,” Grier said casually and sipped his drink.

“What do I do about it?”

“Fuck if I know. I’m not Dr. Phil.” Grier clinked the rim of his glass with Kye’s and walked off, leaving his friend in that dangerous place between understanding but still not knowing a damn thing.

“We’ve got a bigger problem than some random person prowling around the gates,” Kye said to the room of men. He’d pulled Matty, Luca, Douglas, Russell, and Grier into their weekly meeting two days early and handed each of them a map of the coast near their compound. They’d all been pulling double duty the last week since their prowler was spotted on infrared. Twice in the last seven days, the sensors had been triggered, but whoever it was had kept to the shadows just out of range of the cameras.

They were long past suspecting this was just a local who had wandered onto the property. True, they had a reputation with the locals of being a very wealthy establishment. There weren’t many who lived in the area that possessed the kind of money Kye had stashed away for his retirement. Even Grier was living high off his pension he’d stashed away. But the compound also had a reputation for being welcoming and friendly, even charitable if not secretive. No one was allowed through the gate without an escort, but it wasn’t uncommon especially for those looking to have their vehicles repaired.

Whoever was stalking the premises was likely doing recon. Always spotted near a different camera, a fast-moving shadow or a blip on the heat-seeking cameras, they were doing a damn good job of getting information on the outside. Not that it would help them. The moment the electric fence was engaged, they had only one option of getting inside and that was the front door. All electricity was run by internal generators, so there was no chance of having their power cut, and there were enough resources inside to feed them for months should they need to enter lockdown. Whoever was scouting them was likely a low-level bounty hunter looking for cash or notoriety. They’d be hard-pressed to find it here.

“It’s been all over the news,” Grier said, glancing over the weather map Kye had passed around. “They’re calling it Hurricane Suzette. She’s a real bitch.”

“Putting it mildly, she’s already wiped out three small islands between Jamaica and Cuba. Nearly obliterated the Cayman Islands, and is headed this way,” Kye explained. “Now, she’s losing steam and turning north. I’ve been tracking it every ten minutes since dawn, but Suzette is moving quickly, and by the looks of it we’re going to start getting some nasty weather before tonight is over.”

“Can we evacuate?” Russell asked, setting his paper down. Having served in the Marines for eight years, he knew the damage a hurricane could do.

“We have a small skiff available for any of you that want to go. There’s an evacuation taking place just south of us. The Red Cross will see you placed securely inland. You’ll be fed, clothed, and housed until this is over. Grier and I have talked it over. We’re going to hunker down here and ride it out. We think the worst of it will be over in the next forty-eight to seventy-two hours.”

“Is that wise?” Matty asked. Clearly, his concern was for his family, and Kye gave him a small smile of understanding.

“We’re not directly on the coast, and the reports show a tidal wave is unlikely. It’s going to get rainy and windy really fast and hard. Like I said, any of you who want to go, you have our full resources behind you, and you know your job is waiting if you decide to return. If you decide to stay, we’ve got supplies and room in the main house for everyone. Grier and I are going to break our backs getting everything secured today. You all decide what you feel is best.”

“Well, you know we’re staying,” Russell said, speaking for both he and his brother. “We’ll get the power drills and start using the extra aluminum siding to secure the roof of the main house.”

“Probably pull the gear in from the dock too,” Douglas added. “The equipment should be safe if we can get the mechanic shop secured.”

“Thanks, boys,” Kye said fondly. They didn’t wait for further instruction but left the room to get to it.

“You know I’m with you in spirit,” Matty said, standing from his reclined position against the wall, “but I need to get my wife and kid out of here. You know Maggie is due in two months…”

“I was going to suggest it, but I wanted to leave the decision up to you,” Kye interrupted, and the two men shook hands. “Take the Yukon and travel inland. Text me when you’re somewhere safe,” Kye instructed, and Matty clapped a hand on his shoulder in appreciation.