Althena Book 2

45. Do Not Shoot The Boat

Saturday I go to the boat with the boys. Conner takes us out. He loves driving this. The boys scatter and do their own things.

Monte sits on the deck by the pool with me. "How were they paying your dad?"

"I don't want to talk about it. The less you know, the better."

"I don't understand that part. They can't give him a check. How do they have billions of his money?"

"He had a casino too."

"It would have went to you or Clayton."

"It wasn't in his name."

He stares at the water for a while. "Edwardo Nordin."

"Yea."

"That's why he made contributions to your dad's stuff. And the house your dad visited on his boys' weekends?"

"His. The lawyers are trying to sort that out. Edwardo needs somewhere to live, I guess."

"Paperwork and stuff is probably mailed to him there."

"We're going to talk about it at our next meeting. Try to come up with an idea."

"I want to be there."

"No. I'm not dragging you into this. They don't know you. Leave it that way, Monte."

"I don't like you meeting with them alone."

"They're not bad guys. They're trying..."

He cuts me off. "They are bad guys. You have no idea what they're capable of."

"They're just lawyers. We talk about money. Try to sort out titles. They're honest with me."

"No they're not."

"We're trying to sort this mess out, Monte. Please let me. This is why I didn't want to tell you."

"Are they going to take you again?"

"No. Drogon blocked all communication with them. They had no way to invite me. And what the hell would the invitation have said? Please sort out your father's drug money? I have their numbers now. If they need me or want to meet, they'll call."

He chuckles. "That part might be true. Would be an interesting invitation."

"I need to figure out how to get into that house. f**k Monte, what if he has another family or something? Some w***e he bought cause she has the same hair color as my mom. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised about anything." I rub my eyes. "Videos of himself doing drugs. I don't know what to think anymore. I don't know what to expect."

"We'll figure it out. Get an address."

"Clayton can't find out. He loved that man. It would break his heart if he knew his dad was doing this shit."

"I know. I don't think you're ok with it either though."

"I don't have a choice in the matter."

"I hate this."

"Me too. I'll keep going though. See how deep this hole really goes."

Cyrus plops down. "What are you 2 talking about?"

"Wonder if she wants eye scanners or fingerprint scanners for the doors on the vault."

I rub my face. "I'll stand there with a gun 24 hours a day if you stop talking about it."

"You'll end up shooting me because you'll be delirious."

Cyrus chuckles. "You'll stop talking about it one way or the other. Honestly, do both. It'll be safer."

"That's true. She needs to work with guns some more too."

"Might as well do it here. Water all around us."

I look around in a circle. "What the hell am I going to aim at?"

"Water. Can't miss." Monte laughs and stands up. "I'll find something that floats, and we can shoot at it."

"It's not going to float for very long."

"Have faith, woman." Monte roams off.

"We ok? I haven't gotten to see you much."

I turn slowly and stare at Cyrus. "I've been allowed back to school for 3 days. I don't leave your sight line unless I'm with one of my boys."

"I guess I haven't had any alone time with you."

"Yea, you're all up my ass. Don't worry. They'll relax eventually. I might even be able to go out with Lila again some day."

"You were with her Wednesday."

"We were in the basement."

He laughs. "That was far enough."

I nudge him with my shoulder. "I'm fine. I'm waiting for you guys to be fine too."

"That's gonna take a minute."

"I know. I don't mind spending time with everybody together though. I kind of like it. It's safe and relaxing being here." The whole boat lurches sideways about 3 feet. "I don't want to know what he did."

"Yea, we probably won't sink."

"I wonder if I have lifeboats on here?"

"Maybe."

Monte runs by us and up to the wheel with Conner. Then we move.

Cyrus points. "I think I found your lifeboat."

I lift my sunglasses up. "What the hell? MONTE."

Monte runs back down. "So, I put a target on a sheet. Then I found some foam to hold it up. Then I balanced it on the speed boat."

"Where the f**k did you find a speed boat?" Cyrus puts his sunglasses on.

"There are all kinds of toys down there. Part of the side of the boat opens up, and we can pull s**t in and out of the water."

"No s**t?"

"No s**t. The speed boat. Some fishing gear. Paddle boards. Jet skis. Scuba diving s**t. Sea bobs."

"What's a sea bob?" I shake my head. "Do I even want to know?"

"It's a motor you hold while you're scuba diving. It can drive you around in the water. Or guide you. You steer it."

"That actually sounds fun."

Monte hands me his gun. "It really does. Let's not scuba dive in the middle of the open ocean though. Anyway, you're shooting at the sheet. Not the boat."

Cyrus cracks up laughing. "Good tip."

I shake my head and take the safety off. Then I aim. I pull the trigger when our boat goes down with a wave. The other boat goes up. I hear the bullet ricochet. "I shot my little boat."

The boys lose it. They are laughing their asses off when Mike and Drogon tackle each other up the steps. "WHAT HAPPENED?"

"I shot my little boat."

Drogon looks at the target and laughs. "How the hell did you miss that big ass target?"

"Everything is moving. You try it."

Monte looks at him very seriously. "Do not shoot the boat."

"I'm not gonna shoot the damn boat." He fires and hits the sheet. Not the target though.

"At least you didn't hit the boat."

Conner comes down from the wheel laughing. "Is 30 feet too far for you, Drogon? Do I need to get closer?"

"You try it, asshole."

Conner hits the outer ring of the target. "Better shot than you."

Cyrus tries and gets red.

Then Mike does the same thing. "You have to memorize the waves, kind of. Know when the next one is hitting. It'll help. Focus on the waves and the target."

"Let me try." I hand Monte his gun. He points and holds it for a second. Then he hits the dead center on the target. "That's how it's done."

Mike nods. "That was a good shot at 10 yards."

"I want to try again."

Monte hands me his gun again. "Do not shoot the boat."

"I'll try not to." I shoot and don't hit a damn thing.

They take turns again. They're all getting better.

Then it's my turn. "I can do this."

Monte smiles. "I have faith in you."

I aim as best as I can and shoot the boat.

Cyrus bursts out laughing. "That wasn't a ricochet. You shot a hole in your boat."

"Please tell me she didn't shoot the motor."

"It's up towards the front. Didn't hit anything important."

"I'm going again. I will hit the target."

Mike steps behind me. "Aim a little higher, babygirl."

I try again and hit the white part of the sheet. "I didn't hit the boat."

"Good job. Getting closer."

"If a bad guy comes, I'll aim beside him and over his head."

They laugh and take turns again.

"I'm getting hungry. How are we gonna get the little boat on this boat?"

Conner shakes his head. "That's a Monte problem. He put it out there. Do we have food here?"

"Yea, check this out." Mike walks over to a bar. It looks like a bar. It's got four chairs sitting in front of it. Then he pushes a button. The top of the bar opens and there's a grill, sink, and ice maker under it.

"That is nice."

"Yep. A couple of burners. Big grill. There is a hidden fridge under here. It's a nice little outdoor cooking area. I had them stock the food and drinks. I guess I forgot to tell anybody. Anyway, go get the boat. I'll make us some steaks."

Monte looks at the boat and scratches his head.

"I KNOW." I run for it.

Monte and Conner chase me. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

"I don't know. How do I get to the hole in the wall?"

Monte laughs. "The water access is down this hall."

Conner pushes the button on the wall when we get there. It folds down over top of the water. It works like a balcony with no rail. The water is level with it.

Monte pushes a metal thing onto the balcony part. "Lower the wall into the water. The boat can drive right onto this. Can you get us closer?"

"Yea, but I can't catch the little boat with the big boat."

"No." I grab the sea bob. "How does this work?"

Monte laughs and grabs the other one. He puts a strap around my wrist with a key hooked to it. "Let's get in the water."

I sit on the edge of the balcony and plop off into the water. "This is amazing."

"It really is. Do not point this thing down. It will take you right under. And if that happens, let go. The key will pull out, and it'll float back up."

"Ok."

He turns them on and it is so damn fun.

I go to the little boat and go in circles around it.

Monte gets on it and pulls me in. "Those are fun."

"I want to do it again."

"Let's eat first." He drives right onto the wall Conner lowered.

Conner lifts the wall back up and the boat is on the metal thing. It has wheels hooked to it. He pulls the whole speed boat right in and hooks it to the wall. Then he fixes the balcony so it's a wall again.

"This whole ship is amazing." I jump up and down. "Let's eat so we can do the sea bob again."

We get on deck and Mike puts a steak and corn in front of me. "Good job getting the boat back, Monte. She would still be going in circles."

We laugh and have fun the rest of the evening.