The Long Road Home

Chapter Twenty

Caine carried the box outside where he hesitated. He had been planning to go to his bike, but the box wasn’t practical to carry on it. On top of that, he wasn’t familiar enough with the city to know where he had to go. After a moment of thought, he stepped toward the curb and hailed a taxi. It didn’t take long for one of the brightly colored vehicles to pull up, and he climbed in, sliding the box ahead of him.

“Where too?” the driver asked.

“The nearest post office,” Caine said.

The driver grunted, “Nearest? You don’t know which one?”

“I don’t live around here,” Caine grinned as the driver looked at him.

If the driver was surprised by his attire, he didn’t say so. Instead, he took out his phone to quickly check for an appropriate destination. Evidently, it wasn’t one he received often. With the meter already running, he merged back into traffic. Conversation was stilted, but Caine didn’t mind that.

It didn’t surprise him that Gus had no interest in reminiscing about the past. However, Caine was surprised that Gus’s parents seemed so callous. What mother’s first thought was to toss her son’s trophies away? Well, he supposed his mother wasn’t much better, but still…

Clearly, there was a lot more going on than he realized. Just what was Fin’s true motive for dragging Gus back? Was it really to save the company from financial ruin?

It was getting a lot more complicated than Caine bargained for. But at least taking care of the trophies was a simple task. The taxi pulled up to the curb.

“Here we are, Mac,” the driver announced.

Caine glanced at the innocuous building with a nod before handing over the fare without a word. Grabbing the box, he headed inside. The interior was clean and rather bland, not that he expected much in the way of décor. Despite the early hour, there was already a line, and he resigned himself to wait as he joined the queue. Luckily, it moved rather efficiently, and he soon found himself at the counter.

“How can I help you?” the clerk asked, eyeing the box as well as Caine’s attire.

“I need to ship this to Ohio,” Caine said.

“Oh? Is it fragile?”

“Well, some of it is, I suppose,” Caine picked up one of the trophies for the clerk to see. They were probably cheap considering it was for a school competition. “Not sure the best way to pack it.”

The clerk grimaced. Without a word, they studied the contents before proceeding. They gathered the certificates and slid them into an envelope so that they wouldn’t accidentally tear. The medals were also added to the envelope, leaving only the trophies. Those, the clerk individually wrapped and packed with paper to cushion them.

That still left quite a bit of excess space that would allow them to shift too much. Caine wasn’t sure what they could do about that, but the clerk took out a box cutter. They sliced up the corners of the box, allowing it to be closed smaller than before and eliminating the excess space. Caine found it a rather clever solution without getting a new box.

The clerk taped it closed before weighing it and suggested extra insurance to ensure it would be shipped with greater care. Caine readily agreed. He also wanted priority shipping to shorten its arrival time. Paying, he stepped out to shoot a text to Eleanor, telling her to look out for the package when it arrived. He left it to her and Nailah to decide how they wanted to handle the contents.

Caine wasn’t sure what they would do, but he figured, at the very least, it would allow Gus to share some memories with Jake. The five-year-old idolized his father, so Caine didn’t mind throwing fuel onto the fire. Nailah would also enjoy it. In fact, she would probably end up displaying it somewhere in the house. Whatever she decided to do, Caine figured Gus wouldn’t be happy with him, but that was something he could live with.

Besides, once Jake started asking questions, Gus would realize how much he enjoyed stories about his dad’s childhood. Caine doubted he would get a thank you for his interference, but that didn’t bother him. He thought it was a waste to throw it all away.

Pocketing his phone, Caine allowed his mind to wander back to the conversation in the office. When Gus explained the truth about his family, Caine thought he had been exaggerating. The young biker didn’t think that anymore. It still didn’t explain why Gus was being so cautious and wanted backup, but Caine figured he would find out about that later.

Checking his watch, Caine realized how late it had gotten. He flagged down another taxi, wondering what he should get for lunch. Knowing Gus, he figured the Club President would work through mealtime. Nailah would throw a fit if he didn’t make sure Gus ate something.

* * *

Fin frowned, watching his brother. Gus had been typing away for several hours without a word, and he wasn’t sure what he should do. He wondered what his brother would say if he suggested lunch. Surely, Gus wouldn’t deny himself food. His brother had to eat some time.

He opened his mouth, ready to suggest a break, when the door suddenly opened. Fin jerked to attention at the unauthorized entry, but said nothing as Caine returned carrying pizza and breadsticks along with a bag containing drinks.

“Where have you been?” Gus asked.

“Seeing the sites,” Caine shrugged.

Gus looked up with a frown, not believing him.

“Pizza?” Caine offered.

“I’m fine,” Gus grunted, turning his attention back to the computer.

Caine smirked, setting his burdens down on the coffee table. He plated a slice along with a pair of breadsticks. Bringing the plate to the desk along with a bottle of soda, he left them there before returning to his seat. Gus didn’t say anything in acknowledgment, but after a few minutes he grabbed one of the sticks to eat as he continued to work.

Caine helped himself to his own slice of meat-lover's pie with a smirk. He figured Gus wouldn’t think much about food, but Nailah wouldn’t be happy if Caine allowed him to go without eating. It was arguable whether she would call pizza a balanced meal, but Caine figured it was better than nothing. He doubted Eleanor would approve either.

“Help yourself,” Caine said to Fin with a nod.

“Thanks,” Fin hesitated before grabbing a slice. It wasn’t what he usually had for a meal, but it was good.

“Fin,” Gus suddenly spoke. “Why are you paying ten grand to a company that declared bankruptcy a month ago?”

“Ah…I don’t know?” Fin offered as a reply.

Gus gave him a hard scowl before returning his attention to the computer. Caine grimaced at how dismissive he was toward his brother, but could hardly blame him. How could a person misplace ten grand a month?

Gus rubbed his hands down his face, clearly frustrated with what he saw on screen. Caine watched him for a moment before asking, “Not going well?”

“No. This is all a mess,” Gus said, glaring at his brother.

“You can always ask Elle for help. She won’t mind,” Caine suggested. “She loves puzzles.”

“I didn’t want to bother her with this,” Gus frowned.

“What could she do?” Fin asked.

“She’s the Club’s accountant,” Caine said. “Audits are kind of her specialty.”

“Really?” Fin asked, surprised.

“Yeah,” Caine frowned, daring him to say something derogatory.

“This isn’t her problem to fix,” Gus said.

“It’s not really yours either,” Caine reminded. “Besides, you said you wanted to get this done quickly.”

“Fair enough,” Gus nodded.

He had come to rely on Eleanor a lot more when it came to the Club’s books. She was scarily efficient at it, and he never worried about the accuracy. Her eyes on this would definitely help.

“Finlay! Why haven’t you been answering your phone?” a harsh voice asked as a figure entered without knocking. He was a distinguished gentleman in a suit. Obviously older than Gus and Fin, he still had a fair resemblance to both. He paused, looking at the three men gathered. “Who are you?”

“Hello to you too, dad,” Gus said with a sigh.