More like she waited for Dominick. She didn’t like to go to sleep until her babies were home.
“Is he a drinker?” Dominick had to ask. He’d not spent much time here in the last few years. Not enough to know, at any rate.
Stefan shook his head. “A few beers. Mostly to fit in, I think. But I have caught him smoking weed.”
Dominick slapped the dashboard. “Little fucker. That would explain the package I got, then. Someone mailed an anonymous bag of green to me.”
“No shit.” Stefan breathed the words. “Is it any good?”
“How would I know? I don’t do drugs.” Not since the blackouts.
“Maybe you should. You might lighten up,” Stefan observed.
“I’m fine. I don’t need to get high.” Didn’t need to wake up with blood on his chin again. Because it wasn’t enough that he’d had one episode. When they took him off active duty, he’d smoked another from that stash and woke up in the local market, amidst a pile of fish.
“If you say so. How’s Anika?”
Heat warmed his face, and he shifted in the passenger seat. “She’s good.”
“Uh-huh,” was all Stefan said, and yet it bugged Dominick.
“Stay away from her.”
“Marking your territory?” His brother smirked at him. “Not to worry. Even I have some scruples.”
Remorse hit him as he realized that he’d implied his brother would betray him that way. Stefan was many things but never a hurtful bastard to his family.
“Sorry. Something about her drives me a little batty.”
“Isn’t she the same girl you crushed on in high school?”
“You remember that?” He winced. Had he been that obvious?
“You had her picture ripped out of the yearbook by your nightstand.”
Embarrassment had his face hot and ready to explode. “So what if I liked her?”
“Liked? You were obsessed. If you hadn’t gone into the army, I have no doubt that she’d have had you arrested for stalking.”
Dominick grimaced. “I don’t understand what it is about her that makes me act like a jerk.”
“Must have been love at first sight,” Stefan mocked.
Love? Never.
They pulled into the driveway for their house and spilled out of the car. Mom was on the porch, arms wrapped around herself.
“Dominick, thank God. You have to find your brother.” She seemed a little frantic.
“I’m sure he’s fine. The boy’s probably tripping in the woods. It’s a guy thing. Remember when I did it?” He’d found some mushrooms. The magic kind. Spent a night thinking he was a giant cat, hunting in the woods.
“I do recall, and it was just as frightening,” she yelled. “So don’t remind me!”
His brows rose. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. Find your brother!” Mom had gone past the point of scared into panic.
He hated seeing her like this, which was why he folded her into his arms and murmured, “Don’t worry. We’ll find him.”
And then he was going to beat the crap out of his brother for scaring Mom.
“Which way?” he asked Stefan.
“In the woods, past the bridge over the creek, at least according to Ray.”
“Where is Ray?” He didn’t see his other brother often, as he spent most of his time in the basement.
“He’s got some drones in the air, scanning for Tyson.”
Well, shit. That would be helpful.
With a direction, Dominick loped across the field, headed for the woods. The same forest where Pammy had almost lost a leg because of a trap. An animal trap. Someone poaching on their land.
Despite installing hunt cams in the area around the metal jaws, which they’d replaced, minus the spring to launch them, they’d yet to capture the culprit.
And now, Tyson wandered in that same expanse of trees. A teen oblivious to the dangers. Perhaps injured. What if he’d had a blackout episode like Dominick did? Some drugs could make people do stupid shit—like think they could fly or breathe underwater.
No wonder his mom freaked. Was this how she’d felt each time he’d done something stupid? As it occurred to him just how bad this could be, Dominick moved faster, more worried than he would have ever admitted out loud.
Shit, he must be getting old.
The path in the woods, worn bare of weeds by regular walks, was barely visible. The moon was only a crescent. He saw well enough to navigate, long strides eating up the ground, his brother only a step behind him.
When his phone rang, he pulled it out with one hand and kept moving. “Yup.”
Raymond was on the line. “Keep on the path. The last known location of his phone is by the creek where it splits.”
“We gonna talk about the fact you’ve hacked our location services on our phones?” he asked.
“Nope.” Ray kept his reply short.
“It’s illegal.”
“Yup.”
“You ain’t gonna stop, are you?” he asked.
“Nope.” Ray didn’t apologize.
“Have the drones seen anything?” Those little mechanical fuckers had saved a lot of lives when he was on missions. They could discern traps and locate items of interest, saving time while hunting.
“Forget the drones.”
“Stefan said you deployed a pair.”
“I did. One got taken out by a bird, and the other malfunctioned,” Raymond groused.
“Poor Ray, lost his toys,” Dominick taunted. His brother always did like electronics more than people.
Rather than reply, Raymond counted down. “Reaching the spot in five, four, three…”
A pace and then another before he stumbled to a halt.
“Fuck,” Stefan muttered what he thought.
They’d found the phone, amidst the shreds of his brother’s clothes. The shirt stretched and clawed. Pants and boxers on the ground. Shoes, too.
And beside it all, a familiar green baggie, along with a package of rolling papers.
10
“He’s fucking tripping in the woods,” Dominick bellowed. “That fucking moron. I am going to throttle him.”
“Shut up. If Tyson hears you, he’ll hide. And if he hides, we can’t go home to our nice comfy beds.” Mom would kill them if they left Tyson out overnight.
Dominick wasn’t done bitching, though. “Even if we find him, we can’t bring him home, not while he’s higher than those dudes who lick those frogs. Daphne shouldn’t be seeing that kind of shit.” Someone had to look out for his littlest sister.
Stefan rolled his eyes. “You do know that Daffy plays war games online?”
“What? Shouldn’t she have like dolls or makeup or a playhouse or something?”
His brother winced. “How have you lived this long around women and not been murdered for the shit you say?”
Dominick pursed his lips. “Most of them haven’t understood a word I’ve said.” It made things easier. Talking led to him putting his foot in it. Just ask Anika.
Raymond was still on the phone, and he interjected. “Hello, shouldn’t you be finding our little brother?”