Page 24 of Generation Lost

He took a step backward and then came toward Trak again, his arm outstretched with the blade. A sickening thud was heard, and his two partners screamed like little girls, stepping back as the man’s arm hit the floor.

“What the fuck?” yelled the first man. Trak smiled at Alvin, who still had the man’s arm in his mouth, chomping and chewing as if he’d been given a new chew toy.

“You’ve never seen a guard gator?” asked Trak with a serious expression. “He doesn’t like when someone attempts to harm me. He’s very well-trained, and he leaves no evidence at all. Plus, he’s very hungry right now.”

“You’re fucking nuts! I’ll kill every last one of you!”

“I don’t think so,” said Nine, walking into the shop. He looked at Alvin and laughed, nodding at the gator. The victim was bleeding out so fast he wouldn’t make it. “Take him outside to the river, Alvin. He’s making a mess. Then come back. There’s likely to be more.”

The gator dragged the man’s dying body out of the store as he moaned, barely breathing. The two remaining men stared at the others, thinking they could inch their way to the door.

“In a hurry now?” asked Gaspar, coming from the back of the shop. “You were all set to take us all on for a little old woman. Three big, bad, scary men and you couldn’t find an old woman. What did this little old woman do to you big, bad fellas?”

“She fucked around with someone she shouldn’t have,” said one of the men, looking at him.

“How would you know that?” asked Gaspar.

“Because it was my mother she fucked with! She tricked her out of her home.” Gaspar laughed as the others joined in, shaking their heads.

“I’m not sure what your mother told you, butmy motherdidn’t trick anyone. Was she smarter? Yes. Was she a better businessperson? Yes. A trickster? Sometimes, but that’s a long, drawn-out tale. She outsmarted your mother. She bought the business holding the mortgage on your home that she’d defaulted on. We legally claimed the right to the home unless she could pay up. She could not.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head, “no, you can’t do this!”

“We can. And we did,” said Gabe, standing at the door now. He opened it wider to allow Alvin back in, who’d brought a few friends as well.

“Get those damn reptiles away from me!” The men all smiled, knowing that Alvin was getting impatient. They didn’t often allow him free reign on strangers for his meals, but this was an exception they were willing to make.

“Are you both her sons?” asked Gaspar.

“Yes,” said the man, eyeing the alligator.

“And the other man? Was he her son?”

“No.” He was lying, but it didn’t matter any longer.

“How many?” He looked at him with a puzzled expression. “How many brothers? I ask because I have eight. Eight blood brothers. More than two hundred non-blood. How many more do you have at home?”

“N-none. It’s just us and our mother,” said the second man. Alvin made a loud hiss, and his fellow gators did the same. Trak only smiled at his guard gator and nodded.

“Well, that is a shame.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“So, Conor, how do you know all of these people?” asked Annie. They were sifting through all the information for Rose at the Sugar Lodge, seated beside one another, their knees touching beneath the table.

“I knew Kat when she was just a wee lass. Me father loved her, and when she needed help, I was there to help. We’ve remained friends.” Annie nodded at him, not saying anything else. Conor took her hand and led her to a small table near the windows.

“Annie, I wasn’t always a good man. I mean, I was, but I did things I wasn’t always proud of. I think it’s why I decided to start fightin’. It kept me away from some of what my father did. I think I’ve atoned for those sins, but I wanted to be honest with you.”

“Thank you,” she smiled. “I wasn’t always an angel in my youth. I did some pretty stupid things as well.” He could only smile at her, shaking his head. It would be hard to compare his youth to her own. Crime worlds versus the real world just didn’t compare.

“Why did you tell me?” she whispered.

“Because. Because outside of me own late wife, yer the first woman that’s caught my eye, and that’s no lie. Yer beautiful, smart, and tryin’ to help all these folks only makes you more attractive to me.”

“That’s very nice of you, Conor,” she blushed. “You’re incredibly handsome and still rugged and strong. It’s a good thing when you get to our age, isn’t it?”

“It ‘tis,” he grinned. “So, when this is done, could I convince you to accompany me to Ireland for a wee visit?”

---