Chapter 85

We were tired, and after Millie said goodnight, Rebecca and I cuddled in bed for a long time. We easily transitioned from comforting one another to the gentlest intercourse in history. When Rebecca reached her peak, she clenched me inside her and sighed so softly I wondered if I'd imagined it.

Very soon after Rebecca was done, she slept. It had been a long day, and she was exhausted from all the activity, plus two rounds of sex.

My mind was far too active for sleep. Our lives were a big mess. The lives of my adopted family were at risk because of me. It hit me then that I allowed those sewer rats to murder Beth Ann and torment the rest of us. I spent hours returning to the many times I'd been attacked, hurt, cut open, sewed back together, and cut open again. If the mob wanted a confrontation with me, I was going to change tactics and bring it right to them.

The security team would have to be sent away, and very different type of team would have to be hired. Those people were on the market, just like the ones currently walking the decks, keeping us safe. Cost was not an issue, but quality was, so I had to get the right advice and keep it all a secret from my family. They deserved their lives back, and it wasn't about to happen while I was alive, unless I stopped running away and took up the fight.

Jack would know who to contact and how to put it together. Since he didn't work for the government, he wouldn't be likely to rat me out. Those bastards killed my Beth Ann and tried to kill Rebecca, Colleen, Mr. Bell, and Millie. They were going to find a whole different set of rules in play as soon as we got home.

Using the excuse of checking on my boat, I could easily stay in Florida. Then the rest of my family could head on to Branson. That would give me a clear opportunity to arrange for a small army of trained mercenaries, to be at my back, while I allowed myself to be dangled out, like a stalking horse, for the mob.

It made no difference whether I lived or died, as long as the mercenaries put those people in the ground, and gathered enough information to hunt down and take out any others we missed on the first pass.

As I listened to Colleen snore and Rebecca's heavy breathing, I felt like the biggest fool in history. For all these months, I allowed those evil bastards to control me. Now, to protect my family, it was time to control them. Deciding to take control of the situation gave me a little peace. I fell asleep within minutes and slept like a baby, holding Rebecca in my arms.

I spent an early morning hour with Jack, going over my plan to end this thing with the mob. He listened like a sphinx, giving nothing away. When I finished he thought it over for a little while, and then said, "I can hook this up, just like you said. The thing that bothers me is dangling you out there as a stalking horse. We might get lucky and handle the whole thing perfectly, and we might not be lucky, and you end up with a bunch of new holes in your chest.

"We need to bring in our 'off the books' guy and go through it, top to bottom. His name is Craig, and he is the scariest dude you've ever met. However, he has a tacticians' mind that will allow us to cover all the potential mine fields and give us a better chance to keep you in one piece." He grabbed onto the project without a moments' hesitation, and I asked about that.

"Brian, you folks are about the nicest people we've ever worked with. It has ground my gearbox, seeing how you've been hassled through this thing. I completely agree. Me and the team are looking forward to dishing out to these guys, some of what you've been getting.

"Don't worry about us. They're gonna find out that they pulled up a chair to play in a game where they won't like the rules.

"The last thing is, are you sure? Because if you give me the go order, we'll set something in motion to bring down a whole bunch of these pukes, and keep a few alive, to make sure we have someone to interrogate, when we're done." He gave me his version of, 'the look.'

"You have the go order. Josephine, at Mr. Bell's office handles money, and just like last time, she's the one to call to get paid. The last thing is this, if I'm not ... around, this still needs done, because these people are my family. It's because of me that this has come down on them, and whether I'm here, or not, it has to stop."

I gave Jack three specific directives. They insured that the real purpose for funding this outing would be achieved.

"Do Not Do This On The Cheap.

"Do It Right – and – Finish it.

"No matter what, I don't care what it costs," I told him. "I only care about what you accomplish."

He got it, and I hoped that meant my enemies were about to get it in spades.

I called Josephine, on the ship to shore phone, and told her that Jack was going to submit an invoice that was very high, and to pay it immediately.

Jack and I shook hands, and I handed him the debit cards to distribute to his team as we parted. Since I was taking care of tips, I searched out the captain and gave him the set for his crew, to be handed out after we leave.

That done, I went in search of my family and breakfast.

"If I continue to eat this way, day in and day out, until we get home, you will have to hire a damned fork lift to haul me off this boat," Mr. Bell was expressing, for the fourth time in two days, his enthusiastic approval of the kitchen aboard the SOULMATES II.

We were alone, sitting on the top deck, taking in the salt air, soft breezes, and almost absolute quiet. It was our third day out since leaving Italy, and the weather, like the food, was obscenely agreeable. I was eating very sparingly because my head hurt from the constant glare of the sun off the water, and the loss of sleep for two nights, as I laid awake thinking about the future.

"I have never enjoyed meals like we've had on this boat, Brian," Mr. Bell spoke between courses, as our breakfast was as much of a presentation, as the other two meals each day. He picked from a selection of fresh baked pastries, fresh fruit, and an array of French toast, pancakes, and other breakfast treats, that were so magnificent, it was a crime to choose one among them, instead of all.

The steady hum of our engines, with an accompanying soft vibration, had become as familiar as one's own heartbeat. Feeling that vibration through the floors, gave me a false sense of safety, because it meant the engines were running fine, and our trip would continue unhindered.

Millie joined us, fresh from the shower, her hair still damp, and her skin ruddy from rubbing with one of the wondrous, soft, and spotless towels we were provided three times a day. I just could catch a whiff of her perfume, as she swept past me to kiss her husband, returned to give me a peck, and settled down to enjoy her meal.