Page 22 of Pax

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“This lasagna is amazing, Dee,” said Brax. “My brother is a lucky asshole, and he does love to eat.”

“Thank you,” she smiled. “I’m glad you guys are enjoying it. It’s a recipe from Faith that she said she used to make for the guys when they all lived here.”

“This house belongs to you?” asked Aaron.

“It belongs to our family business,” said Luke. “Originally, Ian and Faith Shepherd owned it. He was a SEAL commander here on the island a long time ago.”

“I’ve run by this house dozens of times. It’s historic. I think it’s cool that you guys are able to use it when you need to.” They all nodded, smiling at the younger man. “What do we do about all this? Legally, at least according to the Navy, I can’t do a damn thing, but it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be willing to help you where I can.”

“I don’t want you risking your career,” said Luke. “We have a lot of resources of our own, and if we need something, we’ll definitely let you know. But don’t risk anything for us. What you can do is tell us about the others that you found.”

“We didn’t technically find any of them,” said Aaron. “Pax was here the morning that boat capsized. It had just been bouncing out in the water for a while, and we contacted the Coast Guard. It was just far enough out to not be in American waters, but you could tell something was wrong.

“Unfortunately, by the time it capsized, it was too late. We couldn’t get to it in time, and then we found all those poor people chained to the decks. It was despicable. They never had a chance. There were two survivors, but we didn’t get to speak to them. I heard that they were sent back to Mexico.”

“Why chain them? I mean, if you’re trying to get them out of the country, you’ve done that, and you’ve received payment for it. Why kill them?” asked Deanna.

“It’s a great question. Maybe to hide the identity of the coyote,” said Brax.

“Coyote?”

“A person who transfers humans over borders is often referred to as a coyote. Too many times, we’ve seen them transport people in trucks or trailers, railcars, and just leave them in the heat, locked inside.”

“That’s horrible,” said Deanna.

“It is, ma’am, but it happens more than most people know. Since we’re sitting, literally, fifteen miles from Tiajuana, we see it more than most. Here, Nogales, El Paso, any of the cities along the U.S./Mexican border see it frequently. We’ve become so immune to it we barely report it any longer.”

“But he was a boy,” said Annie. “Just a kid, maybe ten years old.”

“He was twelve, Mom,” said Pax. “He didn’t look it. He was very small, but he told us he was twelve.”

“God, that poor baby,” she said, shaking her head. Deanna looked at the empty plates and stood, picking up the dishes.

“Nope,” said Pax. “Rule is if you cook, we clean.”

“Well, clean up later,” she smiled. “I have dessert.” The others applauded, and then Aaron winked at Pax.

“Keep her or I will.”

“Keep your hands off, or I’ll take those pretty teeth,” smirked Pax.

Fortunately, laughter filled the space as they dug into the sweet treats provided by Deanna. Pax was learning a lot about his future wife. One was that she was a pretty good cook, in spite of her declaration on his first night here that she didn’t cook much.

Two, was that other men found her as beautiful as he did. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that yet.

And three was that his family adored her, and he was more than okay with that.

As promised, the guys pooled together and handled the dishes while the girls sat in the massive front living area. There were two ten-foot leather couches on either side of the fireplace, along with two oversized chairs. More than enough seating for everyone, although some of the guys stretched out on the floor.

“Can I ask a silly question?” asked Deanna.

“There are no silly questions,” said Aaron.

“Why don’t we just go out on a boat or something and wait for the next boat to come? I mean, can’t we find a way to hide and wait for whoever is doing this?”

“It’s not a stupid question. It’s a great one, and we wish we could,” said Aaron. “Like I said earlier, we’ve been told it’s not our business and to stay out of it. But the Coast Guard has been told the same thing. I haven’t heard back from anyone at Homeland yet, but I’m pretty sure they’re going to say it’s Coast Guard’s issue. It’s all fucking confusing. Sorry, ma’ams.”

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