Page 17 of Ava
“Or, what, you’ll have to kill me?” Justin tried to laugh, but it fell flat. The look on Dillon’s face made his swallow hard. “I promise.”
“Okay then, as you know, I was in the Marines for twenty years. During my time in, there were missions when the men couldn’t get the information we needed. That was the first time I ever heard of the EWMs. Not once did I ever encounter Morgan, but I worked with several other women. I will never reveal to you who they are, especially if they are one of Morgan’s recruits, but you have to understand that these women are just as loyal, dedicated, and patriotic as any man, some more so than others. First, I’m sure you heard the saying to not mess with a Marine? But you never mess with a woman Marine. They will fuck you up faster than you can blink. And you won’t be walking away from any altercation without at least a limp.” Dillon noticed Justin reach up and rub his bicep. That must have been where Ava had hit him with her helmet. He tried not to smirk, but wasn’t very successful.
“I imagine that starting tomorrow, Ava will be over to the job site every day. Not to get in your way, but to learn about what your sister is wanting her to do. Ava is here to do a job. From my experience, the EWMs are fierce, loyal, and protective, and they always complete their mission.”
“But, what did she mean about being kidnapped and tortured?”
“Probably exactly what she said. Just because she’s a woman, that doesn’t stop the tangos from going after them. They haven’t learned by now that women Marines are not the weaker sex. They buckle down, endure what they do, and then they have their payback. It might be instant, or it might be delayed, but they always get their revenge.” Dillon looked into the cold ashes of the firepit, and then turned to look at Justin. “You’re going to have to watch what you say around both Morgan and Ava. I saw the look on both of their faces at dinner, and if they’d had their side arms on them, they both would have pulled them and shot you. I know what Morgan told you when you went to Chip and said you wanted to know what Morgan was doing. I only have one suggestion for you?”
“What’s that?”
“If you can’t say anything nice about either of them, or their jobs, or missions, then turn and walk away. It’s better to apologize later for walking away, than having one of your brothers calling your parents to come pick up your dead body, and Morgan going to jail.”
The two men sat there in utter silence and stared into the cold ashes of the firepit. After fifteen minutes, Dillon rose and held his hand out to Justin, after he shook, he nodded once. “I’ll let you sleep on what I told you. I don’t want to tell you what to do, but maybe being here after the building is complete isn’t for you, especially if you can’t trust the women to do their jobs. Goodnight.” He tipped his hat to the man, and quietly left Justin alone with his own thoughts. He had no idea how long he sat there staring into the empty firepit, but when he tipped his head back and saw the plethora of stars above, he sighed deeply, and watched them. After several minutes he smiled when he started seeing shooting stars. He watched for a long time, then slowly rose and made his way out behind the bunkhouse and to the camper he shared with his brothers. He knew he was a triplet, and they were always together, but sometimes a man needed alone time. The time he took at the firepit was good. He’d been able to do a lot of thinking, and enjoyed the solitude. He knew without a shadow of a doubt if he’d started a fire in that pit, everyone would have joined him, something he didn’t want. Though it was late June, while the days were hot, the nights were still cool. He entered the camper, and only nodded to his brothers as he made his way to the back area where his bed was, not saying a word to anyone. He stripped down, took a shower, and climbed into bed. He lay there with his mind whirling for a long time before he finally drifted off to sleep.
When the alarm went off the next morning, Justine groaned, but he slapped his hand over it, and rose to quickly dress. He grinned as he beat one of his brothers to the bathroom, then after doing his business, he went to the kitchen table, sat down, and dressed his feet. By the time he was done, his brothers joined him and together the three of them made their way to the main house. He stopped to gather the eggs, something he'd done to save Dolly time, and then made his own way into the house. After putting the eggs on the counter, he looked up and grinned when he saw Wyatt sitting at his place at the table with his head down. He was not a morning person. He also saw his sister enter the room, and grinned when she saw her fiancé. She paused to kiss the back of his head, then made a beeline to the coffee pot. Since the six men had been eating breakfast and dinner at the ranch, they’d invested in a forty cup coffee pot to accommodate all of them at once.
Morgan drew a cup of coffee for her and Wyatt and went to the table. She placed it several inches from his head, then gently laid her hand on his shoulder. “Wyatt, coffee.”
No one could understand what he mumbled, but he picked up his head and grabbed the cup like it was a lifeline. Justin chuckled as he shook his head, opened the refrigerator and pulled out two pounds of bacon. He had just put it in the frying pan when Dolly walked in the back door.
“Where’s Ava?” he asked, and didn’t see the smirk that Morgan and Wyatt exchanged.
“I left her in the downstairs gym. She might still be there, or in her room. I don’t know. I told her what time breakfast was.” They all looked up when the back door opened, and Lucas sauntered in, made a beeline for the refrigerator, but Justin anticipated him and called to him as he tossed a bottle of Cola to him. The younger man grinned, opened it, and downed it in about six swallows. He lowered his hand, tossed the bottle in the recycling, then belched to beat the band. That was how Ava entered the room.
“My bad,” Lucas laughed when he looked up and saw the woman standing there. He was the first to approach her. He held out his hand, and said, “Hi, I know last night must have been confusing, but I’m Lucas. I’m Dillon’s youngest son. It’s nice to meet you, Ava.”
“You too. Do you have any more of that Cola?”
“I do, don’t you like coffee?”
“Not really, I drink it if I have to, but I prefer my caffeine cold.” She made her way over to the refrigerator, and stopped cold when Justin held out a bottle to her. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” They looked up when the A’s arrived and one of them, Ava wasn’t sure which one, swore.
“What?” She frowned.
“We wanted to get here early to cook, so we didn’t have to clean up.”
Wyatt perked up long enough to glare at the younger men. “Thank god. Your cooking sucks.”
Ava noticed the three J’s quickly turned their backs on the room, and Morgan covered her mouth to hold in her giggles.
“The last time wasn’t that bad,” one of them said.
“If you recall, the pancakes were burnt on one side, and still raw in the middle. The bacon was so crispy it shattered when you tried to touch it, and the eggs were runny, the whites weren’t cooked all the way through. I’ll let the J’s or Dolly cook my breakfast from now on, thank you very much. I need a big hearty meal to get me going and keep me going all day long. Burnt, scorched, and raw food won’t do that.” Wyatt finished his coffee, pushed his chair back, and nodded to the A’s. “I have chores to do. Lucas.”
“Coming,” the younger man called out and Justin watched as Alex turned on his heel and followed them out.
“What can I help with?” Ava asked.
“Nothing, unless you want to set the table.” Justin pointed to Dolly who had gotten the dishes out of the dishwasher and down from the cupboard. She walked over to the other woman and smiled when she held out her hands to her. As she set the table, she shook her head.
“I know it’s none of my business, but, Dolly, does it bother you that someone else takes over your kitchen in the morning?”
“Not at all.” The older woman laughed. “At first it did, but I’ve learned to go with the flow. It seems like Justin is the one that really takes over, the J’s are pretty good in the kitchen.” She giggled and put her hand to the side and whispered, but she never lowered her voice. “The A’s on the other hand, don’t let them near any of the equipment. Everything they cook is either raw or burnt. There is no in between.” She laughed when the A’s tried to look affronted, but their grins gave them away.
“That just proves that you’ll have to give us lessons, Dolly.” The one Ava thought was Alfie said.
