Page 84 of Unloaded
“Then what are you waiting for? Fucking call him!” I demand, loudly, causing my head to throb once more.
36
ROSCO
Iwant to meet Rachel’s demand, but I have to remember that our relationship with our uncle is strained, to say the least. The last time we saw him in person, Mom told him he was no longer our family and to stay away from us. Not that Uncle Branch or any of us had listened to her. We just keep the peace by not telling her when we talk to him.
Mom believes that Uncle Branch knows something about where our dad had disappeared to but refuses to tell us. He wouldn’t keep information from us. I’m certain of it. He knows how hard we had it after Dad had disappeared. How Mom fell apart and Luke had to become the parent to the rest of us.
Of course, Uncle Branch hadn’t known how bad things were, at first. He’d still been on active duty, and being as he was Black Ops, he wasn’t home often. Luke didn’t want to burden him with our problems, so whenever he did come to visit, Luke would invent a story to explain why Mom wasn’t home so he wouldn’t worry when he left. By the time he left the service and found out what we’d had to do to survive, we were all grown and in the service ourselves.
Uncle Branch had scolded all of us for not letting him know how badly we’d struggled with food, clothes, and other basic necessities. I could tell he felt slighted, like we didn’t trust him to step up and help us. But that wasn’t the case. It wasn’t that we didn’t trust him to help. We didn’t want him to be distracted when he was out on missions.
We needed him to come home, because when he was home, it was like having our dad back for those few days. It was Christmas and birthdays all rolled together. He made sure to spend time with each of us. I remember feeling seen and heard whenever he was home.
Then Mom had blasted him at Enos’s graduation from boot camp and everything changed. He still checks in with us from time to time, but he’s kept his distance, and I haven’t seen him in several years.
“I’ll talk to him,” I say, getting a raised eyebrow look from Bo. “I’ll explain everything to Luke. It’ll be fine.” Bo’s face says it’ll be anything but fine, but it doesn’t matter what he thinks. Rachel needs this, and I’ll do anything for her.
My phone is heavy in my hand as I pull up Uncle Branch’s number and press the call button. It’s been a month since I last talked with him. He’d tried to get me to tell him what had me in such a foul mood when he'd called. I love my uncle, and I’m thankful every day for him. He always seems to know when I need someone to kick me in the ass to get me out of the funk when I fall down the rabbit hole of what ifs, but I wasn’t in the mood to tell him what was bothering me that day.
I hadn’t been sleeping well. My nightmares had gotten worse as my attraction to Rachel had grown stronger. Every day I was around her my feelings strengthened to the point I wasn’t sure I could keep resisting, which only increased my agitation. That particular day, I’d been tasked to help Rachel load the van for thedelivery of a catered luncheon to a local businessman who sent a lot of business to both Invictus and toBaby Girl’s.
Rachel had been dressed up in a navy-blue wrap around dress that hugged her curves like a lover’s hands. Every time she leaned over to place a box or move something to where she wanted it, I’d get a glimpse of her cleavage or her rounded ass. I’d been so hard it hurt. I wanted her so badly that I’d been jealous of a fucking dress, which had put me in a foul mood. She’d sensed my moodiness and in return had given me sass and vinegar the whole time, which turned me on even more.
Uncle Branch had unfortunately called as we were finishing up, so I’d been snappy and downright rude to him. I’d been as unkind as mom when I told him to mind his own damn business and stay out of mine. I’d sent him an apology a couple days later but hadn’t gotten a response. I’m just praying he’ll answer my call.
“Rosco?” Uncle Branch’s familiar voice comes over the speaker of my phone after the second ring. I nearly melt with relief, but him answering is only the first hurdle to getting the twins back. He has to be willing to look for them.
“Yeah, Uncle Branch. It’s me. I have you on speaker phone,” I warn him before continuing, “I need to beg a favor. I’m sorry how things went the last time we spoke. I was rude, and you didn’t deserve that. You’ve only ever tried to help us. I shouldn’t have taken my bad day out on you. I hope you can forgive me, not only because I could really use your help, but because I don’t want us to drift apart.” I’m met with silence. “Are you there?” I click the screen to see if the call is still connected.
“Yeah, I’m here.” Another moment of silence as I wait to see if he’s going to call me out for how I’d spoken to him last month. “What do you need?” The breath I’d been holding audibly rushes out before I can contain it. A chuckle comes over the line. “That bad, huh?” A grin escapes me despite the stress I’ve been underthe last few days. Uncle Branch has always had a way of calming everyone down when shit hits the fan.
“Yeah, it’s pretty bad,” I admit, sparing a glance at Rachel. Caprice and Bo are standing nearby, but I can’t afford to sugar coat anything or lie to him. I need his help, and the man is a human bullshit detector. “We have a little situation going on with…Rachel. She works for Marley atBaby Girl’sand?—”
I pause, unsure how I to explain to Uncle Branch what she means to all of us, what she means to me. Rachel is watching me with such intensity. We still have a lot to work out between us, but I’m tired of fighting what I feel for her. I’ll no longer try to hide what he means to me.Here goes everything.
“She’s the woman I love, and she’s in trouble.” Rachel’s worried expression turns to one of shock as she glances over at Bo and Nicolai. She wasn’t expecting me to be so open about us. Her focus comes back on me. “Her stepfather is Reginald Vena.”
“Fucking hell!” Uncle Branch exclaims. “Are you shitting me? Is this some kind of joke? Because I’m here to tell you that isn’t fucking funny, son.”
“I wish it were a joke,” Rachel speaks up. Her shock has given way to an expression of love, gratitude, and acceptance. “Rosco is telling you the truth, Mr. Robertson. My stepfather found us in Virginia Beach. He abducted my brothers who are his sons. His brother, Lawrence, handed me over to Nicolai Caprice.” Another explicative erupts from the speaker on my phone. Rachel winces but forges on. “It turns out Nicolai is my uncle on my father’s side. He is trying to assist me in finding the boys, but we are in D. C., and Vena has taken them to Chicago.
“It seems they’ve escaped his clutches for the time being, but they’re alone in the city without any resources or a way to contact me. Please, I’m begging you. Help us. They’re almost eighteen, but they’re still children, at least to me.
“They’ve never been on their own. I’ll give you every penny I have saved if you will just find them and get them back to me.” Rachel’s voice breaks as she begs my uncle. Unable to see her hurting, I pull her to me and hold her close.
“Will you help us?” I ask. A derisive snort comes over the line, causing my heart to drop. He isn’t going to help us. Different scenarios begin to run through my mind. Even flying, it will take us hours to get to Chicago. While I believe the boys can fend for themselves, it’s not a guarantee. Rachel will be frantic and will insist on going instead of resting and recovering like the doctor has recommended.
Looking up, I see Bo with a resigned look on his face. He’s thinking along the same lines I am. This is going to be a shitshow of epic proportions if we can’t make this happen. We need him to do this for everyone’s sake.
“I’m pissed that you think I wouldn’t help,” Uncle Branch states, sounding annoyed before I can say a word. “You know the years I spent in the service, hunting down those who would hurt women and children. You didn’t have to ask. Send me pictures and as much information as you can on their last known location. I’ll start hitting up my sources on the streets.”
Rachel lifts her wet face. “Thank you,” she whispers. “I’ll forever be in your debt.”
“The fuck you will,” Uncle Branch denies. “You don’t owe family, sweetheart. You’re my nephew’s woman which makes you my niece and your brothers my nephews. Don’t you worry. I’ll find them and bring them to you as soon as I can.”
“I’ve texted Kelvin to send you what we have,” Bo interjects.
