WYATT
One week had gone by like it was nothing. So much had happened, and there was still so much more I needed to do…so much I couldn’t do.
“You’ve reached Helen Callahan, please leave a message.”
“Helen, please answer. I need…” Does she give a damn what you need after what you did to her? The thought stopped me mid-sentence. Hanging up the phone and tossing it onto the glass table, I leaned back into the chair, running my hands through my hair and fighting the urge to pull.
“Cain, explain to me why I don’t have access to the family files?” I sighed, closing my eyes.
“Wyatt Callahan, your access had been denied, and I cannot answer your question. Unlock your access.”
“Why?! Why is my access denied if I can get in the fucking room!” I snapped, looking back at the screens, which all had the same password request on them. I was able to look through Ethan’s hard file in his study, but half the damn information was cited in Cain. Which made it only one step above fucking useless.
“Wyatt Callahan, your access had been denied, and I cannot answer your question. Unlock your access.”
“Fuck you,” I muttered, ready to chuck my phone at Cain, the fucking computer was pissing me off.
“Password denied.”
Rolling my eyes and inhaling, I stared. I tried to think, but I didn’t remember setting a password or even being giving one. “Cain, who set the password?”
I waited for Cain to give me the same reply. Instead, it said, “Ethan Callahan.”
Of course, he’d be the one! Even when he wasn’t here, he was being a pain in my ass—wait. “So. I can ask questions about the password.”
“You have three more tries,” Cain replied.
I moved closer to the screen, trying to think…when I remembered what I’d said to my uncle. I’m not the thinker. That’s Ethan. If I knew my brother, he’d thought of this moment…hell, he must have planned it. So this, like everything else he did, was a test…I had three chances to get the right answer…and the purpose of all his tests had always been for one thing… to get me back to where I should have already been. As he had said. He wanted me here. I had access to this room even though I had no access to the data because he wanted me back in the family, and if that was the case and knowing me…he’d give me a hint.
“Cain, my second question is, “What is the hint?” I crossed my arms over my chest, staring at the screen.
“Hint: What you should have said?”
Rolling my eyes, I said, “Cain, the password is…sorry.”
“Password denied.”
Shaking my head, I moved back to the chair, sitting on the edge, hunched over as I tried to go over this again…I was right about the hint. But what should I have said?
“Cain, the password is…it’s my fault?”
“Password denied.”
“Of course, it is.” I grumbled, almost ready to pick up my phone and call Dona…until I realized how pitiful that was. I needed to call my sister for help getting into a fucking computer. I looked up at the top panels…the irony…the three people who I never expected to not be here—Dona, Ethan, Helen—all of them were gone. And now it was just me. I hated how I was starting to realize how useless I was on my own…everything I could do before I did with the belief they’d always been where I left them.
Like they were toys. But I’m trying to fucking make up for it! “Cain, remind me to tell Ethan he sucks at hints.” I grinned to myself, closing my eyes.
“Second hint,” Cain replied, and my eyes snapped back open. “I don’t suck at hints you just suck at understanding me…as always. Just like you did when you came back from camp.”
I wanted to laugh at how he knew what I’d say, but I was still trying to think back to when I went to camp.
I’d never gone to camp. I wanted to, but our mother said that I didn’t need any fancy camp and instead took me to California for three weeks to train with her, just like she’d done for Dona and Ethan. I made it back in time for Dona and my…
“Cain, can you show me security footage from my twelfth birthday?”
“Showing Dona and Wyatt’s twelfth birthday party,” Cain replied as the footage appeared on a screen. I couldn’t look away from my mother on the screen as she took off my blindfold. I was already on edge from her boot camp, so upon realizing I was home, I was emotional and tired. I had just wanted to cry. I watched as Dona ran and hugged me tightly and as we walked through the front door, every surface covered in presents and action figures. Grinning, I watched my twelve-year-old self try to peel Dona off of me, her puffy dress scratching my arms. The more I struggled, the more she held on, and because she was a little tyrant, she called for a cannon ball. Obliging her, Helen, Sedric, Darcy, and Nari all tackled me.
“Urgh, guys, I’m sore,” I said to the video, knowing that wouldn’t change anything, when the camera suddenly focused on Ethan’s face.
“Cain, is there volume?” I asked.
“You have no more questions.”
Rolling my eyes, I watched intently, trying to remember what Ethan had said to me. Instead, I just watched as all my cousins and Dona got off me when he spoke…thank God, they were going to crush me—I started to think when I noticed my reaction to his words was what I remembered. For some reason, I was upset. I was snapping at him. Ethan just rolled his eyes at me and turned to walk away. Had I not been focusing on his lips, I would have missed it.
“Cain, rewind a second.”
I watched again as his lips muttered something as he turned away.
“Cain, rewind again.”
On the third time, I was sure. Part of me wished I wasn’t. I was tired of reflecting on what a little shit I was.
“Cain the password is…I missed you, too.”
“Password accepted,” Cain replied. I could only put my hand over my mouth, watching as the system unlocked. “Your access is unlocked. Welcome, Wyatt. How can I help?”
“Has anyone invented a time machine yet?” I asked sarcastically, forgetting sarcasm wasn’t apparently Cain’s strong suit.
“Searching…there are no journals or articles on the inventor of the time machine.”
“Never mind.” I was still looking at the screen. I couldn’t even remember my twelfth birthday clearly, and yet well over a decade later, it was still on his mind. I’d been upset, upset with my mother, with training. I’d missed being home…I’d missed Dona and Ethan. But I didn’t know how to say it then, so I lashed out…even when I came home this last time, did I tell him how I missed him? We were both horrible when it came to communicating with each other. Dona was our spokesperson… and most times, we just went on as if it never happened. I felt like I could never speak to him because it was like everything else. I struggled with it, and he exceled at it by nature.
“Cain, how many times did Ethan save me?”
“Opening Wyatt-related incidents folder for the last ten years.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, Ethan, you are so damn petty.” I had to laugh. Of course—not only would he record all of the times he’d saved my ass, but he’d also store them in a special fucking folder.
“What year would you like?”
I wanted to tell Cain to delete the folder…surely, he’d know that and wouldn’t let me delete it, right? “Delete the folder.”
“Access denied.”
I grinned. “Well, it’s good to know I know him as well as he knows me.”
“Cain, create an Ethan-related incidents folder.” Fuck it, I was petty, too. “Sub-folder this year. First file mark as Boston.”
No further explanation would be needed.
“Created.”
Nodding, I lifted up the files on the desk behind me. “New file marked Ivy, and pull up video feed from Airstrip 17453, at noon.”
“Should I play this video?” Looking up, I nodded—for a second forgetting I wasn’t talking to a real person.
“Play video.”
“Playing,” Cain stated, and I watched as Ivy spun around. “Pause,” I said, watching the bullet go through her head. “Rewind, play 3x slower, and zoom. Pause. Repeat last ten seconds.”
“Repeating.”
“Repeat again, 5x slower.” Watching the video of the bullet come out of her brain, I noticed the trajectory was going upward…it wasn’t going down. Most snipers shot from a sniper’s nest. Like a bird’s nest, a sniper’s nest was higher and usually farther away, allowing snipers to never come close to their victims. But this person…this person had shot from nearby, very near. The person who shot Ivy was definitely on that airstrip with us. “Cain, cross-reference all personnel on Airstrip 17453 with the employee log, exclude family.”
As Cain searched, I laid our three biggest threats on the table. Sayalero of Miami. Rocha of Houston. Villalobos of New Mexico. It would have actually been easier if they were mafia families. I’d know who was the head and at least who to go after. Cartels were a pain in the ass for the very same reason they were useful… they were nothing but pawns. If one died, another would replace him. You needed to destroy the whole structure. Ethan and our parents used local cartels to hide their footprints and to keep locals fearful enough to stay out of certain areas. When the cartels were loyal, they got a decent cut, got a reputation, and all was right with the world. For Villalobos, Ethan had found out that the current head was a kid by the name of Joaquin Agar, who had made a name for himself by killing his uncle eight months back, putting a cog in our well-oiled machine.
“Looks like a little cunt,” I said looking at the photo of Agar, a shaggy-haired, tan-skinned thin man. But I couldn’t imagine he’d been the one to order Ivy’s death. In all honesty, killing Ivy was insane. Why? To punish Ethan? Even then, Ethan is known for being cold-hearted to almost everyone. If the shooter was on that strip, he should have taken a shot at Dona or even me. Why Ivy? Ethan could replace a wife, but a sibling is impossible—especially knowing how much our family valued family.
“One unidentified person,” Cain stated, forcing me to look up to the screen there. Near an exit with a dumpster was the back of a white-skinned man. Due to his uniform and the hat he wore, I couldn’t see his face…wait.
Taking the remote pad, I zoomed into the photo myself, turning the feed slightly until zooming in on his arm.
“I had a feeling you’d be in here,” Sedric said, breaking my focus as he walked into the room, a towel around his neck. He dried his hair with it as he walked over to me. “You know it’s the first night all the family is together. It wouldn’t kill you to have dinner with everyone—”
“Dona, Helen, and Ethan aren’t here, so the family isn’t all here. So it’s not any different from any other dinner,” I replied, still concentrating on the image.
“Jesus fuck.” He laughed, and at that I looked to him.
“What?”
“You legitimately sounded like Ethan just then.”
I froze, my face contorting as I remembered what I said. “I did. Dear God.”
He laughed so hard it was almost deafening, but then calming himself, he added, “I asked my dad once why he stepped back and let your father take over. And he told me this stuff has a way of consuming you. That your parents spent all their time thinking and plotting, sometimes they’d even forget to eat or sleep. He didn’t want to live like that.”
“I’m sure Ethan would have some kind of timer set to make sure he ate just so he could stay in tip-top shape for this.” I was only partially kidding.
Sedric didn’t seem to find it funny. “I hope he doesn’t. He isn’t Cain. He isn’t a computer, or a robot. He needs people, and mental breaks, too. I was thinking as tragic as this is for him…it’s his own lesson, too. He cannot be all knowing all the time. He’s only human…like you are only human—”
“Sedric, what does this look like to you?” I lifted up a photo to him. He took it, tilting his head to the side as he stared.
“A gorilla.”
I nodded and pointed to the screen. “Look similar?”
He turned all the way around and lifted the picture up to see them both before glancing down to me. “Who does it belong to?”
“Rocha.”
They were a southern cartel. Finally, I knew who to kill next.
“Now that you know, come to dinner,” he pressed, getting up on the edge of the table. “Grandma refuses to let anyone else eat unless she sees your face in the dining room.”
“So that’s the real reason for your pep talk? Food?” I questioned, gathering up the file and the photo from him as I stood up.
“Do I need a better reason?” He asked.
Everyone in this family was ridiculous, but I couldn’t imagine them not being here. When I tried to, I thought of Ethan. Even though I felt like they had left me, I still had family here. What was it like when we weren’t here? When he was alone here?
“You comin’?”
“Yeah,” I said, glancing around the room. “Goodbye, Cain.”
“Goodbye, Wyatt,” Cain replied before the room went dark.
“Still find that thing creepy,” Sedric muttered, shaking his head as we walked toward the elevators.
“Don’t let Helen hear that, or she’ll ban you for life,” I said. But the moment I said her name, I felt the same ache and annoyance as before.
“She’ll come around,” Sedric said as we got on the elevator and the doors closed.
Looking over to him, I asked him seriously, “If I killed your father, how long would it take you to ‘come around?’”
He looked back at me, his dark eyes just as serious as mine. “As long as it took me to kill you.”
“I thought as much.” I put my arm around his shoulder, frowning as I leaned on him. “What do I do, Sedric? Help me? I don’t want her to kill me.”
He rolled his eyes, trying to shrug me off him. “You and I both know Helen would never kill you. That would be like Dona killing you.”
“But—”
“Uncle Wyatt!” A small high-pitched voiced screamed, and all I saw was a blur of pink as she jumped toward me as we came out of the elevator.
Letting go of Sedric quickly, I grabbed onto her and spun her around my waist, her tutu puffing up.
“Quick, Sedric, call animal control! I’m being attacked by a pink chipmunk!” I yelled out.
“I’m not a chipmunk!” She giggled while trying to escape.
Lifting her upright, I stared into her round eyes closely. She tried to be serious, but it made her white cheeks puff up. I couldn’t help but grin. “Are you sure you aren’t a chipmunk?”
“Uncle Wyatt, it’s me Saura!” she replied, as if I could really forget who she was.
“Oh, Saura?!” I gasped, and she grinned widely, showing her little white teeth. “My favorite niece, Saura?”
“Yep! I missed you, Uncle!” She hugged me tightly, and I hugged her back while I looked over her shoulder to Nari as she handed her and Saura’s coats to the maid.
“I see how it is, Saura,” Sedric said as he walked by us, crossing his arms and frowning at her. “It’s fine. I’ll just find another niece seeing as I’m not important to you.”
“Uncle Sedric, no!”
“Don’t let him trick you, Saura. The only niece is you, and anyone else wouldn’t even be half as special.” I kissed her big cheeks.
“She’ll be more special with the gifts I got her.” Sedric held his head higher, and Saura’s eyes went wide at the words “gifts.”
“You got me something, Uncle?”
“Don’t the best uncles get stuff? What did Uncle Wyatt bring you?”
I shot him a glare before grinning and saying, “You and I can go get anything you want—”
“You all are spoiling her!” Nari snapped at us.
Sedric and I replied in unison. “So?”
“Yeah, Mommy, so?” Saura questioned, and Nari gave her the mother of all looks. It even made me worry. Saura was only five, but she knew what she had to do. Slowly she wiggled until I set her back down on the ground, and quickly, and cutely, she said, “Sorry, Mommy.”
“I thought so,” Nari replied, bending down to fix Saura’s bangs and straightening her dress. “Now let’s go see grandmamma and grandpa.”
“No need, I’m already here!” Uncle Neal hollered, his voice booming as he walked out of the dining room and wrapped his arms around her.
“Grandpa!” She hugged him tightly. “I missed you the most!”
“What about me?” I gasped, my hand over my heart.
“What about you?” Uncle Neal questioned, hugging her, eyebrow raised. “I’m Saura’s favorite, right?”
“Right!” She nodded, kissing his cheek.
Shaking my head, I watched Sedric walk over to me. He put his arm around me as he spoke, “Hurts doesn’t it?”
“You two are old enough to have kids of your own,” my own grandmother stated as she came out of the kitchen.
“Nope. I’m good.” Sedric said before I could, letting go of me at the same time.
And so, as she looked to me, all I could do was smile. “Nana, children shouldn’t have children.”
“You’re twenty-six, Wyatt.”
“And sixteen at heart,” I replied, making my hands into a heart for her.
She just shook her head at me and walked over to her great-granddaughter. Watching them all together…our family, it felt like old times. The laughter, the silliness…the simpleness of just existing with family. For a brief second, I wondered why we weren’t together more often…but that moment was only brief because the answer came a second later. Good times like this were few and far between.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, sir.” Greyson came up beside me.
“If you’re sorry, don’t?” I said, and he stayed still, the look on his face told me that I wasn’t going to enjoy dinner tonight. “Say it.”
He came up closely, whispering into my ear. “Emilio wants to talk.”
Defiantly not making dinner. Just like that, I’d need to go from Uncle Wyatt, sixteen-year-old Wyatt, to interim boss. Maybe that’s why Ethan pushed everyone else away…it was the way he coped with being the person he needed to be.
“Get Darcy,” I said to Sedric before walking off. My Uncle Neal gave me a quick look, questioning if I needed his help. I merely shook my head. My brother’s burden was mine alone to carry.