Page 11 of Fight
Thankfully, we don’t see anything to concern us on the backroads to Rome’s family estate, and I wonder how the twin's father has managed to stay alive for this long. My grandmother is obviously not incompetent, and their father appears to not be that good under pressure. I mean, if I were him, I would’ve had people and possibly even cameras dotted all around the town to ensure that I knew what was coming my way and what to be prepared for. Also so that I could keep an eye on my enemies, see what they were doing, and maybe even attack before they could.
However, he doesn’t seem inclined to do that at all; instead, he seems to have hunkered down in his house and has stopped even sending people out. He’s behaving like a cornered animal which is something that we need to be aware of when it comes to taking him out. Cornered animals are even more dangerous because their actions are so unpredictable.
“I think we beat them,” Ace grins from the back of the car as we pull up to Rome’s house; the gates have already closed behind us. I’m glad that the grandparents have got them shutting again while we’ve been gone.
We all get out, aware that we probably don’t have long before my grandparents arrive. I know in the long run, it doesn’t really matter if we’re here or not, I just know how much it’s going to mean to them all, and I’d like to be there when it happens. I know the guys feel the same; all of the grandparents haven’t led easy lives, especially the ones that were kept in the basement, and despite the fact that their children tried to kill them, they were still their children, so there has to be some sadness and emotions surrounding that as well.
This is going to be a happy moment, one that none of them thought they would have, and since they have all lost so much, I know it’s going to mean that much more, and I want to be involved in that.
Plus, it’s kind of nice to be shocking them with the news. It puts us all on more of a level playing field, considering the amount of shocking information the guys and I have been given over the last day or so.
As soon as we open the door, we hear, the grandparents talking animatedly in the front room, Dexter’s voice loud than the rest as he exclaims, “Have you seen the fucking state of this place? It all needs ripping out and burning.”
Ruth chimes in at this point, “It’s awful. I’m just hoping he didn’t destroy the original features underneath it all.”
“Well, we’ve already started to take some of it down; we’ve got a good pile in the backyard ready to burn now,” Cecil says excitedly.
I share a slightly concerned look with the guys, and I hope they’re sensible enough to remember that if they start a massive bonfire in the yard now, it's going to gain them a lot of unwanted attention.
“Kids,” Lillian exclaims happily as we walk around the corner.
“Where the bloody hell have you been? In our day, when you went on a job, you debriefed everyone else before you went to bed!” Cecil exclaims.
Francis snickers, “You always debriefed me.”
Ace groans as the rest of us burst out into shocked laughter, and Ace says, sounding utterly mortified, “Grandma, seriously?”
Francis just shrugs, a twinkle in her eye as she replies, “Oh hush, you wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the fact that we had sex and made your good for nothing father.”
Once again, I dissolve into laughter because she’s right, and I love how blunt she is.
It’s made even funnier because Dexter pinches his nose, looking absolutely exasperated with the two of them, and as soon as Cecil starts to get up, looking like he’s heading straight for Francis, his voice whips out, “Don’t you even think about it, we’ve got more important things to deal with.”
Cecil’s gaze immediately turns to us as he reluctantly sits back down, “Oh yes, my bad.”
Hugo chuckles, seeming to be highly amused at his friend's antics, as he asks, “So kids, what happened.”
Before I can answer, a chime goes off that no shit sounds like trumpets at a royal ceremony as it sounds throughout the house, and everyone just stares in shock before Rome sighs heavily and leaves the room.
“What the fuck was that?” Mason Sr questions after a while, just as Rome comes back into the room.
“That was the doorbell that my father had installed,” Rome explains.
Horrified laughter takes over me, “No fucking way, seriously?”
Chapter Five
“That’s being burnt, too,” Dexter practically growls.
Roberta speaks up for the first time, having been drowned out by the other, louder grandparents in the room, “Thanks to the absolute absurdity of that doorbell, I think we’re all forgetting the most important question.”
“And what’s that love?” Hugo asks her lovingly.
“Who was at the door?” Roberta reminds them, and suddenly all attention is on Rome.
“That would be me, dear, Robbie,” Grandma says as she rounds the corner with Gerald and Malory in tow.
I feel bad because it hadn’t even occurred to me to invite Malory, but of course, she would want to see her grandparents. She probably has even stronger memories of them than the twins do since she was older when they disappeared.