Grave Digger – Brothers At Arms #4

Grave Digger lifted her to her feet as he wrapped his arms around her and just held her.

She didn’t fight him in any way, she just sort of stood there, letting his body heat melt into her.

“Emily,” he whispered in her ear. “I’ll protect you from them and anyone else who comes after you. Both you and Anthony.”

“Why?” Emily whispered back.

Grave Digger paused then replied, “Why not?”

Pulling back so she could look at him, she said, “You don’t even know me or Anthony, why would you help us?”

He raised his hand to brush a strand of her hair away from her face as he contemplated an answer to her question, then shrugged. “I see something in your eyes that I recognize, just don’t ask me what it is, because I can’t tell you. When I look at you, I see a strong woman struggling to survive in a world that’s been unkind and yet she fights on anyway. She has to provide a safe place for her son and nothing will get in her way. I admire this more than you know.” He sighed then went on, “The men here are good men, even Zeus.” He chuckled softly. “Don’t get me wrong, but his behavior stems from his protective nature. My brothers here are strong and loyal. And together, we are a family of sorts, but a woman protecting her offspring the way you do? You are all mama bear, protecting your cub. That little boy in the other room is one lucky kid. Not all kids have that and it’s a shame.”

Emily leaned forward and rested her forehead against his chest. “I don’t know why I came this way, I really don’t. I mean I didn’t know what kind of men lived here but something made me turn my car in this direction. Then when I saw that wall go up, I sighed in relief, knowing I was safe behind it. I prayed the men behind the wall were good men…” she paused then told him, “It’s been me and my dad most of my life after my mom passed away. After she died, he told me he would probably make a lot of mistakes as I grew up, after all he didn’t know the first thing about raising a girl, but he told me he loved me because I was his girl. He and I learned together what being a family meant.” She closed her eyes and leaned into his chest a little more. “ We had carnival dates and he put up with me riding that dang merry go round. You know the kind with the pretty painted horses.” She chuckled. “He would have to pry me off of that damned ride every time. He taught me how to play baseball too. That was his favorite game. We played chess, whenever it rained and we couldn’t go anywhere. He was good at that. Everything I know, I learned from him. He was a kind hearted warm human being…” She was crying again.

“I bet he looks down on you and he is proud.” Grave Digger patted her hand.

She paused and looked away at the wall. “I don’t think so…The night he was killed, I wanted to rush out to the bar and save him but we had talked about that maybe happening one day. After all, he did own a bar. When you mix people and booze, sometimes tempers don’t mix with that so well. So we set up a password either of us could use to hold the other one back in case of trouble and he used it that night. When he said the word, Harmony…that was my mother’s name… I knew enough to stay where I was. So I watched on the cameras as those men hurt my dad. Then when I saw him mouth the word Run I knew I had to leave. I didn’t want to, but I knew it was his request. I knew those bastards had hurt him and he wouldn’t live through the night. I did what he asked me to do but I wasn’t going to let those fuckers win. I’d already seen the fire they started and on my way out, so I broke that gas pipe off and tried to get as far away as I could. I guess I didn’t get far enough away and then that bastard found me.”

Grave Digger remained quiet as he squeezed her hand.

Shuddering, fresh tears ran down her face, as she shocked him with her next confession, “I killed my dad that night, and I know I’ll burn in hell for what I did.”

Grave Digger grabbed her upper arms and looked into her eyes. “What the fuck? You did not kill your dad. They did.”

Emily shook her head. “On my way out the back door, after I broke the pipe fitting, I heard my dad screaming in the front of the bar. He was still alive but I couldn’t get to him as I had men chasing me. I couldn’t hear the words my dad was shouting but I heard his voice. Then all I could hear was the explosion and the ringing in my ears. My dad was still alive when the bar blew all to hell,” she wept out. “I killed him, I killed my dad.”

 Grave Digger tugged her back into his arms and just held her close to him while she sobbed her heart out. “You didn’t kill him, Emily. You didn’t kill him, he was already dead, and he knew it. From what you told us, he had been stabbed and ripped open, so he wouldn’t have made it. He didn’t want you to end up the same way, so he told you to run.”

The door opened.

Grave Digger looked up.

 Leon stood there. He had heard her sobbing. “My dear Emmy, you did just as your father asked you to do. You got out of there safely. I imagine he saw into the eyes of his killers and he knew they would not allow him to live once he told them no. He knew exactly who he was dealing with that night and he wanted you to live. You never killed him. I think he would have been proud that you did what you did. He spent his entire life protecting your mother. She was his true love and when she died, I think a part of him did too. But he always told me he couldn’t lay down and join her in heaven because he had you to raise. And as long as he did, he would always have a piece of his love beside him. He loved you so much and now your parents are standing in heaven, finally together and they are watching over you and Anthony now.”

Emily turned her head and stared at him. “You really think so?”

Leon nodded. “I know they are.” Then he smiled. “And when you broke that pipe off and gas filled the bar I’ll bet your dad smiled as it blew up. He was smiling all the way to heaven that night.”

“How do you know that?” Emily asked him.

“It’s simple to know this.” Leon grinned. “ First of all, I knew your dad for years. Secondly, you got the hell out of there and he wasn’t going to leave that icon to the likes of the Raggetti’s. You blew it up for him and even though lives were lost that night, his bar would never belong to the Raggetti’s.”

Emily gasped when she realized exactly what he’d just said. “I never told you their names!” she whispered.

“You didn’t deny it either, child.” Leon gazed into her surprised eyes.

 She just stared at the other man for a moment then asked, “So now what happens?”

“Does your son’s father know about him?” Leon asked.

“No and I don’t want him to either.” Emily had fear in her eyes. “Anthony is my child, not his. I took care of him from the day my father died. I’m the one who carried him and gave him life. The one who held him when he cried or was sick. His father was never there for either of us, nor would I want him to be. I worked two jobs to provide for my son, not his father. He is not a good man.” She gazed right at Leon as she stated it firmly. “I want Anthony to have the chance at a good life.”

Leon let her rant and then after a moment, he nodded. “You have the same fire in your belly that your father had after he lost your mother.” He gave her a warm smile. “And that tells me all I need to know. You love your son.”

Emily scoffed. “Well of course, I love my child, he never asked to be born, but he was. I never had doubts about how I felt. While I carried him, I already loved him. And the moment he was placed in my arms, I looked down at his tiny face and that love was solidified… permanently. It wasn’t his fault that his dad was a monster. I vowed then and there that I was going to be here for him every day until I died. I promised him even as he was a newborn that he was going to have me…his mother in his corner until the day I die.”

“Spoken like an excellent mother,” Leon stated. “You do your father proud, child.’

‘I hope so, I really hope so…” She lowered her head and whispered in a small voice, “It’s been so hard. I mean children don’t come with a handbook to tell you what to do. I’ve made mistakes but I never gave up. I love that little boy with every fiber of my being. And I will fight to protect him with every fiber of my being too.”

Leon straightened his shoulders, smoothed his jacket lapels, and arched his eyebrow. “In this, you will not fight alone, my dear.”

Emily raised her head and looked into his eyes. After a moment, she nodded.

“We got your back too, sweetheart,” Grave Digger added with a bit of a growl in his tone. “No one is going to hurt you or Anthony.”

Emily looked up and saw the look into his intense eyes. She somehow knew they would protect her and Anthony. So for the first time since she lost her dad, she felt safe. She even held still for a moment and allowed this feeling to sink in. She had never felt this before. Safety…a warm haven. Most of the fear she had kept bottled up, just slipped away. For the first time in years, she and her son were actually safe.

 Zeus popped into the doorway and looked over at Leon. “We got more men showing up outside the walls.”

Before Leon could reply, his phone pinged and he reached for it to check his incoming message. A slow smile spread out on his lips. ‘My security just showed up and are on their way here. Their ETA is twenty minutes.’ He nodded at Zeus then turned to look at Grave Digger and Emily. “We have reinforcements on their way. I wonder what the Raggetti family has in mind?”

Zeus snorted and said, “Well, it looks like we’ll find that out in about twenty one minutes.”

Leon looked over at Grave Digger. “Will you stay with Emmy and her son?”

“I already planned to.” Grave Digger nodded.

Leon turned and left the room.

 Zeus just shook his head and followed him out.

 Grave Digger looked down at her. Smiling, he suggested, “Let’s go check on Anthony.”

Emily reluctantly stepped away and nodded. “Ok.”

When they went into the infirmary, they found Delaney standing over the bed.

Emily rushed forward. “What are you doing?” she asked her.

Delaney sighed as she looked up at her with narrowed eyes. “He’s my nephew, isn’t he?”

Emily shook her head. “I don’t really know.”

“How can you not know?” Delany asked with a troubled look in her eyes.

“Not here, not now Delaney,” Grave Digger warned her gruffly.

“When then?” Delaney asked as her troubled look turned into anger. “When my family is lying in the dirt, bleeding out? When my dad and my brothers are prisoners of the Mob? Just tell me, when is a good time?”

“Mom?” Anthony woke up with a start. “What’s going on? Why is she talking so loud?”

Emily went over to the bed, scooped up her son, and held him. “Oh baby, I’m so sorry about that.” She kissed his cheek.

Grave Digger to Delaney’s arm and escorted her out of the room.

Grave Digger held Delaney’s arm, all the way to the main room.

When they came in, Memphis stared at him then frowned at his hand gripping his woman. “What’s up, brother?”

Grave Digger let go of her as he looked at Leon then at Zeus and Memphis. “You wanted to know if Anthony was a Raggetti? Emily doesn’t know for sure. When the bar exploded, she got caught in the blowback and she was in the alley, stunned and heartbroken when one of the brothers found her. He was pissed and probably hurting too, but he told her that he wasn’t going home with nothing out of the deal and that she would just have to do. She didn’t tell me the details but she didn’t have to, did she? She was helpless, hurting and what he did should have gotten him a shot in the damn head, but when one of the other brothers found them, he got him the hell out of there… leaving her alone and laying in the dirt, she watched while they ran off in the night. She managed to get herself home but she can’t remember the attack itself. Scared for her life, she left town three days later. She’s been running and hiding since that day and if they knew what she saw that night they will no doubt come here to hurt her.” He looked over at Delaney and said, “You asked if that little boy was your nephew? Well, chances are he is, but Emily can’t tell you that for sure, because she never saw his face or she can’t remember it. She had just watched her father die at your brother’s hands. She was probably in shock and stunned by the blast.” He looked around at all of them. “That boy is her son and his father doesn’t matter, do you get that?” He snarled loudly as he curled his hands into fists at his sides. “His father doesn’t fucking matter!”