To Tell a Tale (Season One)

Airianna stared at her newest painting. The man has been family for as long as she can remember. Her father loves him like a brother, and she loves him like an uncle. Why can’t they find him? They found so many buried bodies on the properties. Why not her uncle?

“Airianna?”

Airianna didn’t jump when her father touched her shoulder. She may not have heard him, but she felt his presence.

“Why can’t we find him, Papa? Why did fate give me the dream without a clue where to look?”

She felt her father sigh beside her.

“I don’t know.”

She didn’t hear her father’s words, but she knew he felt the same as she did. She turned to him and noticed the sadness in his eyes. She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He needed a hug as much as she did. She felt him sigh again and closed her eyes as he wrapped his arms around her.

They separated, and she could swear she saw a tear slide down her father’s cheek. He rarely showed his emotions—not in front of her—not since her mother’s death. She knows he has always tried to be strong for her.

“Let’s go out for dinner.”

Airianna read her father’s lips and smiled. “Okay.”

Her father nodded and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, leading her from the room.

“We’ll call your detective and invite him along. Maybe he’ll have some news about Berry.”

Airianna barely caught her father’s words as she looked up at his face and smiled. He was getting more acceptive of her having someone other than him in her life.

~🔮~

“What are they doing?” Smitty whispered.

Nash didn’t take his eyes off the scene before them. They were hunkered down behind some boxes as they watched the mob boss and his men. They were standing around a large hole. He couldn’t see what was in the hole, but he could guess.

They were in a storage building, with metal shelves and boxes everywhere.

“If he knows we found all those bodies, why is he burying another?” Smitty hissed.

Nash was wondering the same thing. He was glad he convinced Airianna to stay home this time. Because he didn’t need the distraction.

“Shall we announce ourselves?” Smitty asked, looking at him.

Nash looked at his partner, then back at the men who were now covering the hole. No matter who was inside that box, no one deserved to be buried alive. He stood up, and Smitty followed suit. He could tell his partner was anxious to get this over with.

They announced themselves as they came out of hiding, their guns in hand.

One of the men pulled out a gun and shot at them.

Smitty cursed as he ducked behind a metal stand.

Nash fired his gun before he too ducked. He watched the man grunt and fall to the ground. He wasn’t sure if he was dead, but at least he didn’t fire another shot at them.

The mob boss growled and pointed in their direction. The others fired at them while the boss escaped.

“Fuck,” Smitty growled.

“Let’s take care of these fuckers, then we’ll worry about the boss.”

Nash moved out from behind his metal stand and fired at the man furthest away from them. The man went down hard, but the man closer fired at him, hitting him in the shoulder.

Smitty cursed as he reached out and pulled Nash out of the line of fire.

They hid behind the metal stand together, Nash groaning as pain shot through his arm.

“That was stupid,” Smitty hissed.

Nash grunted. “At least there’s one less of them.”

Smitty snorted as he pulled out his phone and called for backup. They continued to hide behind the metal stand as the men fired upon them. Smitty peeked out from their hiding place and fired his weapon. They heard a man groan and hit the ground.

“There’s too many of them,” Smitty said as he moved back to avoid a spray of bullets.

“There were a lot more with the boss than I had thought,” Nash groaned.

Smitty nodded. “I think they were hiding.”

Nash leaned against a box as he held pressure to the hole in his shoulder.

“You’re lucky you didn’t get shot in the head or chest,” Smitty grumbled.

Nash looked at his partner and stuck his tongue out at him.

Smitty snorted. “You’ve been hanging around Airianna too much.”

Nash sighed. “Actually, not enough.”

Smitty smiled at his partner, then turned and fired another round at the other men. He had to fire at them to keep them from getting closer and taking them out. Smitty looked back at his partner. He was holding pressure to his shoulder. He knows he’s on his own here. His partner was shot in his right shoulder. The man couldn’t pick up a spoon with his left hand, let alone fire a gun.

Where the fuck is their backup?

The sound of sirens had them both sighing with relief. They heard the men who’d been shooting at them for the past ten minutes scramble from the building. He hoped their captain and the others caught them. Smitty fell on his ass and stared at his partner.

“You getting yourself shot is going to piss off your girlfriend.”

Smitty watched his partner grin and then groan as he tilted his head back and sighed.

“She’s hot when she’s mad at me.”

Smitty chuckled.

“Smitt! Jackman!”

“Over here, Cap!” Smitty called to their captain.

Captain Dish walked around the corner and stared at them. He looked at Nash and shook his head, then looked at Smitty.

“Why didn’t you wait for backup?” their captain demanded.

Smitty shrugged. “He got his ass shot before I called for backup.”

Their captain snorted and moved to help Nash to his feet. “Next time, wait.”

~🔮~

“Oh my God! Nash!” Airianna cried out as she rushed into the hospital room where Nash sat, his shoulder bandaged, his arm in a sling.

Nash smiled as he caught his seer and wrapped his good arm around her.

“You got yourself shot,” she cried against him.

Nash sighed. “I know.”

“You could have gotten yourself killed.”

“I know.”

“I was so scared.”

“I know.”

She pulled back from him and glared at him. “Is that all you’re going to say to me, ‘I know’…?”

He smiled. “I don’t know.”

She screeched and punched him in his good shoulder.

“Ouch.” He pouted at her.

“You’re an asshole.” She collapsed against him and cried against his chest.

“I’m sorry.” He kissed the top of her head and held her with his good arm.

She sniffled and looked up at him. “You are lucky fate is letting me hear you.”

He chuckled. “Or not so lucky if you heard me say, I know, three times.”

She glared at him. “Are you okay?” She looked at his bandaged shoulder, and he nodded.

“I’m going to be fine.”

“Why are you still in the hospital?” she asked, rubbing her hand across her nose.

Nash smiled as he ran his good hand across her cheek. “They’re going to let me go home soon. They just wanted to ensure I don’t pull anything once I leave here.”

She scowled at him. He chuckled as he leaned forward and kissed her sweet lips.

“I’m sorry I let the boss get away.”

Her face softened, and she laid back against him. “It’s okay.”

He wrapped his arm around her and sighed. It wasn’t okay. It had been foolish to move out from his hiding place. He’d hoped he could take out a few of them before the boss escaped; he hadn’t realized there were so many of them. There had only been three standing around the hole with the boss.

“We will get him,” she whispered.

“Was your uncle in the box?” he asked, remembering the box the boss and his men had been burying.

She shook her head. “No. The man was someone that has been missing for a few days.”

“Is he okay?”

She shook her head again. “He was dead before they buried him. They shot him—execution style. That’s what Tabitha said, anyway.”

Nash sighed and closed his eyes. He wasn’t sure how long he and Airianna stayed like that before a nurse came in to give him his discharge papers. Airianna stood up from him, and they left the hospital together. She walked him to her car, and he slid into her passenger seat. She started up the motor and pulled out of the parking lot.

“Where’s Smitty?” he asked, looking at her.

She apparently didn’t hear him because she didn’t answer. He decided he would ask again when they stopped. He didn’t want her to take her eyes off the road.

Surprisingly, she took him to her father’s house rather than his own. When they parked, he saw someone step out of the house. It was Smitty and her dad. Okay, that somewhat answered his question. But why was his partner at the Williams’ house?”

“I see they released your stupid ass,” Smitty said from the porch.

Nash grumbled. “Where the fuck were you?”

“Your girlfriend told me to stay here while she went to get you. I came here to tell her and her father about what happened, and she freaked out when I told her you were shot. I wanted to go with her, but her father told me to let her go on her own.”

Nash looked at Airianna. She’d read enough of what Smitty was saying for her cheeks to be pink. He smiled and walked around the car. He took her into his arms and kissed her forehead.

“Come inside; we have a lot to discuss.”

Nash looked back at the porch and found his captain standing beside Smitty. Great, now that he was out of the hospital and they knew he was going to be okay, he was going to get his ass chewed. He sucked in a breath, puffed out his chest, and nodded to his captain.

He deserved whatever the man was going to dish out.

~🔮~

“This time, we’re going to do it right,” their captain growled at them.

Nash nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“He’s already there. I think he’s getting rid of his prisoners since we know what’s happening. Maybe he’s going to move?” Smitty said.

Nash looked at his partner. That made sense.

“Do we go in guns blazing?” an officer that was their backup asked, watching the three of them.

Their captain looked at the man and smiled. “Maybe if we throw him off guard with a few more people, it may work this time.” He glared at Nash and Smitty. “Right, boys?”

“Yes, sir,” Nash and Smitty said in unison.

“You’re in the back,” the captain said, pointing at Nash.

Nash grumbled but didn’t argue. Not like he could fire his gun with his shoulder fucked up. Once again, his fault.

Nash followed close behind the group as they headed into the building. The mob boss and his men were apparently burying another body. He hoped it wasn’t Airianna’s uncle and, if it was, that he wasn’t dead.

“Freeze!” Captain Dish shouted as he and a few of his men jumped out into the open.

The men standing around the hole looked up. The boss smirked and ordered his men to fire. But more police came into view, and they knew they were outnumbered and outgunned. The men placed their guns on the ground when Dish ordered them to and placed their hands behind their heads.

The boss turned and ran.

“Fucking chicken dick,” Smitty growled as he chased after the man.

“Smitt!” their captain growled with annoyance as he chased after the detective.

Nash knew better than to chase after them. He moved to the hole and watched as a couple of officers pulled the lid off the makeshift coffin. The man inside coughed and looked up at them, fear in his eyes.

Nash grinned. “Hello, Mr. Stone. Your niece has been worried about you.”