Stranded with My Stepbrother Chapter 117

McKenzie

Hoot didn’t need directions to Uncle Sam’s apartment, much to Hank’s disappointment. He’d probably wanted to lead Hoot off in another direction or off a cliff instead of to his son.

Hank.

I couldn’t even think of him as my grandfather now. Not after the way he’d mouthed off about my parents and basically called me an abomination.

Jeanie was the same situation. There was no way I’d be calling her ‘Grandma’ anytime soon.

Will was a solid presence next to me, for whom I was very grateful. He didn’t judge my parents, and he didn’t think much of my grandparents. Maybe it made me a bad person, but I’d have happily left without them.

At least I’d been charitable enough to stop Will from punching Hank. But it would have been like dropping a boulder on a marshmallow.

Hoot drove through the apartment parking lot very slowly, no doubt looking for more black sedans. I was starting to think the people Will’s grandfather had hired weren’t all that smart. They kept showing up in the same cars. Like the black-tinted windows weren’t a clue.

“I still think this is a bad idea,” Hank groused behind me. “Sam doesn’t know anything about this. He’s got a perfectly normal life with a perfectly normal family.”

“Just one that doesn’t include me or my parents,” I shot back.

Will had his arm around me and squeezed my shoulder.

Maybe I’d be the one punching Hank by the time we parted ways.

“Look. Like your grandma said, it’s not your fault. But we did raise Sam a certain way. He’s a good, God-fearing man, and I just don’t think—” Hank continued.

“Hank, shut up,” Will said. “You’re just making it worse.”

“Don’t you tell me to ‘shut up,’ you disrespectful little twerp,” Hank growled.

Will raised an eyebrow.

“Hank, Will could mess you up with his pinky finger,” Hoot said. “You might just wanna watch your mouth. Okay, I ain’t seein’ any threats, so, we might as well go in. All of us. I ain’t leavin’ none of y’all here to get kidnapped and shot at.”

I reached for my door handle.

“Will you hurry up already? We can’t get out until you do,” Hank complained some more.

“Hank, they’re going as fast as they can,” Jeanie sighed.

Hank harrumphed. “Not fast enough.”

“I will go back there and pistol-whip you,” Hoot warned.

Hank descended into grumbling under his breath.

I was so tempted to go as slowly as I possibly could. But Hoot was already hopping out and seemed to be in a hurry, so I hurried, too.

Will came out after me and was almost caught in the ass by Hank shoving the seat forward so he and Jeanie could get out.

“Two-oh-three,” Hoot said with certainty.

Hank’s face fell. He’d obviously been hoping Hoot didn’t know the apartment number.

“He might not be home,” Jeanie comforted him.

Hank brightened. “That’s right. He might not be home.”

“He’s home,” Hoot said when we got to the door.

“How do you know?” Hank asked.

Hoot pointed to the shadow under the door and then put a finger to his lips. “Sam?” he asked, drawing his gun and leaning back against the wall, gesturing for us to back up.

“Yeah?” came the reply. The reply from somewhere deeper in the apartment.

With a sigh, Hoot cocked his gun. “You’ve got five seconds to send the boy out, or I’m putin’ one right in your dick. Understand?”

There was silence.

“Five…” Hoot began counting.

The door opened and a man who looked a lot like Jeanie stumbled out, his wrists duct taped in front of him. The area around his mouth was red as though tape had just been ripped off.

“That you, Hoot?” a voice from somewhere in the apartment asked while Hoot pushed Uncle Sam into Jeanie’s waiting arms. Hank and Jeanie huddled over him protectively.

“Sure is,” Hoot replied. “Gettin’ mighty tired of killin’ your patsies, Blair. Don’t suppose you could give this contract up?”

“Money’s damn good, but it isn’t worth all the trouble,” Blair replied. “My men are dropping like flies. If it’s not you, then it’s other groups wanting to claim the reward, thinking I’m in the way. Which I am, but they could at least be polite about it. This used to be a gentleman’s game. May the best man win, and all that.”

“Reckon it’s all gone to shit,” Hoot agreed. “That’s why I gave it up. But I owed a friend.”

“Really? Lucky friend,” Blair said.

“Not really. He’s dead tryin’ to keep these bastards alive. Two of ’em I don’t even like,” Hoot responded.

“Shit, Hoot. I’m sorry. Good luck to you.” Blair, a man about Hoot’s age who still had a few curls of flaming red hair, stuck his head out the door. “Oh, and there’s a bomb under your Escalade. Sorry. Didn’t know it was you.”

“Fair enough,” Hoot drawled. “Be seein’ you.”

“Hope not,” Blair chuckled. He tossed Hoot a set of keys, which Hoot deftly caught.

The two men nodded to each other, then Hoot herded us back down the stairs. The key fob led us to a beat up minivan. Hank made a face. “What about the Escalade?” he whined.

There was a loud explosion. Will tackled me to the ground and shielded me with his body while heat rolled over us.

“Figure we won’t be usin’ the Escalade anymore,” Hoot said calmly. “Now get in the van.”

Hank didn’t argue this time. He pushed Jeanie and Sean into the van, this time taking the middle seat, forcing Will and me to crowd into the back.

Will didn’t look particularly happy about this development, especially when Hank shifted the bench seat back so his knees were almost in his ears.

“Dad, what’s going on?” Sam finally asked once Hoot had us out of the apartment parking lot, down the street, and back on the highway.

“It’s hard to explain,” Hank replied. “It’d be best if you don’t ask questions.”

“Ri-ight. That’s not gonna happen, Dad. Who are these people? Why are we being chased by men with guns? Are you ex-Mafia or something?” Sam pressed.

“We most certainly are not!” Jeanie balked. “We would never do something terrible like that!”

“We’re protected witnesses in the Witness Protection Program,” Hank said proudly.

Hoot snorted and Sam frowned. “Is that not true, Dad?”

“It’s true!” Jeanie emphasized. “It’s absolutely true!”

“Why don’t y’all tell your son which side you were witnessin’ for?” Hoot asked with his usual delicacy.

I turned in my seat and looked over Will’s arm, waiting for the red-faced Hank to expand on Hoot’s point.

“Well, you need to understand, there were circumstances…” Hank stuttered.

“Yes. Circumstances. Mister… whoever you are… you’re not being fair,” Jeanie protested.

“Cuz y’all are fair types. While y’all’s kids were bein’ shot at, y’all lived in the lap of luxury, waitin’ to discredit them as witnesses against a human trafficker. Do I got that about right, Will?” Hoot said.

“Sounds about right,” Will agreed.

Hank turned purple with rage. “That man almost cost me my ability to walk! What was I supposed to do? Let him kill me?! My family?! My Sam?!”

“I seem to remember you also had a daughter, but didn’t give much of a damn about what was going to happen to her,” Will mused.

On some level, it was nice seeing Hank squirm while Sam’s image of him shattered. It was clear on my uncle’s face. But on another level, it did seem a bit unfair. Not that I knew a lot about the circumstances myself, but I did know they had to have been impossible.

“Look,” I said slowly. “Why don’t we just let it go? Ultimately, they must have testified for the right side if they became protected witnesses.”

“Actually, they got discredited and went into WITSEC for their own safety, not because of anything heroic they did,” Will responded.

“Okay, I’m gonna need you all to slow down,” Sam said. “I have a sister?”

“And a brother. Well, half. Half-brother, half-sister,” Hoot chimed in.

“A hermaphrodite?” Sam asked, confused.

Hank groaned. “Jesus, no. My daughter and your mother’s son went and screwed each other.”

“They love each other. They got married,” I said defensively. “It’s not any weirder than you marrying Jeanie. Mom was fifteen when they met. They didn’t grow up together and they never saw each other as brother and sister. But you couldn’t accept that they loved each other. You wrote them off, and you wrote me off. You didn’t even tell Uncle Sam about them!”

“‘Uncle Sam’?” Sam echoed. “Okay, so you’re my niece?”

“Yes,” everyone else in the minivan replied.

“So, my brother and my sister are stepsiblings but it turned into something more, and they had a daughter, and that’s you?” Sam clarified.

“You’re right on track, son,” Hoot said.

Sam looked at his parents. “You had some kind of problem with this?”

“It’s gross. They’re brother and sister!” Jeanie insisted.

“They’re… really not, Mom,” Sam responded. “You completely wrote off your kids because they fell in love?”

“When you say it like that…” Hank muttered.

“What other way is there to say it?” Sam asked. He let out a long breath then gave his parents an icy glare. “Well, since you’re just going to disown me anyway, I figure I might as well tell you now. I’m gay.”

Hank groaned and dropped his head into his hands.

“How will I ever have grandchildren?!” Jeanie wailed.

“I’m right here,” I muttered while Will squeezed my shoulder again.

“Mindy, he’s just confused,” Hank sighed, patting her hand. “He’ll get himself worked out, and we’ll have plenty of grandchildren.”

Sam shook his head. “Hey, is there room in the back there? I suddenly feel the need to move.”

“You can climb on up here in the passenger seat next time we stop, son,” Hoot said, sounding disgusted.

Hell, it was disgusting! My grandparents were completely awful people. I couldn’t believe my parents had come from either of them. “You’re confused,” I defended my uncle. “You think everything needs to go your way when, in reality, you’re making yourselves matter so little to the people who love you. In fact, after this, I don’t ever want to see you again.” I looked at Sam. “But Uncle Sam is welcome to visit anytime.”

“Thanks… um…” Sam grimaced.

I realized none of us had been properly introduced to him. “I’m McKenzie. This is Will. The driver is Hoot.”

“H-Hoot?” Sam bit his lip. I could tell he was trying not to laugh.

“Make fun of my name, boy. I dare you,” Hoot growled.

Sam held up his hands. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Good survival skills. Dunno which side of the family those could’ve come from, but you got ’em,” Hoot said.

“Sam. I’m sure if we found you the right girl, everything would work out,” Jeanie pleaded.

“You’re delusional. Tell me we’re stopping for gas soon, Hoot?” Sam asked.

“We’re stoppin’ for gas soon,” Hoot replied. “In fact, I figure we might as well go on into that there station.” He cranked the wheel, and I could have sworn we took the exit on two wheels. Cars honked at us, but Hoot ignored them.

“We’re not bad parents,” Jeanie said after the minivan stopped at a pump, and Sam practically bolted from the middle seat. “We’re not.”

“Y’all keep tellin’ yourselves that,” Hoot grunted.

I had to stifle a laugh when Will found the seat release lever and kicked Hank and Jeanie’s bench seat forward. “You’re not even good people. How could you be good parents?” he asked.

Jeanie burst into tears.

I tried to care. I tried very hard.

But I just couldn’t.