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** AJ **

I cast a fleeting glance at Nick and Brian. Both of them were still staring lazily at the television; their eyes half-glazed over. The three of us hadn’t moved since Kevin and Howie had departed on their weapon retrieval mission. I was hurt by the fact that the three of us had, once again, been told that we were too immature to handle a serious situation, and I was pretty sure that Nick and Brian were both nursing similar feelings of resentment.

“It’s time for breakfast!” I announced with forced enthusiasm, propelling myself off of the couch in one fluid movement. “Who wants eggs?”

Nick and Brian blinked in unison; their faces registering identical expressions of surprise and scepticism. It was borderline concerning how similar the two of them could be at times.

“I’ll help you.” Brian offered with much less enthusiasm than I had originally displayed. “The police will have a fit if we add a house fire to our growing list of indiscretions.”

“I’m perfectly capable of making bacon and eggs.” I strode over to the fridge and pulled it open, well aware of the fact that Brian was lurking almost immediately behind me. “Your lack of confidence upsets me.”

“Have you forgotten about the London fiasco?” Nick quipped as he joined me and Brian in the kitchen. “We almost had to buy that house.”

“That was a SMALL fire.” I pulled the bacon out of the fridge and tossed it on the counter before I reached for the eggs. “There was no reason for it to have produced that much smoke.”

Brian rolled his eyes. He pulled two pans out of a cupboard and set them on the stove. “Those flames were pretty big.”

“Do you guys remember the look on Howie’s face?” Nick was already laughing. “He came flying down the stairs, wrapped in a towel, with his hair still full of shampoo …”

“…clutching his phone in one hand and his laptop in the other!” Brian finished Nick’s sentence and dissolved into a fit of laughter.

“His voice was all high and panicky!” I added my own memories between spurts of amusement. “He was so busy screaming that he ran right into the firemen as they were coming in the door.”

“He started shouting at them in falsetto Spanish …” Nick’s shoulders were shaking with laughter. “…and then he almost lost his towel!”

“Poor Howie.” Brian sputtered. “He always seems to bear the brunt of every situation.”

I sucked in the last of my laughter and reached over Nick’s shoulder to pull a bowl out of one of the upper cabinets. “Did he seem upset yesterday?”

“Who?” Brian neatly opened the package of bacon and began adding rations to one of the pans. “Howie?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “It seemed as if something was bugging him.” I cracked an egg into the bowl and watched as the yolk fell to the bottom. “It almost seemed like he was mad at us.”

“He did tell you that your face looked mangled.” Nick sniggered. “Which isn’t all that far from the truth.”

I brandished the fork that I was holding in Nick’s direction and narrowed my eyes. “I WILL stab you with this.”

“He’s probably just stressed out.” Brian interjected. “We all know that he doesn’t deal very well with traumatic situations.”

I cracked another egg into the bowl and cursed softly under my breath as a small piece of shell landed amongst the yolks. “Do he and Kevin seem especially close lately, or is it just me?”

“They’re ganging up on us.” Nick muttered. He pulled six slices of bread out of the bag and placed four of them in the toaster. “That’s nothing new.”

“I know …” I gave up trying to retrieve the piece of shell with the fork and plunged my index finger into the bowl of raw eggs. “… I guess Kev is right; this is what works.”

“The past year HAS worked.” Nick insisted. “I’m happy.”

I flicked the piece of shell into the sink and cracked another egg into the bowl. The idea that Nick was both sober and happy at the same time filled me with a renewed sense of confidence.

“Me too, Nick.”

“What about you, Bri?” Nick asked the question cautiously, without taking his eyes off of the toaster.

“I’m happy with us.” Brian carefully removed the bacon from the pan one strip at a time; his eyes focused on his task. “For the first time in a long time, I’m feeling good about what we’re doing. I’m glad that we’re all friends again.”

I stepped up beside Brian at the stove and dumped the freshly beaten eggs into the pan. “We’ve always been friends.”

“On the surface, yes.” Brian shoved a spatula into my hands. “But not in the way that we have been for the past year and a half.”

“Do you think that’s why we’re being targeted now?” Nick added the final two pieces of bread to the toaster and wrinkled his face in consternation. “Do you think that whoever is after us knows that we’re all finally happy and is out to ruin it?”

“I doubt their motive is that well thought out.” I replied. “Like the police said, we’re a fairly easy target.”

“I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse.” Nick brought the plate of toast over to the table before returning to the fridge to retrieve a jar of strawberry jam and a jug of orange juice.

Satisfied that the eggs were fully scrambled, I turned the burner off and tipped the steaming mountain of eggs into a clean bowl. Brian grabbed the plate of bacon and the two of us joined Nick at the table. The three of us served ourselves in silence; Nick’s comment hanging heavy in the air.

“It makes me feel worse.” I decided, tearing into a piece of bacon. “I wish we knew why we were being targeted.”

“Me too.” Brian agreed. “I keep trying to figure out if we have ever inadvertently pissed someone off. I mean, we must have done something to someone at some point, or else we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“I’m pretty sure that Kevin was initially under the impression that your family had something to do with it.” I looked pointedly at Nick. “He never actually said anything to me, but it was the vibe that I was getting from him.”

Nick snorted and placed a heaping mouthful of eggs into his mouth. “Sadly, his suspicions were probably warranted. My mom did just find out that I made Lauren the primary beneficiary of my estate. What she doesn’t know is that she’ll never see a penny; even if Lauren isn’t able to claim the money.”

“We were going to look for a copy of your will …” I started. The conversation was making me feel uneasy. “… when we thought that you were dead.”

Nick swallowed his eggs with a loud gulp. “I don’t keep a copy at the house. My lawyer would have read it to you guys though. He would have had no choice but to tell you what it said.”

“Why?” Brian looked as uneasy as I felt. “What – what does it say?”

Nick grinned. “Do you guys really want to know?”

I exchanged a quick look with Brian before I turned to Nick. “We want to know if you want to tell us.”

“In the event that Lauren is unable to receive the money, my estate would be divided up amongst the kids; fifteen percent each for Baylee, James, Mason, Max, and Holden and twenty-five percent for Ava.”

My mouth fell open. “You’re going to leave everything to our kids?”

Nick nodded, his cheeks beginning to colour. “It would all be held in trust until they turn eighteen. Ava gets the most because she’s the only girl.” Nick turned to Brian as he spoke. “I hope that doesn’t make you upset.”

Brian’s eyes widened. “Why would that make me upset?”

Nick shrugged. “I know how protective you are of Baylee.”

“I’m protective of Baylee because he’s my son.” Brian explained. “That doesn’t mean that I think that he’s more deserving than anyone else. Ava’s our little Backstreet Princess; she deserves everything that you’re willing to give her. I just can’t believe that – I think it’s really – I’m just …”

“It’s really sweet.” I choked, jumping in to save Brian before he could become emotional. “Really fucking sweet.”

Brian nodded his agreement as he blinked back his tears. “AJ’s right. It’s really fucking sweet.”

Nick was now sporting a full on blush. “Don’t tell Kevin and Howie. They’ll just make a big deal out of it.”

“Whatever you say, Nicky.” I pushed the last bite of toast into my mouth and sat back in my chair. The tenderness behind Nick’s decision had almost rendered me speechless.

“I think we should go for a run.” Brian arbitrarily pushed himself away from the table and stood up. He stared down at me and Nick as he waited for a response. “I need some exercise.”

I shot Nick a curious glance. The change of topic was random, even for Brian. “It doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

“I could be persuaded to go for a run.” Nick acquiesced. “Let’s clean up and call Tony first.”

Fifteen minutes later, the three of us were standing at the bottom of the driveway. After a quick warm-up, we started off at a rather brisk pace; following the directions that Tony had explicitly laid out for us. If we didn’t return in forty-five minutes Tony would come looking for us, and the angry Italian had not so subtly alluded to the idea that we should automatically consider ourselves dead if we deviated from his pre-determined route. I crammed my headphones into my ears and the steady beats of Pitbull’s latest album filled my mind as I fell into stride next to Brian. Nick was in the front; setting the pace.

None of us spoke as our feet thudded on the ground, all of us seemingly lost in our own thoughts. We wound our way through the semi-rural neighbourhood, passing only one elderly couple out for a walk and a young woman pushing a carriage. Thankfully, the few people that we did pass paid us no attention. The early-morning sun was warm and the sweat trickled down my face as I pushed myself to keep up with Nick’s seemingly quickening pace. It appeared as though all of those workouts with Lauren had done him good; he was clearly getting himself back into shape.

I dared a quick glance at Brian as we rounded another curve and began to navigate a slight incline. He had his eyes trained on Nick’s back and his face was set in determination. It was as though he didn’t even notice the sweat that was beginning to form at the base of his hairline. His movements were steady and rhythmic, and it occurred to me in a sudden flash of embarrassment that I was the one who was probably having the most difficulty with the cardio. Buoyed on by my sudden realization, I dug my feet into the sidewalk and pushed myself to keep up.

The car caught my attention as we reached the top of the hill. It was a dark grey sedan, fairly nondescript, but it was travelling at a slower than average rate of speed. My heart rate quickened as it became apparent that the car was seemingly keeping pace with us. I swung my arm out and hit Brian in the shoulder, pulling one of my ear-buds out at the same time. Brian turned to look at me, and I nodded my head in the direction of the car.

Brian glanced over his shoulder and I immediately saw the fear flash in his eyes. He pulled one of his own headphones out of his ear. “We’re being followed?” His voice was low.

“I just noticed it when we got to the top of the hill.” I puffed.

“We can’t go back to the house.” Brian was breathing heavily, but he still sounded panicked. “It’s our only safe spot.”

“We can cut through the park.” I suggested; my eyes were frantically scanning the bungalow lined street as I gestured towards an asphalt pathway that jutted up against the sidewalk a few feet to our left. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to shake the car and we’ll end up coming out on the other end of our street. If we can do that, we should be able to make it back to the house without being seen.”

“Okay.” Brian cast another glance at the car that was still keeping pace with us. He shoved his headphone back into his ear and motioned that he was going to pass Nick on the right.

I signalled my understanding and waited until Brian made his move before increasing my speed. I ignored the burn in my calves as I passed Nick on the left, tagging him roughly on the shoulder as I flew by him. Brian was already ahead of me; sprinting down the sidewalk and turning sharply to the left in order to enter the park.

“What the fuck?!” Nick screamed. “What are you guys doing?!”

I didn’t bother to turn around as I knew full well that Nick would match our speed in order to keep up. Sure enough, Nick flew past me a few seconds later. He veered to the left to follow Brian into the park and I saw him glance back at the road. It was obvious that he now knew why we were suddenly in a rush.

The adrenaline was coursing through my body, but my chest was heaving with the effort of running at such an intense pace for such an extended period of time. Nick had managed to catch up to Brian, and the two of them were now several feet ahead of me as we wound our way through the tree lined path that encircled the edge of the park. I summoned my last ounce of energy and increased my speed; my feet slapping loudly against the pavement as I closed the gap and caught up to Brian and Nick.

The three of us exited the park at a rapid clip, flying across the street without even checking the traffic. We sprinted along the side of the road; the scenery bouncing by us as we forced ourselves to keep going. I could see the strain on Nick’s face as he looked in my direction. I could see the fear in his eyes as his gaze settled on something behind me and out of my field of vision.

“It’s the same car!” Nick forced the words out between his heavy breaths. “Move!”

My lungs felt as if they were on fire. The sweat was now streaming down my face and burning my eyes, but I didn’t dare take the time to wipe it away. All it would take is one wrong move, one misstep, and I would be on the pavement. I dared a look over my shoulder and confirmed that the grey sedan was still behind us. Albeit, it was partially obscured from view by a garbage truck that was rolling slowly down the street.

We rounded a sharp corner, putting ourselves out of the mystery driver’s line of sight. Our house came into view and the three of us half sprinted, half stumbled up the driveway. We didn’t even attempt to go in the front door, choosing instead to plough full force around the side of the house and into the backyard.

I fell to the ground as soon as I was sure that we were no longer visible from the street. The grass felt cool beneath my fingers as I manoeuvred myself onto my back, closing my eyes against the brightness of the sun. I could hear Nick breathing heavily to my right and Brian wheezing painfully to my left. Eventually, it was Brian’s desperate gasping that forced me to open my eyes. I rolled over onto my side and dragged myself up onto my knees, finally wiping the sweat from my face with the back of my hand.

“Brian, are you okay?”

Brian didn’t respond. He was lying on his back with his eyes squeezed shut, both of his hands pressing down firmly on his chest. His expression was pained.

“Brian?” I repeated his name more urgently. “Shit!”

Nick had been laying face first on the ground; his right cheek resting on the lawn, but he pushed himself up and joined me at Brian’s side as my voice rose in anxiety. He was still breathing heavier than normal as he peered up into my face.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“I dunno.” I gently slapped my fingers against Brian’s cheek. “Brian, can you open your eyes?”

Brian groaned and slowly opened his eyes, squinting against the sun. His eyes flipped back and forth between me and Nick and he groaned again. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” I continued to peer into Brian’s face as he removed his hands from his chest. “Can you sit up?”

Brian nodded and allowed me and Nick and to pull him up into a sitting position. He blinked a few times as he scanned the backyard. “We shouldn’t have left the house.”

“No shit.” I let go of Brian’s arm and fell back on the grass, pulling my knees up to my chest. I was drenched in sweat and my bare legs felt sticky against the underside of my arms. “Tony shouldn’t have let us leave.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered.” Brian’s breathing finally seemed to be at least semi under control. “We would have gone anyway.”

“God, we’re fucking stupid.” I leaned my forehead on my knees and immediately regretted the movement. I desperately needed a shower.

“Guys …”

I pulled my head up and saw that Nick had gotten to his feet. He wobbled slightly, his fatigued muscles struggling to carry his weight as he made his way onto the deck. I followed his line of sight and noticed the manila envelope that was taped to the back door at the exact moment that Nick snatched it off of the glass. He returned to the lawn and sat down next to me and Brian. He was holding the envelope as if he were afraid that it was going to spontaneously burst into flames.

“Should I open it?”

“Yes” Brian answered at the same time that I shook my head ‘no’.

Nick looked back and forth between me and Brian. “I think we should open it.”

Without waiting for another response, Nick reached inside the envelope and removed the single sheet of paper with his sweaty fingers. He flipped it over and held it out for all of us to look at. It was a performance shot of the three of us and, as usual, there was a message at the bottom: ‘I can’t take the chance / Of running into / You running into me / So lock the door / And close the window - - - - What will the three of you do without your “big brothers” around to save you?’