Total LockDown (LockDown #2) (21 page)

“Joseph.”
Georgia says, standing from the sofa and walking to my son. He’s so grown up
now, years of his life evaporated and gone from me. There is no way I’ll ever
get it back, ever.

“Georgia. Why is
that man here, who is he?” the little guy asks. He must be seven now, in
school, learning, growing.

“This is
Leighton, Joe. He is my big brother. Your...” she goes to tell him but I cough
and give her a look that tells her not to, It’s not that I want to deny being
his dad, fuck I wish I could have been for the last five years, but it is too
much for him. My Aunt has brought him up thinking he didn’t have a father or
mother, that he was an orphan. I can't do that to him, shock his little system
like that. He has just lost the closest thing he’ll ever know as a parent, I
can't be the one who turns his world upside down, probably not for the better.

“He is what?”
Joseph asks her sweetly, his sparkling blue eyes, glazed from his tiredness,
look up at her in adoration.

“Nothing,
sweetheart, did you have a nightmare again?” My sister asks him, stroking his
hair and sitting down with him on the sofa.

He doesn’t look
at her, he looks to the floor and draws into himself.

“It’s okay,
little man, we all have them. Even big grown up’s like me.” I tell him, seeing
the fright inside of him. No seven year old should have to see what he has.

“You make my
uncle Brandon upset.” Joe tells me, lifting his head to poke his tongue out at
me. I see it as the cutest thing ever, but he means it offensively.

“I know, Joe,
your uncle and I have sorted our problems out now, we are friends again. Do you
have any friends?” I ask him, changing the direction of this entirely.

He shakes his
head sadly, looking at his hands in his lap.

“Well, I can't
see that being the truth. I’m sure all the girls at school love you.” I
express, hoping he had friends to see him through the hard times.

“No, they think
I’m weird. I’m a geek to them all.” He looks to me, his face a spitting image
of his mum. I can't help but express it.

“Wow, you look
just like your mum, kid.” I say happily.

His face snaps
to mine, a smile on it. “You knew my mummy?” he asks, intrigued and excited.

“I sure did,
little guy, she was incredible, A beautiful woman.” I smile to him, wanting to
go to his side and comfort him in this hard time.

“Really? I wish
I could have met her, and my daddy. Auntie Georgia tells me they loved me.” He
reveals to me and I turn to my sister and smile a thank you to her for talking
of me to him.

“What happened
to your folks, Joe?” I ask him, wondering the story they had told him to get
him by in his life.

“Auntie Georgia
said they died in a car crash. It makes me sad.” He says, a little tear
trickling his face, his hand snapping up to try and wipe it away before anyone
sees.

“Ahhh, I see.
I'm sorry about that little Joe.” I tell him, half of the story was right, his
mother had died in a car crash, but his father, his father was here, staring at
his beautiful child, wishing he had rethought every plan he’d ever made.

He shrugs to me,
almost accepting the fate of his world. “All I know is, my Dad was really cool,
and my mum, she was really fun and sweet. I just wish I had a chance to see
them, how they look and hear how they sound. Maybe it would make the bad dreams
go away to know they were looking down on me, keeping me safe.” He begins to
cry properly this time and I stand from my seat, unable to take it anymore.

I walk to him,
flicking my head for Georgia and Brandon to leave. Joe panics, looking to my
sister. “Don't leave me, Auntie.” He begs her, scared.

“I'm not, Joe,
I’ll be in the kitchen. Leighton is going to make you smile real quickly.” She
tells him, bending and kissing his soft brown hair.

“I'm scared.” He
admits to her, making my eyes water.

“I know you are,
Sweetie, but Leighton is one of the good ones, he will always protect you,
angel.” Georgia soothes him, using the name I always used for Josie, and now my
fiancée.

“Are you sure,
he is so big.” He looks to me and smiles weakly.

“He is, but not
as big as Uncle Brandon though, and you’re not scared of him are you,
sweetheart? Leighton is my brother, I’ve known him since I was little, and he will
always keep you safe.” She makes him smile at her, stroking his tears away and
kissing his head. “If you need me, call for me sweetheart. I’ll always come.”

“I wish I had a
brother or sister. I hate being the only one. Why couldn’t Mummy and Daddy had
another baby before they were in the accident?” he asks me sadly, but a small
smile still appears on his face.

“I knew your mum
very well, little man, and I know she wanted a whole bunch of them. You would
have had so many brothers and sisters you wouldn’t know what to do.” I tell
him, scruffing his hair, relishing in the soft wisps present.

“Why is God so
cruel? I want my mummy and daddy, and my auntie Mandy, but they are all gone.
I'm all alone.” He properly cries this time, dropping his head to his hands. I
put my arms around him, his body jumping a little before he relaxes into my
touch and leans his head against me.

It feels so good
to hold him, to feel his warm and comfort after so long. I place my cheek to
the top of his head, calming and comforting him. He still smells the same, the
same beautiful baby smell.

“It’s okay, Joe,
I’m here, I’ll always be here. I’ll never leave you again. I'm here son.” I say
before even thinking of my words.

Joe’s head pops
up, his body backing away. He looks to me frightened. I don't move towards him,
I stay where I am letting him take my words in. “AUNTIE GEORGIA!!” he shouts
through the house.

She appears
instantly, running to him. She sits on the sofa next to me and pulls him to
her. “What’s wrong sweetheart?”

“Him, he’s
lying, he tricking me. He called me son, I’m not his son, he isn’t my dad. Tell
him to go away.” He begs her, his blue eyes red rimmed and scared.

“Shhh, Joe it’s
okay. Calm down, sweetheart. Calm down. Don't cry, don't be scared, its’ going
to be okay.” She holds him to her tightly, talking quietly in his ear, I can't
hear her words but he begins to relax.

After ten
minutes, his body is completely relaxed into Georgia’s body. I hear gentle,
tiny snores, even quieter than Mel’s snores. “He’s asleep, Leighton. I told him
the truth, told him you were alive. He is going to be scared, Leigh, let him
come to you, but you have to promise to never run again, to always be there for
him, he can't handle losing you again.” She warns me, struggling to stand up
while lifting my son with her.

“Here let me.” I
take him from her, leaning him into my shoulder, cradling his head, my arm
under his bum on his thighs to hold him up.

“I mean it,
Leighton. No more running, we are a family now.” She kisses my cheek and shows
me the way to the bedroom Joe is in.

“I won't,
Georgia. Fuck I’ve just got you back, I can't lose you all again, especially
him, I’ve been a fucking selfish bastard. I can't forgive myself for what I’ve
done, abandoning my own child. I'm a coward.” I tell her, taking the huge steps
in my childhood home.

“No, Leighton, don't
think that way. You have been through a lot, more than I could deal with. At
least you left him safe and with family, you didn’t leave him in danger. You
will be amazing, you will build a bond with him and it will be fine. Just give
it time, don't rush it.” she pulls back the covers on his bed, the Ben Ten
duvet set making me smile. He is so grown up now.

I lay him down,
sitting on the edge of the bed. She turns his night light on, kissing my cheek
and leaving me with him. I stroke his hair gently, lying myself down beside
him. I won’t stay here, that would freak him out, but I'll be here for a few
minutes.

“You know, son,
I haven’t always been there, I warned you I’d screw up. You were so tiny when
you were born; I was so scared I wouldn’t be able to bring you up. I proved
myself wrong, I did it. I lasted seven months, and it was the most incredible
time of my life. I’ll never forgive myself, and I don't expect you to forgive
me either, but I’m here now, and I won't ever leave you again. Joe, you are my
life, son, I love you with everything I am. I will always protect you and keep
you safe in this world. No one will ever hurt you again; I can assure you of
that. Sleep well tonight, Joseph. We will see more of each other. You won't
have any more bad dreams. Everything will be right now; you will have all you
ever wanted in this world. I love you, Joseph Leigh Lock.” I kiss his head, his
body turning into mine as his hands cling to my shirt.

I allow a few
tears to fall down my face, letting the past go, allowing the future to bond to
my soul, allowing myself to believe I can make this little boy complete.

I remove myself
from his bed before I fall asleep, pulling his hands from my shirt and snuggling
his cover over him. I place his toy dog under his arm and kiss his head once
more. “Goodnight, Angel.” I say to him, walking from the room, but leaving the
light on.

I go to bed,
snuggling into the duvet. I hadn’t expected this when I came here to see my
brother and sister, but it is the most incredible thing to ever happen. I am a
new man now, a man who is capable of bringing this little boy, everything he
needs.

*****

 My foot is so
far down on the accelerator that I am sure it is going to go through the floor
of my Bentley.

“Whoa, slow down
man, you aren’t gonna be any good to her dead.” My brother expresses beside me,
doing nothing but rattling my bones and pissing me off more.

“You wanted to
come, now you shut up and let me deal with this the way I want to.” I reply to
him, turning the music on the radio up loud to stop the pounding sound in my
eardrums as my erratic heart thumps away.

He holds his
hands up in an offended gesture, then rifles through his jacket to find his
phone. He clicks the screen and then raises it to his ear, his other hand
reaching to turn off the recently turned up music.

“Hey
baby…yeah…I’m going to Surrey…yeah…with Leighton. Yes my brother. Okay…I don’t
know when I’ll be back sweetheart. Yes I love you too.” he mumbles through the
speaker before hanging up and sliding his phone into the inside pocket of his
pristine pressed suit.

“Turning a bit
soft in your old age are you, bro?” I ask him, teasing his wet sickly talk with
that sexy wife of his. Damn I bet she does wet well.

“No, not soft,
quite hard actually.” He says, wiggling his eyebrows. The dude has become full
on man in the last five years, his nerdy, socially awkward persona disappeared
and a full-grown bloody man taking his place.

“So, brother of
mine, what are we to do about this shitty problem of yours?” I ask him,
referring to the reason they called me. After we had sorted through all of the
past issues and rekindled our bond with one another and meeting my son, he had
sat down and told me about the terrible situation that had occurred.

I have found
out, my darling, innocent brother has also begun to work in the same business
as me, starting his own ‘secret’ company, because let’s face it, what we do is
fucking illegal. He doesn’t necessarily do the ‘jobs’ himself, he is into
hacking accounts and setting people up for ‘coincidental’ meetings. I am damn
proud of how well he can fool people he is targeting, altering their schedules
and meetings to his convenience to get the job done. He and Thomas would be an
awesome duo, invincible. I have known Thomas to change video footage to set
people up, changing dates, times and even morphing people into the recording.

Going back to
why my siblings called me in. Our father’s sister, our Aunt Mandy was found
dead and murdered in her home. Brandon knew exactly who it was and why it’d
been done. It was retaliation, once again. This business was very dangerous and
you had to expect the unexpected, never rule anything out, and always, always
cover your back and even more so the people you loved, because they were always
prime targets an easier way to get to you than actually going directly for you.

“Fuck if I know,
I know my boys are good, but even they can’t handle the extent of this. I need
you in this Leighton, if you can. I don’t want to cause your family any harm
but this guy isn’t lying off. I have tried everything and he just isn’t getting
the message.” Brandon revealed to me, I sense a little fear mingled with the
anxiousness of leaving his wife.

Of course, I am helping;
they killed my Aunt with my son there, my fucking son.

“Brandon mate,
chill. Let me get home, sort out whatever has happened there, then I’ll come
back with you and sort it out. It’ll be fine.” I reassure him, willing to leave
my Abbi and Melissa to help my family out, to make them safe and without fear.

As I think to my
Fiancée, sitting at home now, probably scared to death, my body feels cold and
numb. I thought all the shit was behind us, that those idiots had moved on.
Clearly I am wrong and need to bring security back in to protect my family. I’m
not having another repeat of our past.