CHAPTER 5

Ella Easton was born on October 19, 2017 on what would have been Bentley Bonnano’s 35^th birthday. The dear man known as Bent had given up his life saving Amy and Dirk almost a year earlier. The first weeks after their spiritual granddaughter was born, Brock and Destiny had been enjoying quiet lives. Nora Medora and her colleagues had apprehended the person behind the vicious attack on Amy, Destiny and Dirk. Although Brock had since kept a vigilant guard up, everything seemed to be peace and safety. But that was about to change. It all began with a rather startling surprise.

Brock had been holding baby Ella for the first time. It was quite the sight to behold. Big, strong, burly Brock holding a fragile little person while looking possibly as frightened as Destiny had ever seen him.  Brock’s light brown eyes twinkled and he smiled as he slowly became comfortable. Then Ella became very still before a little explosion came from her behind. She had pooped with such liquid force that it leaked right through her diaper. Amy took Ella from Brock and then he raced to the bathroom horrified at being smeared with baby excrement. As he cleaned up, Brock loudly joked that Dirk must have put on Ella’s diaper. When Dirk looked more sheepish than amused, Destiny surmised an element of truth in Brock’s jesting.

Shortly after Ella relieved herself on Brock, there was a knock at the door. In the chaos of baby waste, nobody even notice a vehicle pull up. The doorbell jingled seconds after a knock. Destiny answered the door and her heart leapt from her chest. It was Bentley Bonnano standing in the entryway! But that wasn’t possible! Only instead of wearing his typical greasy jeans and t shirt, Bent wore khakis and a dark blue polo shirt. Instead of shoulder length, stringy, dark hair, he had shorter and slicked straight back hair. Yet there was the same impish smile from his wide mouth as well as the same long straight nose.

But it couldn’t be sweet Bent; he was dead. Destiny didn’t believe in ghosts, but here was Bentley Bonnano standing right in front of her in the flesh! Next to him stood a man that grinned broadly with his eyes covered by sunglasses with round lenses. Thick dark brown hair was combed into a retro fifties style and a short, thick beard covered his jaw. She looked past the two men and saw an old black Cadillac hearse. Destiny gasped loudly as she dropped the glass of raspberry tea she was holding, shattering the goblet into dozens of pieces.

“Mom, what is it?” Dirk barked before he arrived at her side and took in the sight of Bentley and the sinister stranger. The bottle of water he held slipped from his fingers and thudded to the floor as his mouth dropped open in utter surprise.

“What’s going on?” Amy asked as she entered the kitchen and made her way to the door.

“Sweetie, don’t drop Ella!” Destiny cautioned as she moved toward Amy and put her hands protectively on the baby.

“Why would I…” Amy’s mouth dropped open and her pretty multicolored eyes widened. “Bentley!”

The Ghost of Bentley Bonnano and the stranger looked at each other with puzzled expressions. Then the stranger removed his sunglasses and spoke.

“Relax,” he said with a sly grin. “We come in peace, we mean you know harm.”

“Six, Tito, come in, come in,” Brock said as he walked in behind his family. He wore a huge grin as he entered the kitchen. The stranger stepped in followed by Bentley. Brock and the stranger embraced enthusiastically, then he and Bentley hugged. “Hey everybody, this is my cousin Simon Six Sallie, he goes by Six, and Benito Bonnano, Bent’s twin brother. He goes by Tito. Tito and I worked for the same agency in Miami. He’s who hooked me up with Bent when I came to Iowa.”

Brock continued to get everybody acquainted. As he finished, Amy calmly, yet menacingly handed baby Ella to Dirk.

“We didn’t know Bentley’s brother was an identical twin,” Destiny said. “How come you never told us?”

“I thought you knew,” Brock shrugged.

“Well, we didn’t,” feisty little Amy said with a scowl as her delicate fist hurled toward Brock’s stomach.

“Woof,” he moaned as he doubled over and slapped a hand hard on the counter.

“Oh no!” Amy said as a hand went to her mouth.

Amy and Brock had a little game they played with each other on occasion. Amy would get irritated with him and want to punch him in the stomach. Brock would then let her hit him. It not only never fazed him, Amy usually complained of an injured fist or wrist. Until now.

“Daddy, I’m so sorry,” Amy lamented. “It’s never hurt you before.”

“You never did it without warning before,” he groaned. “I wasn’t braced for it.”

“Oh,” Amy moaned as she bit the tip of a finger and winced. “No wonder it didn’t hurt my fist this time. Are you okay?”

“Come here,” he said pulling her into a tight hug. “I’m fine.”

Before they released each other, Brock’s fingers wiggled on Amy’s rib cage. She squealed and squirmed away from him as they both laughed.

 “You!” Amy scolded with hands on her hips. “Now I’m glad I punched you.”

“Well, this certainly is a surprise,” Brock declared as he looked back and forth between Tito and his cousin.

 “Yes it is,” Tito retorted. “I never thought I’d see the great Brock Storm doubled over by a punch from a guy, let alone a skinny gal.”

“Watch it, bub, or your next,” Amy teased as she shook her fist at Tito. The kitchen erupted with laughter.

“So how do Bent’s brother and Brock’s cousin know each other?” Destiny wanted to know.

 “Because of all the times Six came and stayed with us in Miami when Brock and I were roommates,” Tito chuckled.

 “Hey, when you live in Minnesota, Miami is a great place for a winter vacation,” Six retorted. “Especially when you can find free lodging.”

“And food,”  Brock added.

“And transportation,” Tito teased.

“And Tito’s clothes,” Brock said.

“Alright, alright,” Six said. “Quit making me out to be a mooch. Ya’ all are welcome to stay at my place anytime and for any length of time.”

“Yeah, a gothic funeral home in the frozen Twin Cities,” Tito chuckled. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

 “So to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit today?” Brock asked the duo. “This is a long way from Miami.”

 “A corpse,” Tito said casually. “Also, Six had a situation he wanted me to look into. I was telling him how I was out of the country on a top secret mission when my brother died and still hadn’t had a chance to pay my respects. Then low and behold, Six tells me that he needed to go close to my hometown and invited me to come along to visit my little brother’s final resting spot.”

“Little brother?” Dirk inquired. “Brock just said that you’re twins.”

 “I was born a few minutes before Bent,” Tito explained.

“What was that about a corpse?” Destiny asked.

“Well, there was a body to pick up in Waterloo,” Six said matter of fact as he ran a hand through his thick chestnut hair. “So I…”

 “You’re kidding,” Amy interrupted, wincing and crinkling her cute little nose. “You have a dead body in that creepy car?”

“Well, it is a hearse,” Dirk chuckled.

 “Well yeah, a corpse makes good company,” Six smiled. “He hasn’t interrupted Tito’s and my conversations once.”

“Seriously, you brought a dead body to our home?” Destiny asked with amused bewilderment.

 “Don’t worry,” Six assured her “I’ve ridden with countless corpses and I’ve never had one attack me yet.”

“Careful, you’re gonna ruin these two youngsters belief in zombies,” Destiny smiled as she put an arm around Amy and Dirk.

“Oh stop it, Mom,” Amy laughed.

“We just joke about zombies, we most definitely don’t believe they’re real,” Dirk added.

“Wait, something’s crawling out of the back of Six’s hearse,” Brock said earnestly as he looked out of the kitchen window.

Amy reflexively peered out the window and then slapped Brock on the upper arm and laughed, “Shut up, Daddy.”

 “Wait a minute,” Six said as he held up a hand in a stop gesture. “Why does this lovely young lady call you two mom and daddy?”

Destiny explained how they had met Amy when Nora Medora had asked she and Brock to protect her from a cult that wanted her for a human sacrifice. Then how Amy and Dirk met when he helped save her from being gang raped. Also how they both had been orphaned before they were teenagers and started calling Brock and Destiny mom and dad as sort of a joke. But when they married and baby Ella came along, it became more real than pretend.

“Hmm,” Tito nodded and grinned. “So it was just your typical love story.”

“And if your brother hadn’t given his life to save us, we wouldn’t be here,” Amy said, her big blue eye and big green eye filling with tears as she kissed her daughter. “And she wouldn’t either.”

“I know my brother would have absolutely no regrets,” Tito replied with a croak in his voice.

Amy handed baby Ella to Dirk, went to Tito and hugged him. The two cried softly as everybody else stood still and reverent as Bentley was fondly remembered. After a minute, Six, an experienced funeral director, gently broke the silence. “So, the reason we’re here.”

“You mean besides you picking up a body and Tito paying respects to his brother,” Brock said and then winked. “Surely it’s because you both missed me.”

“Right, right,” Six drawled, sounding like Matthew Mc McConaughey.  Then Six looked Brock hard in the eyes. “Seven has gotten several death threats and they seem to be more serious than just pranks. Tito checked it out and confirmed it.”

“Well, if Tito says it needs to be taken seriously, take it serious,” Brock replied. “Tito is among the best at evaluating these types of situations.”

“And you’re among the best at protecting the people plagued by violent threats,” Tito replied.

“Hold on,” Brock said, putting up his hand in a stop gesture. “For one thing I’m retired from bodyguarding, and for another, Seven and I don’t live in the same neck of the woods.”

“And for another, you and him get along about as well as an ornery cat and a vicious dog,” Six chuckled.

“Six, that isn’t gonna help sell him on helping,” Tito said with a frown.

“Oh, it’s not like he doesn’t already know,” Six explained. “Besides, Brock and Seven are kinfolk, they love each other.”

Brock stared blankly at Six.

“I said love not like, truth?”

“Truth,” Brock replied. “But I don’t know what you expect me to do. I’m not going to Seattle indefinitely.”

“Seven isn’t in Seattle anymore,” Six said. “He’s been back in the Twin cities for almost a year.”

“He has? I guess we’ve been out of touch?”

“Ya think?” Six said as he put his hands on his hips.

“Minneapolis is just a quick three hour drive from here,” Tito said. “Just come up for a day or two and help us find somebody as good as you at personal protection.”

“That’s not possible,” Dirk declared.

“Not even close,” Amy added.

“Honey, how would you feel if somebody killed Seven and you weren’t there personally looking out for him?” Destiny asked. “You need to put aside any personal differences you have with the man.”

“Six, can you help me out here?” Brock asked his cousin. “As his brother, can you tell my family why I can’t personally be Seven’s bodyguard?”

“I understand Brock’s concern,” Six nodded. “When we were young, Seven’s mouth got Brock into more skirmishes than you can shake a fist at. No pun intended. Now my dear sweet brother is sharing that obnoxious mouth with literally millions. So you do see Brock’s dilemma, don’t you?”

“Amen brother!” Brock told his cousin. “I’ll help you find a good man or men to protect Seven. But I cannot and will not personally have his back watched twenty four seven. Period!”