Black Widow by Victor Methos Read Free Book Online

way.”
    Stanton slapped him.
    They both stood quietly and stared at each other a moment. Tears welled up in Mathew’s eyes and he ran out of the house.
    Stanton collapsed onto the couch, his hand over his eyes. A pounding headache was coming on, and he rubbed his face and rose. He went out onto the patio and sat down. The moon was lighting the ocean a dull white.

13
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Stanton rose the next morning and went and checked Mathew’s room. His son wasn’t there. Stanton went to Johnny’s room. Johnny was asleep and Stanton woke him.
    “Have you seen your brother?”
    “He’s sleeping in the car, Dad. He said you guys got into a fight.”
    Stanton slipped on a robe and went outside. The Toyota Corolla Mathew’d bought with his own money working part time was in the driveway. Mathew was in the backseat, curled into a ball. Stanton opened the door and Mathew stirred.
    “Did you sleep out here the whole night?” Stanton asked.
    He nodded, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
    “I’m sorry I hit you, Mathew. I promised myself I would never do that and I did. It was a line I said I would never cross.”
    Mathew sat up but didn’t say anything.
    “I’m worried about you. You’re seventeen and you’ve already slept with four girls. You have to ask yourself what type of man you want to be. Our actions make our life. All the little things you do add up to your life. If you do nothing but actions not in your long-term interest, you will destroy your life. Selfishness is not doing whatever you want. True selfishness, truly looking out for yourself, is thinking about what kind of person you want to be and taking actions toward that. That’s what I want you to think about today, Matt. What kind of man do you want to be?”
    Mathew rolled his hands together but wouldn’t look Stanton in the eyes.
    “You’re going to have children of your own, Matt. Those days your mother told you about, they’re not moments I’m proud of. They’re my youth and they led to things I wish I didn’t have to remember. Don’t let yourself have those regrets.” Stanton glanced over to a kid riding his bike past the house. “I have somewhere I want to take you tonight. Be home at seven sharp.”
    “Where?”
    “Just be here at seven.”
    Stanton walked into the house and got dressed. Mathew came back in and did the same and headed out to school. Stanton made breakfast for Johnny and they sat at the table. They said a prayer and had cereal, eggs, and orange juice.
    “Is Matt in trouble?” Johnny asked.
    “No. He’s almost a man. He has to make his own decisions soon, so he can’t get into trouble with me. He’s just making some bad choices right now.”
    Johnny chewed his cereal and then took another bite. “Is it because he’s humping?”
    Stanton nearly spit out his orange juice. He placed the glass down and took a moment to think. “Johnny, that’s something that two people do when they’re married. Not before.”
    His younger son raised his eyebrows as he took a sip of his juice. “Matt says it’s awesome.”
    Stanton grinned. “It is, but only if you love the other person.” He checked the clock on his phone. “We’re going to talk about this tonight. A friend of mine is coming over to babysit you for a couple of hours while I take Matt somewhere.”
    “Who?”
    “Our neighbor Suzanne.” He leaned over and kissed his boy on the head. “Let’s go, I’ll drop you at school.”
     
     
    Keylock Security was a national company that provided monitoring, home security, and loss prevention training and personnel. They also provided something Stanton couldn’t have guessed until he read an article about the company on Business Insider : mercenaries for use by governments around the world.
    They had local offices in all fifty states, and the Honolulu office wasn’t far from the precinct. Stanton drove there with the windows down, listening to a Chris Isaak station on Pandora.
    The building was