Trouble comes in Three's

Chapter 1

Book 3 of 'Divorced Now What?'

Third POV

Life has moved along at a swift pace. Life has been good and peaceful.

The royals had relaxed their guard since no unexplained deaths or murders or kidnappings had occurred. Life had been exciting, and they all enjoyed the peace and watching the children grow up and bond as one huge family.

So have Jacko and Hank, Bethany, and Theo. Their lives around the orphanages and Danny's successful racing career kept them busy.

Only Scott still had eyes and ears around the world watching for trouble. His Dad told him to always be on the watch, not just for the missing but for other problems as well. Scott's company had grown to a global size, having men in every country that he could, his men and women all well-trained and ex-service service. If someone is dirty, they will find them. Scott's level of security was on the verge of paranoia, but he would not relax his vigilance. His Dad said never to give up, even when you think all is good or you have lost everything, never give up. Deep down, he knew he had missed someone, and sooner or later, they would show their hand, and he was as ready as he could be. A person could only catch a plane, train, or passenger liner with his face recognition program checking them all out. Only private planes and ships could bypass his security. There was little he could do about that. He could not get permits to put it in private marinas or airports and didn't even start on helipads.

It is a good thing that Scott had.

However, the program only includes known criminals or suspects, so any new face would not be considered a criminal. Scott cannot keep up with all the associates of criminals, no matter how good he is.

A person who is aware of the past and has a score to settle or believes they have a score to settle is gearing up to take over Bethany and Theo's city. This syndicate has tried before and not succeeded, but now it is ready to try again. Small groups have been moving over there in the last few years, setting up a base and preparing to take what they believe is theirs.

The word on the streets scares the local homeless, who are grouped together in places far away from their usual camping spots. They hope to survive by staying close to each other.

Even the local police need to be made aware of the gathering or the problems that will soon arise.

Bob POV

'Come on, Pam, they are young and starting to want more. You can't blame the boys for being a little rougher now that they are older.' I defended the lads. Pam stands with her hands on her hips, looking at the three boys angrily. Alex had a black eye, Axil a busted lip, and Austin had bruising but nothing major. Their clothes have tears in them and are filthy. They had been in the tunnels mucking around, and it got out of hand, as it often does with three teenage boys. They are stronger than they realize and can do each other damage, but not on purpose. It is just at that age.

'Stop defending them, and they should know better by now. They are not babies anymore.'

'No, they are not. They are three boys going through puberty. You are lucky they are fighting each other and not out bedding every girl that gives them the eye,' I growled back in frustration. If I had mentioned I had been through this before with Thomas, I would never have heard the end of it; I learned that lesson a few years ago.

'They would not dare; they are not old enough.' She gasped in shock at my words and stared at the boys as if assessing how true they were.

'No, they are not; as you said, they are not babies any longer, and they have those needs too, mostly likely using the hand at the moment, but sooner or later, they will experiment, and there is nothing you or I can do about that, except to teach them how to be safe.' I looked at the boys, who were so shocked that I had said such a thing to their mother. I had that talk with them a few years ago, and last year, I gave them all a box of condoms and said if you have to be nice to the girl and, don't break their hearts. They were still too young to understand what I meant at the time, other than how to use condoms; broken hearts were something new to them, as they had never had a girlfriend that I knew about.

'Boys, do you have girlfriends?' Pam asked, and I was not sure if the boys would tell her if they had, not yet anyway; she had no clue how to be with the boys now; they were growing so fast that she was lost in how to treat them. They are all six feet four and still growing; they are my height, and I feel they will pass me soon. They are adults to look at, with a baby face and no real facial hair yet, but I can see telltale signs it won't be long, and I will be teaching them how to shave. They have little bits of fluff, but not enough to go full-blown shaving. They have chest hair, a lot of it, and under the arms, like most men, but the face only has bits and pieces, and what makes me laugh is that all three are exactly the same: the same chest hair and facial hair. It is uncanny how exact they are to look at. I can tell them apart, and so can Pam and all her siblings, meaning Bethany's children; and funny enough, Scott's three girls can tell them apart, yet his two sons still have moments where they get confused.

'We have some girls we are interested in but have not ventured to ask them to date us yet. I personally do not feel I am ready. I like the company as I have it now and am worried if I should ask her to date me. It might hurt the friendship we already have.' Alex replied, the only girls I know they hang around with other than Bethany's girls and Jacko's and Hanks, whom I doubt would be who they are talking about, are Scott's three daughters, and I know all three get along with them well. Could it be Scott's girls? Please don't ask who. I think to myself as I watch Pam process what they have said. Pam was never one to rush to a conclusion but could be emotional regarding her boys.

'Anyone I know?' She asked coyly.

'Don't answer that, boys, if you know what is good for you.' I said, looking at Pam with a big grin. If she had yet to work it out, it would be her problem. I had not heard them once talk about a girl from school, so it had to be them, and I could not have been happier if that was the case.

'But.' She tried to complain.

'Leave the boys to sort out their own love life; they are young, and as long as they keep it either in their pants or use protection, I will wait till they are ready, and so should you.' I watched the boy's faces and could see they were happy with my intervention, and I am not sure if they are ready to admit who it is they like a lot, let alone tell their parents. When they are ready to bring them to us as a possible candidate as girlfriend material, then I will believe it. My boys are sensitive like Thomas was at that age, but then he had more to deal with, liking both girls and guys, it must have been a struggle till he found his own solution.