Page 26 of Dark Things (Payback Duet #1)
Haunt
O nce I’m in my car, I call Reb. It’s late but if I’m calling she knows to pick up. My hands are sweaty as I grip the steering wheel. She’s going to give me shit for not including her in tonight's activities.
“You okay?” she asks. I can hear the sleep in her voice and the sheets rustling.
“Fine, but we need to go hunting. Be to you in ten minutes, meet me at The Point,” I say before disconnecting the call.
We both know phones can be tapped at any moment so we have code words for what needs to be done. It’s not the most complex and if someone wanted to figure it out they could, but what matters most is if it could be used in a court case.
I press on the gas to get to her faster. All I can think about is Stella sitting in that chair and her children, especially the sick one. That must be devastating.
Reb is outside the gate on the west side of the property that we’re now calling The Point. It’s the only part that doesn’t have cameras or is guarded. It’s the weakest spot on the property, but we left it so we could slip in and out.
She climbs into the truck, going for the center console to reach the safe inside.
She uses her fingerprint and it opens with a hiss.
She grabs her gun and checks the clip and makes sure the safety is on before she puts it in the shoulder holster.
I know she already has her blades on her, but I glance over to double check anyway.
“Want to tell me why we’re hunting in the middle of the night when we don’t have a job besides getting rid of Mario? Did you do something?”
I purse my lips, biting down in the corner before clearing my throat. “I may have been following a few people.”
She doesn’t say anything at first but then she quirks up her eyebrow. “You mean you were following the guys to get intel and instead of a quiet recon mission you stepped into shit and now need my help to clean it up.”
A thrill runs through me. This is one of the reasons why I love her so much. She knows my soul, and there will never be another person who can compare.
“Basically, except it’s worse than you’re imagining,” I sigh and then begin to tell her everything that happened.
“You’re telling me Colter, Staff, and Brooks work for Mario as enforcers?
That’s what those fucks were talking about before.
” she laughs. A full belly laugh, tears in her eyes.
“Oh God, this is even more fucking perfect than I thought. I’m going to torture those fucks until they think they’re going insane and now we have the perfect fucking alibi to take the heat off of us. ”
“Wait, what did you mean before?” I ask.
“I was bored, so I started to go through some of the footage from their house. Colter got a call earlier, and it seems like it was the one to go pick up Michael. They didn’t say names, so I didn’t make any connection right away.
Honestly, I was surprised they were on the dark side, but this, it’s gold. ”
I smirk, “We get to also press them for information on Mario. We could get this job done early, and then Stan won’t be up our asses as much. He’ll be dealing with taking over New York, and we can finally get the chance to look for Magnus when he’s distracted.”
She closes her eyes for a moment and turns to me, grabbing my hand. “It’s been five years, and he was such a little kid. He won’t even remember me.”
I grab the back of her head and pull her over on the seat before kissing her temple.
“It doesn’t matter, gioia mia. We get him to safety, and then we get the fuck out of the country if we can’t take care of Stan.
We take Cat with us, too. She’ll want to know him, and I’m not leaving her to that monster. ”
She blows out a breath and slides over to her side of the truck. “You’re right. Nothing else matters except getting him back. We do the job like always and take next steps after. Where do you think they’re keeping this Michael guy?”
I hand her my phone and she clicks on the tracking app. There are four dots currently on the screen, but we only need one—Gino’s.
“Looks like he’s parked over by the nature preserve. You think they killed him already, or they’re doing it there for easy clean up?”
I shrug, pressing on the gas and praying we get there before they kill him.
If he’s dead, I’m not sure I can save Stella.
Stan is going to want to kill him after he signs the business over.
Stan is the definition of a new conqueror.
He’s obsessed with Ancient Rome and all the pillaging shit that the Vikings did.
He sees businesses as new countries to take over.
I park the truck further in the dark cover of the trees and Reb hops out, coming over to the driver’s side. She grabs my jacket and pulls me down for a kiss before resting her forehead on mine. “In and out, no regrets. Job gets done and we go home.”
“Home,” I reply, stepping back to check my weapons. She does the same before we pull down our balaclavas and disappear into the night.
Gino is alone, and Michael is tied in a bundle at his feet. He’s mumbling something, but I can’t make it out from here. Reb signals and takes out her smaller gun from her belt holster. She slips into the darkness, and I stand at the ready for when it's time.
A small whooshing sound disturbs the night and Gino’s hand goes to the back of his neck where the dart is sticking out. He wobbles on his feet for a moment before murmuring ‘fuck’ and going down face first in the grass.
Reb comes out from her spot and I meet her, standing over Gino’s body. I kick him to make sure he’s out and then pull the dart from his neck, pocketing it. Reb uses his shoulders to flip him over so he doesn’t suffocate in the dirt.
We could have just killed him, but we don’t need Mario going crazy looking for his second and making this whole fucking thing worse than it is.
Michael starts crying about how he doesn’t want to die, but I tune him out. The less I say to this piece of shit the better. Reb doesn’t have any trouble, though.
“Hey, asshole. Seems like you got caught in quite the fucking mess,” she says, bending down and cutting the zip ties at his ankles. He tries to stand up, but she pushes him down and crotches in front of him.
“I didn’t say you could get up. You’re going to listen to me and agree to everything I say. Otherwise I’m going to finish what Gino started, got it?”
Michael’s head is nodding so fast it’s a wonder it’s still attached to his head. “Anything, I just want to get back to my family.”
“The family that you abandoned and made stupid decisions for because you’re gambling and side pieces are more important than your daughter who has fucking cancer!”
I’m yelling by the end of my rant and kicking him in the leg. I have to take a walk, or I will kill this asshole. Reb takes my place and starts to talk to Michael more quietly. I’m sure her words are a threat and not a sweet chat.
She gets up from her crouch and spins to face me.
“Michael agrees that he’s not going to be a problem.
We’re going to give him to Stan and leave with Stella.
He’s also going to give her a divorce and all the money to take care of his kids.
And be there in the hospital until Patty dies.
Then he’s going to either disappear or do what he needs to survive away from his wife and other daughter. Right, Michael?” she asks.
“Yes, that’s what I’m going to do. You have my word,” he says, scuffling into a sitting position, eyes pinging between Reb and I.
“Get up,” I yell, crouching down and pulling him up by his armpits. He scrambles, but is steady on his feet after I let go.
We walk him back to the SUV, and I pull out a blindfold, tying it around his eyes before getting him settled in the trunk. He begins to cry but I drown out his pity party with music .
Reb and I are silent until we pull up outside the slaughterhouse. Stan’s guys are smoking outside, but when they see Pitch they stub their cigarettes out and move out of the way of the entrance. Rook is there, and he gives us a nod before opening the door.
I grab Michael from the SUV and walk him into the building behind Reb. She hasn’t been to this site yet, but she acts like she owns the building. The guys all stop and stare for a moment, but when she turns toward them they find something else to do.
Even if most of our Kentucky crew isn’t here, Reb is still a legend in her own right. People fear her because she’s so unpredictable, and to anyone here that makes her dangerous, but it just makes me smile on the inside. My girl is a terror.
“You found him!” Stan yells, walking across the open room to get to us.
I take off Michael’s blindfold and step around him. Stan comes up to us, and I see Reb straighten her spine and plant her feet.
“He was with Gino,” I say, giving my father a nod. He looks between Reb and me before smiling at Michael.
“You fucked up, Mikey. Now we’re going to have a long conversation about the new friends you made,” Stan says.
He motions for one of his goons to come and get Michael. Reb and I stand side by side and wait to see if any of this fuckery is going to be on us to do.
“Did you get rid of Gino?” Stan asks. I hold my tongue for a moment and don’t reply. Before I can open my mouth, Reb steps in.
“I tranqued him. Without Gino, Mario will get too suspicious, and we’ll lose the leverage we’ve gained. Gino is the one player we know; if he appoints a new guy it will be harder to get the information we need before we take him down,” she says.
Stan’s fists clench and he takes a step toward Reb, but I hold position. It will be so much worse if I get in the middle of them.
“You don’t think eliminating his number two wouldn’t throw him off his game enough to make our big move? You decided this without contacting me,” he snarls.
Reb doesn’t move, but just stares at Stan with a blank look. If serial killers had a look before they strike, it would be the one marked all over Reb’s face. It’s as if she’s left the building, and nothing is behind her moss green eyes except the need to inflict pain and kill.
“Gino is still a valuable resource. He doesn’t know his car is being tracked.
We have intel on his personal phone, as well.
We’ve been here less than a month and know more about where he goes than we ever did from Kentucky.
Let us work this how you taught us so that we can take down the Russos and be done with it,” I say.
He flicks his gaze from both of us to the plastic sheeting in the corner. I hope Stella is still alive behind there. He lets out a sigh and then nods. “Fine, but the next time there’s an opportunity, I expect you both to take it. I want them all gone.”
He stalks away, but before he leaves he waves his hand in the direction of the plastic sheeting. “Handle that. I don’t need her anymore.”
Reb glances at me before moving forward. I’m right on her ass, crossing my fingers we’re going to get Stella home to her kids.
Stella isn’t conscious when we get her into the SUV, but she is breathing so that’s a positive. It’s going to take a lot to get her to the hospital to see her daughter, but there’s nothing to be done for it.
“Call the on-call doctor. Tell him to meet us at the house on Featherington,” I tell Reb as she’s settling into the front seat.
She pulls out her phone and dials. I glance back at Stella lying on the backseat and send up a short prayer to the universe she makes it so she can get back to her children.
“This is Pitch, security code 0630. We need medical assistance for an ally. Full work up and then delivery after she’s well enough to travel,” Reb says, glancing over at me. I place my hand on her thigh and rub small circles, trying to settle us both .
She hangs up the phone before letting out a low breath. “This is so fucked. Why in the fuck is Stan resorting to beating women? He really needs to be stopped, Haunt. None of this is okay. He’s escalating, and if we’re not careful we’ll all crumble by his side.”
I give her a squeeze. “I know. We’re going to have to up our timeline and figure out how to get Mario sooner than we planned. If we can keep Stan happy a little longer we can do everything we need to do.”
A moan sounds from the back seat and Reb whips her head around, releasing her seatbelt and squeezing between the seats toward Stella.
“Hey, Stella, I’m Pitch. We’re taking you to a doctor. Then someone will take you to the hospital to see Patty. We just need to go over our story before that all happens. Are you okay with that?”
“Yeah, as long as I get to see my babies, I’ll do whatever you say,” she whispers. Her voice is all hoarse and scratchy.
“It’s simple, we stick closest to the truth so it’s easy to remember.
You were in a car accident, and a Good Samaritan saved you from the wreck.
He didn’t give you a name, but said he had medic training in the military.
He patched you up enough to get you to the hospital.
You can’t remember much else, and aren’t sure where you crashed.
You were just looking for your husband and a deer ran out into the road. Sound simple enough? ”
“You’re pretty good at this. Do it a lot?” Her chuckle turns into a slight cough, but I can hear Reb’s smile.
“I’m not usually the one saving people, but I’m great with making up stories. Rest; we’ll be there soon,” she says before moving back into the front seat and clicking her belt back on.
I place my hand on her thigh again, and we drive in silence the rest of the way to the safe house. This could have been so much worse, but we were able to save Stella and get some valuable intel on the guys.
It wasn’t smooth but still a win.