Page 35 of Into the Blue (Shades of Vengeance #1)

“Good. You’re up,” I say, leaning in the doorway of a hospital room in Harmony Hill, Colorado. Unfortunately, I’m still chasing loose ends. With one gone, there’s one I have left to check before I can finally get back to Louisiana.

Back to Racquelle.

I’ll be the first to admit that I was selfishly keeping her in my home under my guard for my benefit alone.

All I wanted was to keep her safe even though I knew all she wanted was to keep her secrets safe.

Everyone had secrets and I couldn’t fault her for it.

But whoever her Pa was held some sort of sacred weight that she was unwilling to relinquish.

Depriving her of the orgasm she knew I could give her was something I enjoyed. I’m a sick fuck, what can I say?

It wasn’t always that way though.

In the mornings, I’d let her come on my dick when she was half dead and exhausted from the night before of teasing her. Taking every bit of information she would give me. Finally giving her the relief she craved was the best way to start what would be another hard day.

Never said I was completely cruel. I wanted to keep her and remind her what she could have if she gave me the truth I was seeking. Show her that there were benefits to a life with me if she would allow herself to receive them.

It could be rosy and nice all the time with me.

All I needed was one thing and I was like a dog with a bone. I couldn’t let her think I forgot about that elephant in the room.

Just like she’ll never forget me.

My name on her hand was sealed with venom.

Something extremely mild but highly effective at its job.

The tissues are immediately affected if the skin is broken, but not if it is ingested.

After making each cut I was quick to remove any of the residue with my mouth, so that it wouldn’t do more damage than I intended.

I’ll be with her always, from now on.

Back to the woman I’m studying in this hospital bed. She has a bandage around her head. Years ago, she came to me looking for revenge, just like Redd. Kitty, too, had lost someone the same night that he lost his brother.

Under my command, she trained with Redd to become a weapon for me to use against any opp when the time came.

Now she sits in a hospital bed and, apparently, all that she has learned under me is gone. She doesn’t remember shooting Colton or why.

Military wannabe, Colton Flagg, was out of his mind on painkillers when I went to see him earlier.

The delivery that was under his care to get to Kitty and Thane is missing and no one in this hospital will be able to tell me where it went.

For all his months of preparing, there is still nothing to show for it.

I'll have to wait until he's coherent to find out what exactly happened.

This car accident that landed Kitty here was all due to the fucking snow, supposedly . Thane, my other guard who was driving the car Kitty was in, died in the accident because he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

Fucking loose ends— uncertainty —I fucking hate it.

I’m starting to truly hate that I ever came to Colorado all those years ago.

“Kathryn, do you know him?” I noticed the White man in a chair at the foot of her bed, but paid him no attention. I mean, the dude has a cast on one leg. Definitely not worth remembering though flickers of a name itches just out of reach .

Kathryn , Kitty, doesn’t seem to recognize me at all though the way she grips the sheets tells me that she can feel my energy in the room and for that I’m grateful. It can do the heavy lifting, so I don’t have to deal with her otherwise smart ass mouth.

I already have a woman besting me in verbal sparring at home.

The man (Michael?) holds her hand until she releases the sheet and patiently waits for him to answer her question, but she shakes her head.

“Oh… Well, that hurts, darlin’,” I say slowly, straightening from where I lean on the door. I walk into the room, but the man is surprisingly quick on crutches, challenging me in the middle of the room before I can reach her.

Brave guy.

Stupid guy.

But brave, I’ll give him that.

I don’t think to reach for my knife because it’d be fucked up to attack a man trying to defend one of my soldiers. Even if it would be easy, this is a very public place and I am not that unhinged.

Yet.

Michael tries to put up an argument with me to protect my guard which is hilarious at best. Eventually she puts a stop to it.

“Mack,” she says, obviously recognizing how much danger he’s in playing with me. Mack not Michael. “It’s okay. I remember who Blue is by reputation.” She asks, “What history do we have together?”

So, there really is nothing there. “Not important.” I shrug, deciding I don’t have time to rehash everything for her and this is not the place either way.

We’re in mixed company and I’m not sure if it would help her or be a good use of my time.

“If any of those memories come back, you tell me first.”

She crosses her arms over her chest, somehow managing to look down her nose at me—even with a bandage on her forehead. “How? My phone was smashed in the accident. I filed an insurance claim for a replacement, but who knows when it will come.”

Looking around for a bit I see what I need.

Leaning over to the side table, I write my number on a tissue.

“Call me if anythin’ comes back to you.” She snatches the tissue from my hand and I chuff at her.

Only she would dare do that. “Might not have your memories, but your attitude still fuckin’ sucks.

Thought some brain trauma would’ve helped you. ”

“Well, you thought wrong,” she sneers, crossing her arms. “Somethin’ else you’re lookin’ for?”

So many things. “Nah. I’ll go.” I don’t wait for a second longer. There somewhere else I have to be.

I stand outside of my brother’s door trying to decide if I should knock or not.

They say bad things come in threes. And the bad things that have come my way are greater than three, within too short a period of time for my liking.

First, the woman that I thought was on my side, is not at all the person I welcomed into my home. She’s hiding something. I will find out what it is but still… What the fuck?

Second, since having her in my home, returning home to her at night, I have noticed more people going missing and consequently more of my fucking weed going missing as well.

And as a final straw, my brother, who I never wanted to be anywhere near this shit, has somehow gotten his cookie cutter life intertwined with mine.

He was held at gun point by my soldier who remembers nothing of the incident.

All because Colton put Mireya in danger and Tony was the one to rescue her.

What kind of parent brings their kid to a drug deal?

Like I said, Colton is a piece of shit dad. Mireya was in that hospital because of him. It seems like somewhat of a miracle that Tony and Drea weren’t injured, too.

I don’t have a choice, I knock on my brother's door.

The clattering of his dopey dog proceeds him looking through the peephole at me. I can feel how deeply he’s sighing from my side of the door before he even opens it. It’s cold as fuck and I’m ready to get my ass inside.

“I just got back from the hospital,” I tell him without a preamble when I can tell he’s still in a shitty mood. Seems like everybody is.

There’s no emotion in his voice when he asks, “For what?” He looks like hell, warmed over. Dark circles visible even under his brown skin.

My eyebrows pull down in confusion. Why the fuck else would I be at the hospital? “Colton and one of my others were there. I had to try and get the stories straight. Your name came up in both.”

He doesn’t seem surprised in the least. “So what? Said one of your others. What about that Thane guy?”

I shrug a shoulder, “He didn’t make it. Dead men can’t tell any more stories.” And it was true. Something I found to be very useful in my life.

A shudder rolls down his back before he begins to ask, “Did you—”

“Be real, T. You think I’d off somebody in a public hospital? This ain’t that. I like my life in the free world just as much as you.”

He rolls his eyes. “Look, I don’t know what you’d do.” I wish it were staying that way.

“I know.” I take a seat on the couch next to where he’s stretched out. “What do you know about that Mack dude?”

He shrugs a shoulder and it’s so similar to my own gesture that I smile a little internally. My brother may be a grumpy dick, but he’s still my brother. “Good guy, I guess. Works on the Ranch. Lives right next to it, actually. What about him?”

“He was in the room with one of my runners like some kind of bodyguard. Didn’t matter anyway because she was useless in terms of information.”

“What does that mean?” He sits up a little straighter. “Wait, she?”

“Yea, she. Kitty.”

“She was the woman Thane was with when we got to Colton at the cabin. She was holding a gun, kicking Colton’s ass just the same.”

“I bet. I brought her in myself. Saw potential. But now… I don’t know. Too many things aren’t linin’ up and she can’t even remember me.”

He turns to face me fully. “Why are you here? ”

“I came to check on you.” I put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugs it off. After whatever went down in that cabin, Tony somehow messed shit up with Drea. Don’t know exactly what happened there, but she’s still at the hospital with her daughter and he’s not there.

“You see me and I’m alive, so you can go now,” he retorts.

I’m dealing with real shit right now and he’s sulking here like an overgrown baby. “What’s the big deal? She’s just some woman,” I taunt.

“She’s not some woman. She is the best woman I’ve ever met. You wouldn’t know what love looked like and you definitely wouldn’t know what I’m going through. I’m all fucked up waiting for her to let me back in.”

He’s right. I wouldn’t know what love looks like, but I know when a man is down bad and my brother needs that woman and her daughter in his life.

“So why the fuck are you here then? She needs you. You lose her and then what? You just mope around here.”

“Look. She doesn’t want her life entwined with us.”

I’m sorry for it, truly, but I did the best I could to keep that from happening. Ever since Racquelle came into my life it has been impossible to keep control over anything.

Including this.

“Mmh. Sounds like givin’ up to me.” I say and then think for a second. “I need your advice.”

“I don’t know if I’m the best person to do that.”

“Nah, just be real with me. I think you can give me… perspective.”

“Hmm,” is all he says and I take that as a cue to keep going.

“You got out. I always thought you were makin’ the best choice for you.

No bullshit. It really made me respect you.

This life, this life is not for everybody.

I’m not gonna lie to you and say that I don’t love it.

I do. But I wonder… when I get ready to settle down like the simp you are for Drea, will I have to give it up? ”

My brother may not know the ins and outs, but he knows the consequences of being a Dupont just like I do. “I don’t know, man. Look at what happened to Ma. Gone because of whatever shit Pa was into. This girl, whoever she is… She’ll always have a target on her back.”

“But that’s the thing. Pa was movin’ shady. He wasn’t doin’ what we do now. The operation doesn’t even look like how he had it. If he were here, he’d be proud.” Not that I’m seeking his approval because he’d be reluctant to give it anyway.

But he would have to.

Tony shakes his head. “It’s even more dangerous. I’ve only caught a glimpse and I almost lost my life.”

“Ack. Kitty would not have let that happen. Thane was dumb as shit. That got… out of hand. As much as I believe in solvin’ the problem myself, karma did it for me.”

“My employee did it for you,” he corrects and I suppose he’s right in a sense. If it weren’t for that car accident, I might have more answers right now.

I hold my hands out in front of me. “An accident is an accident. One less drop of blood on my hands.”

“Whatever,” he says after a shudder rolls over him. He gets up and grabs two beers from the fridge, handing one to me. “What else do you want?” He’s trying to get rid of me, but I won’t let him do it that easily. I still have more to ask.

“How can I find someone in this crazy world? Is it even fair?” He sits down on the couch, but I choose the armrest instead.

“Nothin’ fair about life. You could lose someone just as easily to a car accident as you could to a bullet. If she knows you, then she’ll know that.” He drinks some of his beer. Picking at the label there, he says, “Bruh, you’re a risk no matter how you play it.”

“You’re right.”

“Should I be worried about some woman in your grasp?”

If he only knew. “Yea,” I respond simply.

He sits up straight on the couch, setting his beer on the coffee table. “What the fuck? Who? ”

I could tell him all about Racquelle, but I don’t think it’s a good idea when he’s so insistent on staying away from Dupont. “Probably best you don’t know at this point. Life’s a risk, remember?”

Shaking his head, he finishes his beer and leaves to grab another. “I’ll take your word for it.”

Time for me to get the fuck out of here. I still have so much to do. “I guess as a heads up, I’ll let you know. We’re takin’ Colton back with us when he’s discharged today.”

“You what?”

“He knows somethin’. Thane’s gone and Kitty was only in so deep before she lost her memory. Without what Colton knows, we don’t have the information needed to nip this shit in the bud.”

His eyebrow hikes up. “I thought you said it wasn’t that.”

“It’s not. I don’t need a camera crew or audience. Can’t have anybody thinking I’ve gone soft. I’ll get the answers I’m looking for or find out who has them.”

“Fuck. Give me your word that you’re not going to kill him.”

I swig from my beer. “Why?” I ask, truly curious about why he wants to keep Drea’s ex alive. Personally, I’d like to end all of Racquelle’s exes. This man doesn't deserve mercy of any kind as far as I'm concerned. He put my favorite teenage in danger.

“He’s Mireya’s Daddy. It would devastate her to lose him after everything that’s happened.”

My head tilts to the side, “So, what?”

“I can’t let you do that.”

I laugh with genuine amusement at his suggestion and clarify. “Let me? Lil’ bro you don’t let me do shit. If I want him, I’ll snatch him. Simple.”

“C’mon, there’s gotta be another way.”

I scratch my chin, considering him. Keeping him out of this life was the choice I made. If he wants to be the boy scout he is to protect someone who doesn't deserve it, I won't tell him what to do. “Oh, there is…”

“Shit.” He rubs a hand over his face.

If he wants to save that military wannabe, that’s his choice to make. “Welcome to the family, T.”