Page 8

8

T hane planted his hands on his hips and stared out the big picture window. A million and one things raced through his brain. Not a single one was good. Heat coursed through his veins. He understood the rage he felt toward Grant.

That was easy.

But the rest of it? He had no idea where to direct it.

He shouldn’t be mad at Odessa, and frankly, he wasn’t. She hadn’t done anything wrong. He probably would have done the same thing if he were in her shoes.

There were simply too many questions with not enough answers.

But it was the cryptic note from Rufus left on his mother’s front porch that sent him down a dark and dangerous path.

Thane was a lot of things. He’d been a trained killer for the government. He’d been sent on numerous unsanctioned black ops where if the shit went sideways, his own superiors might have turned against him because they couldn’t afford to admit what the mission had really been.

He’d done things in his past that he wasn’t particularly proud of, but being a sniper wasn’t one of them. His career, while colorful, was something he could hang his hat on. It wasn’t about the medals he’d been given. He didn’t care about any of that. It had been about being a part of something bigger than himself. About serving his country. About giving back to his community.

And finally, he wanted his parents to be able to puff out their chests, hold their heads high, and tell their friends their boy was a good egg.

Even if he’d done some unspeakable things.

Currently, his mother would smack him upside the back of his head with her cane because of the thoughts he had between wanting to strangle Rufus, punch Grant… and then there was Odessa.

He let out a long breath, tapping his finger against his chest. God, how he loved that woman. He wouldn’t even try to deny it—at least not to himself.

“Hey, Ma?” He turned. “I’m going for a walk. I need to clear my head.”

“Wait.” His mother hobbled from the kitchen. “You can’t just leave. What about Odessa?”

“She’s taking a bath. It will be a good half hour before she comes down and it’s not like you don’t have lots to talk about.” He leaned over and kissed his mother’s cheek. “Just remember, no one can know she has her memory back.”

“You’ve made that very clear.” She reached up and pinched his cheek. “You’re also scaring me by having your buddies take turns hanging out down the street.”

“Someone murdered two girls and may have tried to kill Odessa.” He arched a brow. “I wanted to take her somewhere else, but you threatened me.”

“I did not. I just made it clear that poor girl needs family. We’re family.”

“Then why are you so concerned about being alone with her?” He arched a brow.

“Her anger is bouncing off the walls like silly putty. I’m afraid it’s going to smack me right between the eyes.” His mom pointed to the bridge of her nose. “I know that girl when she gets like this. She’s like a dog with a bone. She won’t rest until she finds the answers she wants.”

“Unfortunately, those answers aren’t going to come easy and there’s only one other person who can tell her what she wants to know.” He pressed his hands on his mom’s shoulders. “And that’s a person we don’t want to invite into the fold.”

His mama shivered.

“I’ll be back shortly. I’ve got my cell. Call if you need me.” He headed toward the back door. Quickly, he shot off a text to Jett, a fellow park ranger, who was currently keeping watch. He was taking a calculated risk by bringing in his team, but he trusted them.

He didn’t trust Rufus. However, he did want to hear him out.

Jett: You want backup?

Thane: Nope. Just keep an eye. Thanks.

Thane strolled down the street. His mother lived in a small neighborhood just outside of town. Only about twenty houses. It had its own pool and playground. It was cozy and quiet.

The park was dark, since technically it was closed. He made his way across the basketball court to the benches where Rufus was already waiting.

“I wasn’t sure if you were going to show up.” Rufus crossed his legs, stretching out both arms on the back of the bench.

“What is so important that we had to meet in the dark?” Thane sat on the far side of the bench. Never in his life had he considered Rufus a friend. But at one point they had been teammates. They trusted each other on the field. They were a good pair. Quarterback and running back. They took the team to a state championship—twice. Whatever their differences were off the field, they left them there once the ball had been kicked.

Hell, sometimes they even found themselves laughing on the sidelines or in the locker room. But once Grant got involved, all bets were off.

“I’m supposed to be looking for an opportunity to break into your house and bug it.” Rufus shifted, leaning forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “I’ll go back to Grant and tell him that you’ve got the cops, some buddies, and your mom constantly hanging around and that it was too risky. But he’ll send someone else. He’s got a few men from my payroll that he’ll be able to get to break in here in the middle of the night or when you and Odessa are out. I’d hate that for your mom. She’s a sweet lady.”

Thane ran his hand across his mouth. “Why do you care?”

“I’m tired of Grant holding two things over my head.” Rufus waggled his fingers. “And while you and me have never been friends, we’re cut from the same cloth.”

“I wouldn’t go that far… I mean with the whole cloth statement.”

“I beg to differ.” Rufus leaned back. “We both have certain traits. Back in the day, we were both able to compartmentalize our chest-pounding, keeping it to a minimum.”

“I’ll give you that.” Thane nodded.

“We also had jobs in the military that required us to do certain things that weren’t for the faint of heart.”

“Where are you going with this?” Thane asked, not wanting to play a game of twenty questions.

“I’ve never corrected anyone regarding what happened between me and my dad,” Rufus said. “People in this town like to gossip and they wanted to believe that because I was rough around the edges, my dad would always cut me off.” He shrugged. “But he didn’t. I walked away. I didn’t want his money.”

“But you got it when he died.”

“Yeah, that shocked me. I think it shocked Grant too,” Rufus said. “At the time of my father’s death, he and I weren’t speaking. But I wasn’t speaking to Grant either.”

Thane jerked his head back. “Now that does surprise me. Grant and your dad were always so close. Because of that, I believed—as everyone else—that even though your dad treated you like shit, you put up with it because you wanted his money.”

“I was over my old man, this town, and Grant. I had a career that I could be proud of, I was making my own money, though not very much, and I had a girl who made me happy. My dad’s money wasn’t even on my radar. To me, that inheritance would have been—and was—a bit of a death sentence.”

“I don’t understand. What happened?”

“It wasn’t one thing, but a chain of events.” Rufus blew out a puff of air and leaned back. “I seriously thought that my dad—to spite me—would leave his fortune to Grant. That honestly would have made my day and we wouldn’t be sitting here right now having this conversation. As a matter of fact, you and I might even be friends.”

“I’m not sure I’d go that far.” Thane chuckled. “We kind of hated each other in high school.”

“I never hated you. I was an angry little shit with daddy and mommy issues. Grant had been my best friend since grade school. He had my father’s ear. More importantly, he had my father’s love. Something I desperately wanted back then. The Army taught me all I needed was my self-respect. I’ve lost that and I want to gain it back. But in order to do that, I need to tell you a little story.”

“No offense, man, but I’m not sure I will believe anything that comes out of your mouth.”

“That’s fair, but I’d like you to hear me out.” Rufus glanced toward the sky. “Because my dad left me everything, I had to come back and bury him. It was my first time seeing or speaking to Grant in a few years. I didn’t want to do jack shit for the old man, but Grant had different plans. He worshipped my dad. He wanted to do this grand memorial. It made me sick to my stomach, but I didn’t have any fight in me, and Yolanda, my girlfriend, she told me to let Grant have it. Hell, she told me to give him the money if it meant putting all this bullshit behind me.”

“Did you?”

“Fuck no,” Rufus said. “One thing I know about Grant is he’s a greedy bastard. He approached me with a business proposition and I entertained it for a hot minute. But I was still in the Army and I blew him off. Went home to find my house had been robbed and my girlfriend raped and murdered.”

“Jesus Christ,” Thane mumbled. “I’m so sorry.”

“It was the worst day of my fucking life,” Rufus said. “But, man, Grant showed up at my doorstep. He was there for me when I needed a friend the most.” Rufus ran a hand across his face. “I was in a bad place. I had done something most men wouldn’t come back from.” He held Thane’s gaze with the steely eye of a sniper.

“What did you do?”

“Exactly what you think I did.” Rufus swiped at his eyes. “Revenge killing isn’t the same as killing for God and Country. When we pull that trigger because we’re making the world safe from terrorists. Killing leaders who threaten freedom, we have purpose. We can justify our actions. Sure, I had reasons for strangling the life out of that man, but I didn’t let our justice system, the very system that I took an oath to defend when I joined the Army, work. I took matters quite literally into my own hands.”

“What does this have to do with Grant and the situation we are in right now?”

“As much as I knew the world was a better place without that asshole, I was struggling to live with the guilt. If you thought I was a rebel without a cause back in high school, I was ten times worse during this time. I was fucking up left and right and I was facing disciplinary action in the military. Grant made it his life’s mission to save my sorry ass. He talked me into leaving the military. He helped bury evidence that would prove I killed that man. That it was premeditated and in cold blood. That fucker even has a recording of me confessing the crime.” Rufus arched a brow.

“Are you trying to tell me that Grant has been blackmailing you all these years?”

“No. Not at first. Grant doesn’t work that way. He’s more subtle than that.” Rufus leaned back, stretching out his legs. “Once I was out of the Army, I came back to Fallport. Not so much because I wanted to, but because I didn’t know where else to go. I still thought my life was over. I was constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for the cops to knock on my door. But they never did. Grant took care of everything and I let him. About six months after I returned, I started my security business—with Grant’s help. At first, he was hands-off. He’s always good that way. Acting as if he cares. As if he’s on your side and only wants what’s best. But before I knew it, he had his grubby little greedy fingers in every aspect of my business and I became his bitch boy.” Rufus held up his hand. “I don’t want to go to prison. I know what I did was wrong, no matter how I try to justify it, but deep down, I’m not a bad man.”

“Can I ask you a difficult question?” Thane wasn’t sure what to do with this intel. It was a lot to take in. He shouldn’t be surprised by what Rufus told him about Grant, but Thane was shocked by the entire tale.

“I just told you something that only one other person knows. You could fuck me over good. So, yeah, you can ask me anything.”

“Did you actually plan that man’s murder? And I’m not talking about thinking about what it would be like if he were dead, because that’s a normal reaction to have when someone you love is killed.”

“You know, I’ve thought a lot about that but I’m not sure it matters.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because of that audio recording. He has me admitting it. He has me saying I went to that man’s house intending to kill him,” Rufus said with real emotion laced to every word. “I was blinded by rage and brutal grief. It’s hard to sort through my state of mind. I wanted him to suffer. I wanted him to pay for what he did to my precious Yolanda.”

“I’m not cop. Or lawyer for that matter, but I do believe your intent matters in this case. Crimes of passion are a thing.”

“Maybe so. But Grant has me to the wall and he’s getting more ballsy. If I don’t do what he wants, not only will he find someone else to do it, but he’ll turn me in and turn over what he has,” Rufus said. “Like I said, I don’t want to go to prison.”

“So, what do you want from me? What do you think I can do for you?”

“I’m not sure you can do anything for me.” Rufus sighed. “I told you what Grant expects me to do and I also told you that I’m not going to bug your house. At least not tonight. But Grant won’t stop until he gets what he wants. If I don’t do it, he’ll get someone else. Someone more loyal than me.”

“Or he’ll do it himself.”

“Doubtful. It’s rare he does his own dirty work,” Rufus said. “He’s pretty good at keeping his hands clean.”

“Why does he want to bug my home?”

“You really have to ask?”

“Yeah, because while you don’t believe he’s capable of murder, I do.” Thane cocked his head. “We did for our country. You were pushed to it because someone took the love of your life from you. But Grant? Does he even have any compassion? Empathy? Come on, man. Be honest about that.”

Rufus snorted. “Grant’s an arrogant prick. But he’s also a pussy. Why do you think he walks around with me or someone from my company? He’s scared of his own fucking shadow. He was all talk back in the day. He’d shoot his mouth off, but he always needed my fists to stand up for him. He needs muscle to do what he does.”

“Or he’s a master manipulator and he’s playing us all and has been for years,” Thane said. “Tell me this, why does he want to bug my house? What does he think he’s going to find out?”

“I don’t ask too many questions. That pisses him off. He wants blind loyalty and since I’ve been poking the bear, he’s been reminding me a little too much about how he could destroy my life. But my best guess is to learn when Odessa comes into her memories. To him, she’s his property and he doesn’t like it when people walk out on him.”

“Did he take all her money?”

“I can’t be completely positive about that, but yeah, I believe so. I mean, he’s managed to find ways to get lots of mine,” Rufus said. “In the beginning, I didn’t care because I looked at my dad’s money as a burden. But he’s got a big hold on my company.”

“Explain that to me.”

“Grant’s good at swooping in and helping someone pick up the pieces of their life. He helped set everything up for my firm. He did all the grunt work. What I didn’t know at the time was he’s my partner. I can’t do shit without his approval. At first, he stayed out of it. But eventually, he started flexing his muscles. Inserting his ideas into what I thought was my business.”

“What kind of decisions has he made that you wouldn’t have?” Thane rubbed his temple, wondering how many people—businesses—Grant's fingers were in. He inherited his father’s dealerships. He was partners with Rufus. There was Odessa’s event planning business. Was there anyone else? And why?

“Besides being a top marksman and recon skills, I learned a lot of things in the military. Security detail and security technology among them,” Rufus said. “I always planned on starting a business like this when I left the military. Set up commercial security, contract bodyguard for a certain type of clientele. It’s a great gig. I do love it. But Grant has started to hire some shady men. Guys that have never put men and mission first.” Rufus arched both brows and lowered his chin. “And in that order. These are the kind of guys who think in terms of money and power and they will kill to get it.”

“That means Grant could have hired someone?—”

“I didn’t say that,” Rufus said. “What you have to understand about Grant is his family didn’t have the kind of money they pretended to have when we were kids, but even he didn’t know until we graduated. It was a huge blow to his ego. His dad was in debt up to his eyeballs and was about to lose everything. My father paid for Grant’s fancy college education and bailed out his old man when he nearly lost the dealerships.” Rufus rubbed his nose. “Grant started doing a lot of coke back then and he still does. And while he’s a greedy fucking asshole, I don’t believe he would ever kill anyone or hire someone to do it for him. Now, would he rob you? Take all your money and not think twice? Yeah. That he’d do.”

“I don’t know why you—or anyone—feels like they need to defend him after all the shit he’s done to you,” Thane said. “Have you ever thought about going to Haven or Weston with your situation?”

“Are you fucking crazy? Weston can’t stand me and honestly, I don’t blame the man. I play my role and keep my distance from people in this town. I’ve been looking for a way out, not just with Grant, but in general.” Rufus waved his hand. “And when it comes to Haven, well, I know what she went through and she might be a little more reasonable, but still, she’s a fucking cop. And a good one. She’ll slap those cuffs on me so fast I won’t have time to find a high-priced attorney.”

“I don’t believe that.” Thane stood and stretched. “How well do you know Lincoln and Stormi?”

“Not well.”

“They’re good people. Smarter than anyone I know. Let me ask them to look into not only the case file on what happened to your girlfriend, but maybe they can hack into Grant’s computer or phone and find something that can release you.”

Rufus jumped to his feet. “That would be unethical for ethical hackers.” He laughed. “And something tells me you’re already having them do that.”

“I might be.” Thane pointed toward the entrance of the park. “But I’m also going to allow you to bug my house when I take Odessa and my mom out for ice cream tonight.”

“Why the fuck would you do that?”

“Because I want to feed some bullshit to Grant. Once I’ve done that, Lincoln will come in and do a sweep, because I will have discussed that. So it won’t feel like a setup.”

“I don’t know. Grant’s smarter than you’re giving him credit for.”

“I’ve already called Lincoln, asking him to come over later so I can talk to him about some things. To ask him to help me do a sweep. Considering I’m a paranoid motherfucker, that won’t be a stretch.”

“All right. I guess I’m planting a couple of bugs.”

“I’ll text you?—”

“No. Don’t contact me at all. I have a feeling Grant’s put something on my phone. I’ll leave you a note where the listening devices are inside the house. I’ll find a way to be in touch later.”

“Why don’t you contact Lincoln and let him look at your phone.”

“Maybe.” Rufus held out his hand. “Thanks for not only taking the time, but also believing me.”

“If you fuck me over, I will come for you.” Thane took the man’s hand and squeezed.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Rufus stuffed his hands in his pockets and strolled down the path as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

Thane blew out a puff of air.

It was going to be one long fucking night.