Page 34

Alex

“Feels like old times, huh?” Aiden guns the engine of his Lexus.

There’s a reason I moved into an apartment in the city when I came back to the states. I thought it would be weird coming back to Dire Ridge after so long. I’ve changed, just like I wanted to, but that guarantees I can never pick up where I left off. Fortunately, Aiden’s still the same, so when I told him I needed his help checking in on an old friend, he was happy to oblige.

“Old times, but with more artillery,” I reply as Aiden slingshots around a tight curve.

“That’s what I like to hear. Where’s our boy hanging out tonight?”

I lean forward and tuck my P320-M18 in its holster. It’s not my usual M18, but the civilian version works well enough. I’ve carried the same sidearm for six years and it was too off-putting to pick up the Beretta packed away at my house.

“Some place in Canaan called the Well.”

“Is that where all the townies in Daisy Dukes are lining up to have his babies and make him casseroles?”

“ You’re a townie,” I point out.

“Whatever,” Aiden scoffs. “I’ll cover my dick in hot fudge and roll it in rainbow sprinkles if even one of them knows that Beethoven is a composer and not a dog. Uncultured swine.”

“Leave your hobbies out of this and stay focused.”

We won’t have the cover of a private residence, but it’s much less of a hassle to find Bowen’s vehicle out in the wild and stick a GPS tracker on it than deal with getting on and off his property.

“Anyway,” Aiden changes the subject, “looks like you decided to show up just in time.”

“Why’s that?”

“I haven’t been completely honest with you.”

I cast him a sideways glance. “How so?”

“I was glad when you asked me to do this, but not just because it’s a chance for you and me to spend some quality time together and go fuck some shit up. I was planning on doing it anyway.”

“Why?”

“You’re not the only one who sought me out for my skills of questionable legality.” He shifts his sardonic gaze to me. “Your kitten grew claws and decided to go to war. She’s going after the white whale.”

“Dallas is?” Jesus Christ… “Just her?”

“Just her,” he nods. “Well, she did come knocking on my door asking for my help, but it was her idea. And Alejandro ,” he casts me a sideways glance, “is she a sight for sore eyes. And she might even be more fucked up than I am. No wonder you all got along so well.”

“You can stop now.”

“Wait,” Aiden pauses, “you didn’t know?”

“No.” This news just threw a wrench in my plan. It’s bad enough I caught Garrison hanging around her workplace, but Dallas is going to get herself killed if she starts poking the bear.

“Then let me enlighten you. She’s straight up hustling that motherfucker, pretending to be some dude while she games with him every night and tries to pull dirt out of him about Evie.”

“ What? ” I snap.

“I was just as surprised as you are, I didn’t think she had it in her. But I made her a deal, I’d only help her if she stayed away from him. That’s why we’re doing this. If I find out she went within a mile radius of him on her own, I’m pulling the plug. You should be glad she came to me.”

“ Shit, ” I murmur right before catching sight of a sign lit up by floodlights. “Hey, there it is.”

Aiden swerves into the entrance of the parking lot, spraying gravel in the air.

“You’ve never been one for subtlety,” I mutter as he whips around the back of the building and parks at the edge of the asphalt, behind a couple of duallies and a Mustang laced with rust.

“Subtlety is for corpses,” he replies, killing the engine and pulling a black ball cap over his hair along with the hood of his black sweatshirt.

I do the same, sans the hat since I need an unobstructed view. Instead, I pop one earbud in as we exit the Lexus.

“The black F250,” I say as we head for the truck parked near the end of the first row.

Aiden reaches for his phone, staying near the front of the building while I disappear behind the shadow of Bowen’s truck. I roll onto my back and shimmy underneath the chassis. That’s when my phone vibrates and I reach for it to answer.

“Hi, can I get a large Hawaiian pizza,” Aiden’s voice hums in my ear, “with extra pineapple?”

“Are you going to roll your dick in that, too?” I reply, adjusting my earbud.

“You taste it before you feel it.”

“Shut up and keep your eyes open,” I chuckle as I pull the tracker out of my pocket.

I get to work confirming it’s ready to go and attach a couple of strips of double-sided tape to the little black box. Holding my phone up with its flashlight on, I’m surveying the landscape, deciding where I want to place the GPS when I hear Aiden’s voice again.

“The snake is heading your way.”

Now?

I reach up, pick an inconspicuous spot, and press the tracker against the metal. Soon enough, two pairs of feet stroll past Aiden’s. They step off the curb, not giving him a thought. After all, who really pays attention to the guy outside the bar on his phone?

When I glance to the side, one pair of boots and one pair of Nikes are less than two feet from my head. There’s a click as Bowen unlocks the door, but he doesn’t get in right away.

“She a salad?” Bowen asks, giving me pause.

“A salad?” the other voice responds.

“Yeah, a Sucks-A-Lot-A-Dick.”

The other guy bursts into laughter as I roll my eyes beneath the truck. Watching their shoes, I start negotiating my exit strategy so that the other guy doesn’t see me, but I don’t get flattened by Bowen in the process.

“Yeah, she’s fucking wild,” he replies, “she’s just—"

“Just what?”

“She likes that dark shit too much. It’s hot behind closed doors, but she needs to tone it down around everyone else. Dallas is fun, but she looks like she’s just waiting for you to fall asleep so she can drink your blood.”

As soon as I hear her name, my muscles tense and I’m on high alert. Who the fuck is this? I open my mouth, but think better of it. There’s no way I can say anything to Aiden without blowing my cover.

“So, she’ll get your dick wet but not stay in her lane?”

“Something like that.”

“Sounds like she has potential,” Bowen turns and leans against his door, his boots scuffling the gravel, “if you’re persuasive enough.”

“Like drugging her and giving her highlights?” the other guy snickers.

I still can’t recognize his voice, and the more he talks, the more I want to grab his ankles and drag him under the truck with me like a demon from hell.

“Fuck, no,” Bowen chuckles. “That’s why she’s your guilty pleasure, right? You like all that dark shit, you just don’t want anyone to know it.”

Aiden’s voice cuts in through my earbud. “Hang tight, you’re still invisible.”

As long as he tells me how much time I have before Bowen peels out of his parking space, we’ll be fine.

“She doesn’t get it,” the other guy complains. “All the pressure to maintain the status quo. That’s why it could never work out. It’s like when she games, she’s out for blood and it’s awesome. That’s how she is in real life, too, but she takes everything too personally.”

Shit, is this someone she games with?

“You just have to teach her,” Bowen says with nonchalance. “It’s not hard, if you have the stomach for it.”

“Like how?”

“If she sees you as everything she’s ever wanted, she’ll be much more amenable to your demands.”

“I should’ve done that a long time ago,” the guy mutters bitterly. “You know how much it fucking blows to get a taste of that only to realize too late that she’s one of these feminist chicks who can’t keep her damn mouth shut?”

Bowen lets out a laugh. “What are you, a fucking simp? That’s a challenge, right there. Once you finally break her, that shit’s on lock.”

“Knowing her, keeping her hog-tied would probably be an incentive,” the second guy laughs.

“Is she into that?”

“Hell yeah, she is.”

“You got somewhere to do it?” Bowen asks with a sudden burst of intrigue.

It’s taking all I have to stay still. I’ve sat for hours in complete silence, waiting for a twig snap to signal the approach of an enemy. I’ve traveled hundreds of miles through hostile territory, avoiding IEDs and ambushes. I’ve stood on the other side of walls being held together by two rusty nails and a shredded tarp, waiting for dudes with rocket launchers to go on their merry way. But this makes me want to split out of my skin and execute them both in the middle of this parking lot.

“I don’t know,” the second guy sighs, “her brother kept tabs on her like no one’s business for the last few years. She can’t walk out her door without him knowing. He’s a fucking psycho.”

“Col’s gone, man,” Bowen says dismissively. “He’ll never come back here.”

“How do you know?”

“Would you show your face around here again if you murdered your stepsister?”

There’s a long pause, and after a few seconds, Bowen finally opens the door. “Think about it. I promise you there’s nothing better than punishing a woman while she thanks you for it.”

“I told her I’d go to GalactiCon with her. I knew she’d eat that up.”

“Then you’re halfway there.” Bowen climbs into the cab. “Just don’t let her go this time.”

I’m too incensed to hear the response, but I snap out of my tunnel vision when Bowen’s door slams shut. The Nikes disappear out of view and I’m left staring at the underside of the truck. A moment later, I hear Aiden’s voice in my ear.

“Still with me?”

“Yeah, where do I have a clear path?”

“Second man’s gone, Garrison’s still fucking around, exit stage right and stay low.”

I start scooting toward the right side of the truck when it suddenly roars to life and the sound lights a fire under my ass. In an instant, I roll out and straight under the SUV parked next to it. I scoot through the gravel on my stomach, trying to stay concealed until Bowen is gone. Soon enough, he backs out of the space and his tail lights disappear into the night.

I scramble out from under the SUV and jump up, covered in gravel dust, spinning around as I scan the parking lot for the guy in the Nikes.

“Who was the guy with Bowen?” My eyes dart around as Aiden approaches.

“I don’t know, why?”

“He was talking about Dallas. He knew who she was.” I’m searching the parking lot frantically, trying to put eyes on him for one second. “He knew her. He was talking about her like…like he was maybe an ex, I don’t know.”

“So? What’s wrong?”

“ What did he look like? ” I snarl.

“I don’t know, some basic dude in a Cavs shirt. He was facing away the whole time.”

I let out a frustrated grunt. “Fuck it.” I snap. “Let’s get out of here.”

He’s gone and I don’t know his name or what he looks like. The only thing I know is that there’s someone else, besides Bowen, with insidious plans for my woman. I check the app on my phone to confirm that the GPS is working and I can see Bowen’s vehicle moving steadily away from us. The pieces are falling into place and, soon, it won’t matter who’s talking about Dallas and why.

Once safely back in Aiden’s Lexus, he’s about to shift into drive when he freezes. I follow his gaze to two figures who’ve just stepped off the curb a short distance ahead. It’s a guy dressed in a black t-shirt with a backward cap, and he’s holding the hand of a woman with shoulder-length dark hair in a flowy white tank top. They split at the back of a black Mustang and when the guy turns his back to us, I see the gold insignia on the front of his cap.

Canaan Police.

My eyes dart back and forth between Aiden, Jay Rhinehardt, and Hildy Garrison standing just yards away as the veins in his neck begin to pop. Or is it Hildy Rhinehardt now? That would be the icing on the cake.

Both of us watch in silence as they pull out of the space and disappear onto the dark road. There’s a subtle change in Aiden’s eyes and I reach for the grab handle just as he jerks the gear shift and shoots out of the parking space. I brace myself against the door as he skids out onto the road and guns the engine, sling-shotting us into the night.

I know where he’s going, and it’s not long before I see tail lights appear in the distance.

“Not now, Aiden.”

But he doesn’t acknowledge me, gaining on the Mustang with every second.

“Aiden.”

He’s gone, consumed by a shroud of wrath as thick as the grudge he holds. I glance back and forth between Aiden and the Mustang, trying to anticipate both their moves. Jay’s not the predator that Aiden is, but all animals are dangerous when backed into a corner. And he also has Hildy in his ear…

“He’s one of them, now,” I warn him. “You know he’s carrying and he won’t hesitate.”

Aiden’s nostrils flare, but he keeps his eyes trained on the Mustang. There’s no use trying to reason with him. I pull my gun from its holster and ready it at my knees, preparing for the very real possibility that I’m going to have to kill a cop tonight because Aiden’s having a moment. I would put Aiden in a chokehold instead, but I also don’t want to die in a fiery crash. Instead, I opt for a different approach.

Pivoting in my seat, I reach across and press my gun to the front of Aiden’s shoulder. His head moves slightly as he regards the barrel, but keeps pursuing the Mustang.

“You may be a contract killer, Alex, but are you really going to kill your best friend right now?”

“No, I’m not,” I reply. “But you already know that. Just like you know you won’t die from a bullet through your shoulder, which is why it’s more likely that I will shoot you if you don’t back the fuck off.”

“You’re going to shoot your best friend over Jay Rhinehardt?” he scoffs.

“If he kills us both, then Dallas is next,” I growl. “ Remember why we’re here. ”

Aiden’s riding Jay’s ass so hard that it would be a miracle if Jay didn’t notice. Though, he probably can’t see who’s in the Lexus through Aiden’s tint job. Before he can get close enough to tap Jay’s bumper and set off a catastrophic chain of events, he lets up on the gas and starts coasting. The Mustang shoots ahead, its tail lights getting smaller and smaller.

Slowly, I lower my gun, relieved that I didn’t actually have to put a bullet through Aiden. He’ll be salty, but as long as he doesn’t wreck the entire plan, I still consider tonight a success. The Lexus slows to the speed limit, then continues slowing. Finally, Aiden pulls off to the side of the road and brings the car to a halt. I assume he’s about to lay into me for pulling a gun on him, like I don’t want to hack Jay Rhinehardt to pieces and feed his rotting carcass to a pack of stray dogs, but instead he opens the center console and reaches inside.

I catch sight of the familiar shape of his Desert Eagle as he throws open the door and steps out of the Lexus. With an irritated groan, I jerk my door handle and follow.

“What the hell are you doing?” I call after him as he marches down the shoulder of the road.

He doesn’t answer, only continues toward a faint light in the distance like a moth to a flame. Even when I reach his side, he doesn’t seem to notice. Soon, the light comes into view and I realize it’s a lamp mounted on top of a brick pillar. And when we get even closer, I see a large R etched into the concrete plate on its front and the driveway on the other side of it that leads into a dense tree line.

As usual, Aiden knows more than he lets on.

Without warning, I swing my arm around the front of his neck and hoist myself onto his back. I can’t go at him from the front, but catching him by surprise does the trick. Aiden stumbles backward and we both hit the dirt with a thud. I wrap my legs around his waist and tuck my other hand behind his head, applying pressure while he thrashes, trying to grab me.

“Was this just an excuse for you to finally come here?” I ask in a low, even tone.

“Kill two birds with one bullet,” he rasps from beneath my arm.

“Who do you think their first suspect will be?”

It doesn’t matter how much time passes, grudges last forever and the night skies here don’t forget the deeds done in the dark.

Aiden struggles, but I have the advantage of both strength and keeping my temper in check. I squeeze tighter as road debris scrapes against my back in his attempt to wrestle away from me. Finally, he starts to relax before I render him unconscious and have to figure out how to get his giant, limp body out of here before anyone sees us.

“Fine,” Aiden grunts.

I release him and he gives a couple of coughs as he stands up, his face still fixed in a scowl. I move to stand, keeping an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t decide to do anything stupid. But he doesn’t head for the car, he stays where he is, staring at the ground with his Desert Eagle still clutched in his fist and a vacant look behind his eyes.

Suddenly, he turns back toward the light in the distance.

“ Aiden, ” I bark before he can even take a step. “ She’s gone, she’s not even here. ”

Normally, I wouldn’t have brought this up. The passage of time has not been kind to him, and it hasn’t healed a damn thing. But regardless of whether Aiden’s my best friend, he’s about to wreck everything in one fell swoop. And I can’t let that happen.

In an instant, Aiden lets out a roar and jerks his arms up, firing the gun at the thick trunk of an oak just beyond the brush. He empties the clip and then sinks to the ground, his head falling forward like a machine finally powering down. I look to the trees as a dog starts barking somewhere up the hill and then approach him with an exasperated breath. Bending down, I wrap my arm across the front of his shoulders.

“I need you here,” I say, gently grabbing a handful of his hair and lifting his head.

Aiden starts shaking in an even cadence that only comes from choked sobs of despair. I press my forehead against the crown of his head, knowing that there’s nothing I can say to alleviate his agony. We’ve been here before, except it was in my driveway and not some lonely stretch of road out in Canaan. And, now, it’s Aiden’s turn to have his heart ripped open and his soul laid bare on the asphalt. He doesn’t speak, and I know he won’t because he’d rather die than show anyone what’s really inside—even me.

“I need you here,” I say again. “ I’m not leaving. ”

The distant light casts a sheen off his wet face, but even as his mouth twitches with anguish, he doesn’t fight me. Eventually, Aiden sucks in a deep breath and moves to stand and make the infuriating march back to the car. I can still hear a dog barking and it’s getting closer with every passing minute. Back inside the Lexus, Aiden starts the engine and grabs the gear shift, but then hesitates.

“I told you all those years ago,” he seethes through clenched teeth, his voice amplifying, “I told you I’d kill all of them— every last one of them! ”

I remember.

“ WHY ARE YOU STOPPING ME? ”

I blink at him, unfazed, letting him scream in my face for as long as it takes for him to return to equilibrium.

“Because you know a bullet in the head’s not worth a damn,” I reply casually, “Aiden Rafferty makes people suffer. That’s why you said you’d help Dallas, isn’t it? Because you found out that little butterfly also stings like a bee.”

Aiden’s mouth begins to curl insidiously.

“I don’t know what happened to Col,” he says defiantly. “But in the meantime, if Ole Dally wants to play with matches, I’ll bring the gasoline.”