It was easy enough to piece together what had happened if you knew what to look for. The lock on the door had been jimmied to gain entrance and a pane broken out of the living room window. The trajectory of the bullet fit the location, and empty food wrappers scattered around the apartment said the guy had been lying in wait for days.
Once Bran had talked to Ryker, things began to move even more quickly.
“After you figured out the guy was ex-military,” Jax had told him as they sat at Bran’s desk at The Max, “I got to thinking about the skip Jase and I went after down in Waco a few weeks back. We were there to bring in a killer named Randall Harding, but there were two other men with him that night, a hard case named Folsom and a guy by the name of Yancy Pike. Folsom made the mistake of running into one of my bullets. Jase put a bullet in Pike’s shoulder, but the wound wasn’t fatal.”
“I’ve got a bad feeling I know where this is headed.”
“Pike was ex-army, Bran. A sniper. He was arrested in Waco, but I figured it was worth a phone call to make sure he was still in jail. Sure enough, ten days ago, Yancy Pike was released on bail.”
“Son of a bitch. We need to find him.”
Jax smiled. “I got a call yesterday from one of Maddox’s snitches, kid named Tommy Dieter. He heard about the shooting, said he owed Hawk for helping him out of a jam. Said he’d been snooping around asking questions.”
“He know where Pike is?”
“Guy’s staying in a scumbag apartment out off Webb Chapel Extension. Dieter says he’s doped up and laying low.”
Bran clenched his jaw. “There’s no place low enough for that bastard to hide. You get an apartment number?”
“I got it. Let’s go.”
Bran pulled open the bottom drawer of his desk and took out his Glock. They left the office in his black Jeep Wrangler and drove out Lemmon Avenue to the apartment building where Pike was staying.
When they reached the front of the unit, Bran pulled his weapon and so did Jax. They took up spots on each side of the door, and Bran banged hard on the paint-chipped wood.
“You got one chance to come out of this alive, Pike. Give yourself up!”
“Fuck you!” Pike punctuated his curse by a blaze of gunfire that blasted through the front door. Bran returned fire, stepped back and kicked the door open. He spun aside as Pike fired again, then sent a deadly double tap into Pike’s chest.
Yancy Pike went down in a pool of blood, exactly the death he deserved.
Bran holstered his weapon.
“Nice work,” Jax said.
Bran just nodded, his adrenaline still pumping. He sighed as he waited for the police to arrive. He and Ryker would be facing a barrage of questions. But there was no doubt he had fired in self-defense, and it was worth it to see justice done.
His first phone call went to Kate.
Jase was out of the hospital and back in his apartment. He had phoned Chase the morning of his release and asked him for a ride back to his town house.
“I’m surprised Kate didn’t insist on taking you home and babying you till you’re feeling better,” Chase said as he drove away from the hospital.
“Yeah, well, I don’t need babying. I never did.” He sliced Chase a sideways glance. “What I had with Kate was great—while it lasted—but now it’s over and done.”
Chase frowned. “Kate know that?”
His chest hurt just thinking about it. “I’ll talk to her, make her understand. I’m not the kind of guy to settle down. You know it and so does Kate.”
Chase made no comment.
He helped Jason into the town house and got him settled on the sofa in the living room. “One of us will come by every day to check on you, bring you something to eat.”
“There’s plenty of food in the kitchen. I always keep the place stocked. I just need to rest a little and I’ll be fine.”
“I’m sure you will. Be smart and don’t push yourself too hard.” Chase headed for the door. “See you in the morning.”
He was sleeping when Kate phoned later that afternoon. Just hearing her voice made his heart hurt.
