Another step closer.
This time I stand my ground. I don’t need a weapon to kill him. A fast strike to the neck, a hit to the temple. He’d be out before he hit the ground. Takedown. Truck door open. Body inside. Hands to the throat until his pulse stops. From here, the cameras might not even catch it. It’s early, though, sun bright, the town packed with morning commuters. Dumping his body would be… inconvenient.
“You’re too smart to risk it all for a little tail,” he says. “It’s more than that. This is a long time in the making. Started small, didn’t it? A little payoff here, another there. But then you let a few too many things slide. Now you’re in deep. Now Donovan calls the shots. Am I right?”
I swallow past the lump in my throat. Not exactly how it went. But yeah. That asshole definitely calls the shots.
“What happened in there”—he thumbs over his shoulder—“can go away. You’ll be out of a paycheck for a couple weeks, sure, but like you said, that could be anybody. I did you a favour. I gave them the worst angle. There’s still a way for you to get out of this.” With another step closer, he lowers his voice. “I only did that to show you what could happen if you don’t play along.”
The rage rolling through me is at a full boil now. Fuck this fucking guy.
“I’m listening.”
“Bring me Donovan. Alive. You do that, and all I’ve learned over the last few days stays buried. I won’t go kicking up your business.” When I stay silent, he says, “It’s a mutually beneficial situation. I get Donovan, and you get freed from his payroll. Win-win.”
Do I want Axe dead? Yeah. Most days. But there’s no way out of this for me. Axe made sure of that. It’s a mutually destructive situation, really. Lose-lose.
Despite all that, I still smile. “Just tell me what I need to do.”
I need liquor.No. I need a solid few hours on my bike. Take a rip out of town and keep driving until the sun’s completely dipped below the horizon. Until South Bay and all the shit thatcomes with it are so far behind me that I don’t bother coming back.
No.
I need Grace. I need her hair in my face and her fingers gliding over my chest. I need one of those moments when I can shut my mind off and just exist. With her.
It’s just after nine a.m. when I pull up to my house. The curtains are drawn shut, as I left them. With any luck, Grace will be where I lefther.In bed. Mostly naked. Or maybe puttering around my kitchen, dressed in one of my tattered sweaters, sipping her third cup of coffee.
When I turn my key, there’s no resistance.
I stiffen. It’s unlocked. Breath held, I search my memories from this morning. Grace in bed. A hot pot of strong coffee brewing. I walked out of the house. I turned. I locked the door.
So either she’s gone, or someone’s here.
Slowly, I push open the door, listening for a threat. The house is dead silent. My bedroom door is open, but from this angle, I can’t tell if Grace is still safely tucked under my blankets, or if my sheets have long gone cold.
I step inside, reaching for the gun I keep hidden on the top shelf next to the door. Carefully, I grip it and work my way towards my room, doing a quick sweep of the kitchen as I go. I’m just about to cross the threshold into my bedroom when I hear it.
A quiet click. Metal on metal. The snap of a round being chambered. Then a cold barrel presses into my temple.
My muscles lock up, my instincts raging.
“Hey, Decker.”
I breathe out through my nose, my shoulders dropping. “Hey, Preach.”
“I’m gonna need you to give me that gun,” he says.
Slowly, I hand over my weapon. “Where is she?”
“Living room. Hands where I can see them.”
Following his direction, I raise my hands and then I turn to face him. Tattoo covered, leather Sinner cut, fingers adorned with thick rings, and the gun. Pointing straight at my face. He’s close enough I could disarm him. Grab the barrel. Strike to the throat. Twist. Slam his wrist into the?—
“I know what you’re thinking,” he warns. “And I don’t want to shoot you, but we both know I will. No sudden movements, all right? I’m not alone.”
Of course he isn’t.
At gunpoint, he herds me back down the hallway, through the kitchen, and into the living room.
