Page 82 of Daybreak

Son of a bitch. How did Kingston move that fast? “I’m going to kill you!” Whistler shouted.

“No. You’re not. You’re going to prison for the rest of your life,” Gunner said.

Whistler shifted tactics. “I can’t breathe.”

“You just shouted and threatened to kill me. Sounds like you’re breathing just fine,” Gunner said.

But hearing the sirens of the approaching patrol cars made Whistler fight harder and Gunner hold tighter.

* * *

They came from every direction. Patrol cars from the Dallas PD were the first to arrive. The Harley was on its side and still running. One officer quickly shut it off as another recognized Gunner.

“Who’s your bosom buddy?” he asked as he reached for his handcuffs and put Whistler in restraints.

“The guy the Feds are looking for. Beau Whistler. Somebody needs to call them.”

A couple of officers sat Whistler up and removed his helmet.

“In living color,” the officer said. “Good catch, Kingston, but how the hell did you know it was him behind that face guard?”

“We’ve met before,” Gunner said and then realized his arm was burning and looked down. His shirt sleeve was torn, and the skin from his elbow down was raw and bleeding from sliding across the concrete. He was bleeding from a long cut on his shoulder, and his jaw was starting to throb.

Whistler had fared better, mostly because the helmet he was wearing took the brunt of his fall when Gunner tackled him, but he was moving from shock to rage at being caught twice by the same man. If the security footage had been restored, then what they had was irrefutable. No lawyer was going to save him. No deals were to be made with the Feds because everybody connected to the safe house murders was dead except him and Tom Rowdy. And they already had Rowdy in custody.

“It’s your fault, Kingston. This is all your fault,” Whistler said.

“Shut it, Whistler. Your boss is the one who ordered the hit on me. He wouldn’t admit it, but we both knew it.”

But Whistler wouldn’t give up. “You took me down. You shamed me in front of him. Because of you, I was no longer of use to him, which meant I was going to get axed. I did what I did to save myself.”

“Then it’s a good thing he’s not alive to witness this, because he would really be through with you,” Gunner said.

“Bastard,” Whistler muttered.

“Asshole,” Gunner drawled.

At that point, they pulled Whistler to his feet, put him in the back of a patrol car, and then drove away with one patrol car leading the way and four following, leaving an officer and a patrol car with Gunner.

“We called an ambulance for you, Kingston. Sit tight. I’m waiting with you until they arrive.”

Gunner nodded. “Much appreciated.”

Blood was still dripping down his arm and onto his boot and his jeans, and he was feeling a little dizzy, so he leaned against the back of the officer’s car.

“Hey, Kingston, did you really run him down and tackle him from behind as he was rolling?”

“Too many people around to take a shot,” Gunner said.

“But—”

Gunner shrugged. “I run fast.”

“I guess we’ll get to see the takedown on social media,” the officer said.

It was at that moment that Gunner realized the size of the crowd around them, all with their phones aimed straight at him.

“Great,” he muttered and pulled out his phone and called Holly. He needed to tell her before social media did it for him.