Page 82 of Callous Shot

“Lights!” someone shouted, and the place erupted into utter mayhem. Weak yellow beams from high on the walls swung across the darkened space, illuminating clashing figures, and I couldn’t work out who was friend and who was foe. Daniel was a dark shadow, hugging the wall, sneaking across the space, and I stuck close to him. Even almost completely covered in dark clothes and a balaclava, I’d recognise him anywhere. My one and only priority was to make sure he stayed safe, because if anyone else dared to hurt him, they’d have to deal with me.

I stayed on high alert as we moved, and when a figure detached itself from the shadows and lunged at Daniel, I was ready, delivering a solid uppercut that connected with their jaw. No one else was even going to touch him, not if I had anything to do with it.

“Thanks,” Daniel murmured as we worked together to take the man out, leaving him groaning in pain on the pitted tarmac behind us. Broken glass crunched under my feet as we picked up the pace, heading for the far side of the car park where the fighting seemed to be concentrated.

I almost ran into Daniel when he came to a sudden stop. “Stay back,” he hissed urgently, and I immediately dropped back against the wall, my heart pounding out of my chest as the reality of the situation hit me. This was nothing like hockey. Nothing like the fights I’d been involved in. This was real. These people were out to seriously injure and even kill each other.

Daniel thrust his hand into his pocket and reemerged holding a small cylindrical object. He held it up in front of his face, turning towards me.

“You’ve already seen the worst of me. Meet Arson.” Striking the flint, his eyes were suddenly illuminated by the golden glow coming from the flame of his lighter.

Despite the danger, my heart skipped a beat. “Dan.”

“Yeah. Watch this.” His tone was resigned, but his eyes crinkled at the corners, and I just knew he was grinning behind his mask. Trust him to find fire amusing. Pulling what looked like a rag from an inner pocket of his jacket, he dropped down to the ground, picking up what looked like a large chunk of stone. He wrapped it in the rag and then held it up, touching the edge of the flame to the corner. It instantly caught light, and I smelled something chemical as he launched himself at two of the grappling figures, shouting a warning before flinging the burning rag at one of them.

The figure shrieked as the rag-covered stone hit them dead in the chest, the flames instantly catching on their clothes. They dropped to the floor, rolling, and the person they’d been fighting fist-bumped Daniel before pulling out a gleaming blade, throwing themselves at the rolling figure with glee.

“Okay. Who next?” Daniel scanned the car park.

The tall guy from earlier suddenly materialised in front of us, looming out of the darkness. “That was the last of them. We’ve got it from here. Go and report back, and we’ll have a proper debrief after I get the answers we need. It might take a while, and I don’t want you to have to see this.”

“I can handle it,” my stubborn rival insisted, but the guy shook his head.

“Go.” His gaze slid to me. “Don’t think I won’t be interrogating you later about our mystery guest.”

“Who, him?” Daniel climbed to his feet. “That’s…uh…my sidekick, Ganon. You don’t need to worry about him.”

Little shit. Ducking my head, I grinned to myself before following him out of the car park.

When we were safely inside my SUV, well away from the action, Daniel tugged off his balaclava and dropped it into the footwell. “I want to know exactly what you were doing here, and no bullshit. I want the truth.” He twisted to face me, clutching his side with a wince. “Shit, I forgot I got stabbed. Can you drop me at my house? My family’s house, that is. I should probably get this checked out by a doctor, and I need to speak to my mum and uncle.”

“Yeah, I’ll drop you,” I said softly, placing my palm on his thigh and rubbing it gently. “Are you okay?” He sighed, giving me a one-shouldered shrug before tugging off his knuckleduster and gloves. After I’d started up the engine, I glanced over at him. “I was here because I was worried about you.”

“Why?”

My jaw clenched. Glancing between the rear-view mirror and the console screen showing the view through my reverse camera, I backed out of the space. “Why? Don’t you remember the message you sent me? Insinuating you might fucking die?”

“I-I didn’t think you’d be that bothered.” He bit down on his lip again, and I was so fucking angry, I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from saying words I’d definitely regret. Yanking my hand away from his thigh, I hit the Music button on my console, turning the volume up enough to make conversation impossible. I gripped the steering wheel tightly, gritting my teeth as I navigated to the Hoyton house.

We entered the open gates and came to a stop on the driveway in front of the house, and I turned the music off. My eardrums were still ringing when Daniel spoke hesitantly.

“Uh…thanks for the lift.”

“Fuck you, Hoyton. Seriously. Fuck. You.”

His lip trembled. “Yeah.” He scrubbed a shaking hand over his face. “Yeah, I know. It’s okay. You don’t have to say it. For what it’s worth, I don’t regret any of the stuff we did together. I won’t— Yeah. I’ll keep my distance from now on.”

Then he unclipped his seat belt, opened the door, and left.

36

LINCOLN

I tore after Daniel, not even bothering to lock the SUV. Catching up with him at the front door, his hand already twisting the key in the lock, I wrapped my arm around his waist, careful of his injured side, and placed my mouth to his ear. “You’re not going fucking anywhere without me.”

“Let go of me.”

“No.” I slid my hand up to his throat, squeezing lightly. “Don’t argue. I’m not leaving.”