Chapter Twenty-Seven
T he informant they were supposed to find went by the name of Chester and had avoided drug charges by working for the cops.
Justice still had reservations about how valid the guy’s info would be, but they might find a lead.
“Heel,” he told Axel, and the dog camped at his side as he and Steel headed down the sidewalk.
Third Street Santa Monica promenade had once been a thriving place, but now several businesses had closed due to retail criminal activity. It contained nowhere near the consumerism it once had, but the area was still alive.
Even after dark, there were plenty of people milling about the main thoroughfare.
Justice walked around the corner and into the access alley that was used for garbage truck pickups every Sunday.
A drunk stumbled away from the wall and Steel skirted around the guy.
A few people sat on the concrete ground, leaning against the building. The smell of weed drifted in the air. A helicopter swept overhead, its blades beating with a loud thumping.
One person had fashioned a small enclosure with a tarp draped over a pole. They wouldn’t be there long since patrol made a point of coming through there to clear out those lingering.
Right now, though, he and Steel were meeting an informant who supposedly had information on Blue, Crow, and possibly Tanis.
He’d just found out via Dave that Tanis was the ring leader of the assassins and the motherfucker had sold boys to Solomon when they got too old.
He squeezed his fists, needing to kill something.
“I’m looking for Chester?” he asked when he and Steel came upon a group of young adults. The ones who bothered to answer shook their heads.
Moving on to another group of people, Justice stopped when a female voice called out.
“Hey, handsome.”
“Have you seen Chester?” Justice asked, turning to the big-breasted redhead wearing a tight shirt and skinny jeans. Her stilettos put her at around six feet, which was about five inches shorter than him and Steel.
She rubbed her fingers together and eyed him up and down. Justice shot Steel a look.
“What?” Steel blinked.
“Pay the lady.”
“Why me?”
“I don’t carry cash.”
Steel released an annoyed breath and pulled a twenty from his wallet. The woman snatched it and then pointed down the block.
“The one in the light blue ball cap wearing the checkered shirt,” she said and sashayed her way in the opposite direction.
“Chester?” Justice said when he was close enough.
Of course, the guy took off like a rocket.
“Heel,” he told Axel instead of sending the dog after the guy.
Axel’s bite when he locked on could very well take the man’s arm or hand off. He needed Chester breathing and talking.
Sprinting after the guy, Justice careened around the corner.
“I’ll cut him off!” Steel called out and ran down a small walkway.
Justice gained on the guy enough to call out.
“Chester, stop. You don’t want the dog on you!” he yelled.
The informant’s steps wobbled as if to stop, but then Chester must have changed his mind and sprinted harder.
Steel came out ahead of Chester and kicked a trashcan into the alleyway. The informant toppled over with a crash and lay winded on the pavement.
“Watch ‘em,” Justice told Axel, and the dog sprinted closer, planted himself at Chester’s feet, and barked.
“Call him off! Call him off!” Chester rolled over onto his back and covered his face with his arms.
“Quiet.”
At his command, Axel stopped barking, but his dog didn’t much like the guy and lowered his muzzle to snarl with a flash of teeth.
Steel jerked the punk up to his feet and shoved him against the nearest wall.
“Why you runnin’?” Justice snapped and moved over in front of the sniveling guy.
“Thought you were the cops, man,” Chester sniffled and he could see the ravages of drugs on the man’s face.
“You work for the cops,” Justice reminded the guy.
“Yeah, but I can’t be seen, man.” The guy scratched at one arm through the long-sleeved checkered shirt.
“Well, we aren’t the cops. So just answer our questions and you’re free to go.”
The guy hesitated and Steel fisted the front of Chester’s shirt and pinned him hard to the wall with a forearm.
Chester flinched and then nodded emphatically.
“I heard that you were the guy who could give me information on a man who goes by the name of Blue.”
“Blue…man, you don’t want to mess with him.”
“You know where he sleeps?”
“Nah, man. He doesn’t come around much. But that other guy does and I tell you, man, he’s fucking scary.”
“Other man?” Justice squinted and Steel tightened his grip on Chester’s shirt.
Chester shook his head.
“Answer him,” Steel warned.
“He goes by the name of Crow, man.”
“Crow?”
“Yeah, and he’ll kill me or anyone who rats him out. You gotta swear you won’t tell him I told you.” Sweat dripped down Chester’s forehead and gathered in his throat.
“Tell me about Crow,” he said.
“I don’t know much, man. All I know is if you need something done, he’s the guy to see.”
“For drugs?”
“No, man, he doesn’t do that stuff.”
“Trafficking?”
“I don’t know. All I know is if you need someone gone, Crow makes it happen.”
So, another assassin, Justice figured. If they could get their hands on Crow, they might be able to find Tanis and Blue.
“What about Tanis? Word on the street says he’s a sexual predator.”
Chester stared at him, eyes wide, fear in their depths. “I heard that too.”
“What do Blue and Crow exactly do for Tanis?”
“I don’t know, man. I honestly don’t know. But like I said, if you need someone gone, then see Crow.”
Steel released Chester and stepped away, wiping his hand on his jeans.
“Where does Crow hang out?”
“I heard he hangs at the row.”
“Row?”
“Row, yeah. Row,” Chester repeated, wiping at his face.
“Skid Row? Los Angeles?” Steel asked.
“Yeah, man, yeah. There’s a house that Crow was seen coming out of.”
“Whose house?”
“I don’t know, a guy and a kid live there.” The guy wiped at his nose.
“What’s the address?”
Chester darted his eyes around and mumbled off an address. “Are we good? Can ya spot me a redback?”
Justice gestured to Steel. His friend rolled his eyes and pulled out his wallet with an annoyed sound. Tugging out a twenty, Steel handed it to Chester, but didn’t let go when the man tried to take it.
“If you’re lying, we’ll be back and this time, you’ll be dog food.” Steel gestured to Axel.
Chester finally tugged the twenty free and shoved it away. Nodding quickly, the guy hurried away.
“What do you think?” Steel asked.
Justice pulled the hair on his chin and scratched his fingers at his unshaven jaw.
“I think Skid Row is worth checking out since we’re close and then we can swing by that house.”
“Sounds good,” Steel agreed.
“I wonder if Boston or Azrael know about this Crow guy. Chester seems pretty scared.”
“You thinking Crow might be in charge instead of Tanis?” Steel asked.
“I don’t know. Let’s head to L.A.”
Forty minutes later because of fighting traffic, they arrived near the Row. He hated leaving his truck close, so he parked it several blocks away in paid parking.
“Heel,” Justice told Axel.
Skid Row hadn’t changed since the last time Justice had come through there a year ago looking for Rip.
Wrath had told him that their father had died and there was no sign of Rip in the house. That conversation had been painful.
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me you knew where dad was?” He couldn’t keep the hurt from his voice.
“Because he was a sick fuck and you were in the service when he passed,” Wrath said and shrugged.
“I’m going to find him,” he snarled, glaring at Wrath.
“I hope you do.” Wrath’s expression turned sad.
From then on, he’d started searching in earnest and he’d heard through the grapevine that Rip was an assassin. However, a few months later, he also heard that the information on his brother might be bogus. The misinformation had led him to search for Ripley in a lot of other areas.
As was his habit, he began looking at the faces of men who might be around his brother’s age.
“You looking for someone?” Steel asked when he stopped to check out another man on the streets.
“Why would you say that?”
“Because I doubt this Crow guy is going to be covered in grime smelling of booze.”
Justice sighed and moved on. “Yeah, I’m looking for my little brother.”
“I didn’t know you had a brother other than Wrath.”
“I don’t talk about him much.”
“J…we’ve known each other for years and you’ve never mentioned you had another brother.” Steel gazed at him with a concerned frown. “Why are you searching Skid Row?”
“Because I…fuck, I don’t know. I’m exhausting every scenario possible.”
“Why isn’t he with you guys?”
Justice briefly closed his eyes. “It’s hard for me to talk about.”
“What’s his name?”
“Rip, he’s our little brother.”
“Rip is short for?”
“Ripley.”
“Ah, okay…”
“He was taken.”
“By who?” Steel stopped walking and gave him his full attention.
“By my father.”
With as few words as possible, he told Steel about his abusive alcoholic father and about the day the man had taken Rip.
He left out the part about his brother’s screams filling his nightmares because it was too painful to talk about. And he didn’t mention his mother’s passing. She had died four years after Rip was taken.
“So that’s the gist of it,” he murmured.
“That fucking sucks.”
Justice nodded and jerked his chin and they got walking again.
One day, he silently vowed, he’d find his brother.
Unless Rip was dead.
The thought sat like lead in his chest.
They caught a break two hours after it got dark and a hooker was willing to point out Crow, who stood with another man.
Crow wore black clothes and the other guy wore regular street clothes.
When he and Steel were spotted, the two men split up and ran.
Justice sent Axel after the darkly dressed fucker. But Crow was fucking fast. Faster than lightning, and Justice could only gape when the man literally ran up the side of a building, caught the end of a fire escape ladder, and easily leaped over the railing.
Axel planted his paws on the wall and barked up at Crow.
“Quiet.”
At Justice’s command, Axel sat on his haunches, tongue lolling out.
The access between the two buildings was well lit, so it surprised the fuck out of him when Crow stopped and glanced down at him and Steel. Dressed in all black, there were a pair of handles crisscrossed on the assassin’s back. While a person couldn’t see the swords, Justice knew they were there. He suspected Crow’s were just like the ones Fisher carried.
In that brief moment, Justice could see that Crow was absolutely gorgeous.
There was no other way to put it.
Beside him, Steel gasped and a quick glance at his friend found his eyes wide and mouth hanging slightly open.
Justice snorted and flicked his gaze back to find Crow with a mocking expression on his face.
A smirk quirked the sexy fucker’s lips.
“I just want to talk,” Justice said.
“Stay out of my way,” Crow answered, the warning clear.
“Way of what?” Justice said, but Crow was already climbing up the ladder. It was a running type of climb that spoke of how fit the fucker was. When Crow disappeared over the edge of the roof, Justice turned to Steel.
He elbowed his friend to get his attention.
“Huh?” Steel grimaced and pulled his eyes from the ledge.
“What do you think?”
“Not at all what I was expecting.”
“Me neither.”