34. Reghan
34
REGHAN
Words I wanted to say to Barrett stuck in my throat. Words of love, need, and a desire to have a future with him. I couldn’t get them out, not with everything going on around us. The time for them had passed.
We were in a line of SUVs barreling into West Dremest, where Archie lived. Did I think he was going to be there? That would be too easy. Nothing about what we’d done so far was simple. If it were, we wouldn’t be here now. This would have been done and handled.
We were all at the end of our ropes and needed to get this taken care of. Some of us more than others. They wanted a resolution, although this was personal to Barrett, which meant it was to me too.
We’d left Marshall pacing inside my apartment. It was the first time Barrett had seen it. It was also the first time he’d seen his brother in days. When I imagined welcoming him to my home, that wasn’t how it looked. Then again, nothing about my relationship with him had gone the way it should have. Correction, one part had. Once the mask was peeled away, loving Barrett was as simple as breathing. I couldn’t have stopped if I’d tried.
Raiden drove the Navigator I was in with Rory in the front passenger seat, while Barrett and I sat in the back. Barrett took my hand in his like he knew I needed this. Maybe we both did.
In the SUV in front of us, Albert drove with Sheldon next to him and Jordan in the back. Behind us were two more SUVs. There was nothing subtle about what we were doing. Driving through West Dremest as we were wasn’t the same as if we were on the other side of the city.
Jordan knew people in charge here, but they weren’t in his pocket. That didn’t mean he’d go easy if Archie was found over here. Jordan had already called Dexen and asked if there was an abandoned space he could work out of. Dexen would understand what he meant. Being a Dremest, Dexen and his family owned a lot of property here. So, it wasn’t surprising when Dexen gave Jordan the address and door lock code of a place he’d bought and hadn’t used yet. Jordan had texted it to the rest of us, just in case we were separated.
What was surprising was Dexen letting Jordan use the property at all. Jordan would go there to kill Archie once he had him, if he captured him here.
It was less risky than driving with him to the other side of the city. Dexen obviously wanted this man caught too. Plus, Dexen wasn’t against murder when need be. He’d killed to keep Jordan's son safe time and again. Capturing and ridding the city of Archie would do us all a favor.
“It should be up here on the left,” Raiden said as we slowed to creep along the side street where the homes were attached, and each one appeared to have at least three stories.
The sun had already started to set. While others had lights on inside, this one did not. Maybe his wife and children had moved out, or maybe he wanted people to believe the house was empty. If he was smart, his family would be long gone. None of us wanted them wrapped up in this, especially the kids. From what Noah had said, Archie’s family wasn't mentioned while he was being held. I didn’t think the wife was aware of what he was doing since she was divorcing him, but who the fuck knew?
As we crept by, there was no sign of life inside and no sign of the truck Marshall had described, so we kept going. Barrett turned, looking out the back of the SUV.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“It doesn’t feel right. We missed something.” He kept staring while I took in the area around us. My eyes could track a lot, and there was nothing I wanted to miss. This was too important.
“Wait!” he yelled. “I see taillights. They weren’t there before, and I didn’t see anyone walk to the vehicle.”
Raiden slowed while Rory put his phone to his ear and whispered to who had to be Jordan on the other end.
A sudden sound reached us, the noise metal on metal made when it ground against each other.
Barrett put his head out of the window to get a better look. “Shit, it has to be him. He’s slamming into cars to get out of the parking spot. He must have been wedged in there.” We were stuck with no easy way to turn around due to vehicles lining either side of the street.
Albert hit the gas in front of us, speeding up until he could swing the Navigator around. We thought it would be better to have Jordan in that in case Archie was in his truck and tried to ram one of our vehicles. Jordan would be safer in an SUV, although now I wondered if he was cursing his head off for not being in his Maserati. They could have maneuvered easier in it.
One by one, we turned around at the intersection and drove down the street in the opposite direction.
“What are we looking for, Barrett?” my brother asked.
“Newer Lexus sedan.”
Suddenly, Albert took off. We followed close behind, but not too close where if they stopped short, we'd hit them. This was one of those times we should have thought about having Sheldon ride his Ducati. He could have weaved in and out of tighter spaces. While the SUVs were solid, they weren’t as agile as the bike.
I thought Archie would stay in the city, but he drove to the limits and then took one of the main roads out.
“Do you think he’s leading us away from where he’s keeping the men?” Raiden asked. “There’s no way he’d go toward them. Either he’s already moved them and is waiting, or he’s got someone helping him.”
“Son of a bitch,” Barrett bit out. “I should have gone to the station and checked if the chief was there.” I took his hand in mine again. We’d let go when he stuck his head out of the window. I was torn between wanting to kill this asshole we were chasing and soothing Barrett. It was the weirdest shit. Usually, I only had my mind on one thing, and that alone.
“I don’t want you anywhere near that place, except to hand in your shit and drop off your car,” I said. Fuck him going there for anything else. I needed him done with that job and in my bed every night, where he was safe.
“Now’s not the time to tell me what to do.”
“I beg to differ.” There was always time for that. Although, we really couldn’t continue the conversation when the Lexus cut a sharp corner and we followed, the limits of the Navigator’s cornering ability being tested, causing me to grip the door handle.
“Easy, Ray,” I said.
“Do you want me to get fucking lost in the shuffle?” he yelled. “Not only do we need to provide backup, but I don’t want to miss out on any of the good stuff.”
“I’d like us to get there in one piece though. If you roll the Nav, we won’t get anywhere, and he could escape.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I had no clue where Archie was going. All these streets went through developments or down long roads where there was farmland. We kept following him though. Jordan might order Sheldon to shoot out the tires if we got to a more secluded place.
Somehow, we ended up on the main road again, going farther west. My leg was jumping. I needed to expend this energy.
Barrett slid closer to me so his thigh touched mine. Whether he did it for him or me, I wasn't sure. Either way, I was grateful.
The Lexus turned down what wasn’t a road or even a driveway but resembled more of an overgrown trail. It was hard to make out what was going on through the SUV in front of us, but when they stopped, so did we. When their doors opened, so did ours. We got out with our guns drawn. I tried to move in a way that kept Barrett behind me, but he wouldn’t stay there. He kept weaving behind me. He knew exactly what I was doing.
We had the car surrounded. Barrett and I were near the driver’s side rear quarter panel when my brother yelled, “No!”
A gunshot went off immediately after. I didn’t need to look to know Archie took his own life. We wouldn’t let him live anyway, but we could have gotten information out of him. Now, we were back to square one.
Inside the Navigator again, reversing down the narrow trail, I made sure to sweep my gaze over our surroundings. There really was nothing here. No houses, and the road was quiet. No one would notice we were here. Except our tire tracks would be visible in the dirt we drove through.
I texted Jordan quickly to say I’d have someone on his team come out here and cover them up. This wasn’t a no name guy who no one would care if he was dead. This was the chief of the East Dremest Police Department’s son. We didn’t kill him, but we were there. Who knew who’d seen us drive through West Dremest and out here in the country. We’d lie our way out of it; say we lost sight of him.
As I was hanging up after relaying directions to Barry so he could dispatch someone, Barrett put his phone to his ear.
“Hey, it’s Barrett. Is he in?” I couldn’t hear who was on the other end. “No, that’s okay. I was just hoping to catch him. I can try again tomorrow. Yes, everything will be fine, eventually. I just have personal stuff with family going on. Thank you. I appreciate your kindness.” He was sweet as could be when he wanted. I saw multiple sides of him. The one I loved the most was when he let go and was himself. No mask. No smart-ass attitude. Just my Barrett.
He ended the call, turned the phone off, dropped it to the floor, and stomped on it until it was in pieces.
I raised an eyebrow at him.
“Guess who was at work today and left in a hurry without an explanation?” Barrett asked.
“That solves whether he knew or not.” He could have just found out or he could have known for a while. As of right now, there was no way to know.
“Now to find him.” I picked up my phone to see if Lawson could trace the chief’s number after getting it from Barrett. We’d tried this with Archie but the number Lawson found was no longer in service. The chief kept his line in case someone in the department needed him.
“And kill him,” Barrett said easily. This wasn’t a drug dealer or a gang member. This was his boss. Nothing about this was simple or without risk. Whatever happened next, I would do everything in my power to make sure we all got out of it alive, and stayed out of prison.