Chapter Fifteen #2
The house wasn’t as far out as I’d guessed.
It sat on three acres just east of the city, up a tree-lined, paved drive that twisted around, ending at a low stone wall and a steel gate.
Hawk pointed. “Cameras go blind here.” Gunnar killed the lights, rolling the Suburban the last two hundred yards down a shallow hill in neutral.
We ditched the vehicles by the tree line with Tonio and his men hanging back.
We’d allowed Veda to come because she needed to.
This was her sister and my woman would absolutely not be kept out of this fight.
But the truth was, we worked better by ourselves.
Tonio knew this, but the stakes were too high for the Miles family not to be part of this.
Everyone moved out, quiet except for the rustle of boots in the wet grass. Hawk had the lead, tracking the dark by the red of his filtered flashlight. I went behind him with Veda at my shoulder. Knuckles and Gunnar brought up the rear.
The air was still, humid and thick enough that I could practically taste every breath. From the house, there was nothing, only the faint blue pulse of LED lights from electronics through the front windows.
We made the rear corner without a hitch. Hawk knelt, opened the case he’d brought and pulled out what looked like a plastic toy drone, maybe a foot long. He set it on the ground, flipped a switch, and it zipped up and over the roof silently. On his phone, Hawk watched the drone’s camera.
Hawk whispered, “Marlin’s alone. Guard’s probably in the gatehouse.”
Knuckles nodded, then gestured to Gunnar. “Go,” he mouthed.
Gunnar peeled off, vanishing into the black. He’d take care of the gate and the guard. I focused on the house.
Hawk took us in through the sliding patio door, which he unlocked by spoofing the keypad. The door glided open with only a rasp of sound. We moved through the kitchen, into the living room. Marlin sat in a leather recliner, facing away from us, his face blue-lit by a giant TV screen.
He didn’t hear us until we were six feet away. Then he turned to us, reaching out casually like he’d been expecting the help to bring a late-night snack. He saw us and froze as Knuckles stepped into the light.
“On your knees,” Knuckles said. Marlin went down immediately without a word.
I stepped in, zip-tied his hands. He didn’t even fight. He looked at Veda instead. “You don’t have to do this. I have money. I can --”
She laughed, cold and loud. “Motherfucker, you think this is about money?”
“Shut up, Marlin,” I warned, but he wasn’t listening. He looked at Veda and kept talking.
“I never touched any of the girls. Never even met most of them. They just use my house sometimes, the transporters --”
Veda pulled a knife and pressed it to Judge Marlin’s throat. “Tessa. My sister. Where is she?”
Marlin shook his head, mouth slack. “I don’t know. I don’t know! Iron only brought her here for a short time! Most of the girls stayed here, but a few of the special ones only stayed here a short while. I only --”
“Veda.” The last thing I needed was for Veda to stab this guy in the throat before Tonio got a hold of him. This whole fucked-up situation was serious to the Miles family. They had to maintain their hold on the criminal underworld of Nashville or the power vacuum would destroy the Music City.
Hawk took a step forward, flipped a phone from his pocket, and dialed. “We’ve got him.”
Marlin started to shake. He pissed himself. The smell was immediate, hot and rank. Veda stepped back, and I moved in front of her. For a minute I thought she might just go for it, but she let the knife hang at her side.
Hawk put a hand on her arm, gentle as he could. “Rein it in, little sister. You’ll get your pound of flesh soon enough.”
Surprisingly, Veda nodded at Hawk, not arguing or looking like she’d shank Hawk in Marlin’s place.
Tonio’s crew took the house in less than two minutes. Four of his men in black, their masks up. They handled Marlin with surgical efficiency, bagged him, wrapped him in a tarp, and carried him out like he was nothing more than a box of wine.
“My father will get the answers we need from Judge Marlin.” Tonio’s gaze cut to me. “Including the whereabouts of Miss Garrison’s sister.”
She looked at him, gaze hollowed out, nothing left but need. “I want to be there when you do it.”
He nodded once. “If that’s your wish. Of course.”
The rest was cleanup. We moved out fast, leaving the house the same way we’d come in, erasing any lingering evidence of our presence. Marlin’s guard never woke up, just snored in his shack. No doubt he’d still taste the GHB tomorrow morning.
The whole drive back, Veda didn’t say a word. I wanted to hold her hand, but didn’t think she’d accept the comfort. Not yet. Besides, she’d need to be hard for what came next because I didn’t think Seth Miles intended to treat the judge with kid gloves.
Thirty minutes later, at the Miles family warehouse, Tonio’s crew unloaded Marlin like so much dead meat -- a perfect simile if ever there was one. Seth waited, this time in person, his eyes even colder than on the screen.
He nodded to Tonio. “Did you get him?”
“Yeah, Dad. We got him. He’s here.”
Seth turned to Veda. “I hope you find your sister. If he knows anything, my men will get it for you. I have to discuss… sensitive matters with the Honorable Judge Marlin. Then, once he’s compliant, I’ll call you.
You can be present when we question him about Miss Tessa and Iron.
” He gave Veda a slight dip of his head.
“You have my word. I just can’t have you here for the first part. ”
I could tell Veda didn’t like being denied, but she didn’t protest. Instead, she stepped forward and stuck out her hand to Seth. “Your word, sir.”
At first, I thought Seth might scold her or patronize her, but he didn’t. Seth Miles might be a bastard, but he didn’t harm innocents. In any way. “You have it, Miss Garrison.”
He took her hand immediately and squeezed. The two of them stared at each other for a long moment. Veda finally saw what she needed and nodded at Seth in acknowledgment and dropped his hand.
I walked her back to the cage, holding her upright. Veda was one of the strongest people I’d ever met, but she’d reached her limit. There were more fights ahead. But for tonight, we’d scored a big victory.
Once we reached the SUV, I opened the passenger door for her, then slid in after.
Hawk and Knuckles soon followed. Hawk started the engine and we all headed back to the compound.
I waited for Veda to look at me, but she stared out the window, lost in disappointment that she couldn’t bring her sister home tonight.
That was OK, because I would move a mountain if it meant Veda got her sister back. This time, I did take her hand. Veda clung like I was her lifeline. I wanted to be her lifeline.
When we finally pulled up to the compound, Veda remained quiet, lost in her thoughts. Without a word, I gently squeezed her hand, offering her a silent gesture of support. She looked at me, tears glistening in her eyes, and for a moment, the pain seemed to lessen.
After Hawk parked, we made our way to the entrance of the compound, where Veda finally spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Thank you,” she said, her words filled with gratitude and a hint of hope.
“For letting me go. I know you didn’t want to, but I needed to be there even if I didn’t learn anything. ”
“Yet,” I clarified. “You didn’t learn anything yet.”
With a nod, Veda met my gaze, her eyes reflecting a newfound sense of strength. Together, we would face whatever challenges lay ahead, knowing that we had each other to lean on.
And as we walked into the compound, the night enveloping us in its embrace, I knew that no matter what obstacles we encountered, we would overcome them together.