Chapter 27 Dare
TWENTY-SEVEN
DARE
Itapped my phone screen over and over again but there was still nothing.
It had been a few days now since Autumn had started her recon to uncover Lombardi and still no results.
He was a ghost. At this point I was starting to doubt if he was even real.
If it weren't for his effect on people, I'd probably believe we made him up.
But he was still out there. He'd make a mistake one of these days and we'd find him.
I was about to pull out of my driveway and head to the fields when a black Lexus turned into the farm and I stopped to inspect who was here. I didn't get visitors very often and those that came here certainly didn't drive a Lexus.
As soon as the door opened I recognized the older man with the salt and pepper hair and glasses and I approached to shake his hand.
"Mr. Wilson, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
Jake Wilson grabbed my hand tightly and shook it firmly like a true businessman, smiling.
"You know me. I was just doing the rounds, and I thought I'd drop by, see how you're getting on."
I raised an eyebrow barely holding back a smirk.
"Fishing for votes out in the middle of nowhere?"
He shrugged and chuckled.
"What can I say? I'm committed to the cause."
I leaned back against my truck and crossed my arms.
"How's that going? The elections must be soon, right? Feels like you've been running your campaign for ages."
"Is that your shorthand of saying you're sick of me?" Wilson pressed his lips together in an entertained pout and I laughed.
"No. Of course not."
"Relax," he said and put his hands up. "I'm kidding of course. Though should I be concerned you don't know when the elections are?"
I winced.
"Yeah. Fair point. Though to be fair it's easy to lose track of the days out here. I'm surprised we even know what year it is."
"We?" Wilson raised an eyebrow with a smirk.
"Ah, yeah. Zach has been staying with me since...you know. The incident."
"That's nice. It's good to hear he's got a support system in place. What happened to his truck is awful."
I nodded.
"Lots of horrible stuff happening lately. First Zach's truck, then Mr. Rogers'. Now Hwan's place. It never ends, does it? I hope I can change all that, if I’m elected. "
I startled, staring at the man. He noticed and stopped talking to stare back at me.
"You don’t know about Hwan’s place?"
My heart climbed to my throat as I tried to form sentences without choking to death.
"What happened to Hwan's place?"
Wilson took in a deep breath and put his hands in his pockets.
"Everyone's okay. I don't know the specifics. I just know they were attacked. Well, the store was."
I nodded and tried to keep my composure, but I don’t know how successful I was.
Though did it matter? It wasn't like Jake would think there was a whole crime syndicate behind these attacks that me and my guys knew all about it just because I looked unsettled. My friendship with Hwan wasn’t a secret.
"But everyone's okay?" I asked.
"As far as I know, yeah. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I just assumed you knew already. You guys seem so close."
"We are. I just haven't spoken to them today."
Wilson forced a smile and offered his hand again.
"I'm so sorry. I'll get out of your way. I'm sure you're dying to speak to them."
He walked back to the driver's side and stopped before getting in the car.
"The elections are next Tuesday," he said, then frowned. "Sorry. If I tell my assistant I didn't do what I came here to do she'll kill me."
I nodded at him and waited until he got back on the road before I pulled my phone out and dialed Parker's number.
The first attempt went unanswered so then I tried Hwan, then Teddy, and when I finally tried Parker again, I got a reply.
"Are you guys okay?" I asked. "Wilson was here and he told me you were attacked. What happened?"
I heard Parker walking and then there was a click and all the noise in the background quietened. He must have gone somewhere private.
"We're all okay. Nothing's happened."
"But...what do you mean?"
"It's fine," Parker said. "They just threw a Molotov cocktail at the back door."
I winced.
"Oh, just a Molotov cocktail? What the hell Parker? That's serious."
"Yeah. It would be, if they were actually successful."
"I...I don't understand."
Parker huffed.
"Last year when I moved here and was assigned with keeping Hwan's safe, his store was attacked."
"Yeah, I remember," I said.
"Well, we've been taking security very seriously since, especially since we applied to foster.
So we've got reinforced glazed windows, security cameras, alarms—the whole nine yards.
They must have tried to break the window to throw the Molotov in and, when they failed, just threw it against the door and hoped it would do something.
It didn't. We're fine. The store is fine. You don't need to worry."
I sighed and sat inside my truck.
"Of course I worry, Parker. You know it's him. That's his MO."
"I know."
"How can you be so calm? What if he tries again? What if he succeeds?"
Parker sighed.
"I'm trying to stay calm because I know we'll get this bastard. He's starting to get frantic, which is a pretty good sign we're getting under his skin and what happens when we get under their skin?"
"They make mistakes," I huffed. "Do you think he knows Autumn is trying to find him?"
"I don't know, but she's fine, and so is the Outpost, so probably not."
I looked at my house as we spoke—my house with Zach inside—and a cold chill ran through my spine.
"I hate this," I said.
"I know," he answered. "We all do. We've all been in this position. We know how hard it is not knowing how to protect the people we care about, but just be patient. It will all work out."
I nodded, trying to internalize it. Trying to believe it. Trying to not let the worry consume me.
"How's Hwan?"
"Pissed."
"I can imagine," I said.
"Yeah, not for the reason you think. It's because they ruined his perfectly painted entrance and we have a social worker due this week."
"You're still going ahead with this? You've just been attacked."
"Yeah. Of course we are. More determined than ever, actually. We’re going find this Salieri asshole and put him in a hole on the ground, too."
I sighed.
"Yeah. Lombardi too."
"It's fine. We've got this. We've been up against worse criminals, and we lived to tell the tale."
I laughed.
"I can't decide if you're crazy or just confident. Wyatt has ruined you guys."
"Wyatt?"
"Well, yeah. You're all here because of him. You're all in danger because of him."
Parker huffed on the other end of the line.
"It's not Wyatt's fault. He's not the criminal. He's not Salieri. Salieri is responsible for this. Wyatt might have not thought this mission through when he invited us here, but he's not responsible for this mess. He's trying to clean it up."
I shook my head but decided to bite my tongue. There was no point rehashing the same old shit. They couldn't see it. They couldn't see what he'd done. How much he'd messed up. How much worse he'd make things by poking the hornet's nest.
"I've got to go," I said and made promises of dropping by soon with more blueberry jam to get Hwan's spirits up.
Then I drove off to the fields. To take care of them. To clear my mind.
I knew I had to tell Zach about Hwan's place and what Victor fucking Lombardi had done, but I couldn't do it right now.
I couldn't look at his face when he realized his ex was getting cockier and more careless, not knowing the way his beautiful, joyful demeanor would change in an instant at the mention of his ex.
He'd been so wonderful these past few days. He'd been the perfect lover, partner, boyfriend, roommate. The perfect man. Until Victor came up when he'd turn fearful, worried, and downright depressed.
I just wanted to keep him happy a little while longer before the inevitable dark cloud over our lives returned and rained down on us.
When I came back to the house later that evening, Zach already knew.
Of course he did. It wasn't like I could keep it from him, though I really wanted to.
I really wanted to wrap him up in a cocoon and keep him there forever, protected from Victor and Salieri and Wyatt and anyone who could ever mean to do him harm or to break his spirit.
But that wasn't possible, was it?
He served us dinner and we ate quietly before retreating to bed, to sleep in each other's arms. No passionate kisses, no mind-blowing fucking, just resting our eyes and our minds from the fuckery we'd found ourselves into.
When I woke up the next day, Zach was already up, fixing one thing or the other, making the whole house smell sweet, doughy, and mouthwatering.
He made me an omelet, and I gobbled it up before inhaling a couple of slices of cake and my coffee before going out into the fields without him. He needed to be alone. He needed to bake. He needed the safety of his routine right now and I needed to chop some shit.
I smelled it as soon as I walked out.
I saw it as soon as I ran behind the house.
I felt the world breaking from under my feet as soon as I collapsed on the ground.
The fire that blazed up ahead could have been a thing of beauty. A wild, fiery beauty that mesmerized and captivated anyone and anything in its path. But instead, it was destroying the land I loved and all I could do was watch.
And breathe.
And try to bring myself up on my feet again.
"Dare! Oh my God, Dare!" I heard him behind me before he collapsed on the ground with me. "I can't believe this. Dare!"
He wrapped his arms around me, and I was finally able to breathe.
"Call 9-1-1. Now. Call 9-1-1,” I said and when he didn't hear me I said it again until he rushed back inside to call for help.
And all I could do was watch the chaos in front of me unfold.