Clay
CLAY
A wheeze escaped him, his eyes opening. He was on his back and staring up at the blue sky overhead, marred only by the thick cloud of black smoke belching out of the building in front of him. Sound reached his ears, but it came muted, as though he had his head underwater.
Little by little, his mind snapped back into place, processing again. His body was one big ache, and he could feel burning lines across his shoulder, hands, and cheek. He managed to look himself over, checking to ensure everything was intact and that he wasn’t on fire. The burning sensation, he realized, came from the cuts on his hands, which was probably the same explanation for his shoulder and cheek.
forced himself upright, wincing as his back protested. He was several yards from the building he’d been standing in only moments before. shook his head, trying to remember what happened.
He’d been talking to Fate, explaining that he finally had a way of dealing with his little complications. had made sure to phrase it as a simple courtesy call so she wouldn’t have to worry. The last thing he remembered was that he had stepped into the bathroom, looking at the dirty, frosted window and wondering if she was even buying his excuse.
An explosion, that had to be it. It was the only thing that could have happened so quickly that he wouldn’t remember it and cause so much destruction. His former room was engulfed in flames, rapidly spreading to the rest of the building. The bathroom window was completely blown out, and the glass littered the ground where had landed.
looked down, snorting as he realized he was sitting on a scraggy patch of grass and weeds behind the building. If he’d landed a foot further away or shorter, he would have slammed into the concrete. Instead, he was on what probably should have been a maintained grass median on the street behind the motel.
Lucky him.
Just as lucky was the fact that he’d been in the bathroom, in front of the window, when the explosion happened. Otherwise, he would have either been caught in the blast directly or thrown into a solid wall with the same force that had jettisoned him several yards. looked down at himself, wondering how many years he had just shaved off his life.
His head jerked up, mouth falling open.
Elliot had been parked in front of the room.
“No,” he breathed, pushing to his feet unsteadily.
He limped around the other side of the building as quickly as his wobbly legs would take him. Gripping the corner of the building, he hobbled to the parking lot. His stomach dropped, chest squeezing as he stared at Elliot’s car. It was completely engulfed in flames, the windows blown out. The front end had been crumpled from the force of the blast, and could see that anyone in it would have had no chance to escape.
“Elliot,” he croaked, limping forward.
There was nothing could do to save him. He knew that. Even if the explosion hadn’t killed him outright, the car was on fire. He felt a noise tear out of him as he rounded the vehicle, staring into the flames, not caring that it was unbearably hot being so close.
clutched his arm around his middle, bowing forward. Elliot had been the only person who had bothered to care about him since was a boy. He had been a good man, trying to do the right thing, and he hadn’t deserved such a wretched death. ’s eyes stung as he stared at the fire, wondering what would even be left to give the man a proper burial.
A hand closed around his arm, and swung wildly. His intended blow missed completely, sending him off-balance and tumbling to the ground. Above him, staring with terrified eyes, was the kid who had tried to mug him the first night he’d come to the city.
“Tyler?” he asked, remembering the kid’s name in a flash.
Tyler nodded, his mouth working but not loud enough to get past the ringing in ’s ears.
motioned to his ears. “I can’t understand you. Get out of here before someone else shows up to finish the job.”
Tyler pointed hurriedly at the car and then across the parking lot. followed his gesture, shaking his head. “Just go, Tyler. This isn’t safe. I’m not safe.”
With a look of growing frustration, Tyler reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. watched him, wishing the kid would take the hint and disappear. He knew who had killed Elliot and who would be trying to kill him too. Apparently, his target had been more aware of his and Elliot’s partnership than just mere suspicion. They had planted a bomb, and instead of getting the assassin, they got Elliot instead.
Tyler shoved his phone into ’s face.
They took your friend. Hit him and drove away.
looked up, not ready to believe. “He’s alive?”
Tyler nodded fervently.
Staring at the fire, felt his pain recede. His body still ached, and guilt gnawed at the edges of his thoughts. Elliot was alive, though, and if he was alive, it meant there was still a chance for him to survive. Which meant needed to get his shit together and start thinking fast because he bet Elliot wouldn’t have long.
held out his hand. “Help me up. I need your help with a couple of things.”
* * *
A few hours later, and with the help of some pills, was feeling more like himself. None of the cuts were deep, and bandages had dealt with the bleeding. The pills Tyler had managed to get from who knew where had been enough to take the worst of the pain away but without dulling ’s senses too much. There was still high-pitched ringing in his ears, but he could deal with that.
“So, what’re you gonna do?” Tyler asked, shifting nervously in his seat across from .
snorted, looking up from the laptop in front of him. “I’m going to get my friend back.”
“How you gonna do that?”
finished downloading the program he needed and let out a slow breath. The laptop was another little gift from Tyler. was pretty sure the thing belonged to the kid’s mother and had certainly seen better days. Still, it managed to get Wi-Fi from the diner they chose for its hotspot, and it worked, albeit slowly.
“It’s honestly best you don’t ask.”
“That bad, huh?”
“I’m not a very good person. And the people who took my friend are worse.”
Tyler shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t know, you seem pretty good to me.”
smiled at that. “I appreciate it, but you don’t know me.”
“I know you helped me.”
“Uh-huh. How bad did your mom get you?”
“Pretty bad, but you were right. I shouldn’t have been doing all that. I don’t wanna be that person.”
“Speaking from personal experience, no, you don’t want to be that sort of person. Keep your nose clean, and do the right thing,” said as he typed the information into the program.
Tyler leaned over, trying to see the screen. “So, how are you going to find him?”
chuckled. “I have my ways.”
After getting his butt captured by Elliot and then everything that followed, had forgotten he’d put a tracker on Elliot’s phone. It was probably a good thing he’d forgotten otherwise, he would have warned Elliot and removed it. Now, it was probably ’s only chance to find him before it was too late.
“Look, the less you know, the better, okay? I probably shouldn’t even be involving you this much, but time is of the essence,” told him as the program searched for the signal.
“Wish I could’ve done more. I should’ve just...warned you when I saw you pull up. But I was scared they were still around,” Tyler muttered, staring at his lap.
looked up, reaching across the table to squeeze Tyler’s shoulder. “You did more than you had any right doing. This wasn’t your business, but you still tried to help. You did a lot, and now, I can help him.”
“You found him?” Tyler asked, hopefully.
looked up the address given by the program and nodded. “That I have. And now, I’m going to go get him.”
Well, after a supply run, anyway. If Elliot was still alive, suspected Anthony was keeping him alive for a reason. A signal from the tracker just told him where Elliot was, not whether or not he was okay.
closed and uninstalled the program, sliding the laptop back to Tyler. “Again, thank you. You’ve helped me more than you know.”
“I just hope it’s enough for your friend,” Tyler said, tucking the computer under his arm.
“Me too,” said, standing up. “Take care of yourself, Tyler, and don’t stop looking for the good in people. It can surprise you how often you’re right.”
He left the teen at the table as he walked out of the diner. Getting money quickly wouldn’t be a problem, though arming himself might be difficult. Truth was, he might have to get to Elliot with little more than barebones equipment and a knife. He had faced pretty difficult odds before, but this time, there was much more than his life and a paycheck at stake.
had promised Elliot that he wouldn’t go after his target. But if Elliot were hurt, or worse, would burn that promise without so much as flinching. God, have mercy on Anthony Howell if he hurt Elliot.
Because would have none.