Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Decker
T he silence in the truck’s cab was deafening. Krew was in the front passenger seat, and Regina was in the backseat, a scowl on her face as though it was a permanent fixture.
“Did anyone ever tell you that if you keep frowning like that your face will stay that way?”
“Did anyone ever tell you that you have a big, fat nose?” she countered with a middle finger to me. “Stop sticking it in my business.”
For a second, I was stunned at her retort, until Krew burst out laughing. “Good one.”
“Christ.” I had to hand it to her, she developed a quick wit, something she never had before. “You know where I’d like to stick it.”
Her cheeks flushed red as she turned away. “Where are you taking us?” Regina asked, completely ignoring my comment, her attention fixed out the window.
“I don’t know,” I admitted, briefly glancing at her through the rearview mirror.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Krew frowned. “You said you had this handled.”
“Apparently not,” Regina muttered with a light snort.
That brought a small smile to my face. It had been forever since I last heard her make that sound.
Out of my periphery, Krew’s lips tipped up and he began to chuckle.
The tight knot in my gut loosened and the ease that was once a part of our friendship, the ease her snort just revived, settled over us—and then vanished immediately when my phone rang.
The display read, Handler . I didn’t want the truck’s Bluetooth to pick it up since I wasn’t sure what type of news Sabrina had. I reached for my phone, but Krew laid a hand on my arm. Without having to say a word, I knew what he wanted me to do. Or not to do.
At this point, disagreeing with him would be moot, since this also involved him and Regina. And yet, I hadn’t told either of them that Maya and her boy toy were also marks.
I reluctantly tapped the phone screen and answered, “What do you have?” I glanced at Krew, then at Regina in the rearview mirror as she straightened in the seat.
“Do you want the bad news or worse news first?” Sabrina asked.
Fuck .
“Who is that?” Regina whispered over my shoulder. I shook my head, silently telling her to be quiet. She dropped back onto her seat in a huff.
“Who’s that?” Sabrina echoed, as the clicking sounds paused on the other end of the call.
“Who do you think?” I chided her. “Now what do you have?”
“Fine. First off, I looked into the other woman, and boy—that girl gets around town like STD at a retirement community. She had her hand on so many dicks at one point that I?—”
“Sabrina.” I growled, cutting her off. I caught sight of Regina’s crestfallen face. Thank fuck, she remained quiet.
“Fine,” Sabrina drawled. “Both marks are in the wind.”
“That’s the bad news?” Krew chimed in, but there was confusion lacing his voice.
“Hmm. Who’s that?” Sabrina purred.
“Sabrina,” I grated out. “Stick to the details.”
“Chill, bossman.”
“What did I say?”
“Alright,” she huffed. “I did some digging and laid out the timeline for the five contracts that were put out. Maxwell’s was first. And once that was completed, the other two popped up within an hour of the hit. Then in the last twenty-four hours the other two came through.”
“So the worst news is that you still don’t know who ordered the hits,” I said, glancing again at Regina in the rearview mirror.
“As of right now, no. From what I could tell, the three contracts—Maxwell’s and the two most recent ones are from the same source. I’m still digging into the original orders that have your friends’ names on them.”
“Just a FYI, we were blasted at the motel. Do me a favor and erase us from their surveillance and registration,” I explained as my eyes darted to Krew, whose jaw muscles clenched.
“Will do, and I’ll make sure to keep track of Jess and Maya.”
“What?” Regina declared in a soft cry. “Why do you need to track Jess and Maya?”
“She’s dirty,” Sabrina explained. “And more.”
“That’s enough,” I responded crossly. Frustration and regret grew in my gut because I should have explained to Regina and Krew that Maya was tangled up in this entire mess. I moved over to the side of the road, and parked.
“What haven’t you been telling us, Deck?” Krew questioned; his eyebrows furrowed deep.
“Give me a second and I’ll explain everything I know. Sabrina, what else do you have for me?”
“Your girl isn’t going to like this. But the day before the fight, Maya emptied and closed out all of her accounts around the Chicagoland area.”
“What do you mean all of her accounts?” Regina blurted angrily. “She could barely pay her portion of the rent each month.”
“Your so-called friend was lying to you, sweetie. She has been since she moved into your place. Maya had five accounts, four of them with at least fifty thousand in each. The most recent account she opened held one hundred and fifty grand. It’s hard to say if that was all her money,” Sabrina explained.
“I don’t believe it. Maya and I have been friends since grade school. Besides, she’s always complained that she was broke,” Regina admitted, anger radiating from her eyes. “She’s a hair stylist like me, and there’s no way she banked that much money—even on a good day.”
“Believe it,” Sabrina said sharply, then continued.
“I got shots of Jess Duncan too, the morning after Kane’s hit.
He had shaved his head and was carrying several bags in hand, walking out of—get this—out of Kane’s condo.
The SUV he got into wasn’t his either. The license plates are registered to one Waldo Hemmings Senior.
He died the day before from heart failure. ”
“Jesus Christ,” Krew pinched the bridge of his nose. “That guy is trying to look like me, isn’t he?”
“You got it.” Sabrina said, as taps echoed through the Bluetooth.
“This whole time, these killers were supposed to be going after Maya and Jess, but they got me and Regina mixed up with them instead? Wait… you said there are four contracts—five including Kane’s.
What am I missing here?” Krew asked. The answer to his question was what drove my fierce need to hide them until all this shit got fixed.
“You’re missing the fact that there’s another party out there that really wants you and Regina dead,” Sabrina bluntly explained.
“Do you think Maya knew about these contracts?” Regina asked.
I met her eyes in the rearview mirror, and they reflected back betrayal and hurt.
“She had to have known something because she cut and died her hair short like yours, the day before the fight,” Sabrina clarified.
“She did,” Regina added. “Crap. But I never said anything about why she copied me until the day of the fight—Why? If she was in trouble, she could have told me—I could have helped her.”
“Maya wouldn’t tell you, Regi. Maya always thought of Maya, and nobody else. Even back then,” Krew admitted. “She never cared about you or your feelings.”
Regina flinched at his words, but Krew was telling the truth.
There was no doubt in my mind that Maya had thrown Regina to the wolves. “I agree.”
Even back in the day, when we were kids, Maya wore her mask of friendship when she was with Regina, all her fake smiles hiding her jealousy. I saw it, and so did Krew, but Regina had blinders on when it came to her best friend.
Those times in high school—and there were many, Maya tried to hook up with one or both of us. However, Krew and I swiftly shut that shit down each time with malice. Yet, neither Krew nor I had ever had the heart to tell our girl what her best friend had tried to do. And that was on us.
“There’s more,” Sabrina chimed in, yanking me out of my thoughts.
“What is it?” I glanced at Krew, who had his chin to his chest, and then at Regina, who had fat tears running down her face.
“The two original contracts on Krew and Regina were for fifty K each, but as of this morning, they doubled.”
I was speechless. That was the last thing I had expected her to say. “Are you serious?”
“Maya’s in really bad trouble,” Regina murmured.
“No, Regi. Those two contracts are for us,” Krew declared.
“I want to know who is behind this and I want it yesterday,” I demanded.
“Got it. And while I’m digging, you need to find a place to lay low,” Sabrina said as the tapping on the other end got louder and faster, and then nothing. She hung up without another word.
I turned to Krew and Regina, who was wiping tears from her cheeks. “I promise you both, I’ll fix this—even if I have to eliminate every asshole that gets in our way.”
Krew’s anger-fueled eyes met mine and he nodded, but Regina curled in on herself, her legs folded up to her chest and her face to her knees.
“I want to go home,” she whispered, her voice hollow.
“To Elida?” Krew asked, his eyes wide with surprise.
“No. I’ll never go back there.” Her words sounded like a promise. “I want to go back to Chicago.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s not safe there—not anymore.”
Regina popped her head up, glaring at me. “Then drop me off somewhere—I don’t care. I don’t want to be here.”
What Regina wasn’t saying was that she didn’t want to be with us, and that cut me far deeper than it should.
I glanced at Krew, who winced from her sharp verbal barb.
And in that moment, we were back to being strangers.
The stolen interlude we’d had in the motel room—the connection we’d begun to forge, meant nothing to her.
And the silence in the truck made that truth more painful.
Maybe this was for the best. I was a killer, after all. I was no good for anyone—not anymore. Regina had changed into a person I didn’t recognize. But Krew? He was the same man I remembered—almost. I was sure he had secrets… Though, I guess we all had secrets we weren’t willing to share.
“Where are we going?” Krew finally asked, his attention diverted to the window.
That was a million-dollar question. Where could we go? Where could I keep Krew and Regina safe until this fucked up situation was sorted out?
Then it hit me. It was a slim chance, but there was one person who could help—who I trusted. I unhooked my phone, climbed out of the truck and closed the door. I dialed Sabrina.
“Miss me already?” she snarked.
“I need you to call Merrick Gentry.”
Silence.
I glanced down at the screen, thinking we’d gotten cut off.
“Are you still there?”
“Do you think it’s a good idea to contact Merrick?” Sabrina finally asked, her trepidation clear in her voice.
For my handler to hesitate to call the retired hitman, I knew right then it was going to be a risky move. Yet there was no other place safe enough for Krew and Regina.
Two years ago, Merrick Gentry retired from the hitman business, for the love of his life. And if I was honest to him about what these two people meant to me, Merrick might help. If he didn’t, then I’d find another place to hide Krew and Regina.
“Connect me,” I demanded, before I could rethink my decision.
“It’s your balls, but alright.”
It took three tries before the man answered the phone. “What now, Sabrina?” the hitman’s low growl sifted through the phone like a sand storm.
“It’s me.”
Silence buzzed in my ear, but I refused to let Merrick intimidate me. I waited until he spoke.
“What do you want, Moss?” Warning coated Merrick’s words.
“I need your help. I wouldn’t normally reach out, you know that. But this is important—a life and death important.” I swallowed the lump forming in the back of my throat. “I have two loves in my life, and they are being wrongly hunted.”
“Explain.”
I did, followed by, “Now the two real marks are in the wind, which has made the people I care about the sole targets. I need a safe place for them, so I have a clear head and track those fuckers down. I can’t be bogged down or distracted by having my people strapped to my hip.
Can you…” I swallowed harder this time. Desperation clogged my throat. “Please, I’ll owe you several markers.”
Markers were a rare gift to be bestowed. For Regina and Krew, I’d gladly be indebted to Merrick if it kept them safe.
A heavy exhale came across the phone. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Though, I didn’t have to wait long to find out.
“Me and Mrs. aren’t home right now. We’re on an extended holiday for a month. So, the place up north is empty. All you need is provisions. You have a month. But Decker?”
“Yeah?” Relief washed through me.
“You will owe me big time for this, and I will call it in.”
The pressure in my chest eased and I was able to suck in a lungful of air, enough to commit myself to that promise. “I know. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”
He grunted. “Sabrina will text you the address. And Moss, once this is done, forget that address.” Then Merrick hung up.
I glanced at both people I had once loved with all my heart and knew I had made the right decision. I only hoped it wouldn’t take the month Merrick gave me to track down Maya and Jess.
When the text from Sabrina pinged on my cell, I memorized Merrick’s address, then deleted the information. I got back in the truck, put it into drive and headed straight to Vermont. Neither Krew nor Regina questioned where we were going.