Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Decker
I kept to myself for the next two days, leaving Krew alone, giving the space to think without me intruding. I even went as far as sleeping in the truck, for those few hours I did sleep, but it was too damn cold, so I ended up in that tiny room upstairs, sleeping on the twin bed.
When our paths had crossed, especially in the kitchen, I didn’t bring up the subject of his jail time.
Still, my mind kept replaying the moment I asked about his scar—his rejection, the silence that followed—on an endless loop.
What tore me apart the most was that Krew wouldn’t tell me what had happened to him while he was in jail. His lack of trust in me felt like a knife to the gut. Was he afraid that I would judge him?
Each tick of the old-fashion alarm clock on the nightstand in his room was like proverbial blade, slicing deeper and deeper until I couldn’t take the pain.
I could only hope he understood why I couldn’t stay, couldn’t lie beside him any longer.
Not with that silence draped over every passing second like a heavy shroud.
So, I’d left.
It wasn’t hard to stay busy. Though, I was getting antsy to get on the road and track down Jess Duncan, but I couldn’t leave until I made sure Krew and Regina were safe here.
Then Merrick texted about the traps he had set throughout his land—which was a good thing, because I’d be down one leg otherwise.
Once I’d confirmed the locations of his snares, I added a few of my own and texted him their placements.
I constantly patrolled the area, following the invisible perimeter line I had mapped out in my head, and made sure my early warning signals were set so if anyone besides the three of us were on Merrick’s property, I’d know about their presence immediately.
While I intentionally avoided Krew, Regina made it easy on me. She hadn’t left the house since we had arrived. It appeared that she only came out of her bedroom when she was sure we weren’t around.
The second night, I heard rustling downstairs. I crept down and saw her eating one of the sandwiches Krew prepared for each of us. Maybe this was the perfect time to question her about Maya. As I took the next step down, I changed my mind, and left her alone.
Mealtimes were… Different. Krew took over the kitchen and cooked. If Regina and I didn’t join him, he left food for us in the fridge.
I’d finally reached my breaking point—the silence had gone on long enough.
I needed to talk to both of them. I had questions that needed answers, and I intended to get them later today.
Especially with Regina. Her responses would be the deciding factor on whether to leave and track down Jess and possibly Maya, or stay put.
It was nearing four in the morning, and the house was quiet per usual. I decided to do one more check on the west side of the property, where there was an acre of hilly terrain and an abandoned cabin that Merrick had bought four months ago.
I was so far in my head that I wasn’t paying attention to how my booted feet gobbled up the ground. My arches began to ache from the climb, and I needed to slow down. As I reached the western boundary of Merrick’s property, I caught sight of the rustic cabin he texted me about.
Judging the distance from Merrick’s house to the cabin, this place was way too close for comfort—not even a click from where we were hiding.
What drew me up short were the white plumes of smoke from the stone chimney and the interior lights, which glowed like beacons through the curtain-covered windows.
I didn’t see movement, although I had no doubt someone was inside. My gut cinched up, because my instincts said that whoever was in that dwelling was here for us—for Krew and Regina.
There was no immediate threat. So before I went half-cocked, I reevaluated what Merrick had texted me. Could he be wrong? Unlikely. Knowing Merrick, he would have told me he had neighbors.
Could I be wrong on the distance? Maybe. I may have been too caught up in my thoughts to realize just how far I’d walked, but at the same time I wasn’t an idiot. The Rangers had taught me to keep my sense of direction, and it hadn’t failed me yet.
I took out my phone, glanced at the screen, trusting I could get a signal out here.
Yes. Two bars .
I fired off a text to Merrick, hoping he’d answer immediately. I needed confirmation before I went on the hunt.
Me: Did a perimeter check at the cabin. Lights on. Smoke from chimney. Do I need to worry?
Merrick: That cabin should be empty. No one should be in there .
Shit. Why did I think coming here would be safe?
Me: Could it be squatters?
Merrick: Get them gone.
Me: What if they’re not squatters?
Merrick: You know what you need to do.
Me: Got it.
Lucky for me, I had my nine and K-bar. I drew them both without a sound, crouched low and crept toward the cabin, my boots barely leaving a trail in the dirt. When I got close, I caught the sound—muffled voices inside—at least two.
Then I spotted an ATV behind a large bush, loosely covered by branches.
The voices got progressively louder. The yelling allowed me to continue creeping forward until I was under the window closest to the door. I listened to be sure they hadn’t made me, and for any useful information before I stormed inside and killed them.
With every passing second, the conversation escalated.
“Their settling in, babe. I want to give them the illusion of safety. Give it an hour or two, and then we’ll go, make the hits, and collect our prize,” a coarse burly voice announced with a chuckle.
Icy tendrils chilled me to the bone at the implications of ‘ illusion of safety ’. The bastard thought himself cunning by waiting a few more hours before he took out Regina and Krew. No fucking way I’d let that happen.
Besides, how did they locate us? Did these assholes put a tracker on my truck? That thought added fuel under my ass to put a bullet in each of their heads. But I couldn’t go in half-cocked, based on those words alone. I had to keep listening. Had to be sure.
“Not we , Jerome,” a shaky voice countered.
“You. And I don’t feel right about this.
I listened when I placed the tracker on his truck.
I listened when we followed them all the way here to no man’s land.
Now you want me to hurry up and wait longer?
For what?” After a pause, he continued. “You said it wouldn’t take long.
I don’t have the right clothes with me—and are you sure we have the right vehicle?
I mean, your handler sometimes misses the mark. He did mist?—”
A loud growl echoed out of the cabin. “Babe! For one, Dan doesn’t like it when you talk about him like he’s a dumbass.”
“He is a dumbass.”
“And two. It’s not like we’re going to dig up buried treasure. We’re here to kill the bad people,” the other guy grated out.
Buried treasure? The right clothes? What the fuck?
I wanted to snort at the absurdity of what I was hearing, but I clamped my mouth shut and kept my ears tuned to what these assholes were saying. At least I now knew about the tracker.
“I’d rather dig for treasure than sit here and wait.”
“Stop being a pussy, Josh. You do want that trip to Paris, don’t you?” Jerome’s voice was laced with annoyance.
“I don’t want to kill for it,” Josh growled. “I’m not like you, Jerome.”
“Yes, you are, sweetheart. Just nicer doing it.”
“Thank you, but that still doesn’t change the fact that you lied to me. You dragged me here under false pretenses. How do you expect me to feel?”
“Jesus H. Christ, Josh. How in the fuck am I going to make the kind of coin I need to keep you happy? You’re the one who wanted that trip in the first place. I’m doing this for you.”
“Oh, no. Don’t you be blaming this shit on me.
You lied about coming here. Then once we got here, you told me you had contracts for two marks—and when I asked you if they were horrible people and if they deserved what was coming to them, so I wouldn’t feel guilty about their deaths—you gave me nothing. So, I can’t. I won’t, Jero?—”
A gunshot echoed from the cabin. I dropped, belly-to-the-ground, and stilled, listening for more.
“Fuck,” Jerome bellowed. “You made me do this to you.”
Shit. The guy just killed his partner.
“You asshole. Why couldn’t you just keep your mouth shut for once.” Another gun shot, and a grunt.
I waited and listened. Not a second later, the door to the cabin crashed open and a tall, large black man raced out. In his arms, was a much smaller white guy, cradled to his chest.
“I’m sorry,” Jerome mumbled. “I didn’t mean to shoot your leg.”
Even in the dim light of early morning, I could see that Jerome’s shirt was covered in blood. The amount was enough to tell me the other guy was dead, or near to it.
Jerome laid the small man on the ground and began frantically pulling the branches off the ATV.
Right as he turned around, Jerome abruptly stopped and trained his sights on me. He screamed and ran toward me, his gun aimed my way. His first shot missed me by a yard. The second? Too damn close to my left shoulder.
I didn’t know what had given me away, but I had the advantage. Still on my stomach, I aimed my nine at the dead center of his chest, and pulled the trigger.
One shot, and the big bastard hit the ground hard.
I cautiously got up and carefully walked over to him. He was gasping, eyes wide and looking at me like what-the-fuck .
“You came for what is mine,” I muttered, kicked his side and gave him the final send off. A bullet between the eyes.
A groan from the left caught my attention.
Shit. The other guy is still alive.
I contemplated for one second what I should do. Finish him off and bury the two? Or… I could hear Regina in the back of my head, telling me to help the man.
Jesus. Am I turning into a milquetoast?
I tucked my gun into the back of my jeans and stalked over to the smaller guy, who seemed barely alive. Surprisingly, he appeared to only have one gunshot wound. Had one of Jerome’s shots missed?
The left leg of his jeans had a bloom of blood—the bullet must have hit his femoral artery. I checked his pulse. and it was weak, yet still strong enough for him to survive if I got him to a hospital in time.
“Can you… help me? My boyfriend tried… to kill me.” He choked up, but his sharp eyes centered on my face.
“Hold on,” I said, uncovering the rest of the ATV.
When I reluctantly picked him up, he started wiggling in my arms. Right as I was about to climb onto the four-wheeler, the twink pulled out a pistol and shoved it against my cheek.
“Don’t move, motherfucker.” His tone gruff and the gun steady. “You killed my man. An eye for an eye.”
I could drop him where I stood, but at this close range, I’d be dead with a bullet in my brain.
“And here I thought being nice would get me into heaven. Guess not,” I said to him, refusing to show any fear.
“You killed Jerome, fuckface.” He moved the end of the barrel to my temple and pressed hard. “I loved him.”
“I was doing you a favor,” I said casually. “He’s the one who shot you.”
“Don’t do me any favors. Now put me down. Slowly,” he said acidly.
I put him on his unsteady feet as he demanded and backed up, carefully tagging my nine from my back. Without the end of his gun in my face, my pulse calmed. Still, he was too close.
“Show me your hands, motherfucker,” he said, waving the gun back and forth. His steadiness gone now.
To throw him off, I asked a question, seizing the chance to gain an advantage. “You’re a hitman?” I took another small step back.
He opened his mouth, then quickly shut it like he wasn’t sure what to tell me. Then he fired his pistol. Thank Christ, I drew mine first and fired. The shot went through his neck. He sputtered and flailed, and in the end, Josh was dead at my feet.
A sting grazed the side of my head. I touched the area and my fingers came away wet. Blood. I dropped my hand, and ignored the pain. It wasn’t life threatening.
Staring at the now lifeless body, I rolled my eyes upwards at the sky, where the dawn was creeping in.
Before daylight spotlighted my good deeds, I needed to hide the bodies.
It was going to be a long while before I headed back to the house.
And when I finally got there, I had to search the truck for that tracker—and any other that was planted on my vehicle.
My decision to stay was made the second those killers found us. Who knew who else might crawl out of the woodwork to hunt Krew and Regina? Didn’t matter. The second I clocked them in my crosshairs; they were already dead.