Chapter 29
Specter
“Found the fucker,” Whisper says, leaning over a laptop in the back of his van.
He volunteered to do some internet sleuthing to see if we could get a location on Bradley, and no one is better at that than he is. Less than two hours later, he’s got something.
“Where?”
“Bradley Weir, 122 Harvest Road in Mistone.”
“Harvest Road,” Wraith repeats. “That’s addict row, right?”
“It is,” I confirm. “We should be prepared for him to be tweaking.”
“We’re always prepared.” Wraith claps a hand to my shoulder. “Let’s go, huh? I’ll drive.”
We part ways with Whisper, since he’s still on a job of his own, and head back to Wraith’s vehicle. Since I said goodbye to Colson at the club, we’ve been putting feelers out through some of our allies around town looking for that damn van, but it was Whisper’s skills that got us an address.
“What’s the plan?” Wraith asks as we speed down the road. “Quick and painless, or…?”
“Or.” My jaw clenches. “He’ll beg me for death before I’m finished with him.”
Wraith chuckles. “Right on, man. That’s what I was hoping for.”
The closer we get to the area of Mistone we’re after, the more voracious I become.
I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be anywhere Colson isn’t, and I’m pissed off that I have to be right now because of some misguided loser.
He’ll pay for taking me away from my man tonight, for scaring him, and for hurting him.
Wraith turns onto Harvest Road, where the worst drug addicts hang out.
Here you can find any vice that suits you, from sex workers to drug deals.
If you want it, you’ll find it. I lower the window despite the cold so I can scan everyone we pass easily.
The area reeks of urine, vomit, and smoke, even in the winter.
The few times I’ve come down here in the summer, I almost threw up from the stench.
Every decade or so some bright-eyed politician sets their sights on cleaning up the area, but it never works long term.
The affordable housing deal was given to one of the most notorious slumlords in the city, and of course he took shortcuts and didn’t keep up on maintenance.
Within just a few years, the solution became part of the problem, turning the place into a rich breeding ground for more drugs, more violence, more sadness.
“Two-ten, two-six,” Wraith murmurs, reading off addresses as we get closer to our target.
The nicer vehicle we’re in does attract some attention, no surprise, and when we’re forced to stop at a light, three men rush up on us, doing their best to look intimidating.
I’m in no mood to be fucked with tonight, so before any of them can even speak, I’ve got my gun out and pressed to the nearest guy’s forehead.
“I have no problem blowing your fucking brains out.”
The other men bolt and the guy in front of me raises his hands in surrender. “I got no beef with you, man.”
“Go.”
He turns and sprints across the street while Wraith chuckles. “Guess they thought they were jacking a nice car tonight.”
I actually chuckle too. “Not so much.”
“Hey.” He taps my arm. “Here we go.”
We pull into the parking lot of a very old apartment building, only two floors, that saw better days several decades ago. It looks more like a shabby roadside motel than an apartment building, and it doesn’t take long to spot the white van with the yellow paint smear across the driver’s side door.
Wraith pulls up behind it, blocking it in since it’s facing a concrete divider. “What’s the plan? We’re just going up and taking it from there?”
“Yep. My goal is to find out why he’s doing this so I can give Colson some closure. I want to know if anyone else is involved, and then I’m gonna make him bleed.”
“Disposal?”
“He’s coming home with us.”
Wraith’s face lights up. “Badass. I haven’t had to do this in a long time.”
I almost chuckle. “Only Carnage likes getting rid of bodies more than you do.”
“He can help.”
The two of us exit the car and walk in step to the apartment on the bottom floor, just a few feet from the van. I could bust the door down, but I like the idea of him answering it. I put my finger over the peephole and knock.
The door is thin enough that I can hear the TV playing on the other side and some rustling noises. I knock again as Wraith backs up to keep an eye on the side window. It’s quiet now on the other side, and I’ve run out of patience.
With one quick move, I kick the door off its hinges, watching it crumple like cardboard under my feet. Bradley is plastered against a wall, holding a knife in front of his chest in defense. His eyes are wild and unmistakably drugged out. He doesn’t speak, but I can see his body trembling with fear.
I keep my distance for a few seconds, determining what state he’s in and how hard he’ll be to take down. A dude on a full hit of their favorite poison can be a loose cannon.
“Bradley.”
His eyes go even wider for a second before he looks around for an escape. Wraith is right behind me, blocking the door, and the small kitchen window would be hard to get a child through, much less a grown man.
“Tell me why.”
Bradley shakes his head so subtly I almost miss it. “Between me and Colson.”
“Yeah, no, it’s between us now. Answer me and maybe I’ll go easy on you.”
He bolts, whipping down the short hallway to another room, but I’m right behind him, grabbing the back of his T-shirt and slamming him to the floor in one efficient movement, knocking the air out of him and the knife from his hand.
He lands with an “oomph” and tries to crawl, but I press my booted foot in between his shoulder blades to pin him down.
“Why?” I repeat. “What’s the endgame?”
“I’m not telling you shit,” Bradley growls, bucking to try to throw me off.
I glance at Wraith, who’s leaning against the wall by the door, a grin on his face. “You’ll save yourself a lot of pain if you just fess up, man.”
“Get fucked,” Bradley spits out.
“I plan to later.” I remove my foot and use it to kick him over onto his back.
He groans and tries to get away, but my foot is back, lightly pressed to his chest. “I could crush your rib cage in seconds and watch you suffocate on your own blood.” I tilt my head. “Or you can answer me and I’ll think about being reasonable.”
Bradley grabs my ankle, trying to pull me off, but I add some pressure so he knows that’s not gonna happen.
“I’ll count to three, Bradley. One…”
He struggles as panic floods his features.
“Two…”
“On three, he kills you, just so you know,” Wraith adds.
“Okay,” Bradley grunts. “He ruined my family.”
Bending down, I wrap my fist around the collar of his shirt and pull him to his feet, slamming him back against the wall. “Go on.”
“My folks were forced to take him in and all he did was make our lives miserable.” Bradley suddenly looks his age as his bottom lip trembles and fear permeates his features, but then they harden with anger and hatred.
“He wasn’t grateful for any of it. I had to share my room and he caused so many problems. My parents were always fighting because of him. ”
“Keep going.”
“He attacked my dad. Did you know that? He stabbed him.”
“What was your dad doing at the time?”
Bradley’s face hardens. “Defending his family.”
“I see.” I move my hand to his neck. “You better get to the part where you decided to stalk Colson.”
“He ruined everything,” Bradley says, his voice cracking slightly. “We lost everything because of him. My mom started drinking even more to deal with the stress. He killed her.”
“And your family is completely blameless? Colson was just a bad seed? Is that it?”
He nods, clearly not the brightest bulb in the box if he can’t pick up on what’s happening. “My mom died and she made me promise I would make it right.”
“Make it right?”
Wraith appears next to me, glaring at Bradley. I see the fear and panic spreading through Bradley as he makes eye contact.
“Scare him,” Bradley mumbles, avoiding eye contact. “But that wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to ruin him like he ruined us. He was hard to find until I found his Instagram page and found out where he worked.”
“What was your plan to ruin him?” Wraith asks.
Bradley’s jaw ticks and his lips press together. I slam him against the wall hard enough that he coughs and claws at my hand around his neck.
“What was the fucking plan?” I repeat, getting in his face.
Bradley glares at me, but I see the moment he makes his choice. “I was gonna fuck him like the faggot whore he is.”
Before I can even think about it, I pull my arm back and slam my fist into Bradley’s face, instantly breaking his nose. He groans in pain, trying to reach for his face.
“And?” I shake him. “You’re so fucking tough, huh? What else did you have planned?”
Bradley tries to avoid my questioning, turning his face away as blood drips down his chin.
“Tell me or I’ll rip your fucking throat out.”
“That’s it,” he grunts. “He was so protective about it when we were teens. I knew it would hurt him if I took it from him.”
My brow crinkles. “What? Protective of what?”
“His body,” Bradley spits out. “He wouldn’t—” He cuts himself off, but I tighten my grip on his neck.
“Wouldn’t what?”
He obviously doesn’t want to tell me, so I smash my fist into his gut. “I’ll beat it out of you if you make me.”
Bradley’s eyes meet mine, resignation reflected in them. “He wouldn’t mess around with me. I wanted to know, but he wouldn’t.”
My patience is wearing thin. “Know what?”
“What it was like with a guy, okay? He was so… pretty.” His voice cracks. “But he didn’t want me. I disgusted him.”
Colson left this part out, and I understand why.
“But then he gets this boyfriend and they… In my room even…” His face twists with anger. “He always thought he was too good for me and my family, even though we gave him everything.”
“And the money your parents took from him?”
His eyes widen and he mumbles “Shit” like he thought I wouldn’t know about that.