Chapter 56
The tang of gasoline hangs in the air as I wait for the other half of this meeting to arrive. The sun has crested in the sky, starting its low descent toward the horizon. It’s quarter past the hour and I’m all out of fucks. “It appears we’ve been stood up, let’s get the fuck out of here!”
Kyle emerges from the thick trees lining the gravel parking lot, dressed in a dark green t-shirt and dark jeans. “About fucking time. The bugs here are insane. I think there’s a beehive nearby. The buzzing was driving me nuts.”
“Yeah, or there’s a dead body somewhere.”
We exchange an ominous look.
Is that why our contact didn’t show up?
Without another word, Kyle and I draw our weapons.
I follow him back to where he was crouched just off the overgrown hiking trail.
Sure enough, the buzzing is there, but not as loud as he made it seem.
Though, sitting in the bushes for over an hour could have him isolating the sounds around him, especially if he thought he was going to be stung.
Taking the lead, I follow the sound. Flies become more prominent as we move through the trees, coming upon the smallest area where the vegetation isn’t so thick and heavily packed.
Black flies circle around an area of freshly turned dirt, disappearing into burrows they’ve already started to dig in the loose soil.
“Let’s assume this is our contact,” Ky whispers.
“Okay… Where are you going with this?”
“That would mean he got here before us, and was taken out. I, for one, do not want to be here if and when that person returns to check on his crime scene.”
“Good point. Let’s go.”
Our matching footfalls crunch through the underbrush on the way back to the parking lot. “Where’s his car?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we’re in the middle of bum fuck nowhere, Rip. Where’s his car?”
“It was most likely stacked full of contraband, and taken by whoever killed him. Maybe a rival gang? He could’ve had a partner who flipped on him, and stole the goods to sell. It doesn’t really matter.”
“I think it does.”
“And why’s that?” There’s a reason Kyle’s my second-in-command. As irritating as this shit is, I need to hear him out.
“What if the head of that organization thinks we killed him and stole his car full of shit.”
“Fuck.”
“That’s a bunch of heat we don’t need, especially in the midst of what’s going on.”
“I know.” Why can’t anything just progress smoothly?
There’s always a catch, a hitch in my fucking plans.
Most recently, the flower that’s hell bent on derailing my entire personality with the laugh that echoes in my ears on an unending loop.
“You’ve got me fucking paranoid now, let’s get out of here. I’m worried we’re being watched.”
When we emerge from the trail, nothing is amiss. Quickly, we pile into the rental sedan, taking off back to the hotel.
Getting on the wrong side of another kingpin is really not what I need right now. I just wanted to beef up my current armoury before infiltrating Bleakcrest, and if this guy had any intel on the ridiculous security system, it would’ve been beneficial.
“What about the photos?” Kyle asks, interrupting my thoughts.
“They’ll have to wait. Shantel won’t be here until later. Bucky’s rat wouldn’t eat, and she had to take him to the vet ‘cause Buck was too worried about it to drive.”
“Glitch is not a rat, she’s a sugar glider.”
“It’s a rodent like a rat, therefore it's a rat.”
“Actually, it’s a marsupial.”
“Kyle, I swear I’ll drive this car into a tree.”
“Get it right and I won’t have to correct you.”
I roll my eyes, swerving into the fast lane without signalling. “Fuck sakes man, watch your speed. The last thing we need is a cop on our ass.”
“Can you fucking relax?”
Kyle huffs. “How’d the handoff go?” Smart of him to change the subject.
“Fuck,” I growl, realizing I’ve made our situation worse.
“What?”
“Well, I threw in some guns to see how Maximus felt about them because I was expecting to have a new shipment of weapons coming. But now that’s not going to happen and we are more depleted than I’d like.”
“Goddamnit, Ripley. When’s the next one coming in from Louis?”
“I don’t know, he’s been delayed.”
“This reeks of Maximus.”
“I know.”
“If he knows we are dealing in guns, he will come after me.”
“Well… Maximus already knows that because I told him.”
“Do you think before you fucking speak?”
“Yes, actually.”
“Beg to fucking differ.”
“I needed a way to get off the island that wasn’t suspicious. You know this.”
“Mhmm.”
“Well, I told him you were set to meet up with a weapons dealer and I’d intercept you at some point and kill you. A murder off the island is much better than one on it, and it gives us more room for possible error. I just didn’t think this would be what went wrong.”
He stews in his annoyance and fear momentarily, tapping his fingers against the door frame. “Are you killing me when Shantel gets here?” he asks.
“Ideally.”
“Good, I want my fucking face back.” None of this is easy on Kyle.
He’s been a tightly wound ball of fear and stress since I approached him with the plan a year ago.
I tried to make it clear to him, the severity of a slip-up on a plan this crazy.
He said he was ‘all in’, not willing to let anyone else bear the burden of my face.
I should’ve been offended, but in reality, I was relieved.
No one knows me like him. The way I talk, my mannerisms, my schedule.
Kyle’s the only one out of my entire team who could pass as me, and I had to put aside my emotions to allow him to do this.
Seems as though he’s letting his emotions get the better of him now.
“Thank you, for all of this,” I say, breaking the tense atmosphere.
“Whatever,” he grumbles.
The rest of the drive is silent, Kyle freezing me out as he stews quietly watching the countryside whip by.
Thoughts of Rose roll in like an early morning mist, leaving traces of her everywhere like dew on the grass.
She blankets my mind as I wonder if when I have her, she’ll still feel the need to poison someone.
Could it be me? Just enough of something to make me dizzy and have her nursing me back to health?
Can’t say I’m opposed to the idea, especially if she dresses for the part.
I can feed her needs, since she’s so damn willing to indulge in mine.
We hit the city limits, then pull into the parking lot.
Kyle’s got his hand on the door handle before I’ve even stopped the car.
“Wait,” I request, forcing myself to be nice, not demanding.
Even if I am his boss, he’s my best friend, and I’ll want his support when the rug is yanked out from under him.
Kyle pauses, though refuses to turn my way.
“I’m sorry for carelessly putting you in danger.”
“I’m already in danger, Rip. You’re just putting me in more of it.”
“I know. I-We’re just so close to the finish line, I can feel it.”
“You’ve still got to keep your head on straight. Is the pussy blinding you?”
“Absolutely not.”
Kyle finally turns my way. “I’m not an idiot, man. You’ve been more absent than usual since you stepped foot into that place.”
“For the good of the plan. Less communication the better, remember?”
“I know, but even Shantel said you turned her away.”
“It’s not the first time I’ve done that, probably won’t be the last. She’s not the only cunt on the block.”
“Jesus Christ, do you have to talk about her like that? Just because you’ve been fucking her doesn’t mean she’s not a person. We’ve known her since we were kids, show her some respect.”
“Sounds like you want to dip your dick in her. Go hard, man. She’s all yours.” She can be the ever nagging thorn in Kyle’s side for once. The thought of my restraints on her wrists doesn’t even make my pulse quicken.
“That’s not—Fuck you’re annoying.”
I’m done with this conversation. “Let me know if you want to get dinner and tear up the town later,” I say, not bothering to wait for a response. I’m out of the car and heading for the lobby before Kyle’s even out of the rental.
Once I’m safely within the confines of my room, I dial Rose’s father. He picks up immediately. “Mr. Keller, I was getting worried.”
“Something’s come up, we will have to postpone our meeting.”
“With all due respect, you said this was about my girls. I’d like to meet as soon as possible.”
“Take it or leave it.”
His rage huffs into the mouthpiece. “Do you have kids?”
“No.”
“But surely you can grasp the severity of the situation.”
“Whether we meet now or in a few hours, it will make no difference. They most likely won’t be moved from where they are because you’ve made such a ruckus.”
“Is that good?”
“I don’t know. I’ll contact you tomorrow.” I hang up before he can respond, shutting off the phone so he can’t call incessantly.
I don’t know what I’m hoping to learn by meeting with Rose’s family, but if they sold their daughters there has to be something more she’s not telling me.
Were they in unbelievable debt? Owe money to a loan shark, and this was their idea of breaking even?
Is Patrick playing the part of the concerned father only to appear normal?
Obviously, no reaction to such a crime would be suspicious.
Is he baiting me? Hoping to find out what I know to glean if I’ll be a problem or not.
There’s too many unknown variables, and I don’t like it.
If I’m to have her, I do not want the authorities breaking down my door and stealing her away from me.
The knock on my hotel room door pulls me back to the present. “Who is it?” I call out, stepping to the side so if someone decides to shoot me through the wood, they’ll miss.
“It’s me, you grumpy asshole, now open up.” Moving across the room, I open the door for Kyle.
“You don’t still got your panties in a twist, do you?”
“No. Shut up. Fuck.”
I chuckle. Kyle always has a quick rebuttal, but since the start of this plan he’s been knocked off his game. It makes bugging him all the more amusing, even if the stress of it all is ruining his personality.
“Do you need something?” I ask.
“Shantel will be on the first flight out in the morning, apparently Glitch is pregnant.”
“Great, more rats.”
His annoyed eyes snap to mine, and I fight to keep my features neutral.
“You’re such a pain in the ass,” he mumbles.
“You love me, don’t you, bestie?”
“I’d love you more if you buy me a steak.”
“And a hooker?”
He chokes on the air he’s inhaling and I bust a gut laughing. Who can’t do something as benign as breathing? “Let’s start with the steak, and go from there.”
“That doesn’t sound like a no.”