9. Michael
This has been the longest two hours of my life. Trusting someone else with Dana’s safety— those kids, no less—was a challenge.
Jack and Logan left as soon as the kids dispersed. Their job was to secure our temporary base. It’s our only refuge in the area. If the cabin becomes compromised, we’re all out in the open.
While Eagle and Grey swept the area and grabbed a photo of our dead shooter for Link to ID, I wrapped my wound. Tyler gave us the spare key to the coffee shop, and we put our corpse in the oversized freezer. Then, without Tyler’s knowledge, I sent Grey and Eagle out to Stan’s place to retrieve his body. The last thing we need is more casualties, and the more we cover up now, the better.
I’m not sure Dana will be too happy with Tyler’s suggestion for a temporary hiding place for this DOA, but it’s all we’ve got right now.
As we drove around town, Tyler gave me some insight into the locals. For a group of people who thrive on keeping to themselves, their community roots run deep. They sure know a lot about each other.
Outside Dana’s coffee shop, there’s a small hardware store, a surplus store, a one-pump gas station with an attached convenience store, a town watering hole, and a lavender farm, of all things. Not much else thrives here. Tyler told me most of the residents go to neighboring towns or the big city for their entertainment.
He answered some questions easily; others he danced around or shrugged off altogether.
We found one vehicle with out-of-state plates abandoned on a dirt road outside of town, but everything else was quiet. Staying true to my word of keeping Tyler safe, we drove on by, but the vehicle will need to be checked out when I have one of the guys with me.
After we got the all clear from Logan, everyone regrouped at the cabin.
Now we’re sitting around the table, and all eyes are on Tyler.
Everyone is quiet.
This is a shit show.
“Guys, this is Tyler.” I point around the table to my team, who now look exhausted. “Tyler, this is Grey and Eagle. You’ve met Logan and Jack.”
“Hey.” The kid nods around the table. I have to hand it to him: he’s a brave one. At his age, I would have been in a complete panic. But here he sits, surrounded by five guys twice his size. He must really trust Dana.
“What’s the status on the perimeter?” I ask as I look over to Logan.
“Eastern perimeter alarm was tripped, but the camera couldn’t get a good shot; it wasn’t angled properly. I’ve corrected it. We don’t have confirmation of intruder or wildlife, but nothing else is disturbed, so I think it’s the latter,” Logan answers, and Tyler follows the conversation around the table.
“I thought he killed the guy,” Tyler cuts in, angling his thumb at Eagle.
“He did. We’re being careful.” Logan’s response is clipped. Tyler isn’t in a position to know anything further. The last thing we need is to terrify this quaint little town with the news that there may be three more where he came from. Tonight was enough.
“The shooter has been secured and stored for now. Tyler here suggested the walk-in freezer at the coffee shop. It will keep our guy out of sight, but it’s only temporary. Before I forget, there’s a car out on the back road behind the gas station with out-of-state plates. It’s a rental, and it looks abandoned. I sent the plates to Link to run. Jack, can you and Eagle check it out in the morning?”
Tyler nods beside me to confirm my update. The kid might make a good team member one day.
“Sure thing.” Eagle speaks for both of them.
I intentionally left out Stan’s death. I don’t know Tyler well enough to trust that he’ll keep that information to himself, and I have no idea who Stan was to the people of this town. I got the keys to Dana’s shop, telling Tyler we would return them, and handed them off to Grey and Eagle so they could retrieve his body while we drove around.
This reminds me that I still have them, and I return them to the kid.
“Does anyone else have anything they’d like to add?” I silently hope no one does.
Everyone shakes their heads. It’s getting late, and we’ll have more information in the morning. As I finish looking around the table, Tyler slowly raises his hand like he’s in a classroom.
“Um, I have a question.” He locks eyes with me, silently seeking permission to speak, and I nod for him to continue. “Who are you guys?”
I knew that question was coming. I expected him to ask earlier, when we were driving around town.
Tyler is on a need-to-know basis. So now, we start deciding what he needs to know. Grey and Eagle sit back in their seats, happy to let someone else answer.
“We’re part of a larger security team. Kim was caught up in something a little over a year ago, and she’s in trouble. We’re here to make sure nothing happens to her.” As Jack speaks, Tyler eyes all of us carefully.
“Okay.” Tyler draws out the word, and I know he’s hoping we’ll give him more to go on.
“It’s important you know: Kim is not the bad guy here. Neither are we. But she is in danger, and we need to be able to protect her.” He stares in silence, and I hope it’s enough for now.
“People around town aren’t going to be too happy you’re here. It disrupts—business,” Tyler slowly responds.
“What business?” Logan chuckles.
“The business of minding our own business.” Tyler’s response feels more like a warning.
I like this kid, and I sense Logan does too.
“Fair enough. We’ll work as quickly as we can. We’re waiting on information. For now, we need to assume the shooter wasn’t the only one. The silver lining is that hired hits don’t usually become full-on massacres unless there is no other option. So, going forward, one of us will be with Kim at all times, but we need to keep this as quiet as we can.” As Logan finishes, it’s Tyler’s turn to chuckle.
“Good luck with that. Every kid in town was on the street during the shoot-out.” Then, pausing, he looks like he’s trying to come up with his own plan. “I might be able to help with that though. Most will be heading home to tell their parents. I think we can keep it under wraps for a while; I just need to talk to Pops,” he offers, and everyone around the table leans in to listen to this teenager.
“Your dad?” I ask as all eyes shift to me, then back to Tyler.
“No. Pops. He’s the owner of Dale’s. I mean, he’s Dale. He’s the leader of the motorcycle club in town. Most of the group’s members are our parents, and Dale is kind of the resident dad, especially to those of us who don’t have one, so we all call him Pops. We can go talk to him right now,” Tyler offers, and everyone looks at each other for a better idea.
“Okay, we’ll stop in on our way to get Kim. Grey and Eagle, you stay behind. We need to keep the base secure.” I stand, reaching for the keys. I’m ready to get this night over with.
Tyler cuts into our conversation. “No need. Kim is with Dale right now. I mean, she’s at Dale’s—with Dale.”
“You sent her to a bar? She should be in hiding somewhere,” I state incredulously. I’m instantly back on guard. She’s a sitting duck in an open establishment. I should have handled this on my own.
“Trust me. It’s the safest place in town. The guys are all there, and Dale has a thing for Kim. He’d never let anything happen to her,” Tyler offers innocently.
All eyes slowly move back to me at this new information, and no one says a word.
Fucking great.
* * *
The moment the door to Dale’s opens, everyone looks up. Some tense until Tyler steps in and joins me at my side. He glances around the room, nodding at each person who’s wearing a scowl as if he’s vouching for me.
The kid was right. Strangers wouldn’t get very far in here.
Jack and Logan enter after us. They stay a few steps behind as I approach the bar, and Tyler stops in front of the burly guy who hasn’t moved since we came in.
I assume this is Dale.
“Hey, Pops.”
“Ty. Who are your friends?” He asks the question to Tyler but keeps his eyes on us.
“These are—um—friends of Kim’s. This is Grizz,” he starts as he looks around the room. Then, locating her, he lowers his voice and asks, “Is she okay?”
“She’s had better days. What’s going on?” Dale asks, still keeping his eyes on me.
“Is there somewhere we can talk in private?” I ask, but he’s already shaking his head.
“You’ll be doing your talking right here. Some of the kids have already been to talk to their dads, and I’m keeping my eye on someone.” He dips his head at the table where Dana is sitting. Her back is turned to us as he continues talking. “You want to tell me what’s going on before the whole town starts making up their own stories?” He keeps his voice low. Judging by the glares around the room, everyone is on edge.
“Pops,” Tyler cuts in, surprising the guy behind the bar, and for the first time he shifts his attention off me. “Kim is in trouble. Someone tried to kill her.” He hisses his last sentence in a lowered tone.
Dale’s stern expression cracks into concern as he mutters under his breath, “Shit.”
“These guys are trying to help her, but we need to shut down the gossip. They don’t know if she’s safe yet.” Tyler stops talking, and the two of them exchange a glance I can’t place.
Then Dale shifts his stare between Tyler and me as he considers his options. He points to a chair by the door saying, “You know the rules,” and Tyler makes his way over to it and sits.
As Dale opens his mouth to speak, a loud voice shouts from across the room.
“YOU!” Dana stands and points her finger in my direction. My eyes land on all the empty glasses on her table.
I glance at Dale. “How much has she had?”
He picks up the rum and jiggles it in front of me.
“One.”
“You let her drink a bottle?” This is fucking great. I may have had a chance to reason with an irate Dana, but now she’s intoxicated.
“No, soldier. She had one double. I made the rest virgin. Kim doesn’t drink. We all know that.” His words carry the accusation that I don’t know her at all, and he’s right. I only had time with her for a few days, and even then I never saw her finish a full glass of wine. She’s been here for months.
Dale continues speaking as I watch Dana make her way across the room. “The worst you’re dealing with is a sugar crash. That fury you see there? That’s one hundred percent Kim. Good luck, buddy.” He raises his hands and backs away in supplication as Dana stops a few feet in front of us.
He knows enough to get out of her line of fire.
Smart man.
“You!” she says again, a little lower, and points. But this time she is looking past me, at Logan, and I mentally chastise myself. I shouldn’t have brought him in here.
“I’m not going anywhere with you. You all got what you need.” Then, lowering her voice even more, she hisses out, “The guy’s dead. I don’t have the phone anymore. Just leave. Leave me alone. Nothing good comes from your protection.” She adds dramatic air quotes around her last word.
My heart breaks as tears well up in her big brown eyes, and she blinks, letting them roll down her face.
“We can’t do that.” Jack steps in front of us and attempts to control the conversation by speaking to her as the friend he once was, but he only aggravates her further, and she takes aim at him.
“Stay out of this, Jack. You lost her too. I lost my only friend. I watched her die. And for what? She was only trying to get out. She didn’t deserve any of this.” Dana’s voice is back to full volume, and everyone around us has a front-row seat to her downward spiral.
I’m willing to bet she hasn’t spoken about this with anyone.
She’s been living with it all alone, trying to ignore her anguish.
Dana’s pain can topple the most fortified of souls, and when Jack turns back toward us his cracks have started to show. He remembers the moment he realized Jessa was dead, and Dana is still living in the hell he was able to escape from. His guilt at not being able to grant her the same peace is chipping away at him.
“Grizz, I’ll be outside. Logan, join me.” His subdued words barely register as the two of them walk out the front doors, leaving me in the bar alone.
Then it sinks in. Jack isn’t running away; he’s turning the situation over to me. I’m the only one of our trio who has a chance at getting through to Dana.
Okay, maybe he’s running away a little.
I may not know everything about her, but I know she gave up her freedom for her friend, and I know she won’t let anything happen to the new friends she’s found.
“You have what you need. You can go now.” She lowers her voice back to a level tone and waits for my response.
This is her challenge. She thinks she’s being used all over again.
“No.” My answer is final.
There is no room for discussion on this.
I’m done lying down.
“No?” She crosses her arms, jutting her hip to the side. One by one, chairs around the bar slide back, and the people who have come to know Dana as Kim stand up in silent support. Over Dana’s shoulder, I watch as Dale lifts a bat and places it on the bar in warning.
“No. I don’t have what I came here for.” My temperature rises, and suddenly my shirt is too tight. I’m not the bad guy here. “I looked for you for an entire year, Kim.” I emphasize her fake name, and she shifts awkwardly as I stare her down.
I don’t care.
I want her to know I’m not playing games. These people may have known her for the last twelve months, but I know who she really is. I won’t be an outsider where she is concerned, and I sure as hell won’t be the bad guy.
“Not a day went by when I didn’t do something to try to find you. As soon as the base was secure, I took off after you, but all I found was our abandoned company vehicle. Lead after lead went cold. None of this was even going on.” I wave my hands around to indicate the contract on her life. “I had no reason to keep searching for you but one. You were the one who ran. Even after that morning in the lot, when I told you we were all still there for you, that I wanted to be there for you, you left me. And I still didn’t stop looking. So no, I don’t have what I need—yet. But I will, because I’m not leaving here without you.”
Even before I’m done saying my piece, the muscles in my neck tense tight as I brace for her response. Dana’s lips are pinched, and her face remains stuck in a scowl as she stares at me.
“You said you were there for me?” Dana leans forward, lowering her voice, and the shift from my raised tone is jarring.
“I—yes.” I take a deep breath to reset my defenses, then continue, “What Jessa did for you, and for us. The sacrifice you both made. We wouldn’t have thrown you out. I thought we had an understanding.”
And that understanding was that she meant more to me than just a job. I would never have pushed things with her if I didn’t think she felt the same about me.
“Everything after—Jessa—in the room, um, is a blur.” Her cheeks flush in a rare sight. For the first time since I’ve seen her again, Dana looks vulnerable. Blinking rapidly, she clears her throat, and the strong front she’s put up shows signs of breakage.
“Dana.” I whisper so no one else hears us, and her eyes snap to mine at her real name, the name no one here knows her by. “There is something you need to know.”
It’s the first time I’ve wanted to defy my orders to keep Jessa’s survival a secret for now. I could tell her everything and heal her broken heart, but doing so would increase the danger she’s in. Now that we know she unknowingly destroyed the only backup of Zane’s program, extracting her will be easier. If word got out that Jessa was still alive, all bets would be off. The body count would start to climb, and I won’t put Dana in harm’s way, even if it means lying to her a little longer.
Keeping my voice low so only she hears me, I say, “More than one person is looking for you. You aren’t safe yet. And until you are, more of your friends might become collateral damage.” I cock my head up and around the room to draw her attention to the depth of our situation.
I’m not sure if I should have shared that information, but Dana needs to know. This is far from over for her or the new friends she’s come to care for.
Dana’s eyes drop to the floor before she glances at everyone behind her. Dana on her own is impressive. I have no doubt in my mind that if she disappeared again, she would stay gone. But she has developed a new weakness, and it is in all the people who are standing their ground around her, waiting for her decision.
When she turns her attention back to me, I find myself straightening my back. She looks like she’s ready for battle. She sure packs a lot of rage into her small frame.
She sucks air in between her gritted teeth, and I expect her to tell me to pound sand. A vision of me carrying her out of here over my shoulder pops into my head before her expression changes.
I can tell her thoughts wage war with each other, and she finally groans to herself before she takes a resigned step toward me, her shoulders dropping as she speaks.
“How many people are trying to kill me, Michael?”