Chapter Nine #2
windows. He didn’t see lights behind him. He had to assume those
two knew him and where he lived, but on the off chance they didn’t,
he wasn’t leading them to the turnoff that went not only to his
place, but Laney and Clara’s as well.
He slowed his speed and cut the
headlights.
He tapped the answer button on his
phone when it rang and his brother’s name came up on the
screen.
“Where are
you?”
“Almost to the turnoff to
home. So far, they’re not following me.” The moon lit the familiar
row of mailboxes. Another glance in the rearview showed he hadn’t
been followed, so he made the turn.
“Deputies are at the
location you described and aren’t seeing anything.”
“Then they cleared out.
Probably cut their lights and took a dirt road.” There were plenty
of unmarked roads snaking up into the hills. “Look for a truck with
damage to the passenger side door and front fender area. I hit him
solid and pushed the truck back enough so I wasn’t boxed in.
Probably have matching paint on my rear bumper and hitch. Got
bullet holes in my windows, and the truck took a slug somewhere in
the back.”
“You hurt?”
“Nothing to worry about.
You might be able to dig the slug from the side of my
truck.”
“I’m sending a unit to
your place. I’m already on my way.”
“Tell the responding
officer to put his lights on when he gets to the cabin so I don’t
mistake him for an asshole and shoot him.”
“Will do.”
***
Neil Grafton watched in his rearview
mirror as the beat-up Chevy sedan pulled to a stop behind his
pickup. There was a time when he wouldn’t have kept the engine
running to heat the truck, but getting old meant he felt the chill
more, and mornings in the mountain were still cold enough to freeze
his balls off.
He saw Reed emerging from the car and
adjusting the sidearm at his waist. He brushed crumbs from his
shirt. Reed didn’t get in the car without something to eat. Most
often he chewed sunflower seeds, spitting the shells into a cup,
but mostly all over the floor of his car.
Reed reached into the car and tossed
out a couple empty beer cans onto the dirt road. Wouldn’t want to
be caught with the empties and the smell of alcohol on his breath.
He moseyed over to a tree and whipped out his dick to take a
leak.
Neil rubbed a hand over his face,
jabbing his fingers into his eyes, hoping he could erase what he’d
seen. The last thing he wanted stuck in his head was the image of
Reed’s limp dick as he took a piss.
The hatred and loathing Neil felt for
this man was matched by little else. He had screwed up his life and
expected Neil to fix it for him. Then he had the audacity to act
like his shit didn’t stink.
In his mid-forties, Reed’s body showed
signs of a man leading a life of self-indulgence. The flabby belly
hanging over his belt and his jowly face were proof of a lack of
self-discipline. Neil knew for a fact Reed’s diet consisted almost
entirely of Hot Pockets, Little Debbie’s snack cakes, and Flamin’
Hot Cheetos washed down with cold Bud. Plus, the sunflower
seeds.
Reed sauntered to the pickup and Neil
saw with disgust Reed had missed a button on his shirt and it gaped
open at his gut to reveal his pasty skin. Reed was impulsive and
narcissistic and might end up becoming a liability. But for now,
Neil had to work with him.
The younger man owed him big time,
which made the superior act he put on all the more infuriating. For
an instant the old man imagined putting a bullet through Reed’s
head simply for the rush of instant gratification. The asshole
drove a fifteen-year-old clunker and was such a lousy driver his
car had so many dents it didn’t have a single straight body panel.
Plus, he lived in a run-down hovel. A hovel Neil was forced to pay
for, and Reed never lifted a finger to keep clean. What did he have
to be so superior about?
Neil stared out the window, focusing
on the distant mountains, snowy peaks gleaming in the early morning
sun as he struggled to curb his resentment. His entire career had
been spent dealing with imbeciles, and he could handle one
more.
Reed opened the door to the truck,
settling into the passenger seat with a fart and a groan. He draped
an arm across the back of the driver’s seat and spread his legs
wide in front of him. Another thing the old man found irritating as
hell. The fucker couldn’t sit without spreading himself out like he
was at home on the couch getting ready to watch the
game.
Neil hated they had to meet in person,
but necessity demanded it and he’d arranged to meet on the dirt
road snaking through a mountain valley where the only witnesses
were the crows circling overhead. No chance there’d be a
surveillance camera within ten miles.
Even then, there was still a risk
they’d be seen by hikers or hunters, so he kept an eye out. Reed
thought they should set up everything through text messages, but
Neil’d be damned if he’d communicate anything important
electronically. Electronics were only used for mundane things.
Anyone with sophisticated equipment could tap into phone calls, and
emails and texts were such an obvious record he might as well use
neon arrows to point straight at him.
“Next time you have to
take a leak, walk far enough away I don’t have to see you swinging
your dick around,” Neil groused.
“It takes me a fucking
hour to get here because you’re stuck in the last century and won’t
exchange a fucking email. I had to piss.”
“You wouldn’t have to if
you weren’t drinking beer while driving. You get pulled over and
everything we’ve worked for goes to shit.”
“I won’t get pulled over.
I’m too smart for that.”
Neil bit the inside of his mouth to
keep from lashing out and smashing a fist in Reed’s pudgy face.
“What the fuck happened with our plan?”
“Whaddaya mean? I dealt
with McGrath.”
“You dealt with him? Then
why’s he still walking? And where the hell’d you get an Escalade?
You failed. I gave you a job, and you fucked it up.”
Reed rolled his eyes and Neil ground
his teeth together so hard they ached. He didn’t bother to keep the
derision from his voice. “Listen to me, you fucker. I told you to
beat the shit out of him, break a few bones, to make sure he got
the message. Instead, you put bullet holes in his truck. What a
dumbass thing to do. He’s still standing, and you brought a
shitload of scrutiny we don’t want. Which is why I specifically
told you not to use a firearm.”
Reed removed a toothpick from his fat
lips. If he wasn’t feeding his face, he had a toothpick in his
mouth. Why the hell did he need to chew on a splinter of wood all
day? Another reason to despise him.
“Don’t be so uptight. I
know what I’m doing. I rented the Escalade in Carson City and it’s
already returned. No worries there. Bobby got a little overexcited
and popped off a few rounds. Not a big deal.” He shrugged. “I did
what you asked. You said to send him a message, but not kill him.
Me and Bobby rattled his cage, gave the fucker McGrath the warning
you wanted us to give. Now he knows somebody’s on to
him.”
Neil gripped the steering wheel, his
knuckles showing bony white through his thin skin. Rage snaked
through him until it was like a red haze covering his vision. He
should’ve taken care of McGrath himself. The satisfaction of
beating the asshole senseless would’ve been sweet
justice.
It was McGrath’s fault Neil’d lost
everything. When he’d been in charge, he could’ve ordered any one
of his men to work over the bastard and it would’ve been done the
right way. Now he had to use idiots. “It’s not enough. He’s been
asking questions, too many questions, and he’s not the kind to back
off. You should’ve hurt him bad enough the message got through loud
and clear.”
“Bobby fired five or six
rounds. One of those bullets had to have hit him. But if he’s not
hurt bad enough, we can go at him again.” Reed shrugged, then
grinned, his fat mouth splitting to reveal stained teeth. “But last
night we did one better. You’ll like this one. Bobby seen McGrath
locking lips with smokin’ hot Delaney Bryant at Easy Money. They
left the bar about the same time. I bet he’s fucking her hard,
making up for the years he’s been gone. It’s what I’d do. Anyway,
so Bobby and me, we left her a little present.” He smirked. “I told
you I’d take care of things and I did.”
“What the hell’d you
do?”
“Never mind what I did. I
took care of things. That’s all you need to know.”
“You fucking idiot. You’ve
always been a screwup and you’re still a screwup. If you’d done
things right back then, we wouldn’t be in this mess
today.”
For the first time since climbing in
the car, anger clouded Reed’s expression. “I didn’t screw things
up, you did. I’m getting fucking tired of your superior
act.”
Neil gave a sharp bark of laughter.
“You’re talking out your ass, as usual. I’m in charge because
you’re not smart enough to be in charge. If you were, you’d know
you mess with the Bryants you’re just asking for attention. This
town’s full of dumb fucks who think those women walk on water. Tell
me what the hell you did so I know if I have to fix
anything.”
“I told you I’m dealing
with shit. You might have a little trust. McGrath will get word,
and when he does, he’ll realize she’s in danger because of him.
That’ll make him back off.”
Boiling resentment threatened to choke
him. Neil hated when orders weren’t followed. And what’s more, he
was damn tired of not getting the respect he deserved from not only
fuckup Reed, but from every other loser in this two-bit
town.
They didn’t know the sacrifices he’d
made to keep the town and the entire county safe and now they
treated him like he was invisible, like he didn’t
matter.
There was a time when his commands
were followed without question, and now he had to explain every
last detail and still his orders weren’t followed. If the asshole
sitting in the passenger seat didn’t watch himself, he’d learn the
cost of not doing what he was told. Not that Neil could leave him
alive once everything was taken care of. That was too much a
risk.
Patience was a hard-learned character
trait, but he’d use it now. He’d wait to see how things played
out.
If they didn’t go his way, he’d be
forced to do what needed doing himself.