Chapter 25
JR
I idled outside the rundown house on the edge of town.
It was a shitty neighborhood, but then again, the whole town had pretty much gone to shit.
Brian walked out of the house in a wifebeater and low-slung jeans.
By any woman’s standards, he probably looked like a good catch if he wasn’t standing right in front of this house.
Muscular with a good face, I understood why he appealed to Alyssa. But if I had been there, I would have known right away he was no good. It was in the eyes, just like with me. Every time I looked in the mirror, I saw the ability to kill, to instill fear in anyone who pissed me off.
And I was looking at those same eyes right now.
She was lucky she’d gotten away with the bruises and hadn’t ended up dead.
Clenching my fist, I forced myself to sit still and wait.
If I got out now, he’d see me, and then I’d have to kill him in broad daylight instead of waiting for the right time.
The reason I was so good was that I was smart about everything I did, but this was personal, and those situations always got the best of me if I didn’t keep a cool head.
My phone buzzed in the console and I answered without checking the number first. Not that I was surprised when Archer was on the other end.
“What do you want?”
“Just checking in.”
“You mean, checking up on me.”
“Same difference,” he retorted. “Did you do it yet?”
“I’m biding my time. He’s leaving now.”
“Just be smart about this. Alyssa needs you.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
I knew how much she needed me more than ever, and I wasn’t about to let her down ever again. I was still pissed at how easily I’d let my responsibilities slip through the cracks.
Instead of thinking about her, I had been focused on myself.
“How’s Alyssa?”
“Pissed.”
“How’s that?”
“Well, since I parked my ass on your couch, she’s well aware of where you are and what you’re doing.”
“That’s not her problem.”
“No, but she doesn’t like being watched. According to her, she doesn’t need a babysitter.”
“Maybe not, but she’s gonna get one whether she likes it or not until this asshole is in the ground.”
“And will he be?”
I started up the truck and pulled out behind Brian, following at a good distance as he drove out into the country, away from the safety of neighbors.
“Not sure yet. I found a pretty good-sized lake that might be a nice dumping ground.”
“Not your usual style.”
“That’s the point. But where we are, it’s either that or leave him for the vultures. I’m not putting his body anywhere near my truck.”
“It’s a shame he didn’t come up here. I hear there’s a nice waterfall that would be perfect for an accident.”
Murky Falls. Yeah, I’d seen it from a distance. Not a bad place to have an accident, but he wasn’t Montana, and the link to Alyssa would be too obvious for me to get away with his murder.
“I heard from Sutherland yesterday. He’s got a job coming up. He said he could use your help if you’re up for it.”
“What kind of job?”
Getting rid of bad people wasn’t my only job. I had a whole host of skills that could be put to good use at a moment’s notice.
“Easy one. He needs to get some blackmail, but the information is in a safe that’s more your skill set than his.”
“Yeah? When does he want to do the job?”
“A few days at the most.”
That was cutting it close. After Brian was gone, I still had to make the trip back to Montana and make sure Alyssa was really okay.
But this job was my way back in. After the fuckup on the last job, I really thought that was it for me.
Sure, I could take some solo jobs, but I liked having a team at my back.
“Let me think about it. I need to make sure Alyssa’s okay first.”
“I could stay with her. You know that.”
“Or you could take the job.”
It was silent for a moment as he considered this. “Are you getting out of the game?”
“I didn’t say that. I just…”
Suddenly, Josie flashed through my mind, which halted me in my thoughts. Why the fuck was I thinking about her? There was absolutely nothing about Josie that in any way mingled with this conversation. In fact, I shouldn’t be thinking of her at all. Not when it would only cause problems.
“You know what? I’ll take the job.”
“Yeah?”
“I need a day or two, but tell him I’m available.”
“On it, and hey, you know I’ll look out for her. I know this is a bad time.”
Again, my thoughts went immediately to Josie instead of Alyssa. If I was going to do this job, I needed to get my head on straight. I couldn’t afford any mistakes, and wrapping my neighbor up in this whole thing was definitely fucking with my mind.
Brian turned down a road up ahead, pulling to a stop just under a tree where another car was parked. Having no idea how long he would be there or what he was meeting another person for, it was reckless to get out of my truck. I could lose him completely.
But I also couldn’t miss out on this chance. Pulling over, I killed the engine and slipped into the darkness, removing my gun from my holster. It took a good three minutes to run across the field and within distance of the apparent drug deal that was going down.
Whoever he was meeting looked pretty damn innocent, but the car he was driving screamed money. Just a fool kid out for a good time. Little did he know what a dirtbag he was really dealing with. Alyssa really chose a winner with this guy.
The plan was to wait until the rich kid left, but just when he turned to leave, Brian called out to him.
“You shorted me!”
“You said a hundred,” the kid said.
“That was then. I want another hundred.” That’s when he pulled his gun and pointed right at the kid.
“Fucking hell,” I muttered, moving in closer. I only had seconds before this thing went sideways.
If I moved in, I was taking a gigantic risk, but I couldn’t let Brian ruin anyone else’s life. Not when he reminded me so much of the many assholes I met growing up with my shitty foster father.
“Listen, I don’t have it. You told me a hundred and—”
“Give me whatever you have now, or you won’t be watching the sun rise in the morning,” Brian spat.
The kid backed up, clearly terrified by what was happening. “Take it back,” he said, tossing the drugs at Brian.
“That’s not the way this works, kid.”
I knew he wouldn’t ask again. I’d seen this too many times before, and not even this kid could get himself out of the situation if he handed over every penny he had.
I didn’t think as I raised my gun and lined up the shot, firing a single shot right through Brian’s hand holding the gun.
Screaming, he dropped the weapon, giving the kid just enough time to run back to his car.
His tires kicked up dirt as he peeled down the dirt road, probably pissing himself because of his close call.
Stomping through the field, I crossed the front of his car, my shadow looming in the headlights as I made my way to the man crawling back to his car, still gripping his hand.
When he heard my footsteps, he rolled over, the fear shining brightly in his eyes. “Who the fuck are you?”
“JR. Ever heard of me?”
He shook his head, and when I knelt down, getting in his face, his eyes widened in fear.
“Funny. I would have thought she’d have mentioned me.”
“Who?”
Panic had him searching for a way out, but there wasn’t one. There was no way I’d let this asshole ever walk for as long as he lived. Which was only a few more minutes.
If he was lucky.
“You know, when she showed up on my doorstep with all those bruises, I was pissed. But when she told me that you fucking raped her…” I shook my head, leaning in closer. “You shouldn’t have fucking touched her,” I growled.
“I— I swear, I didn’t—”
Yanking his injured hand away from his body, I pressed it to the ground and knelt on it. The sound of his screams soothed the anger slightly, but it wouldn’t really go away until he was dead.
“Don’t speak. There’s not a single fucking thing you could say to get out of what I’m going to do to you.”
“Please,” he murmured as tears spilled down his cheeks.
“Did she beg you to stop?” I asked. “Did she plead with you to fucking leave her alone?” I asked, my voice growing in agitation the longer I was in his presence. “You will never lay another hand on her or anyone else again for as long as you live. I can promise you that.”
“W—what are you going to do?”
Shifting to my feet, I slid my boot over his injured hand and stomped hard. Screams echoed through the night, but out here, no one would hear a thing.
“Trust me, it’ll be worse than what you did to her.”