Chapter Twelve #3
They kept firing and the car finally began to slow.
No brake lights, only the slumped body of the driver through the missing rear window.
Obviously, he hadn’t made the conscious decision to stop.
The car kept going anyway, rolling slowly toward Candy.
The boss moved as the car finally came to a shuddering stop and a moment later, the horn started to blare.
Beth’s door opened, and I drove forward, stopping ten feet behind it as Candy and Napoleon approached the vehicle, still holding their weapons.
The chopper flew about a hundred feet away and Patsy set it down on a bare patch of asphalt.
I vaguely registered the wavy lines of heat rising from the barren car park.
Mickey got out, and I twisted around, seeing Cam’s wide eyes as he cautiously watched from the backseat.
“Ya okay, Cam?”
He nodded, face flushed pink, eyes wide, and slightly panicked. “Yeah. My mom.”
I nodded. “Stay in the car.” I waited for his nod before getting out.
“Mrs. Demarco?” I called out to Beth.
“All good.” Beth raised an eyebrow and blew out a breath.
“I ‘ear ya.” I turned and gave Cam the sign for all okay; his eyes closed in what looked like relief.
I got to the Audi just as Candy opened the driver’s door. The driver lay slumped over the steering wheel, bleeding from numerous wounds. Candy reached out with a gloved hand and pushed the man’s body back in the seat, ending the obnoxious horn’s blare once and for all.
“What a bleedin’ cock up that was,” I said. Candy gave me a slight nod as I reached out my hand. “Thanks, boss. Ya timed your arrival just perfectly.”
Candy shook my hand, looking grim as he transferred his hand to my shoulder. “Glad we made it in time, Clifford.”
“True enough,” Patsy said, jogging up with Nash, Rex, and Alain. He grinned at me and held out his hand. “Nice to see ya, boyo. When ya do things, ya do ‘em in style, don’tcha?”
I grinned. “Glad to see you lot. ’Ow are ya, Pats?” I clapped my smaller friend on the shoulder. “Nice of ya to rock up… Eventually.”
He laughed.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Napoleon said, holding out his hand.
I smiled at him. “’Ello, mate.” I clapped him on the back. “Thanks for your ‘elp, Snickers.”
“Where’s the young criminal?”
I glanced back at the Camaro. “’E’s in the car.”
“Beth, please get a hold of the local FBI office and let them know we have a situation,” Candy said.
“I want to know where in the fuck their agents are but more importantly, I want to get our young friend and Mrs. Demarco back to the hotel before more of Sterling’s guys show up.
Who knows what kind of resources he has here in Vegas.
The last thing any of us need is a visit from more of these morons. ”
Kindness sat with Cam’s mum in the back of the Beemer with a hand on her shoulder and seemed to be deeply involved in a conversation. She’d no doubt be doing her best to keep her calm. I heard a door open and turned to see Cam getting out. I glanced at Candy who looked past me.
“He doesn’t need to see this, Mars. Go back to the Camaro and sit with him until the Vegas agents arrive.”
“’E’ll be wanting to check on ‘is mum, Captain.”
Candy was indecisive for only a few seconds before he nodded. “Okay, take him to her.”
I pivoted and walked over to meet him as he started in my direction.
He looked a little shaky on it, and as soon as I got closer, I saw how watery his eyes were as his gaze met mine and he blinked.
When he let out a tiny sob, I closed the distance between us and opened my arms. He walked into them a second later, sighing deeply as he slid his arms around my middle and buried his face in my shoulder.
I knew what the others must be seeing, but it didn’t matter at the moment, only comforting him did.
I lowered my face, inhaling as I detected the sharp tang of sweat in his hair as I spoke softly to him.
“It’s okay, Cam. Ya mum’s okay.” I ran my hands up and down his back soothingly. “Let me take ya to ‘er.”
He lifted his face. He looked shattered, and his lips quivered. “She’s really okay?”
I nodded quickly, letting go of him and taking a step back to put an arm around his shoulders. I turned him toward the carnage and lowered my voice, speaking into his hair. “Don’t look. Keep your eyes straight ahead.”
He nodded quickly as we went past the dead driver, and then the Audi with its unlucky passenger-turned-idiot driver. When we got to the Beemer, I opened the back door, and Kindness smiled over her shoulder.
“Cam wants to see ‘is mum.”
She nodded, letting go of Mrs. Demarco’s hand, and slid out to allow Cam to take her place. The two of us stood outside the vehicle, watching as Cam pulled his mum into his arms, whispering comforting words into her ear.
Kindness looked up at me and smiled. “I heard no matter where you are, the bad boys seem to find you, right Mars?”
I dragged my gaze away from her, fixing my gaze on Cam. I ran a hand through my hair, sighing deeply, knowing that yeah, they sure did…in one way…or another.