Chapter 1
Billy
“Dad, you gotta start getting out of the house more.” Kiersten, my one and only daughter, dropped the bags of groceries down on the kitchen counter as she fussed, “It’s not healthy to be cooped up here all the time.”
“I get out.” I’d grown accustomed to Kiersten’s surprise visits.
Since her place wasn’t all that far from mine, she’d stop by during her lunch break or on her way back from her college campus—which was something I enjoyed a great deal.
I walked into the kitchen and started helping her unbag the groceries I didn’t need.
“I just spent the entire day outside working in the garden.”
“That doesn’t count.” She perched her hand on her hip—just like her mother used to do, and scolded, “You need to be around people and have real conversations.”
“I have conversations with you.”
“Dad.”
“What?”
While I appreciated her concern, I had absolutely no desire to be around people, much less carry on conversations with them.
As far as I was concerned, that time in my life had come and gone.
I’d given that all up when Kiersten’s mother died.
Losing her nearly broke me. It had been almost ten years, and I still hadn’t recovered.
Fighting through so many emotions—shock, anger, and grief, I finally withdrew from the rest of the world and put all my focus into my work.
I knew Kiersten wouldn’t understand how difficult it was for me, so I simply nodded and said, “Okay. Okay, I’ll try to do better.”
“You know, with all the vegetables you’ve been growing out there in that garden, you could set up a booth at the farmer’s market.
” She opened the pantry and started carefully placing the cans on the shelf with the labels facing front—just the way I liked them.
“I bet you could meet all kinds of people there.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why not? It could...”
Before she could finish her thought, my work burner started to ring.
Kiersten’s back stiffened as she watched me pull my phone from my pocket.
She knew there was only one reason why I’d be getting a call—work.
And since she also knew exactly what that work entailed, I didn’t feel the need to leave the room as I brought the phone to my ear and said, “You’ve got Billy. ”
“Are you ready to play?”
“Depends. Where’s the game?”
The exchange was always the same. Short and simple. It was the best way to keep my clients and me safe. Grinder, the president of the Forgotten Renegades MC, sounded positively livid as he snarled, “6 Dellway Drive... You know, out at Talbot’s Corner.”
I knew the place well. The crime rate there was off the charts, which meant there was a good chance that the police would be in close vicinity—which led me to ask, “How many will be playing?”
“Four, maybe five, but you know if we are, um, playing together, we can make the game go a little faster.”
“Yeah, I think we can handle that. Give me five, and me and the boys will be on our way.”
I hung up the phone, then immediately turned my attention to Kiersten. Before I could say a word, she held up her hand and said, “You got a job?”
“Afraid so.”
“When are you going to retire?”
“Retire? What are you talking about? I’ve still got a few good years left in me.”
“I know. I was just hoping that you might try doing something else. Something a little less dangerous.”
“It’s not all that dangerous.” When Kiersten finally confronted me about the fact that I was a cleaner, I was very open and honest with her about everything.
I told her exactly why I did what I did, and she made a point to be just as open and honest about how she felt about my chosen career.
And since then, we’d both continued to be open and honest with one another, and I had no intention of changing that. “And at the end of the day....”
“I know... I know. It’s fine. You do what you gotta do.” She placed her hands on my shoulders, then eased up on her tiptoes and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll check back in later.”
“Okay. Be careful, and ...”
“I’ll call when I get there.” She glanced back at me with a playful smile before walking through the screen door and saying, “I always do.”
I waited until I heard Kiersten get in her car and drive off before I started dialing Hopper’s number.
He was not only my crew leader, but he was also the best on my team—just as I knew he would be when I hired him.
While he had a background in criminalistics that was invaluable to the work we did, most importantly, he had skeletons in his closet—the kind of skeletons that would lead a man like him to work for a man like me.
As soon as Hopper answered, I told him, “We have a game out at Talbot’s Corner.”
“How many are playing?”
“Four. Maybe five.”
“You want me to call in Tripp?”
“Yeah, we’ll definitely need him.”
Tripp was my ace in the hole. The six-foot-six ex-marine was built like a linebacker and was as strong as an ox—something that came in handy when removing bodies from a crime scene.
We’d first crossed paths when Tripp was prospecting for the Ruthless Sinners.
Viper had ordered him to give Hopper and me a hand after his boys had a run-in with a rival MC.
We had one hell of a mess on our hands, but Tripp never once complained.
He simply did what was asked of him, and he did it well.
One thing led to another, and after a lengthy conversation with Viper, Tripp became a permanent fixture on my team.
I glanced down at my watch before telling Hopper, “We’ll meet down at the Winn Dixie on Main in twenty.”
“You got it. See you there.”
I hung up the phone, then headed to my room and changed into a fresh shirt and khakis.
Once I’d combed my hair and put on my shoes, I grabbed my glasses and rushed downstairs.
With a little help from Viper and his boys, I’d built a secured area in the east corner of my basement—one that contained not only an incinerator but also a medical-grade cleaning room and a scrub room lined with plastic.
The entire space was hidden behind a bookcase that was secured by three inches of steel and a keypad lock.
After entering the code, I pushed open the steel door and stepped inside. I did a quick check to make sure everything was in order, then grabbed my duffle bag and headed out to the attached garage. Once I’d unlocked the door, I walked over and removed the tarp that covered our cargo van.
From the outside, it appeared to be a regular passenger van with a sliding side door and two large rear doors for loading and unloading, but it was much more than that. This one carried all our essential tools, and the rear cargo area was completely covered in plastic sheeting.
I opened the back doors and loaded the rest of our equipment, then got in and started toward town to meet up with Hopper and Tripp.
As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, they both hopped in the van and tossed their duffle bags in the back.
I was pleased to see they were both dressed in khakis and polos.
It was something I’d insisted upon when they started working for me.
I wanted to make an impression on the people we worked with—the kind of impression that would lead them to believe we weren’t just some fucking janitorial crew.
We were much more than that.
We were the men who made sins disappear.
After they both got in, I pulled out of the parking lot and drove to the address Grinder had given me. None of us spoke on the way over. We each used the time to settle our minds and prepare for the task ahead.
When we arrived at the address, I wasn’t surprised to find that it was an abandoned convenience store that had been trashed beyond repair and was barely standing. It was completely covered in graffiti and broken windows, and there were no longer any streetlights shining, making it difficult to see.
Most of the businesses in the area had a similar look.
They’d all gone under because of the crime that had overtaken the neighborhood and were now just a heartbreaking reminder of the way things used to be.
I took a quick glance around, checking for any onlookers, then pulled around to the back and parked to survey the damage.
As soon as we exited the van, the sound of approaching police sirens caused us all to stop dead in our tracks. I held my breath as I listened to them getting even closer. Relief washed over me when they sped past the old convenience store and continued further down the road.
Hopper walked up next to me and shook his head as he looked down at one of the blood-soaked bodies that was lying just a few feet away. “Not exactly the ideal place for an outside cleanup.”
“No, it isn’t.” I glanced up at the dark sky, and just as I expected, there were no stars. “But the rain coming in should make it easier.”
He nodded, then followed me to the rear of the van. We’d just started gathering our things when Grinder came over to us. He extended his hand to mine as he said, “Hey, man. Appreciate you boys coming out like this.”
“No problem.” I shook his hand as I told him, “Glad to be of service.”
You’d think a man like me would be intimidated by a man like Grinder, especially under the present circumstances. I was witnessing firsthand the death and destruction he and his boys could bring, but I wasn’t—not in the least. In fact, it was the other way around.
Grinder knew it took a special kind of man to do the work I do—to go to the extent I was willing to go, and like most of my clients, he always seemed to be a bit on edge.
But don’t get me wrong.
His unease with me didn’t make him any less formidable.
He was a strong leader who never backed down from a fight, and he usually won.
When he spoke, people listened, especially his brothers.
They’d all seen firsthand how vicious the man could be, but they stuck by him.
The Forgotten knew he was a man of his word, and in an MC like theirs, your word is your bond.