Chapter 20
Chris stopped the bike and killed the engine, and the silence that followed seemed to stretch on forever.
He rolled back his shoulders, stretching after the long ride.
It cooled down enough from the hot day to blow wind in his hair.
For the first time in a very long time, he felt good.
So good. His brother would have been proud.
So much for the young brother who got in the way.
Oh, no. Chris proved his worth. He was smarter than his brother.
Why bother getting blood on his hands when he could pay someone else?
He learned that from Pike. Maybe his brother taught him something after all.
Time passed. Where was he? Chris shifted uneasily when suddenly he heard a low voice from the shadows. “You Chum?”
Chris’s hand instinctively went to the gun tucked beneath his leather jacket. “Are you the one they call Shadow?”
He scanned the alleyway, trying to locate the source of the voice, when he noticed two figures emerge from around the abandoned gas station.
The two men were both tall, wearing long leather jackets, and one guy wore a rag tied around his head.
They were both thickly built, and Chris watched as their dark figures stopped a distance away.
Both men stood far away enough in the darkness he could make out their silhouettes, but not their faces.
The one who spoke stepped forward. His face came into the shadows of the lights of a vehicle going down the highway.
“I thought this was a one-on-one meeting,” Chris said.
“For you,” Shadow said. “You have my money?”
“You have my proof?” Chris asked.
The man beside Shadow stepped forward, pulled something from his pocket, and Chris clenched his fists.
For a fleeting moment, he itched to go for his gun, but the man pulled out a phone.
He clicked on the screen and held it up to play a video.
It was dark in the video, too. Chris made out the sign of a restaurant called La Rosa’s and listened to the squeal of tires, the loud bang of shots fired.
Under the streetlight in the parking lot, a man fell.
“Pause it.”
The man touched the screen.
“Zoom. I need to see him.”
The head rag wearing guy complied.
Chris squinted. Beast changed the color of his hair.
Even in the light spilling over the fallen body, he made out the brown instead of blond.
The build matched, and the side of his face was unmistakable.
Chris nodded, and the video resumed. Tires squealed and took off again.
The video ended. The man with Shadow put the phone back in his pocket.
“Pay up.”
“Not so fast.” Chris kept his hands where both men could see them.
Did they think he wouldn’t know? It had been weeks since Shadow was released from prison.
Chris expected him to contact him sooner to say the job was done.
Weeks he waited for the news. He hung out with that old man Larry and his wife, hoping to get a lead on Beast’s whereabouts. He searched the obituaries. Nothing.
Until Chris got the call. The muscle in his jaw jumped. “Where did you find him?”
“Gettysburg. You want me to pick off his family, too? That will cost you extra.”
Family. It occurred to him to go after the family first, having Beast experience losing his family one by one.
“No.” That would take too much time. He needed to clean this up before it got too messy.
“Then I guess we’re done here. Just hand the rest of my cash over, and we’ll go,” Shadow said.
“I would, but Beast isn’t dead,” Chris said.
“I came here hoping you’d prove my information wrong.
” A mixture of anger and disappointment churned through him.
He paid a lot of money for this hit and pulled strings that, if traced back to him, would cost him more than his day job.
All this, and he expected the assignment to be done.
Maybe Pike was wrong. Maybe he had to handle this on his own to ensure it got completed.
Shadow and his companion exchanged a wary glance, but neither of them spoke.
“You shot him. Good job,” Chris said, done wanting to get this over. “I wanted him dead. Now, he’ll run again. I was told you were the best. I got you out of prison early for this.”
“What other proof do you want?” the companion asked.
“Your video proves nothing.” Chris trembled with fury. “I’ll finish the job myself. You can pay me to fix your failure.”
Shadow took another step toward Chris. He reached behind his back, then Shadow’s companion pulled out a small handgun.
“Don’t do it.” He held out his hand.
“Give us the cash.”
Chris growled, frustration keeping him frozen. They dared pull a gun on him. “I don’t pay for incompetence.”
The man with the gun looked over at Shadow.
“He means failure.” Shadow curled his hands into fists. “I don’t take a job I can’t finish. And I will finish this one.”
“You had your opportunity,” Chris said. “I can’t afford any more failure.
” He suspected his brother laughed at him from the grave.
Two men came out of the darkness from behind Shadow and his companion, each with a gun pointed at Shadow.
Another man walked out from the other side of the front to join Chris.
“What’s this?” the companion asked.
“Insurance,” Chris explained. “Meet my new friends from the Devil Demise. They’ve wanted to meet you for a long time. Apparently, you know them?”
“It’s been a long time.” Shadow looked at the man stepping up beside Chris.
Shadow’s companion glanced around him. “What should we do? I didn’t come here to die.”
Shadow held his gaze with the enforcer from the Devil’s Demise. The enforcer turned his gun sideways and stepped closer to Shadow. Chris stepped back. “I’ll leave you all to catch up.”
“What the—?” Shadow’s companion yelled as Chris turned his back and got back on his motorcycle.
“You set me up!” Shadow yelled. “I’ll see you dead for this!”
Chris turned the key and brought his motorcycle back to life. The rev of the motor beneath him gave him a sense of eerie peace. In the end, everyone got their due. He turned his motorcycle around and headed for the highway.
Sebastian shifted uneasily in the hospital bed, his chest throbbing dully. He looked up at Yeats, who sat in a chair nearby. The doctor threatened to call the cops if Sebastian got out of bed before his seventy-two hours of observation ended.
Staring up at the ceiling, Sebastian listened to Yeats, but he wasn’t able to take his thoughts away from Caitlyn. Her pale face and dark, sad eyes nearly gutted him. And the revelation about Silas hunting him was like a kick in the face.
“There’s more,” Yeats said quietly. “The local guys found a slug in the brick behind you. I don’t think they missed the first time.”
Sebastian shuddered, remembering the sound of the gunshot close to him. “Did anyone hear the second shot?”
“No. You’re lucky Cat followed her instincts and came back.”
Sebastian sighed, relieved, but still worried about Caitlyn being put in danger because of him. “Maybe,” he drawled, holding onto the ache in his arm. His gunshot wound might have missed his heart, but it flared up the old injury. “She shouldn’t have done that. It wasn’t safe.”
“Why? You think someone could have been watching?” Yeats leaned back in his chair. He had to be uncomfortable sitting there most of the day.
“You’re sounding like a cop.”
Yeats steepled his fingers together as he thought silently for a few moments.
“Who did you call when Caitlyn brought me in?” Sebastian grunted, trying to shift his weight on the bed to turn toward Yeats. Instead, he made his head turn.
“Razek.”
“Well, if it had to be anyone, I’m glad you called him instead of the locals.” Sebastian went to raise his good arm, then let it drop. He felt like he got hit by a truck rather than a bullet.
Around them, the monitor beeped quietly above Sebastian’s head, reminding them both that he was safe for now. For how long was anyone’s guess
Caitlyn assured him she would not reveal his location, but how long before Silas found her? “I need you to send someone to watch Caitlyn. She’s not safe. She should be halfway to Grace Meadows by now.”
“I’ve already contacted Casper,” he finally said. “He’ll protect Cat, and the Ghosts needed to know what Silas is about. Someone must hate you bad to go out of their way to get you. Do you think they helped Silas get out of prison early?”
“No.” Sebastian’s voice rasped. “I’ve known for a while they would hunt me.
Razek tried to get me to go into witness protection, but only because the feds got involved.
Pike was dead, and half the members went to jail or split town.
I should have listened to him and stayed if I wouldn’t take on an alias.
I wouldn’t have brought the trouble here. ”
“That’s my fault. I selfishly wanted you back. Maybe I was being cheap. I didn’t want to hire someone with our business taking a leap this past year.”
“It’s all good. I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t want to, and part of me missed being home.
I just don’t want anyone else to get hurt.
” Sebastian closed his eyes. Caitlyn’s worried face and Owen’s bright smile faded to the memory of Audra’s big, beautiful eyes staring at him with the light gone.
He set up a fund for her son to go to college.
They all did. Everyone in Thunder Valley pitched in to get it started.
He at least owed Audra that. Her son deserved the college education she’d never gotten to finish.
He saw the sacrifices Caitlyn made to provide for Owen, to take care of Pops, and vowed to keep them safe, no matter the cost.
“We need to find out who was behind this and get to them before they get to you.”
Sebastian sighed heavily. “I don’t care what the doctor says.” He reached for the wires, monitoring his heart rate. “Get me out of this bed and find my clothes.”