Dude with a Cool Car

by Siobhan Muir

  “Actually, it’s what I can do for you, Commissioner Ainsworth. I wanted to thank you for the beating you gave me with the help of your friend Officer Kinsley. I needed to give you a heads-up so you and Backlog can make sure to line up your lawyers and judges on the take.” I’d raised my voice so it carried out of his office and into the station. As I’d hoped, the conversations outside had stopped or slowed, and people were staring in our direction.

  Ainsworth’s expression hardened and he lost his smile. “Those are serious allegations.”

  “They’re not allegations. I’m still living despite the punctured lung, broken ribs, and the concussion you gave me. Check the hospital records. You’ll see I was there.”

  “That could’ve been anyone who beat you.”

  I nodded. “Could’ve, sure, except you were there threatening me and my girlfriend if I didn’t lay off investigating Backlog, the shadow organization that’s been infiltrating law enforcement agencies across the country for the last decade.”

  He bit back a snarl and headed for the door to close it. I turned to keep him in my view, though I suspected he didn’t hit people. His people hit people. Despite his best efforts, everyone in the station was focused on us and I bit back a smile. It was all going according to plan.

  “We warned you, DeVille. If you kept coming after us we’d kill your slut girlfriend.”

  “Let me stop you right there. One, she’s not a slut in the way you mean the word – I doubt she’d give you a look more than to avoid you on the street. Two, you should know better than to threaten a member of law enforcement. We don’t take it lightly or with much amusement. And three, I owe you this.”

  I took three steps to him and clocked him hard with my fist, right across the jaw. He went down with an indignant grunt and fell against his old-fashioned coatrack. I’d hit him hard, so hard my hand ached, but I didn’t wait around for him to get up. I was out the door and across the room before he managed to scramble to his feet. I heard him roar about catching me just as I sailed through the front doors.

  It’s a damn good thing I’m gonna be dead soon. I’d assaulted a police commissioner. I would’ve been reprimanded and more than likely fired, even if Backlog hadn’t had a grip on the Marshals.

  I slid into the seat of my bright Pompeian Red Caddy and waited just long enough to give my pursuers a good look at her taillights before heading out of town. I needed to be far enough ahead to set the trap, but close enough for them to follow me.

  Rosé’s engine rumbled and purred as she sped through the streets, heading for the freeway. Most people were still at work so getting out of town before the flashing lights made for a pretty easy drive. They caught up to me right around the time I hit the highway up into the mountains and I opened her up.

  Gotta say one thing for good old Detroit steel. They made engines that didn’t quit. I roared up into the mountains, my back window full of lovely patriotic lights when my phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “How’s it going?” Karma’s voice flowed over me and settled some of my nervousness.

  “Good. I’ve pissed off the entire Fort Collins police department and Commissioner Ainsworth. They’re now chasing me. How are you?”

  She laughed and my heart rate increased with the spike of joy and adrenaline. “We’re ready for them. How much of a lead do you have on them?”

  I glanced at the rearview mirror. “Only about thirty seconds.”

  “Widen that please.”

  “How would you like me to do that?” I leaned into a sharp turn, slowing a little.

  “Around the next curve is a road to the hiking trails. We’re waiting for you at the trailhead. That’s where Torch’ll switch out with you and take care of the rest. Just leave your badge, wallet, phone, shirt and coat there.”

  I shook my head. “Yeah, I got it. Comin’ around the turn now.”

  I dropped the phone and focused on keeping the old girl on the asphalt. I’d widened the gap between me and the cop cars and they hadn’t sent up a chopper yet, so I still had the advantage. I saw the trailhead sign to the right and yanked the wheel. Rosé fishtailed but made the turn and the trees swallowed us. I kept glancing back at the road behind and caught the cop cars continuing on their original path as the road wound through the rocky hills.

  I blew out a relieved breath and continued to the trailhead where Torch, Karma, Attila and Viper waited for me. Karma watched me drive in but the others kept their gazes on the road behind me, watching for unwanted company. I kept my focus on the plan even if it ended with a dead guy in the driver’s seat and Rosé on fire. I gritted my teeth and pulled into a parking spot for easy egress.

  Oh glory, we’re really doing this.

  I knew the reasons it had to be done and I agreed with them but the potential loss gnawed at my gut and made me want to weep like a man losing his wife and family. I was losing my family. I shot a look at the Concrete Angels waiting for me to get out. No one smiled as they converged on the car. I wasn’t sure I’d gained anything.

  “How was the drive, laddie?” Attila gave me a mild smile as I stepped out of the car and headed for the trunk.

  “Oh, you know, uneventful.” I couldn’t keep the dry sarcasm out of my voice.

  He snorted as I opened the trunk. The body there lay in a twisted mess and I’d banged him up a bit taking those corners as I did. I felt kinda bad until I remembered he was dead and no one would see the damage once he burned to a crisp.

  I stepped back out of the way and shrugged out of my overshirt and coat as the men lifted the body out of the back. Viper took the clothes and threw them on the body, working the sleeves onto the arms like dressing a doll. She was surprisingly efficient and I wondered how many other bodies she’d dressed for things like this.

  They set the body in the passenger seat and Torch hurried around to the driver’s side. He winked as he settled inside and I tossed him the keys.

  “I’d tell you to take care of my baby but that seems to be at cross-purpose to our goal. So, good luck.”

  “Luck’s got nothin’ to do with it.” Torch winked as he closed the door. He rolled down the window. “Damn, this body stinks. I’ll be glad to set it alight.” He glanced up at the sky to the south. “You better get under cover. There’s a chopper coming.”

  I frowned and glanced at the sky, but Karma grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the building holding the bathrooms as Torch backed Rosé out of her spot. We’d just stepped into the women’s restroom when a helicopter crested the trees to the south. Torch floored it and Rosé sped out of the trailhead parking lot, headed back to the main road.

  The Bell helicopter with Denver PD markings pivoted in the sky to follow as the tail end of my car headed out of sight. I let my breath out in a long sigh, the ache of loss already grabbing my heart. No family, no friends, no job, and no cool car. I’d really given up everything.

  I have my life. Kinda.

  I shot a look at the three other people around me and wondered what lay ahead. I had a name, a social security number, and a black Toyota sedan I’d have to sell.

  And I have Karma. I’d figure out the job part later.

  “Okay, chopper’s out of range.” Viper stepped out of the bathroom and headed for the bikes parked in the trees behind the building. “Let’s see what they see.”

  She opened the flap on her nearest saddlebag and drew out a remote control. She flipped a few switches and a soft high-pitched buzzing drew my attention to a little drone parked in a spot of sunshine beneath the trees. Viper revved the little machine up and it zipped into the air like an angry hummingbird, sailing off after the cops. We all huddled around her screen to watch the show.

  The action on the screen played out like a movie, with the cops and helicopter chasing the fugitive through the winding mountain roads. Viper kept the drone low enough not to get in the chopper’s way but still high enough to keep all the action in view.

  I had to admit Torch handled Rosé with conf
idence until he got closer to the end of his run. The car fishtailed a couple of time as if he’d started to panic as he ran out of road. Up ahead, the land ended in a fairly deep gouge from a stream cutting through the hillside. The canyon wasn’t narrow enough to jump and the steep sides made driving anything down them impossible. Trees and jagged chunks of rock protruded like odd teeth beyond the edge of the ravine.

  As he sped to toward the canyon at full speed, I caught sight of something diving from the driver’s side just before the car shot over the edge. I whimpered in dismay as the tail lights dropped from view and Attila’s hand dropped onto my shoulder, squeezing sympathetically.

  The drone moved closer enough to see the car explode into flames as the gas tank went up. I’d filled it up before I went to piss off Ainsworth so there’d been plenty of fuel to allow us to make our getaway. It created a flaming vessel worthy of a Viking funeral as Torch had said.

  The cops skidded to a stop before they followed Rosé into the canyon. The helicopter flew into the open space and circled around to get a better view. I’d bet my life savings that Ainsworth sat in the front, scanning the wreckage for signs of life.

  Not gonna find it, asshole.

  I hoped Torch got away as Karma touched my arm and motioned me toward her bike.

  “You okay?”

  I shrugged. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “I’m really sorry about your car.” She grasped my hand in sympathy. “I know she meant a lot to you.”

  I nodded. “And I know why she had to go.”

  “But it still sucks. Let me take you home and make you feel better.” She straddled her bike and held out a helmet to me. “Put this on so no cameras pick you up.”

  I put it on my head and buckled it as I settled on behind her. Viper retrieved the drone and packed it up in her saddlebags. Attila swung his leg over his bike, his kilt swinging behind him. I wondered if he froze his balls off when he rode around in the winter, but the thought was left behind as we rumbled out of the trailhead and pointed our wheels back toward the compound and for me, the unknown.

  ****

  Karma

  I felt Coop/Eric’s silence behind me as we headed into the forest to pick up Torch. Of course, he wore a helmet that disguised his face so I couldn’t hear him, but his withdrawal settled deeper than that. I wanted to tell him it would be all right, but I sensed he wouldn’t believe me at the moment. And honestly, the plans I had in mind still needed a little more time to develop.

  Torch met us at another picnic spot three miles from where he’d sent the car off the cliff. I didn’t doubt his ability to survive jumping out of the moving car, but I still breathed a sigh of relief when I saw him waiting for us, leaning against the fence with his ankles crossed. Smoke trailed from his nostrils and his eyes glowed with internal flames but he wore a relaxed smile.

  “Lookin’ good, hot stuff.” Viper laughed as he winked. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride home.”

  “Actually, I have an errand to run in town. Would you mind droppin’ me there?”

  I raised my eyebrows but Viper nodded. “Sure. That’ll give me a chance to stop at Michael’s favorite bakery and get him something sweet. He’s been extra irritable since he came back from taking the brothel victims to the shelter.”

  Eric lifted the face mask on the helmet. “Everyone get out okay?”

  Viper shrugged. “Yeah, but I think it shook him just how evil people can be to each other and he’s having a tough time regaining his perspective. A treat might mellow his sharp edges.”

  “Okay. We’ll see you back at the compound then.” Michael wasn’t the only one with sharp edges. Eric had grown stiffer and stiffer the longer we waited to get going.

  Attila and Viper revved up their bikes and headed out, but before I could follow suit, Eric thumped my arm. “Ma’am, what’s gonna be done to Ainsworth? He’s a direct link between the Fort Collins’ PD and Backlog, and nothing happened to him today.”

  I shook my head. “Nothing’s happened that you know of. But karma doesn’t always come to people where their victims can see or in the way they expect. Just trust that the consequences of his actions are already in the works and will become clear shortly. And even better, they won’t lead back to you.”

  He studied my face, searching for answers with his chocolate brown eyes, but that’s all I would tell him. He didn’t need to know that Ainsworth’s rash actions in beating Coop up and Coop’s subsequent reveal of Backlog’s presence at the Fort Collins police station had required Backlog to take action to remove Ainsworth, permanently. Turned out it wasn’t the first time Backlog had to clean up one of Ainsworth’s mistakes, but it would be the last.

  “But he will get what’s coming to him?”

  I sighed. “Are you really that bloodthirsty?”

  Eric shook his head. “No, not for what he did to me. What he might do to you. Plus he knows what I look like. I can’t be Eric Marshal if someone who knows what Cooper DeVille looks like. Or I’ll have to leave Colorado for good.”

  The idea made my stomach cramp, but I reminded myself that retribution had already been set in motion and Ainsworth wouldn’t live through it.

  “Your secret is safe within the Concrete Angels. Michael and Luke are making sure. By the time we get back to the compound, only the inner circle, Attila, Viper, Torch and I will remember you were anyone other than Eric Marshal.”

  “Wait. How are you gonna do that?”

  “Do you really want to know? Or are you content to know it can be done in world that contains a physical body for karma?” I’d asked the question flippantly, but it was far more serious than that. Could he understand the magic Loki had brought to bear to give me the life I had? And apparently the mate who’s sitting behind me?

  He stared at me a long time, thinking over my words. “Are you telling me that when we ride back into the Concrete Angels’ compound, everyone will have forgotten I was US Marshal Cooper DeVille?”

  I shook my head. “Not forgotten. As far as they’re concerned, US Marshal Cooper DeVille never existed. They won’t recognize you. I’ll introduce you as Eric Marshal, a private detective, and that’s how they’ll know you.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Even Scott and Oriana?”

  I grimaced and shrugged. Messing with their memories had sucked, but was necessary.

  “What about Gopher?”

  “Oh, particularly him. Do you think that jackass could keep a secret? His mouth would run faster than Speedy Gonzalez.”

  Too my relief, Eric laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners in that oh-so-sexy way.

  He nodded. “Yeah, I can totally see that.”

  “So let’s go home where it’s safe and I can explain everything I’ve been planning while you rested up. I promise, I have a lot to tell you.”

  He tilted his head, his eyes growing curious. “Yeah, a lot to tell me?”

  “Yeah, and a few things to ask of you.” That’s where I grew nervous. I wanted to make our relationship permanent. I wanted to be sure I could take care of him and fulfill his needs every time. But I’d need his permission and the last few days had been tricky at best.

  “Okay. Take me home, then.”

  I didn’t have the words to describe the pleasure of his declaring the Concrete Angels’ compound as home, but I gave him my most brilliant smile before I kick-started my bike. I hoped everything would be ready for when we came back, but if not, I’m sure I could improvise. And Eric was definitely worth a little improvisation.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Eric

  Karma had said everyone would think of me as Eric Marshal, but I had my doubts. I shouldn’t have worried or even questioned. I mean, if she really was the physical manifestation of the energy of consequences, then it stood to reason she was right about everyone getting a mindwipe straight out of a sci-fi flick. But remembering how things had gone when everyone found out I was a US Marshal stuck with me.

  We rode in through the gates a
nd Karma parked her bike in the barn workshop. I kept the helmet on until we stopped and dismounted. I took a deep breath and pulled it off, expecting people to give us the hairy eyeball about my presence. Karma had explained to people why she’d brought me back from the hospital—I’d been injured by the guys who’d stolen their money and I had no one else. But now? After we’d kicked their asses? Yeah, I didn’t expect much of a reception.

  A couple of the scooters meandered by, eyeing Karma with appreciation and me with curiosity. Like they don’t know me. I frowned as I set the brain bucket on Karma’s bike and she secured it before taking my hand.

  “Let’s go talk to Loki and let him know how it turned out.” She pulled me toward the clubhouse, but I tugged back.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to do that alone? I’m not part of the inner circle of the Concrete Angels, and I’m a former US Marshal.” I rubbed the back of my neck as I shot a look around at the other members in the yard. “I can accept that you want me with you, but I also know no one wants a stranger in the know.”

  She squeezed my hand. “But Loki likes to meet all the newcomers to take their measure, and he’ll want to meet you as his new private investigator for the club. I have a feeling this Backlog thing is going to be a long-term endeavor that’s gonna take a lot of investigation and research. Loki will want an expert on it. Today was just the first engagement.”

  “Private investigator for the club?” I allowed her to tug me through the clubhouse doors.

  “Yeah. You’ll need a job and we need to keep an eye on what Backlog’s up to. Win-win.”

  I tilted my head. “And does that mean I’ll be staying or living here?”

  “Would you like to?” She gave me her best enigmatic smile.

  Would I? Spending my time working on ways to take Backlog down while still getting to serve my Madam and pleasure her until she screamed with ecstasy? Let me think…

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  Her smile grew wider. “Let’s introduce you to Loki, then.”