by WL Knightly
“Or she was told to message you? Who knows what they’re up to?” Brandy rolled her eyes, and Justin had to agree. There really was no telling with those two. He should have stayed clear of them from the start. All they wanted was a biker boyfriend and a loose lifestyle. They’d gotten it from him. He didn’t want anything serious either, so it worked for them all.
Brandy laid down on the bed, stretching out and closing her eyes. “I could take a nap.”
He reached over and stroked her hair. She looked like an angel lying there. Then she let out a sound of frustration. “Ugh. I left Corey’s ashes in the kitchen. I meant to ask if I could get you to put them in the saferoom for safe keeping. I don’t want to have to keep staring at them.”
He leaned down and kissed her above her ear. “Close your eyes, and rest a minute. I’ll get them.”
“Could you bring me some water too?” she asked with batting lashes.
He patted her bottom. “Yes, is there anything else you’d like?”
“Crushed ice?”
He let out a sound of frustration that mocked hers teasingly. “I guess so.” He knew how much she liked the crushed ice, so he went to the kitchen to get it for her.
As he waited for the ice shaver to do its job, he realized there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for her. Finally, after pouring her water into the ice, he walked over to the counter and got Corey’s ashes. Then he brought them to the bedroom where she was lying with her eyes closed. “Baby?” he asked quietly.
He smiled down at her and then put the ashes on the table and found the small quilt at the foot of the bed and put it over her. As he did, his alarm sounded. Someone was at the gate.
“Shit. Baby, wake up.”
Brandy got up and got to her feet. “What’s that from?”
“Front gate. I turned on the alarms while we were in the saferoom.” He picked up the ashes and gave them to her.
As she took them, she gave him a puzzled look. “Do you think it’s Jim and the girls?”
“It might be. I’ll check. But I need you to go to the saferoom and stay put, okay?”
“No, I want to go with you.”
“Bullshit, you get your ass in that room and be safe. I don’t want to have to worry about you, and if the girls see you here, it’s only going to make shit worse. I’m sure they just want to try and get some money. They’ll feel slighted they didn’t take me for more the first time.”
“No, I’m going to come out with you. Jim wouldn’t hurt me.”
“He’s unpredictable. He’s also worked for some pretty shady people in the past before I hired him on, and the only reason I did was that I owed a favor.” He turned and looked out the window and saw Lolly’s SUV. He grabbed his gun from the foot of the bed and turned to give her a hard stare. “I’m not taking no for an answer. Do it.”
She gave him a kiss and took off to the room with Corey’s box of ashes tucked under her arm.
“It’s going to be okay,” he called to her. He hurried out and went to the door as they parked out front. He tucked the Glock behind him in his pants and opened the door.
He stepped out as Jim got out of the truck, leaving the two girls in the cab. He was dirty like he’d been wearing the same clothes for days, and as the wind picked up his scent, it hit Justin’s nose. “Been hoping to see you, Jim. I wanted to tell you that your employment has been terminated.”
“You’re a funny man,” said Jim. “But you can see I’m not laughing. I know you got the message. You know how this is going to go down.”
Justin had no idea what he was talking about. He hardly thought Lolly’s threat meant anything. “Beth said you roughed her up pretty bad. She’s prepared to go down and press charges.”
“I might have charges of my own.”
“No, I know how much you hate cops. I don’t think you have reached out to anyone. I know you, Justin. You’re a creature of habit. You become predictable.”
Justin turned and walked into the house, hoping he’d follow. He needed him inside in case he had to put him down and hoped Jim wouldn’t catch on. “Come on in; we’ll talk about this like men,” he said.
Jim turned and motioned the girls inside, but Justin was prepared to kill them all if he had to. He could make them all disappear, just like he did Lynn.
“Is your little bitch home?” asked Beth. “I told her we were coming. Told her that you needed to do the right thing. I guess she tucked tail on you. Too fucking bad.”
“Yeah,” said Lolly. “You’re better off. Would have been lonely with just one lover.”
Justin narrowed his eyes. Brandy hadn’t told him they called. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He was going to have to sort shit out, but he wasn’t about to call her out and put her in danger to ask her the truth. She was probably just trying to protect him.
Beth stepped forward. “I’m going to press charges if you don’t give us what we came here for, Justin.”
“Yeah,” said Jim, pulling his gun. “Show us where you keep your money.”
Justin smiled and pulled his gun, pulling the trigger as soon as it was pointed at Jim.
Click. Nothing happened.
But it was too late. Jim wasn’t playing around either. He pulled the trigger a second later, the shot burning into Justin’s gut. He grabbed his wound and fell to the floor as his blood soaked his hand.
Beth and Lolly were screaming, the sound fading in and out like sirens as Jim moved closer. “Where is it, or I’ll—”
Bullets ripped over his head, spraying quickly across the room, striking the three in quick succession.
Justin shivered as he grew colder. He stared at the three bodies in front of him. Brandy had hit all three, killing them instantly. She burst through the narrow panel behind him, still carrying the gun.
He looked down at the Glock. He had just loaded the damned thing and knew it was a full cartridge. He took out the magazine and saw it was empty. He thought of her putting on the camo and holding the empty cartridge. Her exhaustion and thirst had been part of her plan too. “You changed my cartridge. Why?”
She gave him a regretful look. “It would have never worked out between us, Justin. You didn’t kill Corey, but you and your friends, you’re all responsible in some twisted way, and you nearly got me killed.”
Justin didn’t know what to say. She’d comforted him when he’d suggested the same thing, but now he knew she had to make him think she was on her side. He closed his eyes, his lids growing heavy as he held his gut tightly so he wouldn’t bleed out.
“I read those messages from the killer. I know they were turning you all against one another. Corey was fine when I left him that morning; then you came for your fucking visit. Then my man ends up dead.
“I didn’t want to believe it. Why would you do that without a motive. Then you made a pass at me. When Corey wasn’t even cold in the fucking ground.” She walked over and kicked Jim’s body. “I knew these assholes were coming and saw my chance.”
“I didn’t do shit. It was a blood clot like the doctor said. I would have never killed him. I loved you; I would have taken care of you.”
“Don’t worry. You still will. You’ll take care of both of us. Me and my baby.” She put her hand on her stomach. “I was going to surprise Corey, but when all the chaos happened, I didn’t want to spring that on him while he was messed up. I didn’t want to burden you with it either, and then you murdered him.”
“I didn’t,” said Justin. He coughed, blood spurting from his mouth, splashing his face and chest. He looked up at her, seeing the pain in her eyes and wishing he had the time to set things right, to make her see that he didn’t kill Corey. He would never have done that. He’d trusted her enough to tell her about the will and how he wanted to leave everything to her. She was the first person he trusted and the last.
She stood over him as his lids fluttered slowly and he grew weaker.
“I never loved you in that way,” she said. “Never desired yo
u, not as a lover. But since I admired you as a friend, and you did help me, I’ll do you one last favor.”
She walked over and picked up Jim’s gun. Then the last thing Justin saw was her pointing it at his face and pulling the trigger.
Chapter 25
Darek
“I told you I’m fine,” said Lizzy after waiting two hours to be seen in the emergency room. The waiting room was thinning out, and he hoped it wouldn’t take much longer for them to call her. Flashing their badges hadn’t done them any good.
“That headache you have could be something much worse, and I’m not taking you home until you let someone check you out.”
She put her hand on his knee. “How about you take me back to your place, and you can keep an eye on me and keep me awake?” She gave him a sly smile, and he chuckled.
“Flirting won’t you get you out of this, Lizzy. You took a hard beating, and while you haven’t been able to look in the mirror much, your face shows it.” She had a bruise on her forehead, and her eyes were black underneath where her nose was slammed into the table.
“Nothing is broken. Sin hit like a pussy.” She crossed her arms in front of her and looked away from him.
Darek let out a long breath. “Stop arguing with me. We’re already here, and we haven’t waited this long for nothing.”
“Elizabeth McNamara,” called a nurse from the hallway.
Darek took her hand and walked her to the nurse. “Do you want me to go with you?” Darek didn’t mind and thought he might need to go and make sure she didn’t sneak out the back door.
“No, I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl.” She gave him a kiss and walked away.
On his way back through the lobby, he decided to duck outside and see if anyone had called him. Since the hospital frowned on cell phones, he had turned his volume down. Seeing several missed calls from NOLA PD, he dialed the number back.
It didn’t take long for them to answer. “Detective Quincy.”
“This is Detective Blake with NYPD. I’ve had a few calls I’m returning.”
“Yeah, sorry. I tried to call you at the office, but they said this was the best way to reach you.”
“No, it’s fine. Is there any news?”
“Yes. I wanted you to know that our interrogation of the driver did return some interesting information. The driver didn’t talk to us, but he did run his mouth behind bars to one of our informants and said that he’d been involved in a hit. We’re going to let him sweat it out, make things a little uneasy for him, and hopefully, he’ll start talking when we pull him out for more questioning tomorrow.”
“A hit, huh?” Darek wasn’t sure who could have put a hit on them or exactly which of them was the intended target, but now that he had the lead on it, he would start to dig for more answers. He just needed to keep Lizzy in the dark.
“Yeah. I just wanted to give you the heads up. You might want to question some of the others. I’d start with the two attorneys. They’ve probably made a few enemies. We’ll make sure that no one is upset with our newest citizen and business owner.”
“I’d appreciate that,” said Darek.
“I’ll be in touch.” Quincy ended the call.
Darek took a deep breath and dialed Bay’s number, hoping to find him in a better place. With any luck, Mia had been upset and went to one of her friends’ houses and was already home for the night.
“Darek?” Bay was as wound up as ever.
“Hey, man. I take it from your tone she’s not turned up yet?”
Bay let out a long breath. “No, and I have one of her friends calling around to see if she can turn up anything. Have you asked that jackass if he has her?”
“He doesn’t. I made him file a formal statement saying so. As much as I know you want to place blame, I believe him. And I’m not just saying that since he’s my friend and partner. I want Mia back safely too.”
“Then why did you call me?” Bay sounded defeated, and Darek realized he’d never really heard that kind of tone from him. He didn’t think anything could ever affect Bay. His emotional grid was permanently fixed on anger.
“I got a call from New Orleans PD. The driver of the car was arrested, and he’s already talking to his new roommates. He mentioned being involved in a hit, so I wanted you to know. We might need to call the others. Try to find out if anyone would have an enemy other than the killer, and if not, then we need to know who they told about their trip.”
“Shit. I don’t feel like calling them. Not right now. I’ll do it tomorrow.”
Darek couldn’t blame him, and he looked back into the hospital and realized it might be a while. He had nothing better to do than to make those calls himself, at least one or two of them. “I’ll go ahead and call Justin and let him know. If I don’t dally, maybe he will realize I’m not the enemy.” He had a feeling it wouldn’t do any good. “If he doesn’t answer, you might have to call him in the morning. The cops are going to be reaching out again, and I hope he can be cooperative.”
“Have you even bothered looking for Mia?”
“I put the boys on it. They’re keeping their eyes peeled, but me and Lizzy had to take a detour.”
“If you’re taking a fuck break, I’ll cut your dick off.” Bay’s angry tone was back.
“There’s the temper I know and loathe,” said Darek. “No. It’s not that. We had to go to the prison and talk to Ken Sin.”
“How is our little charlatan? Is he holding your line?”
Darek hated to tell him about Lizzy but knew he might as well. “The good news is he’s too proud to look like an idiot. The bad news is, we did a little psychological voodoo on him, and it backfired. He slammed Lizzy’s face into the table.”
“Wasn’t he cuffed?”
“Yeah, but not to the table. We’re in the emergency room getting her checked out.”
“Damn.”
“Look, Bay. I know you want us searching around the clock, but you know that can’t happen. I need to take her home and get her to bed. As soon as the clock runs out, I’ll put out the alert, and we’ll file the report.”
“Fine. I’m going to have to tell her sister by the end of the day tomorrow. I’ll have to come up with an excuse for not telling her sooner. If this ends badly, I’m afraid for the baby. The stress could throw her into early labor. Lila’s not as strong as most women.”
“It’s going to be all right, man.” Darek realized that Bay’s mood swings had more to do with the baby than Mia, which made sense. The baby was the only person he really cared about.
“We’ll see. Call me. Let me know who you got in touch with.” With that, Bay hung up the phone.
Darek walked back inside to see if Lizzy was ready to go, but there was still no sign of her. He stepped back outside and found Justin’s number. The phone rang a long time, and when he was just about to hang up, Brandy answered. “Hello?” Her voice was weak as if she’d been crying.
“Brandy?”
“Yeah.” She sniffled. “Who is this?”
“Darek Blake. I was looking for Justin.”
Brandy’s voice broke, and she began to cry. “I’m sorry.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Justin was gunned down today. He was robbed while we were gone, and they came back earlier. Justin tried to scare them away with his gun, but it wasn’t even loaded. They shot him and were coming after me. I was hiding the saferoom, and I grabbed the nearest gun. They’re all dead.”
Darek couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “I’m so sorry.”
“He died right in front of me. We were going to make a go of it, you know? I’m pregnant with Corey’s baby. Justin wanted to raise it like his own.” Her voice broke again.
Darek knew congratulations were both deserved and inappropriate. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you.”
“The police are here now, still cleaning up the scene. I gave a statement, and they are going to have an officer watch the place tonight for me. Tomorrow, I’m l
eaving for Phoenix. I’m going to take care of Corey’s things. I’m not sure where I belong. I think I’ll buy a house here close, but I can’t raise the baby in this house. Not after what happened.”
Darek knew she was still in shock. She had been through great trauma. “You shouldn’t make any decisions right away. Take your time in Phoenix and wait until you have a clear head. If you need anything, Brandy, anything at all, you know you can call me.”
“Thank you, Darek. You are a good friend. I know Justin and Corey both thought a lot of you.”
Darek wasn’t going to correct her. She was sweet for saying it, even though she had no idea what she was talking about. “Thanks.”
“You take care, Darek.” She ended the call, and Darek sat there stunned. Justin Finch was dead, and Brandy was having Corey’s baby. He raked his hand through his hair and turned around to see Lizzy as she walked out from the back with the nurse. Still feeling numb, he went inside.
“There you are,” she said. “I came out a second ago, and you weren’t here. I was just about to have them page you.”
“I stepped out to take a call.”
“Anything important?”
Darek shook his head. The only thing important to him at that moment was her. “No, nothing at all.”
She gave him a sidelong look like she wasn’t buying it. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, it was just Bay. Mia’s still not home.” He pulled her close and stroked her cheek. “How are you? What did the doc say?”
“Not to get slammed face-first into any tables. My nose is not broken, but the bruising might get worse before it gets better. So, I’m afraid we’ll have plenty more time for quiet evenings at home. That is, if you can stand to look at me.” She frowned and put her chin down.
Darek took her face gently in his hands. “You’re still beautiful.”
“Are we okay?”
He knew she was talking about the Max situation, and while he didn’t want too many details, there was going to come a time when he’d have some questions. “We are. We’ll talk later though. All I want right now is to take you home with me.” He moved closer and kissed her. Pulling away, he met her eyes. “I love you.”