by Cate Beauman
Bone cracked against bone and something fell to the floor, shattering.
“All right. Okay. I get the point,” Jeremy said in a groan.
“Not yet.” Another punch was thrown. “I’m still educating you. Hopefully, you’ll learn, or you won’t live very long.”
Jeremy took another blow and coughed.
“You work for me now. There’s no going back.”
Austin’s hand hovered over the doorknob. He wanted to listen to the conversation play out, but they would kill Jeremy if this kept up. He gripped the knob as the room fell silent.
“I think we understand each other now, don’t you, homeboy?”
There was no answer.
“I said, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Jeremy wheezed.
Footsteps started toward the door. Austin holstered his weapon, grabbed the plate of cake.
“Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Hold up here, brother. Who’s this fine piece of ass? This your girl?”
Silence.
The man landed another blow. “I said is this your ho?”
“No,” Jeremy coughed. “My sister.”
“Well, well, well. You watch your step, man, or I’ll be helping myself to her before I kill you.” Something clattered to the floor and glass broke. “You be at the drop spot tomorrow, and don’t be late. I better see you at two, homie.”
The knob twisted. Austin hustled to his apartment, pulled his keys from his pocket as if he’d just gotten home. Hailey’s door opened. A man as big as he was, wearing sagging jeans and a long basketball jersey, stepped into the hall. Every inch of his exposed skin was intricately inked with devils, skeletons, and words Austin couldn’t make out without staring. A shorter man, dressed similarly, looked over his shoulder, making eye contact before he stared forward again.
Gang bangers.
Austin set the plate on the floor, searched through his keys, stalling, catching small glimpses as the shorter man punched the button for the elevator. A boldly colored S-1 tat extended from his raw knuckles to his wrist. As the elevator slid open, Austin shoved his key in the lock, twisted it, waiting for the door to slide closed.
Alone in the hallway, he hurried to the stairwell, watching from the window until the men got in their car and took off. He doubled back and knocked on Hailey’s door. When no one answered, Austin knocked again. Jeremy opened the door a crack. His curly brown hair stood in wild tufts. His raw face swelled with nasty gashes and severe bruising. “Hey, Austin. This isn’t a good time.”
Austin pushed the door open, ignoring Jeremy’s not-so-subtle hint. Jeremy appeared to be mixed up with the wrong crowd, had dragged his sister into it. Right now was a very good time. “Wow, buddy, what happened to you?”
“I got mugged. I brought in good tips today; somebody must’ve been watching—followed me home.” Jeremy’s lip dribbled blood as he spoke. His eye puffed shut as Austin watched.
“Looks like I’m in the wrong line of work. You must’ve had some wad.” Austin scanned the trashed space. The coffee table leaned haphazardly, two of its legs splintered to bits. Glass vases and knickknacks lay smashed and scattered over the area rug. Amongst the chaos of the living room, the cracked photo of Hailey caught his eye.
“Yeah.” Jeremy coughed, wincing, holding his boot-scuffed ribs. “Look, I need to lie down.”
“We should call the police and report this. Let me grab you a shirt. I’ll take you to the hospital.”
“No,” Jeremy said quickly. “My boss already took care of it. I called him as soon as this happened. I just need to lie down.”
“You sure?” Did Jeremy really expect him to buy this?
“Yeah.” He grimaced.
“Okay. Oh, this was stuck to your mailbox.” Austin held up the florescent orange flyer. “I wanted to drop it off before Linda took them all down. They make a damn good pizza. Knock if you need anything—2H.”
“Uh huh.” Jeremy hobbled forward and grabbed the paper as the door closed.
Austin stared at the chrome 2E on dark wood for several seconds, rubbing his fingers over his tensed jaw. What the hell was he supposed to do now? That kid was bad news—the scum of the earth. Austin was familiar with his type—saw them every day. Jeremy would suck his sister dry before he vanished again.
He turned, wandered back to his apartment, thinking of Hailey, trying to ignore the tug of desire her striking face and siren’s body always brought with them. All that smooth, golden skin…her top-heavy lip that begged to be nibbled…those enormous honey-colored eyes and dainty nose…an odd combination with mouthwatering effects. He struggled not to notice every time he saw her. And he saw her a lot.
When she had thrown her arms around him in a hug hours before, he’d breathed in her peachy scent, felt her small, firm breasts against his side, and fought to keep things casual. Closing his eyes, he clutched the doorknob, trying to find a grip on his hormones, determined not to let his attraction to Hailey affect him. She was in trouble and oblivious to the whole thing. He was going to have to keep an eye on her until they left for Mexico. Hopefully, when they got back, Jeremy would be long gone.
Steadier, Austin picked up his plate of cake and let himself into his living room. He twisted on the lamp, looked around, sniffing at the hint of lemon scenting the air. The cleaning lady had come. The week’s worth of dust had been swept away from the dark heavy wood. The plants he didn’t bother with, but Wren had insisted on, had sprung back to life with a little water.
Ethan’s sister had more or less taken over his space with her high-end designs, but he couldn’t complain. She’d done a hell of a job decorating his bachelor pad. He sighed a thank you every time he sat in the chunky brown leather couch or recliner. It beat the hell out of the milk crates and cheap futon he’d had before.
Austin set the plate on the coffee table, along with the flyer and his keys, and powered up his laptop. He had one goal at this point: to find out just who Jeremy was.
What was his last name?
He sat against the buttery, soft leather, sighed, punched Ethan’s number into his cell phone.
“Cooke.”
“Hey, what’s Hailey’s brother’s last name?”
“That’s random.”
“I think Hailey’s in trouble. I’ll explain tomorrow. Let me do a little digging first.”
“I think it’s Kagan. Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s Kagan.”
“Thanks.”
“Should I have her stay here tonight?”
He thought of the state of Hailey’s trashed living room, of Jeremy’s battered face and body. It would be better if she stayed away, but she would see her living room and brother eventually. “No, but she’s in for a hell of a shock. I walked by her apartment. Heard a couple of bangers beating the shit out of Jeremy. Her place is trashed. You might want to give her a heads-up.”
“What the hell is he doing with people like that?”
“That’s what I’m hoping to find out. Let me look into this. I’ll get back to you.” Austin hung up, and quickly got to work hacking through firewalls, just the way Ethan showed him years before.
He started by tracking down Jeremy’s date of birth and social security number. From there, he searched court documents, sealed juvenile records, let out a quiet whistle when he hit pay dirt with a police rap sheet. “You’ve been busy, kid,” he muttered. Breaking and entering, multiple drug possession charges with intent to sell, four simple assault convictions, DUI, underage drinking, petty theft, possession of a deadly weapon. “Two visits to the ‘big house’. Looks like you’re on strike two. One more and you’re out, buddy.”
Did Hailey know about this? He couldn’t believe she did. Over the years he and Hailey had become friends. She was a sweetheart with a good head on her shoulders; her brother did
n’t fit with the life she’d made for herself.
Rubbing his fingers over his jaw, Austin blew out a long breath. He needed to find out how deep Jeremy’s ties were with S-1. There was nothing more he could do until tomorrow.
He exed out of the files, sat back, picked up his phone again, and ordered a large pizza with grilled chicken and onion. He turned on the TV, flipped to the Raiders highlights, all the while thinking of Hailey.
Chapter 3
AUSTIN BATTLED L.A.’S MID-DAY TRAFFIC on his way to Yoshoris, the trendy Japanese restaurant he’d overheard Hailey say Jeremy worked at. This wasn’t exactly how he’d planned to spend his day off. A run along the beach, a few laps in the pool, and a Skype session with his sister to welcome his newest niece had been the original idea.
He came to a dead stop on the 405—again—in a clusterfuck of vehicles as far as the eye could see. Thank God he only had one more exit to go. He rubbed his fingers against his temple, along his jaw, blew out a long breath, more tired and less patient than usual.
He hadn’t slept much last night. When Ethan called at nine, he’d waited by the window until he saw Hailey pull into the parking lot. He’d watched her race into the lobby. He cracked his door, listening to the elevator slide open moments later.
Austin knew Hailey had found the mess in her living room and her beaten brother when her door slammed closed, followed by a shocked, “Oh, my God.” He’d walked to 2E, standing close to the door, listening to snatches of Jeremy’s bullshit story. Of course, Hailey had eaten it up. When Austin heard all he could stand, he went back to his apartment, sick inside, concerned, and more involved than he wanted to be.
As a result, there he sat, stuck in traffic, trying to get to the bottom of a situation that was between Hailey and her brother. Except he truly believed she had no idea Jeremy was mixed up with the big time. Austin remembered the thug with the S-1 tattoo commenting on Hailey’s photo. He still couldn’t believe her jackass brother hadn’t tried to leave her out of it—selfish bastard. Hailey was in danger; he would do what he could to help. That’s what friends were for.
The traffic inched forward, enough for Austin to hug the shoulder and get to his exit. He took the off-ramp and drove the ten blocks to Yoshoris at a crawl, smiling when he actually found a space to parallel park. He stepped from his vehicle, crossed the street, peeked into the empty restaurant, glancing at a small, stylish sign that said they didn’t open until five.
Austin knocked on the glass when he spotted a woman sitting in the corner of the dining area surrounded by a pile of papers. She glanced up as he took his wallet from his pocket and pressed his badge to the window. It was only his bodyguard identification, but it looked official enough to get her to unlock the door.
“Hi.” He smiled. “I’m sorry to bother you. I’m looking for a friend. Is Jeremy here?”
The woman’s brows furrowed as she shook her head. “I’m sorry, sir, I don’t know a Jeremy.”
Austin scratched his cheek as if contemplating and looked up at the restaurant sign. “This is the only Yoshoris in L.A., right?”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t employ a Jeremy Kagan?”
“I do the hiring myself. I’ve never heard of him.”
Just what he’d thought. “I’m sorry I took up your time, ma’am.”
“Not a problem.” She closed the door and twisted the lock.
Austin glimpsed his watch. Twelve fifteen. He had less than two hours to get through traffic and back to the apartments. He fully intended to follow Jeremy and find out what he was really doing to bring in an income, although he had a fairly solid idea.
Austin pulled into the parking lot at one fifteen, relieved that Jeremy’s car still sat in its spot. He reached into the bag of fast food he’d stopped for, grabbed the grilled chicken, no mayo. His phone rang as he took a huge bite of the sandwich. He checked the readout; it was Ethan.
“Hold on,” Austin said over a mouthful.
“Stuffing your face as usual.”
He swallowed. “It’s after one. I have to eat lunch sometime.”
“Did you sleep in, princess?”
He grinned, took another bite, talking with his mouth full. “No, I’ve been in my car for most of the day. I’m following Jeremy. Brother dear is definitely mixed up in some serious shit. I’m pretty confident he’s dealing drugs.”
“Son of a bitch.”
“It gets better. Not only is he dealing, but the bangers who kicked his ass last night are S-1. They were covered in gang tattoos. There’s definitely a connection.”
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. Hailey went ape shit when I told her that Jeremy had been injured. I can’t imagine what she’ll do when she finds out about this.”
“Thanks for keeping it discreet. I don’t want to say anything until I know exactly what we’re dealing with.”
“I figured as much. So, what’s the plan?”
“I overheard one of the guys tell Jeremy he’d better be at some drop spot at two. I’m going to follow him to the location—whenever he decides to get his butt out here.”
“I’m glad Sarah and I decided to leave early.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, Sarah had some mild contractions last night. We’re thinking we should take Kylee to California Kids now or her indoor water park adventure isn’t going to happen anytime soon. It works out well that this is the perfect excuse to keep Hailey out of the way. She’ll be staying here for the next few days, provided Emma doesn’t decide to join us before then.”
Austin didn’t miss the excitement in Ethan’s voice. His little girl would be here soon. Ethan and Sarah had been friends for years before their relationship changed into something more serious several months back. They’d gotten off to a rough start when that crazy bastard, Ezekiel, put everyone through hell. But that was over now, and things had smoothed out for two of his closest friends. “Well, at least Hailey’s safe for the time being. One of the men made a threat against her.”
Ethan steamed out a weary sigh. “What a goddamn mess. Sounds like it’s a good thing she’ll be leaving town for a while.”
“That’s what I was thinking.” The lobby door opened. Jeremy stepped out. “I have to go. Our man of the hour just arrived.”
“Be careful. S-1 is nothing to mess around with.”
“Oh, honey,” Austin sniffled into the phone, “I’m so glad you care.”
“Fuck you.”
Austin chuckled as he hung up. His smile disappeared as he watched Jeremy take the steps from the lobby to the parking lot one at a time, wincing the entire way, holding his side. The kid’s solid boxer build lost a bit of its intimidating effect as he walked hunched over, like Great Aunt Lucy.
Austin polished off his last bite of sandwich, following it up with a deep swallow of water as he studied Jeremy’s swollen eye and the colorful bruising over most of his right cheek. His bottom lip was double its normal size. Austin almost felt bad for him. Almost.
Several minutes later, after a ginger walk to his car, Jeremy got in and took a left out of the lot. Austin waited thirty seconds, then did the same. He followed Jeremy’s black BMW through the tidy upscale neighborhoods of the Palisades to the mean streets of South Central L.A.
Graffiti-covered sidewalks and abandoned buildings gave way to ramshackle houses, proudly displaying green spray painted S-1 emblems over every inch. Austin’s stomach sank as the reality of Hailey’s situation became more apparent. After some quick research the night before, he’d discovered that S-1 was rumored to be the foot soldiers of the Mexican Mafia, pulling off grisly hits, drug trafficking, and kidnappings, among other criminal activities. Valid information had been hard to come by. Every reporter or blogger who had stuck their nose too deep either mysteriously vanished or ended up dead.
Austin circled the block, parking two hundred yards down, still within camera range with the long distance surveillance lens. He glanced at the burned out houses along the tired looking street, the thugs standing around, waiting to find trouble—or make it. He took his Glock from the center console, released the safety, set his weapon on the floor by his feet. Even with his training, it never hurt to be careful.
Austin picked up the camera, focused on Jeremy and the men still standing by the BMW. He zeroed in on the shorter man’s tattoos, snapping away at the green and black emblems mirroring the markings painted on the houses. He tightened his focus on the elaborate slashes of red forming a ‘ZU’ on the inside of his forearm.
Satisfied he had enough on guy number one, Austin studied guy number two, noticing the same slashes of red among the ink of skulls and devils. He snapped several more photos for good measure. Just as Austin was about to set down the camera, a movement in the window of the derelict house caught his attention. He refocused, zooming in as far as the lens would allow. Through his grainy view, he captured images of a man in a black suit, surrounded by several well-armed bodyguards. Who the hell was this? What the hell was this? He clenched his jaw, knowing that whatever was going on, it wasn’t good.
Austin honed in on Jeremy again when the muscled hulk covered in devils patted him down. Seconds later, they walked into the house. It was tempting to get out and move closer, but that wasn’t a good idea in broad daylight. Instead, Austin scooted further forward in his seat and focused on Jeremy shaking the suited man’s hand.