by KJ Dahlen
His sixth sense kicked in as he began wandering around the small room looking for some sign that someone had been in here while he was gone. As far as he could tell, nothing had been moved, that is until he got to the bed. The mattress was askew just enough so he knew someone had lifted it.
Damon paused then felt almost betrayed. He carefully lifted the mattress himself. He was prepared to find his weapons gone but his eyes widened slightly when he found they were still there and every one of them accounted for. He also knew they hadn’t been disturbed, just observed.
He lowered the mattress again and sat down in the chair beside the bed. “Damn, who found me and why?” he asked himself. Maybe a better question was why had his things been found but not touched?
He checked the barrel and the hammer plate, he also checked the firing pin and the sights. Everything was as it should be. Yes, the firing pin was missing but that was his doing. He always removed the pins in his weapons and stored them somewhere else, so no one could use his weapons without his knowledge. The pin someone would use to replace the original just wouldn’t allow the weapon to be fired. This was his own sense of defense and no one else knew about.
As Damon sat there, he made up his mind to walk away from the SANG group. They had begun with high hopes but all four men had lost their way. They turned toward greed and that same greed had all four of them by the throat now... none of them could stop what they were doing and go back.
Damon had served these men for too long not to see what they were capable of. He knew he had no choice, his position had been compromised, so he began packing his things and moving out. He hadn’t lived this long in a cutthroat business by being stupid. He still had a trick or two up his sleeve. Tricks, he never shared with the others when he’d trained them. Tricks that might just save his own life one day.
Well, it appeared that day—was today.
When he got to this town several weeks ago, he set up a new identity for himself. He bought all new clothes and a new cell phone. Then he stashed them in a third location, intending not to use them unless his first two locations had been compromised. He did this with every new job he took on. Now, his habit would pay off. He felt his position was compromised for sure. He gathered his weapons and packed the few things he knew couldn’t be left behind.
This game was one he was well familiar with. He stripped his clothes off and showered under very hot water. Breaking his own safety seal, he got dressed in fresh clothes and gathered his things. He left behind clothing and anything of his old life that could be traced back to him or the SANG group. Damon had found a few years in, that the group often used tracking equipment to keep track of their people.
The last thing he did before he left the room was to carefully place his phone on the desk and smash it with the butt of his gun. Then he turned and walked out the door leaving his old life behind. When he closed the door to his room, he finally felt free.
Chapter One
For the first time in three days, Damon had a chance to take a breath. Laying alone in his bed, he stared at the ceiling of his room. The moonlight coming through the window showed the shadows everywhere except for the ceiling. The ceiling was almost glowing.
Damon felt restless tonight. He knew he should be trying to get some sleep as tomorrow was a busy day but he just couldn’t calm his brain down enough. His thoughts were in chaos as he tossed and turned.
After Levi, Peter and Ben were driven away in the back of a Texas Ranger vehicle, he felt broken somehow. Then later, when he thought about it, he realized he wasn’t broken, instead the invisible chain holding him to the Sang group had been severed. He’d felt the chain break and fall to the dirt at his feet.
He didn’t know what the future held but at least, it wouldn’t be any more orders from men like Levi Silvers. Tomorrow, he and James would travel to Kansas City and clean out his apartment. Once that was done, the man the world knew as Damon Cole—would cease to exist.
He had long ago dreamed of the day he would no longer need that name or identity. The real question was who would he become next? The military had trained him to become a sniper, a killer, but they also taught him so much more. He answered the call to protect this country in the war on terror, when they asked him. He trained hard and became one of the best of the best.
Then his world crashed around his feet. He rubbed his face and stared out into the darkness of the night but he didn’t see a thing. Instead, he was remembering a day from his long lost past. The day in Afghanistan when his commander had called him into his office. His tour was almost over and he had no reason to think this was anything but routine. Maybe they were letting him out earlier than planned. He knew he could wait to get home again. He’d been in the sandbox for almost a year now and he had someone waiting at home for his return.
But that was over twenty years ago... That was the day his heart and soul crashed and burned. He wouldn’t ever come back from that. At least, he didn’t think he ever could.
Then James asked him a question three days ago
“This is your moment. Do you take it, or do you let it go?”
Damon looked over at Bane with doubt in his eyes. “Is a do over really possible for men like you and me?”
“It is if you want it bad enough.” Bane stared back at him. “Question is, do you want it bad enough?”
Damon glanced over at Becky and made up his mind. He turned back to Bane and James. “I do. People like her are worth more to me now, than my work.” He shook his head. “She was the one thing in all these years that kept a small piece of my soul attached to my body. I didn’t know her, had never seen her in person until the other day but she kept me attached to this earth. Or maybe it the promise of hope she offered an old bastard like me.” Shaking his head he said, “I thought all my hope was gone a long time ago, but now maybe it just went into hiding, waiting for the right time to come back.”
Bane had looked over at James and nodded. “He’s ready for his do over.”
Damon had no idea what they meant then or now, but he knew he had one more thing he had to do before he could move on with his life... such as it was.
He had to go back to where it all began and finally say goodbye. He hadn’t been able to do that, twenty one years ago. But now, he thought maybe it was finally time.
He pushed the covers off and sat up. Tugging on his pants, he walked out to the main room. He walked over to the bar and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. Pouring himself a double shot, he spun around when he heard someone clear his throat.
Three men sat at one of the tables and they seemed to be waiting for him.
Bane, Bastian and James sat there in the semi dark. Each had a drink in front of him as well.
Damon grabbed the bottle, sauntered over to the table and sat down.
Bane took a sip of his drink, then set the glass down on the table carefully. Then he pushed a file toward Damon.
Damon drained his glass and reached for the file. He looked at the tab and his heart stopped beating for a fraction of a second. His real name was written there. Maxwell Adams. He set the file down but didn’t open it. He didn’t have too. He knew what was in there. He knew it by heart. He read the words in that police file every night and every day a dozen times a day, before he finally closed it for good. It had been closed because every time he read those words, another small chuck of his soul died.
He reached for the bottle and poured another drink. Setting it down, he leaned back in his chair and stared at the other men. “What is this all about?” he finally asked.
“If you are going to join us, we need to be sure there are no secrets. We needed you to know that we know your story,” Bane told him.
Damon reached for his glass and took a sip of his drink. The whiskey burned as it slid down his throat. “Do you though? Know my whole story. Do you really know what tore my family apart?” he asked. “Because I don’t. Maybe you can tell me why my wife and son had to die? Can you do that? Can you tell me why someo
ne invaded my home and then took his time in butchering them? Weston was only three years old. A baby for god’s sake. The fucker that killed him slit his throat. The knife he used almost decapitated his head from his shoulders. Why would he do something like that?”
The men at the table remained silent, as they realized he needed to get this out.
Damon took another bitter tasting sip of his whiskey. “Can you tell me why the bastard stabbed my wife Petra nineteen times before he finally split her open from belly to throat and watched her bleed to death? He didn’t rape her, he just bled her to death.” He took another drink. “She was the most beautiful woman I ever met. She was soft spoken and a bit of a bookworm. A wife I was very proud to have as mine and she was an awesome mom to our son. Her parents were heartbroken when she died. I don’t think they ever got over it.” He looked up at them and said, “They wouldn’t even let me see their bodies when I got back from the sandbox. Her dad told me to remember them the way they were the last time, I saw them. I wanted to punch the bastard in the throat. But I didn’t. I just turned my back and walked away. I couldn’t stay there anymore.”
“The police never found your family’s killer did they?” Bastian asked.
Damon tightened his jaw but never answered the question.
They all knew the answer anyway. The police never did find the bastard that butchered his family. The case went cold a year after they died.
“We feel a proper do over requires that your past be left truly in the past,” Bane explained. “Bastian and I were able to walk away from our pasts without even a thought. But we think you need closure.”
Damon snapped his head around to glare at the other man. “And just how do you suggest I get closure to a twenty-one-year-old murder that was never solved?”
“By doing what the police couldn’t.” Bane raised a brow at him. “With some help from us, you can find your family’s killer.”
Damon froze and stared at him. “What did you just say?”
Bane shrugged. “I think you heard what I said.”
“How the hell can I go back twenty one years and solve a murder the police couldn’t?” he demanded.
Bane’s lips curled up but it wasn’t in a smile. More of a sneer. “You might be surprised what we can do.”
“And sometimes, the police have to bow to orders from above but that’s something we don’t have to do,” Bastian added. “You know that much from working under Levi Silvers for so long. We can get into places the police can’t. Someone has been protecting this killer for a long time now, and it’s time to unmask them both. Your family wasn’t the first time he’d done this heinous deed and it wasn’t the last time either.”
“And what do you get out of all of this?” Damon asked.
“We’re hoping, you’ll join us. We can use your talents in our fight for justice.” Bane stared him.
Damon snorted. “I should have known. Nothing in this thing we call life, is ever free.”
Bane stiffened in outrage. He glared at the other man. “We are not doing this in order to force you to join us. We would do this whether you joined us or not. We are not mercenaries, nor are we paid killers anymore.”
Damon glared right back at the man. “Do you think I haven’t tried to find the bastard who took them away from me? That I would ever stop looking for the man that murdered my family? I used every available recourse I had at the time to track down this bastard, but I got nowhere.”
“We have resources you can’t even dream about,” James spoke up. “Back at the house, we already have a file going on this monster. We’ve already found he’s hit seven other families.”
Damon’s mind froze for a moment. “What?”
James nodded.
Damon thought about it for a moment then looked over at Bane. “Tell me again what you guys do.”
“We bring to justice to those who can’t get it any other way.” He looked over at Bastian and James and at their nods he continued, “You know I was the best assassin and that took years of hard work and discipline to achieve, well my friends also worked years in their field of gathering information that certain people wanted. We commanded and were paid a high price because we were worth the effort, we took to complete the mission.” He leaned forward and turned his shot glass in his strong hand. “I was supposed to die but Bastian offered me a deal. A do over if you like. I was tired of the blood and I had finally reached a point in my life when I could forgive my wife and brother for their betrayal.” She arched a brow at Damon again. “For the same reasons you had. A young woman. She proved herself to be self sacrificing. Selfless in her care and love for others. Proving to me that humanity was worth it. Worth the effort to try to help those wronged.” He looked up at Damon. “You, my friend... have been wronged. But not only that... You have shown that you deserve a new life.”
“But do I though?” Damon asked. “I have killed a lot of people.”
Bane leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “I think if we counted...” he paused. “And we won’t. I may have killed 3 times as many as you and I never felt a thing in doing so. Not even satisfaction, as some killers have. You have to understand something here. I shall never be clean. I do not expect to be either. And neither will you. However, you can be human again. I simply accepted Priest’s offer. Then the three of us came together and decided to fight a very different kind of fight. One that could bring down men just like Levi Silvers. But before we could do any of that, we had to free our women from certain situations. Then this set our free path to do what is needed.”
“So this is just a favor you are willing to do for me?” Damon asked.
Bane paused to sip his drink before he answered, “No...it isn’t like that. You have your own set of qualifications we need to continue and this is us, offering you that do over. The choice is entirely yours. We will help you find the killer and when justice has been served, you will have a choice to make. Come and join us or walk away. It is as simple as that.”
“I was going to go up to Kansas City to clean out my apartment.” Damon nodded. I have to be able to walk away clean. I have to get my to go bag. With that, I can start over anywhere.” Then he hesitated and added. “And maybe it’s time I finally said goodbye to my family.”
Bastian nodded. “Maybe. But to say goodbye properly, you will need the closure of finally dealing with their killer. And it is way past time for that to happen.”
Chapter Two
Alybella was sitting in the diner she usually worked in, having a Reuben sandwich when two men walked in and sat down in the booth behind her. That didn’t really bother her, but it did put her on alert.
This was her one day off and she’d been enjoying the solitude then they just had to walk in. She didn’t know them from Adam but the fact they chose to sit so close to her gave her the shivers. She didn’t even now why but they did.
Maybe it was because they were so big, or the way they carried themselves. Alpine wasn’t that big a town, but there was more than one diner. There were more places to eat but this one was close to home and she liked the food here. She should, she damn well ate here every day.
She looked around the diner and she knew in her heart even if she hadn’t said it out loud, this was a place, she could call home. And for Alybella that was as close to being home as she would ever get.
She hung her head and tried hard not to think about her past. She knew she had to forget what happened. Everyone told her that but she couldn’t forget. He wouldn’t’ let her forget what she had lost that day.
So absorbed in her own thoughts she nearly missed the beginning of the men’s conversation but she did catch it when one of them said, “So this is home huh? I never pictured you beng a small town boy.”
The other man chuckled. “Yeah, I grew up here, so did my wife. When I went into the service, I was stationed at Fort Hood but when I left for Afghanistan, she wanted to come back home for my deployment. Petra wanted Weston to know her family and she want
ed to be close to them while I was gone. Her family is still here I think, well they were twenty one years ago.”
“Where did they live?”
“Over on Camden street. Her parents lived three blocks away on Jordan street.”
Alybella froze. She lived on Camden street. The man she rented from told her he lived only three blocks away if she ever had any trouble. He was a very nice older Russian man named Antosha.
She leaned back in the booth and listened unashamed. Her food completely forgotten.
Then she heard one of them say, “I think Antosha still owns the house. He couldn’t rent it out for a long time but I think it’s rented now.”
Alybella froze and then began to sweat. Her hands got sweaty and her head felt light. She couldn’t think for a moment. What brought this man back to Alpine? Who was he and what did he want here?
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
“I have to be, don’t I? I never faced what really happened the night my wife and son died. I couldn’t back then, but I think enough time has passed I can go back to that house and not see the blood stained walls or their bodies lying on the floor. I have to face the fact that someone butchered them and walked away. He cut my baby’s throat and sliced my woman’s body open like he was gutting her. I need to understand why he did what he did.”
His statement opened a secret door in her mind and flooded her brain with images of her past. A past she had tried so hard not to remember. But now...now she thought about that day and all the horror it represented.
Her hand went to her throat and her fingers touched the scar he gave her that day. It wasn’t a deep enough scar to get the job done but it had done enough. She could feel it through the choker she always wore but maybe she could feel it because she knew it was there too. She couldn’t relive the rest. No way. She couldn’t handle that. She got up from the booth and sobbing, ran for the door bumping into a few of the tables on her way out.