by Jon Mills
“Here to arrest me, Frank?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
Jack gave him a confused look.
“Dana confirmed what you told me about trying to get out of it all.”
“Try,” he paused, “would be the appropriate word.”
“With Gafino, Leo, and the head of the Sicilian Mafia gone, that should be a lot easier for you, right?”
“Well, that depends on what you plan to do?”
Frank breathed in deeply and took another drink from his cup.
“Amazing to think how far we’ve come, isn’t it? Two kids from New Jersey wind up on opposite side of the tracks. I’ve put away more criminals than most of the guys in the department. You’ve killed more people than most of the mob combined. It could easily have been me in your shoes.”
Jack listened, nodding slowly.
“I’m sorry about your sister and Eddie. Eddie was a good man.”
“He was my father.”
Frank glanced at him intently. “For real?”
Jack nodded.
“Then, I’m really sorry.”
Jack took a sip of his drink. It was hot. He placed it back on the table.
“Are Dana and Jason still in New York?”
“No, they’ve returned home.”
“Did they say anything to you about me that I should know?”
Frank smiled. “No. I think you know that ship has sailed, Jack.”
They sat there for five minutes drinking their coffee. Like two old friends who were comfortable in each other’s presence. Once Frank was done he tossed the Styrofoam cup into the garbage.
“Well. It’s been good seeing you again, Jack.”
Frank straightened up and walked to the door. Jack was stunned. Frank paused there and turned back.
“Oh, your truck,” he tossed Jack the keys. “I had it brought up around back.”
“Thanks. What are you going to tell them?” Jack asked.
“Nothing to say. You were held hostage. No one saw you kill anyone.”
He studied Frank’s face.
“But I ran from that security guard.”
“Fear,” Frank replied.
Jack tipped his head to one side.
“Oh, I think the infamous Jack Winchester gets scared once in a while.”
The corner of Frank’s lip curled up.
“Just promise me one thing,” Frank said.
“Sure.”
“You won’t return to New York.”
Jack let out a stifled laugh. Frank smiled and then left.
Over the course of the following days, Jack thought a lot about his time in New York while healing up in that hospital. He should have stayed longer. They wanted him to stay for a week or so, but Jack wasn’t going to take any more chances. As much as he was convinced that it was over, and that the threat to him was gone, he didn’t want to linger around to find out. Within four days he had checked out.
Outside he found his truck exactly where Frank had said it would be. He returned to the storage unit and filled the cab with everything that Eddie had left behind. Which wasn’t much.
He wasn’t entirely sure why Frank let him go. He could have pulled him in on numerous charges. But perhaps it was his way of repaying what Jack had done for him years ago. Frank understood what it meant to be surrounded by a crowd that only wanted to see you bleed. Maybe he wanted to be the one that came along and stopped a fight. Or perhaps he understood that the line between good and bad was nothing more than a decision. A decision that either could help someone or destroy them. Had Jack not stepped in that day on the streets of New Jersey, maybe Frank might not have let him go. Or maybe it was just part of the path they were meant to take. The lesson they were meant to learn.
Either way he was grateful for a chance to get out. Where the road would take him was anyone’s guess. He stood beside his truck and tried phoning Dana’s cell. It came back as out of service. He rang the landline of their home. It returned the same message. Whatever road they had taken, it would be without him. He loved her and he could have found her, but the best thing he could do for her was to stay far away. To keep his distance and allow Dana and Jason a chance at a life without the baggage that he brought to the table. Maybe one day she would find someone who could see her the way he saw her. A guy who would treat her the way he loved her.
He made one final phone call.
It was anonymous, to the Rockland Cove police. He gave them information about Danny Regan’s drug setup three miles outside of Rockland Cove. He told them how Danny was receiving shipments. He instructed them to check out the seats on the boat called Morning Glory. He also suggested they didn’t radio any of this information out and to hit the place early in the morning. They wanted Jack’s name, but he hung up. He tossed his phone on the floor and crunched it beneath his boot.
He smiled at the thought of Danny having his door kicked in sometime in the early hours of the morning. Everyone had to learn the hard way. Danny Regan was no different. His time had run out. Perhaps if there was a next time, he would listen.
Jason had said he would like to be there to see Danny’s face. It would have been sweet but not as satisfying as seeing Jason’s the day he would learn about Danny’s fate. He felt a twinge of disappointment in his gut. The thought that he wouldn’t be around to watch him grow. To see the man that he would become. But more than anything to finish his days beside Dana. Nevertheless, he knew staying away was the best thing for all of them.
Change was on the horizon.
The very last item he was about to place into the truck was a laptop. It was partially charged when he opened it. He sat for a moment on the upside-down bucket and browsed through the folders on the desktop. He searched the offline emails, and that’s when he began to see a clearer picture form of what Eddie had done for a living.
People hired him to fix problems. But these weren’t the typical problems. They were ones that most wouldn’t be able to fix. The ones that got overlooked by a flawed legal system. They fell into the gray areas. They were jobs that brought a silent war to an enemy that often remained unseen. The kind of people he used to work for.
He had a chance to right his wrongs. To use his skills for good. To follow in the footsteps of his father. Somewhere he hoped Eddie was looking down on him. Grinning.
There was much he would still have to learn. But he had time now.
Jack brought the steel door down on the now empty storage unit. He locked it and returned the key to the main office. He informed them that it would no longer be needed and then returned to his vehicle.
Jack hopped into the truck. He adjusted his mirrors, turned on his GPS. He pulled out the photo he had taken from Eddie’s. The one that was inside the Bible. He glanced at the name, John Dalton. The address was for a place in Los Angeles. He tapped it into the GPS, gave a quick glance in his mirror, cranked the radio up, and pulled away.
THANK YOU FOR READING
Debt Collector: Book #2
Book 3 Debt Collector Reborn is now available
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Jon Mills
Jon Mills is originally from England. He is the author of The Debt Collector series, The Promise, Dark Tide and the Undisclosed Trilogy. To get more information about upcoming books or if you wish to get in touch with Jon, you can do so using the following contact information:
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