by Jade Kuzma
She looked away from me and sighed a hard breath through her nose.
“I’ve been on enough recon to know what this shit is like. Pearson doesn’t have any training. He doesn’t have any experience. Chances are if he hears us, he’ll get spooked and try to get away.”
“So… You have a plan or something?”
“I’ll go searching the address he’s at.”
“And what about me?”
“You wait here.”
“What?” she exclaimed. “You expect me to just stand here while you—”
I held my keys up then put them in her hand.
“What do you want me to do with this?” she said. “I don’t know how to ride this thing.”
“I know that. But if something happens to me… The MC will know what to do.”
I stared into her eyes. I couldn’t make it any clearer to her how serious this was. Despite how much she tried, she couldn’t hide how nervous she was. Her throat shifted with a hard swallow. Another hard breath through her nose didn’t do much to stop her from trembling.
“When this is all over and Pearson turns out to be the man we think he is, then we’ll figure this out.”
I put her piece in the back of my waistband and pulled my own gun out.
“Hey… Wait…”
She put her arms around my neck and pulled me in close. My lips touched hers and I almost forgot about what the fuck I was getting into.
Damn…
Shit like this… Shit like this made me wanna just drop everything and run away. But as soon as the kiss ended, I knew I had some shit to take care of.
“Come back,” she said, her voice soft.
“If Pearson is in there, I’ll find him.”
If I stared at her any longer, I’d be too distracted to focus. I spun around and marched forward toward the address.
It was quiet except for some coyotes howling in the distance and a night breeze blowing through the air. The abandoned buildings were covered in dirt and dust. The old farmland had nothing but weeds growing in every direction.
He’s here… I know he is…
I couldn’t hear him. But I could feel it. I wasn’t alone out here.
I’d moved a good distance from Audrey and my bike, far enough that I couldn’t see either one of them. If I got into trouble and had to run for it, I wasn’t sure if I would make it back. I couldn’t let my doubts distract me.
Jamie…
The poor kid never had a shot. I had to find out why. The answers were right there in front of me.
I moved through all of the abandoned barns then noticed one of them off to the side. There was an old, beat-up pick-up truck parked right next to it. I wouldn’t have thought anything of it but the tracks in the dirt next to it were still fresh. If the thing was out of commission, it would’ve had a lot more dust on it.
The barn it was parked next to was closed. I stepped toward it and could faintly make the sound of something out.
What is that?
I dug my boots into the dirt, making sure not to make any noise as I inched closer and closer. I got right up next to the barn and put my ear to the wooden panels.
Music…
There was someone inside. I knew it. I could feel it in my damn bones. I cocked the hammer on my cannon back and raised my gun up by my side then made my way around the barn.
I moved toward a door off to the side.
Shit… How do I play this?
Kicking the door in was an option. But there was no telling if Pearson was in there by himself. More than one man meant I couldn’t miss a single shot and I wouldn’t get my answers.
Knocking would just spook the motherfucker and warn him.
Or I could just call out to him and see if he would respond.
Yeah… That’s a real good idea, Micah…
Every option was just as bad as the next. I couldn’t kill the bastard but I couldn’t let him get away. I was running out of time. My indecision was getting the best of me.
I decided to take my chances. This wasn’t just about Jamie. This was about Audrey, too.
“Hey!” I shouted. “Pearson! I know you’re in there! Come on out!”
I waited a few seconds for a response. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when he didn’t roll the red carpet out for me. But the music coming from inside suddenly stopped. I held my breath for a second.
“I know you’re hiding from the cops! I’m not a cop! Just someone who wants to talk!”
Still no response.
Shit…
“Don’t make this harder on yourself, Pearson! You know you can’t leave without talking to me—”
The door suddenly swung open. It wasn’t even a split-second when I saw someone standing in the doorway.
“Shit!”
I ducked out of the way just as he raised his gun up and fired.
Bang.
The bullet rang into the air and broke the peaceful silence of the night. I looked up just in time to see him raising his gun up. I fired before him. Just my fucking luck, I hit his gun and knocked it out of his hand.
“Fuck!”
He shouted out in pain as he shook his hand. But it was just the time I needed. I didn’t wait another second to pounce. I grabbed him by the waist and tackled him to the ground.
“Stay down!” I shouted.
He spit in my face then through some dirt clumped in his hand.
“Dammit!”
I rolled off of him, trying to clear the dirt out of my eyes. A punch across my jaw helped me regain my focus.
He’s getting away.
I blinked my eyes and saw him trying to climb into his truck. I chased after him and grabbed his collar before he could get away.
Not this time.
I slammed him down to the ground. Before he could do anything else, a hard right hand against his temple put him to sleep.
I let out a sigh of relief and shook my head.
“Fucking bastard…” I muttered to myself while I cleared the rest of the dirt out of my eyes.
The punk hit me with a punch I’d be feeling in the morning. But there was no time for me to rest. The night was only just getting started. It was time to get some answers.
Chapter 13
AUDREY
“Wake up.”
Micah doused him with a bucket of water he’d managed to scrounge up then tapped him on the side of his face. He woke up gasping for breath, his head shifting back and forth like he just escaped a terrible nightmare. But the nightmare for him was only just beginning.
Him… Pearson…
It was him. It was him. A lone light bulb in the abandoned farmhouse was all I needed to see everything. I could never forget his face. Those beady little eyes. That chipped-tooth grin. The bruises on his cheeks only made him even more menacing.
Not this time… Not this time…
He gritted his teeth and looked around. But there was no escape for him. Not with his hands secured behind his back and his ankles tied to the chair.
“Who are you?” he muttered. “What the fuck do you want?”
“Oliver Pearson,” Micah said. “You’re Oliver Pearson, right?”
“Fuck you—”
Micah shut him up with a punch to the jaw. His lip-bloodied, he was still defiant.
“Listen,” Micah said. “You have two choices. We can do this the hard way. Or we can do it the harder way.”
Micah pulled his piece out and cocked the hammer back on it. It was enough to see the fear in his eyes appear.
“Your choice, Pearson—”
“All right, all right!” he gasped. “Listen… I don’t know what the fuck you’re looking for but you’ve got the wrong guy. I’m… I’m not who you think I am. You’ve made a m-mistake!”
He was panicking. Watching the miserable bastard squirm gave me a satisfaction I didn’t wanna acknowledge but it was there. Micah didn’t seem to care one way or another, his focus on getting answers.
“Let
’s go over this again,” Micah said. “I’m gonna ask you a question. And if you don’t tell me the truth, I have no problem hurting you.”
“If you’re gonna kill me, go ahead and kill me,” Pearson muttered.
Micah smirked as he shook his head.
“I dealt with guys like you before,” Micah said. “Not the kind of piece of shit rat you probably are but guys who weren’t willing to talk. They taught me how to get answers. How to brutalize a man and make him suffer. I’m not gonna kill you on your terms. It’s gonna be slow… miserable… agonizing. When this is all over, you’ll be begging me to kill you. But you can avoid that. All you have to do is tell me the truth.”
Micah crouched down in front of Pearson and looked him right in the eye. Pearson breathed hard through his nose. All of his frustration and anger was pointless. He knew there was nothing he could do.
“Are you Oliver Pearson?” Micah repeated.
“…What do you want from me?” he responded.
“Jamie Solomon. What happened to him?”
“I don’t know what you’re—”
Micah pointed the barrel of his gun between Pearson’s legs.
“Okay, okay, okay!” Pearson pleaded.
“Tell me what happened to Jamie Solomon. I won’t ask again.”
“He drowned. He drowned in the river, okay?”
“Did you have anything to do with that?”
“…Yeah.”
Micah pulled the gun away and stood up straight.
“Tell me the whole story, Pearson.”
The bastard looked off to the side.
“Jamie… Jamie was always looking for a way to make money. Said he wanted to help his mom out. Finding legit work in Ivory is tough these days. Told him I could get some work. Moving weight for some dealer.”
“What’s his name?”
“I…”
Micah’s eyes widened as he raised his gun back up.
“…I-I can’t tell you!” Pearson begged. “He’ll kill me!”
“And what do you think I’m gonna do to you?”
Pearson gritted his teeth and exhaled a frustrated sigh.
“Booth. His name is Camden Booth, okay? He’s a small-time dealer. Every dealer in Ivory is small-time but Booth is trying to make a name for himself. He got in contact with me and told me he wanted to take a shipment up to the city for him. Something small but it paid well. A test run. All of the shit going down with Emerson and the Triads, especially with the Devils and the Reapers getting involved. It’s got everybody spooked.”
“What happened to Jamie?”
“Jamie… He… He was always stressed out trying to help his mother. He started messing around with the stuff. I helped him get high. But some people don’t handle it very well. He got addicted. He missed the shipment.”
“That was reason enough to have him killed?”
“It wasn’t just that. He… He used Booth’s stuff for himself. Got high off his own supply. Booth wasn’t happy about it. Told me something had to be done. If I didn’t do it, then he would do both of us. So, I took Jamie down near the river. We got high. The kid… The kid was too stoned to save himself…”
My blood was boiling listening to Pearson’s story. It was taking everything in my body to hold back. But I knew this wasn’t over.
“That’s it,” the desperation in his voice becoming more apparent. “That’s it. I’m sorry.”
Pearson was practically sobbing at this point.
“You killed an innocent kid because some petty dealer told you to?” Micah said.
“I didn’t have a choice! He would’ve killed me!”
Micah restrained himself enough not to do anything. He looked at me then took a step back.
“You got anything to say?” Micah said.
I moved forward and took Micah’s place. Pearson looked me up and down and shook his head with confusion.
“Do you remember me?” I said.
“…Who… Who are you?”
“No… No, you don’t. You have no idea who I am. Do you remember Albert and Gloria Prescott?”
Pearson narrowed his eyes at me.
“Who are you?” he said again.
“You killed them. Two innocent people. Murdered in cold blood. And you got away with it.”
“I didn’t—”
“Don’t try to lie, Pearson! You got away with it. The police bumbled that case. It’s the reason you went running down to Ivory. Thought you could escape. But I found you.”
I moved closer to him, crouching down in front of him so I could look him in the eye.
“Why… Why did you do it?”
He closed his eyes. His breathing was becoming more desperate with every second.
“It was Booth,” he said.
“What? Why would Booth tell you to kill two innocent people?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know. I swear I don’t. He just told me to do it. I can’t say no… I might as well pull the gun on myself if I do that.”
“That’s what you should’ve done. Because now it’s all coming back to you.”
I turned to Micah and held my hand out.
“Give it to me,” I said.
He hesitated for a moment. I looked into his eyes and saw how reluctant he was.
No… He can’t get away with this…
I was too determined.
“Give it to me,” I repeated.
Micah slowly pulled my gun from his waist.
“Audrey—”
“I know what I’m doing…”
He was still reluctant but held the gun out to me. I made sure it was loaded and pointed it right at Pearson.
“I remember,” I said. “That day in court. You were smiling the entire time. You killed two people and knew you got away with it. You’re a murderer and now you’re just walking free… Not anymore.”
The desperation on Pearson’s face disappeared. He narrowed his eyes at me.
“Wait a second… Now I remember…”
His bloody grin grew even wider.
“…Yeah, I remember it real good… You were crying… The look on your face, wanting to see me get locked up… That was the most satisfying day of my life…”
He stared down the barrel I had pointed at him.
“You gonna shoot me? Go ahead.”
His mouth opened wide, an annoying cackle echoing through the empty barn. I squeezed my hand tight on the grip. My arm shook as I tried to tighten my finger around the trigger.
“Nah… Nah, you can’t do it… You’re too much of a pussy… That’s why they’re gone… That’s why they’ll never be back…”
“Shut the hell up!”
I raised the gun up and pressed it right to his forehead. It still wasn’t enough to wipe the smile from his face.
Do it…
I clenched my jaw. All of my anger and frustration was boiling up inside of me to the point my whole body was shaking.
What are you waiting for?
But there was something else. I could still see them… them. In my thoughts, vivid like they’d never left me. They were smiling… And not even this could bring them back.
Come on!
I pulled the gun away and turned around in frustration. Pearson’s laughter grew loud enough for everybody back in Ivory to hear.
“Dammit…”
“It’s all right,” Micah said. “Just relax.”
I didn’t fight him when he took the gun from my hand.
“I knew you couldn’t do it,” Pearson said it with the kind of satisfaction that even killing him wouldn’t erase. “Too much of a pussy—”
“Shut the fuck up!” Micah said. “Don’t think you’re getting out of this.”
“I know I’m not. I know what I did. But when I go, I’ll leave with a smile on my face. Jamie is gone. I did it. Those two old bags… I did it. And they ain’t never coming back.”
“Neither are you.”
“Where I’m going, I’m better off. B
etter dealing with you than with Booth.”
“You got any last words, Pearson?”
I slowly turned around to look him in the eye. He glared at me. His grin was gone but he still seemed satisfied with himself.
“I’m ready to go,” he said, his eyes locked on me.
“Wait outside,” Micah said.
I hesitated for a second before listening to him.
I stepped out of the barn and back into the empty open fields. The sky was clear and nothing but dirt surrounded me. There wasn’t another soul for miles.
I closed my eyes. My heart thumped so hard in my chest I could hear it. It was the only thing I could hear because it was so quiet. The peaceful silence of the night was interrupted by a gunshot in the distance. Quick but undeniable.
Right after it happened, I felt my heart skip a beat in my chest.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Micah walking out of the barn with his phone next to his ear.
“Just one,” he said. “A real piece of work. Nobody important. A good spot that’s real secret… Thanks, brother.”
He lowered the phone down from his ear.
“Who was that?” I asked.
“Letting Doc know I need a little bit of help. Just need to make sure Pearson disappears for good. Don’t worry. We won’t be out here for much longer.”
“It’s all right… I understand. I just wanna get the hell out of here as soon as I can.”
“Me, too, Audrey. Me, too…”
Chapter 14
AUDREY
My body was numb. My thoughts were blank. I was frozen in place, leaning against the wall of my hotel bedroom.
I closed my eyes and there was nothing. I opened them, still nothing. I didn’t know what to think or feel. I didn’t even know if I was alive at this point.
I listened to the water running in the bathroom. It slowly grew louder and louder. It was the only thing keeping me sane at this point.
I stepped into the bathroom and looked through the glass door of the shower. The steam was thick but not enough to block the view. Micah pressed his palms against the tiles, letting the water run over his head and down the rest of his bronze, muscled body. The blood and dirt on him circled down the drain, leaving nothing but a display of ink anybody would’ve been hard-pressed to look away from.