by Sean Black
“Okay,” said Lock. “But I’m done.”
“Done? As in this gig?” asked Ty.
“No,” said Lock. “With the whole deal. I’m finished. I’ll go find something else I can do.”
“Come on, man,” said Ty. “Look, it’s been a rough few weeks, that’s all.”
“No, I mean it, Ty. I’m sick of doing rich assholes’ dirty work for them. I’m out.”
Epilogue
Marina del Rey, California
One month later
Even in a crowded bar on a Friday evening, Ty knew exactly how to scope out his partner. All he had to do was find the corner table nearest to the kitchen. The corner because that meant Lock had a view of the place, and no one could sneak up on him. Near the kitchen because that offered an exit point.
Pushing his way through the crush, Ty pulled out a chair and sat down across from Lock, who looked tanned and relaxed.
“This how you’re going to spend retirement, huh?” said Ty. “Hanging out in bars?”
Lock smiled. “I’m meeting Carmen and we’re going to dinner.”
Ty nodded and the two men lapsed into silence.
“You want a drink?” asked Lock.
“Sure. I’ll take a beer.”
Lock held up two fingers and signaled to a passing waitress to bring him a fresh beer and one for his buddy.
“So how have you been?” asked Ty.
Apart from the occasional text or email related to business, they hadn’t spoken in several weeks. Ty had figured that Lock needed space, and a chance to decompress after the mayhem back east. Lock had been lucky not to face any significant legal problems. So had Ty to a degree. Dimitri Semenov’s money had made sure of that.
“I’m good,” said Lock. “I’m enjoying life.”
Ty shrugged. “Yeah, good. Happy to be back in LA.”
The waitress returned with their beers. Ty raised his and they clinked bottles.
“So?” said Ty.
Lock smiled. “So?”
“Come on, Ryan. You know why I’m here.”
Lock tilted back his beer and took a sip. “You want to know if I really meant what I said back there. About quitting.”
“And did you?”
Lock sighed, like he’d been anticipating this conversation, but not exactly relishing it. “Yes, I meant it. I’m done.”
“So that’s it?”
“Ty, come on, it’s not like you’re going to be unemployed. You still have a ton of security review work. You’ll be able to pick up other stuff too, including close protection gigs. You don’t need me.”
“I’m not worried about me, Ryan. I’m worried about you.”
“Well don’t be. There’s no need.”
Ty took a long drink. He known coming here that he wasn’t going to talk Lock out of quitting. But he’d wanted to know if his partner was serious, or whether he’d just gotten caught up in the moment.
“So what are you going to do with yourself?” Ty asked. “Take up fishing?”
“Carmen’s office always need investigators. I might do that for a while. Or I might not. I don’t know. I’ve not really had a long break since I came out of the military.”
Ty tilted his beer and took another drink. “You’ll be back.”
“You think?” said Lock.
“Come on, you’re an adrenalin junkie, just like me. You really think you’re going to get your fix chasing down people cheating their insurance or whatever it is you’ll be investigating?”
“You want to know what it is?” asked Lock. “I’m tired of working for rich assholes who think they can behave how they want and not face the consequences because they know they can pay people like us to come along and clean up their mess.”
“I get that,” said Ty. “I really do. I just don’t think it’s a good enough reason to walk away.”
“And maybe I’m tired,” said Lock. “How many people can you watch get killed before you stop caring? And I don’t want to stop caring.”
Ty watched Lock drain the last of his beer.
“You want another?” Ty asked.
“No, I’d better not,” said Lock, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone to read a text. “That’s Carmen, she’s outside.”
“Okay, man,” said Ty as Lock stood up.
“You know we can still hang, right?” said Lock.
Ty stood, the two men embracing.
“If you change your mind,” said Ty.
Lock broke from Ty’s embrace and took a step back. “You’ll be the first to know.”
“I’d better be.”
Also by Sean Black
The Ryan Lock & Ty Johnson series (in order)
Lockdown (US/Canada) Lockdown (UK/ Commonwealth)
Deadlock (US/Canada) Deadlock (UK/Commonwealth)
Gridlock (US/Canada) Gridlock (UK/Commonwealth)
The Devil’s Bounty (US/Canada) The Devil’s Bounty (UK/Commonwealth)
The Innocent
Fire Point
The Edge of Alone
Second Chance
The Red Tiger
The Deep Abiding
Avenue of Thieves
The Last Bodyguard (January, 2021)
Ryan Lock Boxsets
Ryan Lock Boxset One: Lockdown; Deadlock; Gridlock (Ryan Lock Series Boxset Book 1) - (US & Canada only)
Ryan Lock Boxset Two: The Innocent; Fire Point; Second Chance
Ryan Lock Boxset Three: Second Chance; Red Tiger; The Deep Abiding
The Byron Tibor Series
Post
Blood Country
Winter’s Rage
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About the Author
To research his books, Sean Black has trained as a bodyguard in the UK and Eastern Europe, spent time inside America's most dangerous Supermax prison, Pelican Bay in California, undergone desert survival training in Arizona, and ventured into the tunnels under Las Vegas.
A graduate of Oxford University, England and Columbia University in New York, Sean lives in Dublin, Ireland.
When he’s not writing, Sean trains in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. In 2019 he became the first amputee in Ireland to be awarded his blue belt. He competes regularly, including at the 2020 European Championships in Lisbon.
His Ryan Lock and Byron Tibor thrillers have been translated into Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portugese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Contents
About the Book
Praise for Sean Black
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Epilogue
Also by Sean Black
About the Author