The girl waved her hands in front of her face. “No, no, no, it’s nothing like that. They’re just scared.”
“Of you?” James growled. “Then I definitely need to have a talk with them. Little punks.”
Alison shook her head. “Nope. No one’s afraid of me. I can barely even do magic yet.” She shrugged. “But, you know, after that stuff in LA, you’re kind of famous. I read an article. There’re like fan sites for you.”
“’Fan sites?’”
“Yeah, there’s one called ‘The Scourge of the Harriken.’” She laughed. “There’re a lot of thirsty women on that website who are interested in you.”
James frowned. “I don’t think you should be going to places like that.”
“Okay, okay. I promise I won’t again.” The smirk on her face suggested Alison might ignore his order.
“Wait.” James rubbed his forehead. “I don’t get it. These boys are all scared because they know what happened with the Harriken? I’m doubting there are any bounties here. They get that I’m a bounty hunter, right? It’s not like I just kill random people.”
Alison giggled. “Again, my fault. It’s ‘cause I’ve told everyone my dad is James Brownstone, and that you’re kind of overprotective. I mean, what boy wants to risk making the Scourge of the Harriken mad?”
James stared at her, stunned.
Alison gave him a quick hug. “Okay, I’m going to get back to my room and try to get some stuff set up for tomorrow. I loved spending time with you. Maybe next time Aunt Shay can come.”
“Yeah, yeah,” James replied absentmindedly. “I’m sure she would like that.”
After another quick hug, the girl rolled her suitcases away.
James stared after her.
Dad. He’d started thinking of himself that way, but he hadn’t known Alison had as well. He didn’t know how to even think about being someone’s dad, but he did know one thing.
He damned well liked the sound of it. And, for that matter, “Scourge of the Harriken.”
Sergeant Jackson Mack spent his days processing bounties. He was used to confronting and dealing with some of the most awful beings Earth and Oriceran had to offer. On most days shit didn’t bother him, but as he paced back and forth in front of the door of the small studio apartment his heart thundered.
The cop liked to think of James Brownstone as his friend, as much as a man could be a friend to a force of nature. He’d helped the bounty hunter out on a few occasions—including renting him the apartment after the destruction of his home—but Jackson didn’t know if asking for a favor would be going too far.
Still, Brownstone had been gone all weekend, and now that he was finally back, it was as good as time as any to ask.
“Fuck it. I need to stop being a pussy. It’s not like Brownstone’s going to beat me down for asking. And the roast’s getting cold.” The cop knocked on the door and waited.
A moment later the door swung open, revealing the bounty hunter in a tank top with all his ridiculous muscles on display.
Shit. Better not let my woman see him like that.
“Hey, Brownstone.” The cop nodded.
The bounty hunter nodded back. “What’s up?”
“I had a favor to ask. Want you to go after a bounty.”
Brownstone chuckled. “It’s not a favor to ask me to do my job.”
“Yeah, but this guy, Xander Stevens…he’s not worth your time.”
The bounty hunter’s face scrunched in confusion. “I think you lost me, Mack.”
“This guy Stevens—he’s a level-one bounty, so worthless you won’t earn enough to purchase toilet paper to clean off the shit from touching him.”
“Yeah, you’re not really selling this. Guys like that... Fuck, I normally don’t even get out of bed for less than a level-three.”
The cop nodded. “Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m asking this as a favor.”
Brownstone stared Jackson for a second. “Why do you care so much about a level-one bounty?”
“Because the fucker’s hiding, and he has info related to a case where a cop was killed. We got people looking for him, but you got all sorts of channels we don’t. Just your name makes shit happen, and we need this guy.”
“Okay,” Brownstone agreed. “Send the information to me. I’ve got your back, Mack. I’ll find this little shit and bring him in.”
5
Shay watched Brownstone as he sat on her couch. She hadn’t figured that a simple weekend visit with Alison would have left him so confused. If she’d known the bounty hunter was going to have so much trouble, she’d have made more of an effort to rearrange her schedule.
The man had stopped by about twenty minutes earlier to discuss what had happened over the weekend, including the incident at the bank. That, in particular, left him more than a little worried about his influence on the girl.
“You’re overthinking this, Brownstone,” Shay told him, leaning back in her chair. “You’re not corrupting some poor innocent girl. She’s a teenager who’s interested in exciting things, and even if she’d never met you she’d be doing stupid shit. That’s what teens do, and if she doesn’t end up a teenage professor-killer she’ll be doing better than I did.”
The bounty hunter grunted and shook his head. “I guess... She’s now calling me her dad, which means I have a responsibility. I have to fucking protect her. Shit, I might even have to protect her from myself.”
“You haven’t harmed that girl. You saved her from the Harriken and her dirtbag father, you’ve taken care of her, and you helped hook her up with that school.” Shay laughed. “What’s the matter? Are you so convinced that you’re a piece of shit that you have to look for any evidence to prove it?”
“It’s not like I’m a good guy. I’ve killed a lot of people.”
Shay rolled her eyes. “Excuse me if I’m not weeping that assholes like Sombra and King Pyro are dead. Look, Brownstone, if the sheepdog doesn’t protect the herd from the wolf, the herd gets eaten. The sheepdog is still a wolf deep down in its DNA, but it’s using that aggression to protect instead of harm.” She waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t be so worried.”
“I don’t know.”
“Maybe I’m the last person to be saying something like this, but you do you know it’s okay to let people in, right?” Shay stood and headed toward her kitchen. “And that girl can see souls. If you were a piece of shit she would have seen it, and if you even look like you’re becoming a piece of shit she’ll know. Maybe you should trust her.”
The field archaeologist headed into the kitchen to pour herself some wine from an open bottle. “Want any?”
Brownstone glanced over his shoulder and shook his head. “Nah, I’m okay.”
Shay finished pouring and took a large gulp before refilling her glass. She walked back into the living room, passing behind him on the couch. On impulse, she leaned over and kissed Brownstone on the top of his head.
The man glanced up at her with a faint look of confusion, but nothing approaching anger or discomfort.
Is that too much? Don’t know if I care anymore. Maybe I should take my own damned advice about opening up.
“You’re a good man, Brownstone,” she assured him quietly. “Maybe the only one in this whole rotten town.”
“Plenty of good people out there,” Brownstone argued, looking down at the floor. “It’s about where you look.”
Shay sauntered over to her chair, took a seat, and crossed her legs. She took another sip of her wine before speaking again. “What do you mean?”
“You’re like me. You’ve spent your life staring at scumbags, which makes it hard at times to remember that not everyone’s a scumbag. A lot of people have helped me lately.” He furrowed his brow. “And they didn’t do it because they were afraid of me. Shit, even the gang that searched the remains of my house for my shit did it more out of respect than fear. Mack’s giving me a place to live. The Professor may drink half the alcohol in the county, but he’s alwa
ys trying to keep artifacts from nasty pieces of shit.” Brownstone shrugged. “He’s probably a better man than I am.”
Shay sighed and shook her head. “Just let me deal with you being a good man first. I understand the second time’s easier.”
Grandfather looked at the gathered Harriken leaders kneeling before the table in the dim light provided by a single floating orb. In the days since their last meeting he’d taken the time to plan and decide on the choice of action, and now they needed to be informed.
“Soon, killers will be coming to Tokyo,” the man began. “Killers who will serve as our swords and spears.”
Kodaka, the leader of Harriken operations in South Korea, looked up. “I don’t understand, Grandfather.”
“What’s not to understand? It’s a simple concept.”
“We already paid killers to go after Brownstone and he killed or captured them. How will this be different?”
Several of the gathered men nodded their agreement. Others just waited, their faces impassive, as if they expected Grandfather to signal one of the silent guards lining the walls to kill Kodaka for his mild rebuke.
Grandfather shook his head. “No. Before we offered a bounty, made it a public spectacle, and invited vermin in on the chase. That was foolish, and it allowed Brownstone to control the situation. It was also an insult to true professionals.” He ran a finger along the arm of his chair. “I’ve invited several of these true professionals—assassins of exquisite skill and experience. They will require a premium compared to the bounty, but investing in these people will allow us to kill Brownstone, if not take him alive.”
“Are you sure that we should risk trying to take him alive?” Kodaka asked.
“We risk nothing more than these assassins. A sword might break in a battle, but if it takes the life of the enemy it doesn’t matter. A simple death for Brownstone might not be enough for us to recover our honor. He must be made to suffer, and others must know he suffered so they know the price of defying the Harriken. He will be most properly chastised for his disrespect.” He chuckled quietly. “It’s simple. When facing a monster you must use a monster, so I will be hiring five.”
Shay skimmed through various messages and forums as she considered possible tomb-raider jobs. James sat on the couch skimming through bounties on the LAPD Bounty Hunter Outreach app.
She forced down a laugh at a sudden realization.
When did I start spending so much time just hanging out with Brownstone? Isn’t this cozy? Sure, we’re looking for work, but it’s a little...domestic. Is this just our thing now?
Shay peeked over her phone at Brownstone. He had a bored look on his face, which was cute in a Brownstone kind of way. Plus, when he shifted just right she couldn’t help but appreciate his thick, corded muscles.
She licked her lips but then grimaced, hoping he hadn’t noticed.
Down, girl. We’re just friends and partners—nothing more. Maybe he’s gay, maybe he’s not. Maybe there’s only enough room in his heart for barbecue.
No law against looking, though.
“Anything interesting?” Shay asked. “I mean, any guys who are just screaming to have their asses kicked?”
“Things have been light lately, at least for the level threes and above. A lot of the big bounties are staying out of town, and I don’t want to waste time going after the garbage bounties.”
“Gee, I wonder why so many scumbags decided LA’s a bad place to hang out?” Shay grinned. “Maybe there’s such a thing as being too successful.”
James grunted. “Can always take a trip, I guess.” He returned his attention to the bounty app.
Shay decided to stop looking for tomb-raider jobs and skim a few dark web forums that catered to her previous career as a professional killer. While she had zero interest in taking on any assassination contracts, she liked to check them every once in a while to assure that no one had figured out she was still alive and placed a contract on her or Peyton, her research assistant whose death she had also faked.
“Oh, shit,” she exclaimed after a few minutes.
James looked up from his phone. “What’s wrong?”
“Big call for platinum-grade assassins to go to Tokyo.” Shay sucked in a breath and shook her head. “Fuck, this isn’t good.”
“So what? I’m sure there are plenty of great bounty hunters in Japan. When I talked about taking a trip, I didn’t mean to Japan. I meant down to Mexico or to Texas or some shit like that. Maybe Canada?” He frowned. “Why do they have so few decent bounties?”
“Probably all the maple syrup, but that shit isn’t important.” Shay waved a hand. “Connect the dots, Brownstone. It’s not clear who the client is from these forums, but I’m pretty sure this means the Harriken are done playing. No one throws around this kind of money without a super-big score to settle.”
The bounty hunter snorted. “You call placing a half-million-dollar bounty on me playing around?”
“Yeah, I do.” Shay set her phone on the table in front of her couch. “Look, take it from a former professional killer who was damned good at her job: you want to annoy someone, you do shit like that bounty. A top-level pro doesn’t get involved in messes like the Great Brownstone Hunt. Too many variables, too much shit that can go wrong. One minute you might be setting up to take a guy down and the next you run into another hitman or a jumpy cop.” She tapped the phone. “The kind of killers they want in Japan aren’t gonna be idiots trying to run you off the road or the kind who get led on some wild goose chase into a pack of Marines. These fuckers don’t let ego or simple greed trip them up.”
Brownstone pocketed his phone. “Everything those fuckers have thrown at me I’ve been able to deal with. If they want to have an assassin convention in Tokyo, big fucking deal. Why should I be worried?” He shrugged.
“We need to deal with this. If you wait for these guys to get all set up it’ll be a lot more than your house that gets blown up, especially if they come at you when you don’t have the cops and the Marines watching your back. And that’s if they just come at you.”
The bounty hunter frowned. “What are you getting at?”
“The point is, tough as you are, even you weren’t ready for them to blow up your house. At the pay level they’re offering, we’ll probably get some magic ability, or at least the ability to deal with magic.” Shay narrowed her eyes. She’d not pressed him about the insane level of protection he got from the strange amulet she’d seen him use. “And we both know how ruthless the Harriken are, so…”
“What?”
Shay averted her gaze. “At this level, Alison might not be safe even at that school if we wait too long. Magic can defeat magic. We need to hit them before they decide to attack you where you’re vulnerable.”
An almost feral anger took over James’ face. “If they even fucking sneeze her way I’ll rip them apart.”
“Like I said, we need to take this shit seriously and deal with it. Fuck, let’s just do it Brownstone-style.”
James snorted. “And what’s that?”
“The heavy and direct application of violence until everyone’s dead.” Shay snickered. “I guess that’s Shay-style, too.”
Brownstone nodded. “You’re right. But I can handle this by myself. There’s no reason for you to get involved. The more you do, the more they might start coming after you.”
“If we do this right, there’ll be no one left to come after us. Tokyo’s their base. Cut the head off the dragon and all that shit.” Shay shrugged. “I’m not letting the closest thing I’ve had to a true family get killed,” she muttered under her breath.
“Huh? Didn’t catch the last part.”
“Don’t worry about it. You need someone to watch your back. You think like a bounty hunter, not a killer. I’m a killer.”
Brownstone stared at her. “You’re not a killer anymore.”
“Nah, I’m still a killer. I just don’t get paid to do it.” Shay ran a hand through her dark hair. “Point is,
I think like a killer, and I know how to gather information on people like me. You need me on this, Brownstone, and I’m not gonna take no for an answer just because you have some martyr complex all those priests at the orphanage programmed into you. You don’t get to tell me what I’m allowed to give a shit about.”
The bounty hunter nodded slowly. “Fair enough.” He glanced down at his phone. “I wonder if I should tell Alison about her wish, or even give it to her—just in case.”
Shay raised a brow. “Do you think the time is right to tell her?”
“I have no fucking clue, but it kind of feels that way.”
“Then we should go to Virginia and level with her.”
Brownstone stood, frowning. “Why not just call her?”
“Who the fuck knows what kind of magical wiretap shit they have going on at the school?” Shay tapped her head. “Keep in mind it’s not just a magic school, but a magic school established by the government.”
“I see what you mean. Still, I don’t want to worry her. After all that shit before, it might just be more stress.”
“This is serious shit, and it all leads back to her anyway. We should give her the respect of letting her in on the truth. Not knowing can be a lot worse sometimes.”
“She’s just a kid. She shouldn’t have to deal with stuff like this.”
Shay shrugged. “Life’s a bitch. She shouldn’t have had to deal with her father selling out her mother, but she has a positive attitude despite that. She hasn’t been protected from the kind of bullshit that goes on in our world.”
Brownstone grunted. “You’re right.” He yanked his phone out of his pocket. “Okay, gonna call her school then.”
Shay walked over and placed her hand on his arm. “Look, I know you want to protect her, but trust me…sometimes the best way to protect someone is to be totally and brutally honest with them.”
“Yeah, I know, but just because I agree doesn’t mean I have to like it. Fucking Harriken! I thought they finally got the damned message.”
Shay snickered. “Guess we found someone even more stubborn than you.”
Bring The Pain_An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure Page 4