Never Die
N.L. HOFFMANN
Table of Contents
Title Page
Never Die
AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Never Die
Copyright © 2016 by N.L. Hoffmann
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All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1979, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior express, written consent of the author.
Cover Art: N.L. Hoffmann and Amy Jensen
Editing: Missed Period Editing for Indies
To my husband...
AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are so many people that I have to thank. You have all been by my side, supporting me in more ways than one. Some of you have been there since I first began to publish. There are even those of you that have been there since I started writing when I was in middle school. For that, I will always be grateful. Without your support, I wouldn’t have made that jump.
My family has been supportive since the start. Without your encouragement, I wouldn’t have believed in myself enough to hit that publish button. Thank you to my husband for dealing with the evil glares whenever I’m interrupted.
I will forever be grateful for my amazing beta team. A lot of you have been with me since the beginning and not many authors can be so lucky. Your support has been great. You have helped me grow since the beginning. I consider you my closest confidants and friends. I hope you’ll remain with me forever! I love you Ruth, Amy, Lee Ann, Sara, Amanda, Pamela, Christy, Christine, Reesa, and Tanner.
Lee Ann and Sara, thanks for continuously having my back. You make sure the world knows I exist.
Also, I would like to mention my wonderful friend CJ. You’re a great author and an amazing friend.
Chapter One
“I want you to cut his balls off.”
I barely had time to open the door before my ten o’clock appointment started talking to me. She sashayed in, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from her purse. She was about to light one up, but I grabbed it from her fingers as it pressed to her lips. “You can’t smoke in here.” Some people just lacked respect. Everyone knows that most places don’t allow smoking anymore.
Disappointed, she tossed them back into her oversized purse and then slung it onto one of my plush visitor chairs. “Do you understand, Ms. Cole? I want him screaming on the ground as I stand over him, laughing my ass off.”
“That’s not the kind of work I do, Mrs. Thatcher.”
I closed the door and then went around my desk to take a seat. Usually, the women that came to see me were crying, barely able to speak. Every once in a while I got an angry one, but there were few who wanted to murder or cause bodily harm. When those came to me, they were looking for proof, because they didn’t know for sure. Cheating spouses were my specialty as a private investigator. I handled other cases as well, but cheating spouses were common, and becoming more of an issue every day.
I grabbed my favorite pen, ready to take notes from our conversation. I had a feeling this case was going to be a doozy. This woman reeked of drama. “From the tone of our conversation on the phone, you think your husband is cheating?”
The woman laughed, mouth wide-open, showing her perfect white teeth. Her name was Mary Thatcher. I knew some Thatchers in my old hometown, but the name had to be common enough in Chicago, right? Plus, she smelled of money, from the look of her designer clothing and Louboutin heels. Her straight, blonde hair was done up in a fancy hairdo. Don’t even ask me the name of it, because I have always been clueless on hairstyles. I knew how to do a bun, a ponytail, and just leaving it down. I tried to do fancier things once in a while, but I usually ended up frustrated and throwing the brush across the bathroom.
“I know he’s cheating.”
“Then why do you need me?” I asked, getting annoyed with her. Patience was one of my virtues, but something about this woman irritated me.
She leaned forward, putting a hand on top of mine. “I need proof of the cheating for our divorce. Those are the conditions in order for me to get any of his money.”
Understanding, I pulled my hand away, not liking how cold hers was despite the hot weather outside. “How did you find out he was cheating?”
Mary sat back, crossing one bare leg over the other. “We haven’t fucked in months. When I met that man, he was a horn-dog. It’s in their nature, but I should have figured he would have strayed, from his history. After all, he cheated on his last wife with me. Can’t change a leopard’s spots and all that.”
Pinching my nose, I tried not to breathe. She was wearing a lot of perfume. I had to check to see if there were any flames coming from my nostrils, since it felt like they were on fire. It was like she’d bathed in the stuff. Maybe even drank some of it to sweat it out of her pores. The smell filled my office and it made me want to open a window, but I refrained to avoid insulting her. “What do you mean it’s in their nature?”
A startled look came over her face, but she immediately replaced it with the mask of a woman without a care in a world. “I mean, the Thatcher boys are known for getting around.”
Nodding, I wrote down a couple of notes. “Does he work in town? Where does he hang out?”
“He’s in Missouri—that’s where we live.”
I dropped my pen. I hadn’t been back to Missouri in years, not since I was fifteen. By then I’d left my family behind to live with a relative in Chicago. The living situation here wasn’t any better, but at least it got me away from my immediate family. With all the shit I’d been through, it was surprising I was even alive.
Shaking my head, I sat back in my chair. “I don’t take cases outside of Illinois.”
Mary frowned and then pouted. “I know you do. Someone told me you’re the best out there, and that I should come all the way up here to ask you for help. I need that evidence, without him knowing he’s being followed. He can’t know that I hired you. Plus, I know you’re from the same town. So, you have to know your way around the place.”
“And what town would that be, Mrs. Thatcher?”
“Please, call me Mary.” She gave me a grin that wasn’t as pleasant as she wanted it to appear. “The town is Luna Hill, of course.”
My vision began to darken as my breathing increased. “I’m sorry, but I can’t take your case. You have to leave.”
Obviously put out, Mary inched forward. “You have to. You’re all I have.�
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“There are plenty of investigators closer to home, Mary. This has to be some sick joke to come all the way up here to bring me back to that shithole.” I stood up, bracing myself against the desk. “I can find someone for you, I have a lot of connections in that area.”
“What if I told you that he has my daughter, and he won’t tell me where she is?”
“Then go to the police.”
Mary stood up, clenching her fists as she became more anxious. The control she once had was now completely gone. This was the appearance of a distraught woman, who’d been trying act like nothing affected her for a long time. “They won’t do anything! You know the Thatchers have the local police on their payroll.”
I could feel myself wavering the longer I stared at her, blue eyes pleading with me. After what felt like an eternity of silence, I finally nodded. “You need to tell me everything.” Giving in was the last thing I wanted to do. But would I be a good investigator if I didn’t help the woman find her child? Why the hell did she have to mention the kid?
She sat back down, tears beginning to stream from her eyes. “He took her from me about a month ago to punish me for accusing him of cheating. It’s what he does. The man has to control everything, even if it means causing the person he loves unimaginable pain. I have no idea where he’s keeping her. I’ve already tried hiring local investigators, but even they turn up nothing.”
Sitting back down, I wrote some more notes. “If he’s a control freak like you say, then he might have a lot of connections, including control over those investigators. A man can have a lot of reach, depending on how resourceful he is. If you’re talking about the Thatchers I used to know, then their reach goes pretty far.”
Damn, the last thing I wanted to deal with was the Thatcher family. They were known to have their hands in a lot of pies. Illegal ones, like drugs and stolen property. When I was growing up, my dad was one of their biggest customers. The man was always high on something. Then my mother became one of their whores. Like I said, they had their fingers in a lot of pies. I was lucky to get out of there when I did because once I’d hit puberty, they started looking to drag me into the same business as my mother.
“Just know that I’ll pay for everything. You won’t want for a single thing, Riley.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a stack of cash, dropping it onto the desk. “This is all yours. Just help me catch Lance cheating, and then find my daughter. We need to escape this man before he does something serious to either one of us.”
*
After Mary left, I spun my chair around so I could look out the window of my office. I would have to clear everything from my schedule to take care of this case. This would be longer than my average week, I could already tell. It would be impossible to get around town unnoticed. They would know who I was instantly. I wasn’t sure if that would help or work against me.
I grabbed my cell phone, glancing down at the screen as it lit up, ready for me to do something with it. Someone would need to know where I went just in case something happened. There was only one person I trusted in my life, and that was my best friend, Alex Ramos. He would be completely against me going, but there was no way I would leave a little girl in the hands of a vicious Thatcher. Especially not Lance Thatcher. By the time I was fifteen, he’d already killed a man. That was the rumor, anyway. He was accused of rape by several girls in the high school, but of course, he got away with it. Why Mary ended up with someone like him was beyond me. He must have put up a good front to have her swooning at his feet.
Finding Alex’s number, I put the phone to my ear, listening to the ringing. After about three, it went to his voicemail. He must have been at work, considering it was before five. I left a message explaining I was leaving that night to go to Missouri, and to call me when he gets the message. He was going to throw a fit about me returning home, there was no doubt about it.
We had been best friends since I moved in with my aunt. Living in the south side of Chicago, there were only a few people I talked to, considering most of them were into a more dangerous lifestyle. Plus, it was obvious that I was an outsider. Alex’s protection helped me survive until I reached adulthood. From there, I went to college and paved my own way. My aunt has long since died, so Alex was my only family left. The only family that mattered, anyway.
I got up to grab my things, making sure my gun was in its holster like it was supposed to be. Knowing what I was about to go into, I would need a hell of a lot more firepower than just my gun. Alex would have a stash I could raid since he was an ex-Marine. The man was a firearm nut, and had almost everything under the sun. If you wanted to defend yourself from an army, his house would be the best place to go.
Chapter Two
Alex was going to hear it from me. What I found in his house was a surprise, and let me know more about my best friend than I cared to. As I was headed down the I-44 West, I pressed the button for the car to call Alex. I had to tell him what I found. Hours had passed since I called him the first time. He hadn’t responded back as fast as I expected, so it was time for me to check in again, anyway.
The phone started ringing through the car from the speakers. After the first ring, Alex picked up, out of breath. Odd.
“Riley?”
“There you are! How’s my little pervert doing?” I asked, grinning from ear to ear.
Alex was silent for a couple of seconds, but he finally responded. “I can’t believe you found that room. It’s not what you think.”
“I think it is. Sounds like Alex likes to be told what to do in his spare time.” I chuckled when I heard him inhale loudly.
“Can we not talk about it?”
“Talk about what? That you have a secret room with a lot of dirty toys? This is a side I never knew about you.”
“It’s a new thing. Nothing you should be concerned about.” He sounded annoyed now, almost eager to get off the phone with me due to the embarrassment. “What we should be talking about is why the hell you’re going down to that piece of shit town? I don’t care that you took a case, there is no reason for you to go back.”
I sighed, squeezing the steering wheel as I became more anxious. Thinking about it was making it harder for me to continue down the road. But I had to help Mary. She needed my assistance, and I knew how to get around the assholes from my town. Anyone else would probably end up dead—which could possibly still happen to me, and from the sounds of it, Alex thought the same thing.
“Let me come down there with you. Just pull over, and I’ll catch up,” Alex insisted.
Debating, I almost agreed, but then thought about it some more. Alex had a bad temper, and probably couldn’t handle the shitty attitude of the town. People weren’t friendly, and more often than not, said what was on their mind before considering the consequences. He would end up in jail before I could stop him from doing something stupid. Plus, he had a huge ego. After becoming a Marine, he thought of himself as invincible. It was hard to go out in public with him most of the time, especially to a bar. He spent most of the time on guard for perverts, rather than having fun.
“I don’t think your new girl would like that. From the pictures I found, she might just punish you.” I held back the laughter that was bubbling up.
“Pictures? They weren’t just lying around to be seen. You went digging!”
I couldn’t stop it. I burst out laughing, unable to control the tears that began to spill over. Driving was becoming difficult, so I closed my mouth, regaining control of myself. “You can’t have a secret room and not expect me to look around. As your best friend, it’s my job to snoop.”
“It’s an invasion of privacy, Riley.”
“You lost privileges for privacy once you agreed to be friends with me.”
Alex started laughing, not at all mad. “Just keep what you saw to yourself.”
“Another perk of being my best friend. Your secrets are my secrets.”
“About you going down to Missouri,” his tone became serious
suddenly, “you call me if you get into any trouble. I don’t like you going down there, but you never listen to what I say, anyway.”
“I’ll call if I need you.”
“Check in every night. You miss one night, and I’m there.”
After we got off the phone, I sighed. I felt relieved to have someone there for me. Though, I hoped it didn’t come down to him actually showing up. I could take care of myself, but the Thatchers had a lot of people on their side. It made me nervous, but I was still determined to help free Mary and her daughter. The police really should be involved, but for as long as I could remember, they always ignored the Thatchers’ operations. They benefited handsomely from letting them work illegally, and no one was brave enough to turn them in for it.
Around two hours later, I was finally getting off the highway to find my destination. My stomach began to turn, clearly unhappy with the idea that I was about to be in my hometown again. It was about another thirty minutes of traveling down back roads before I would get there. They were surrounded by trees and open grass fields that cows were grazing in. Some of the houses were rundown and probably close to being condemned, but then there would be others that still portrayed that country-home feeling.
I passed through one town where there were two gas stations and a grocery store. Last time I came this way there had only been the gas station. Five more miles and I would be in Luna Hill. I squeezed the steering wheel, wondering where I should start. There was a motel in town, a newer one that Mary had suggested to me. Unfamiliar faces would be noticed immediately. Mine—probably more so. I was nervous and wanted to turn around. My life in Luna Hill hadn’t been the easiest. I basically raised myself from five years old, begging for food from the local restaurant and the neighbors. My parents often forgot I even existed, sometimes locking me in a closet and not remembering for a day or so that I was in there.
Usually, someone would have to come looking for me. Frequently, it was the woman who owned the restaurant in town. She looked after me. Sometimes it went as far as letting me stay at her house to get cleaned up because the water and the electricity would be shut off at my place. When my parents were made to sober up, they would come looking for me and I would be forced to go home. The cops made sure of it, because the Thatcher didn’t want to have problems with their best customer and prized whore.
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