by Matt Rogers
She shook her head.
‘Then let’s go get him. We’re making the best of a bad situation.’
‘Do you think it’s bad? Running? Starting over? Isn’t that your specialty?’
‘It’s become that way.’ He reached over, cupped her chin with one hand. ‘You want out, you say so. I know you said you feel alive, but maybe that’s just adrenaline, masking the way you really feel. I don’t know. I’m not privy to what goes on in your head. But know this: you’re not obliged to stay with me. You can start fresh. Whenever you want.’
She looked him deep in the eyes, made sure he was paying attention. ‘Never.’
‘You mean that?’
She inhaled, summoning the energy to speak her mind. ‘I knew what I was getting into from the jump. This life … it’s extreme highs and lows. Extreme emotions, extreme … everything. But better that — better clawing tooth and nail to wring everything out of this one shot we get on this planet — than the alternative. I saw the way my life was headed before I met you. A cushy job, a nice home, a successful life by almost anyone’s measure. I had my own apartment in New York City, for God’s sakes. People would kill for that. But I saw it for what it was. A life where I’d never poke the walls of the box. Never take a peek at what was on the other side. With you, in the space of one evening — back when the power went out in Manhattan — I understood what was really possible. That there’s a potential reality where I become everything I was ever capable of being.’
She paused for breath, then continued. ‘And I knew it would be like this. Brutal. Conflicting. I knew it’d take me down into the depths of my soul and rip me apart, choosing to deal with the shit that everyone just turns a blind eye to. There’s a reason people ignore corruption, even support it. Because it’s complicated, and it’s messy to stand up to it, to deal with it. And the existence you chose … well, I could see it. You sought out corruption. You looked for problems, so you could solve them. So your life is this chaotic rollercoaster of destruction, but you’re going to sit back at the end of it and realise you probably did more for this world than anyone could ever hope to.’
He could tell she’d been meaning to say these things for a long time.
She cleared her throat, trying to stop herself welling up. ‘I just hope that maybe I can do one percent of what you’ve done. Then, when I’m lying on my deathbed, I might find the peace that so many of us fail to find, because there’s that voice in their head whispering, Maybe you could have done more.’
The words resonated deeper with him than he’d ever anticipated.
She said, ‘When I first met you, I could see — whether you realised it or not — that you were aiming to die with nothing left in you. And I didn’t need to think about it for very long to realise that I desperately wanted to do the same.’
Dead silence.
After a few seconds, she smirked. ‘Okay. I’m done. Thoughts?’
‘I think,’ Slater said, leaning forward to adjust the Glock against his hip, ‘that you understand me completely.’
He knew, above all else, that was what she’d been hoping to hear.
She put the Range Rover in “Drive,” before pulling a U-turn to head for Chestnut Hill.
By dawn they’d all be out of Massachusetts, in unending motion, on the perpetual search for two things: a place of refuge, and a problem to solve.
89
King didn’t wave or smile or say a word as he trudged up the Dunfields’ driveway.
Bill and Alice watched from the front porch. Noah clutched his mother’s leg.
Two days hadn’t fixed much. The headaches were incessant, post-concussion symptoms in full effect, and King’s left arm rested in a real sling, fashioned by a trauma doctor they’d paid under the table. His elbow was properly treated and sterilised, both at the entry and exit wounds. There’d be scars. His face was a mass of bruises and cuts.
Noah burrowed his face into Alice’s dress, scared by the sight.
King stopped before the steps. The porch cancelled out his height advantage, but only just. He usually towered over them. Now they were close to level.
Alice said, ‘Are we safe?’
King nodded. ‘They never wanted you.’
Bill reflexively touched a hand to Noah’s shoulder, a protective instinct. ‘What happened?’
King could only shake his head.
Alice’s voice was soft. ‘Please.’
King met her stare. ‘There’ll be some headlines this morning, when the papers come out. Then there’ll be more in the next few days. A press conference, too. You can piece it together.’
Bill could read King’s tone. ‘You’re going, aren’t you?’
‘We have to. There’s nothing left for us here.’
‘We heard the commotion a couple nights back. Smelled the smoke. I jogged down a couple of streets, saw what happened.’
‘My friend, Slater … they got his house, too.’
‘I know. I saw.’
Alice said, ‘Violetta? Junior?’
‘Coming with me.’
No judgment.
Only concern.
‘I want you to know,’ King said, looking at each of them in turn, ‘you both gave me a taste of normal.’
Bill said, ‘That sounds like an insult.’
‘With everything I’ve done, everywhere I’ve been … it’s the opposite.’
Bill hesitated.
King said, ‘I’ll miss the morning training sessions. The dinners, the wine, the laughter. The friendship.’
Alice said, ‘Once I learned who you were, I figured you’d have only been tolerating those.’
‘No. Again, the opposite. Who I am … it makes moments like those even more important.’
‘And you’re leaving it behind.’
‘For now.’
Bill said, ‘You might be back?’
‘Maybe.’
King knew he wouldn’t. That moment of terror, thinking they’d been swept up in the crossfire, gunned down alongside Violetta in Ingleside Park…
He’d never put them through that again.
He smiled at them one last time, and turned around.
Alice said, ‘Jason.’
He looked back.
She said, ‘Keep Junior safe. Nothing else matters.’
With his good arm, he gestured to his plethora of injuries. ‘All of this … everything … it’s only for him.’
She nodded.
Eyes wet.
He walked away from any hope of a normal life.
KING AND SLATER WILL RETURN…
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Books by Matt Rogers
THE JASON KING SERIES
Isolated (Book 1)
Imprisoned (Book 2)
Reloaded (Book 3)
Betrayed (Book 4)
Corrupted (Book 5)
Hunted (Book 6)
THE JASON KING FILES
Cartel (Book 1)
Warrior (Book 2)
Savages (Book 3)
THE WILL SLATER SERIES
Wolf (Book 1)
Lion (Book 2)
Bear (Book 3)
Lynx (Book 4)
Bull (Book 5)
Hawk (Book 6)
THE KING & SLATER SERIES
Weapons (Book 1)
Contracts (Book 2)
Ciphers (Book 3)
Outlaws (Book 4)
Ghosts (Book 5)
Sharks (Book 6)
Messiahs (Book 7)
Hunters (Book 8)
Fathers (Book
9)
Tyrants (Book 10)
Monsters (Book 11)
Rogues (Book 12)
LYNX SHORTS
Blood Money (Book 1)
BLACK FORCE SHORTS
The Victor (Book 1)
The Chimera (Book 2)
The Tribe (Book 3)
The Hidden (Book 4)
The Coast (Book 5)
The Storm (Book 6)
The Wicked (Book 7)
The King (Book 8)
The Joker (Book 9)
The Ruins (Book 10)
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Meet Ruby Nazarian, a government operative for a clandestine initiative known only as Lynx. She’s in Monaco to infiltrate the entourage of Aaron Wayne, a real estate tycoon on the precipice of dipping his hands into blood money. She charms her way aboard the magnate’s superyacht, but everyone seems suspicious of her, and as the party ebbs onward she prepares for war…
Maybe she’s paranoid.
Maybe not.
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About the Author
Matt Rogers grew up in Melbourne, Australia as a voracious reader, relentlessly devouring thrillers and mysteries in his spare time. Now, he writes full-time. His novels are action-packed and fast-paced. Dive into the Jason King Series to get started with his collection.
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www.mattrogersbooks.com
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