CANARY

by Tijan

  Nothing.

  He didn’t pull a gun, and I looked around, wondering if his other guys were here somehow.

  Then Raize spoke, “You think not having hills or trees around here would stop me?”

  Estrada frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re right, Marco. I didn’t just bring those two men with me, and me sending them away wasn’t for the reason you’re thinking.”

  “What am I thinking?”

  “That I sent them away to regroup and come up behind you.”

  Estrada went rigid, and I was pretty sure he hadn’t been thinking that because his head and his men’s heads whipped to look behind us.

  That’s when Raize moved.

  He darted forward. Watching him now, I knew that I’d always be mystified by him. He moved quickly and soundlessly, and no one saw him except for me. All of Estrada’s men had fallen for the trick.

  When Estrada turned back, Raize was in front of him, his hand on Estrada’s gun.

  He took it, flipped it around, and had Estrada turned against his chest in an instant. Raize put Estrada’s gun to his head and started barking orders.

  “Release her now!”

  The guy holding my arm let go, and I took off. Abram jerked forward to catch me, but I swung around him, anticipating his move. A gunshot hit the rock right next to Abram and he stepped back, letting me pass.

  I ran past Raize and Estrada.

  Raize had the gun back on Estrada…

  Wait, no. Raize hadn’t moved the gun. That meant he wasn’t alone after all. The shot that moved Abram had come from out in the desert. And I wasn’t the only one coming to that conclusion. Abram’s eyes rounded, and so did Estrada’s.

  “Get in the truck,” Raize told me.

  I nodded, going right to the vehicle and climbing in. The windows were down so I could hear as he continued speaking.

  “I’m not the idiot you think I am, Marco. I came with my own insurance and my own offer for you. Everything will be relayed to Roman, and we can go from there, but if you decide to work with him, that’s between you and him. I have my own offering so you can lay down this death wish for me. I can’t do my job to the best of my ability if the guy I’m supposed to be working with wants me dead.”

  “I’m listening,” Estrada growled with his hands in the air.

  “You want to know if Jorge killed your brother?”

  “You know that?”

  “I can’t offer you proof, but I can offer you the knowledge if Jorge killed him or not. That’s my bargaining chip.”

  Raize was banking a lot on this need Estrada wanted to know if someone killed this Jorge guy. A lot.

  “And if I don’t want it?”

  “Then I walk and my boss sends someone else in my place to offer another deal—but with less benefits for you. You won’t be getting into Russia anymore.”

  “You have that much faith in your boss?”

  “I do.”

  Estrada was quiet, and for whatever reason, Raize let him go.

  He jerked away, rounding and glaring at Raize, then at me.

  “You care about that girl.” He grinned, and the look was ugly. “My sister will be heartbroken.”

  “I don’t know why she would be, but I left because you sent a death squad for my head. I’m back to set this up.”

  “What if I require that you’re the go-between if this partnership is to start?”

  Estrada was goading Raize. I just didn’t know why.

  Abram watched them like a hawk.

  “You make that requirement and I retract the offer for you to find out whether Jorge killed your brother.”

  I couldn’t see Estrada’s reaction to that, but Raize was holding his own. He seemed unflappable, almost bored at times, though I didn’t think anyone believed that. It was just his way of goading Estrada.

  It was working.

  There were lines of frustration around Estrada’s mouth.

  What was the history here? What had been between Raize and Estrada’s sister?

  “You’ve been given the offer, both offers. Take a day to decide.”

  Estrada clipped his head in a nod, and Raize turned his hand, emptying the gun into the dirt before tossing it back to Abram. Then he turned and walked back to the truck. As he did, three figures rose up from the desert, all wearing camouflage—Raize’s second team. Each carried a long rifle, and I was sure they had other weapons on their bodies. They came over, climbed into the truck bed, and without saying a word, Raize started the engine and reversed.

  We went one way.

  Estrada went the other.

  22

  Ash

  Raize didn’t speak the entire drive back.

  He looked me over before we left, but that was it. He drove to the motel. The guys got out and went inside, and we drove away.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked once we were alone.

  I shook my head, hugging myself.

  “What do you want?”

  My stomach growled. “Anything. How long was I with them?”

  “Less than a day.”

  Oh. “I passed out. Came to when they were bandaging my arm. They had their own doctor.”

  “He’s a good doc. I know him.”

  Right. Because you came from them.

  “You killed a man?” Raize asked after a moment.

  I nodded, a lump forming in my throat. I’d blocked that out.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Wait. I had to. “There was a woman and her son,” I told him. “They saw me, saw what I did. There was a dog, too.”

  The air turned frosty, but I was too tired to hold my breath. Raize’s reaction was going to be his reaction. I wasn’t scared of him anymore, though I should’ve been. You should be scared of everyone in this world.

  “A woman? A kid?” he said, sounding incredulous.

  I nodded. “Yeah,” I whispered.

  “Give me the address.”

  My heart slammed against my ribcage. “Raize. No.”

  “Give me the address.”

  No.

  No.

  He could not—he’d kill them. I would not have a hand in that.

  He lowered his voice, “If I don’t take care of them, Estrada will—if he hasn’t already.”

  I shrunk down in my seat, wrapped my arms as tight around myself as I could. “They’re innocents.”

  “They saw your face.” He sighed. “I need an address. If you don’t give it to me, I’ll have Jake look through police records. They would’ve called the police. I’ll find them that way.”

  I shook my head. “Raize, I can’t.”

  He fell silent and we drove for a bit, but then he spoke, “Estrada won’t just execute them. He’ll take the woman and sell her. He’ll do the same with the kid. This happened today. That means if I don’t get to them, they will. Tonight. They’ll come in the middle of the night, and they will wipe out everyone in the house. Wife. Husband. Child. Teenagers. It doesn’t matter. I need an address.” He hit the steering wheel, barking out, “Now!”

  I jumped.

  Raize had never been violent toward me, but I heard his frustration, with rage simmering just underneath.

  “Raize,” I whispered, tears sliding down my face.

  They were like my sister.

  They were innocent.

  That little boy…

  “I can’t.”

  He expelled a ragged breath. “At least let me find them and relocate them.”

  I looked over, not sure if I could trust the hope springing up in my chest. “What?”

  “If I get to them first, we can control what happens. If I don’t, they’re gone no matter what. You have to see I’m the better option here.”

  Raize was a killer. He’d kill them.

  But… Estrada.

  He was right about Estrada.

  “You don’t think they’ve gotten to them yet?”

  “No. Did she call the cops?”r />
  I nodded. “I told her to give them a different description of me. She was already on the line.”

  “That means cops might already have them under surveillance, but Estrada has men on the force. I’m a ghost here. I can do this. Let me. It’ll be more merciful. I promise.”

  God.

  I couldn’t.

  He’d kill them.

  But Estrada couldn’t get them either. That was worse, so much worse.

  I heard myself whispering the address, and a second later, Raize had the truck whipped around.

  We drove by the house first, and spotting a marked police car, Raize kept going. We went to get food for me, and I ordered extra, hoping I’d be able to give it to the woman and her son. I hoped against hope, because I didn’t know what Raize would do.

  But then we came back, parked around the block, and we waited.

  When dusk settled in, Raize handed me my gun and gave me instructions to shoot if anyone but him showed up. He left, pulling on a gray hoodie from the back of the truck. He put the hood up and ran down a back alley between houses. Then I saw him cut through someone’s yard.

  I rolled my window down, just a smidge.

  I kept expecting to hear a dog barking or gunshots, but I heard nothing.

  A minute passed. Nothing.

  Five, still nothing.

  My stomach twisted, and I knew something was wrong.

  Fuck. Fuck! Fuck!

  I hated this shit. I hated this life.

  The image of my sister flashed in my head.

  Could I give her up? Stop looking for her? Escape and return to my old life?

  Who was I kidding?

  What life?

  I knew the answer before I started moving. In one motion I reached for the door handle and tucked my gun inside my shirt. I shut the door so it only clicked softly, because my life might depend on it.

  With my head down, I moved through the houses, feeling my soul pull away from my body because I knew—I just knew that what I’d find in that house would change me. Again.

  This was another line I was going to cross.

  For them. The woman. Her son. For my sister.

  And for Raize, too.

  I crept forward until I got to the sidewalk.

  My insides clenched, but I kept moving forward. It felt a little like I was watching myself from outside my body.

  An eerie calm washed over me, even as I raged on the inside, already tasting blood.

  When I got to the marked car, it was empty. Going along a white fence between the house and the neighbors’, I was listening. I heard nothing, from either house.

  It was dark now. Dusk had come and gone.

  Still. Nothing.

  There was an opening in the fence. I slipped the lock, swinging the door open. One of the hinges creaked, and I caught it, holding my breath. After a moment I eased through and closed it, quietly this time. No creak.

  As I moved closer the back door opened. A guy stepped out. He came out to the back step, looking around.

  He was the guy who’d been holding my arm earlier.

  Where was Raize?

  Pop! It was somewhat muted. How could I hear that?

  Then I saw—a window was open. The room had lit up on that pop-pop.

  I knew what that sound had been, but as I jerked forward, a hand covered my mouth. An arm wrapped around me, picked me up, and eased us back to the side of the house, away from Estrada’s man in the backyard.

  I started kicking, making no sound, until a voice spoke in my ear. “Stop.”

  Raize.

  He moved us around the house, keeping as close to the fence as possible. Once we were on the sidewalk, he put me back on my feet.

  I shoved away from him, whirling around.

  His hand went back on my mouth, and he pressed me to the fence, moving me onto grass. “Stop.” Still quiet, but firm.

  I stopped, but I could feel my heart breaking.

  More innocents, like my sister.

  I hated this world. I hated this life.

  He pressed in closer, his chest against mine, and dropped his mouth to my ear. “They were already inside. The kid wasn’t here.”

  I stiffened.

  He lifted his head, finding my eyes in the dark. “The mom was gone, too. I don’t know what they shot, but no one was inside. I searched the place and got out just as they came in.”

  “There are no cops in the marked car.”

  Raize cursed, but shook his head. “They might be on Estrada’s payroll.”

  “Who’d they shoot in there?”

  “I don’t—”

  There was a sudden rustling sound and footsteps.

  “Hurry!” came on a hushed whisper.

  “Can’t believe they kept a fucking snake in there. Insane. That thing was two seconds from grabbing you.”

  My chest spasmed. They’d killed a snake. I didn’t know how to feel about that.

  “Shut up. You gotta get out of here. We’re going to roll up as if we’re just discovering the house. You got three minutes.”

  “What about their dog?”

  “Who cares about the dog?”

  I grabbed for Raize, my hand curling around his sweatshirt.

  He pressed against me, his head down, his mouth skimming my arm as he watched for them.

  He moved us farther back, into the shadows.

  The men rushed past us, not looking around.

  “What about the dog?” I asked Raize when they’d gone.

  He looked at me. “Are you kidding?”

  I shook my head.

  “He bit you.”

  “What about the dog?”

  “That thing should be in an impound.”

  I pressed against his chest.

  He sighed. “I drugged the dog.”

  Relief hit me hard. My vision blurred, and I rested my head back against the fence.

  “I want the dog.”

  He stared at me.

  Estrada’s men were gone, but we could hear them at the car. We had minutes before this place would be flooded with blue and red.

  I glared at Raize. “I want him.”

  He bit out a curse, and his teeth nipped my earlobe. “Fucking fine. Go to the truck. I’ll grab the dog. Jesus.”

  We wasted no time after that. I went left for the truck. He went right, going back for the dog. I’d just gotten to the truck and opened the door by the time he was there. The dog hung limp in his arms as I jumped up into the seat. He deposited him in my lap and shut the door before sprinting around to his side.

  We’d driven one block and were turning east as a cop car came careening around the corner. The sky turned red and blue after that.

  “What will happen to that family?”

  Raize shook his head. “They’re gone. Police probably have them at a safe house. They might get witness protection, but who knows.” He looked over, and I caught a flash of worry before the stone mask was back in place.

  “What?”

  “They saw you. They can identify you.”

  Dread lined my insides.

  “But if they’re being protected, I don’t think it’s because of you. You said you ran from there?”

  I nodded.

  “Estrada’s guys tracked you down?”

  Another nod. “I was bleeding from the dog bite. I didn’t cover my arm in time. I was out of it.”

  “I’m thinking they saw Estrada’s men—or they were able to identify the guy you killed as one of Estrada’s.”

  “You think they’d take them and protect them because of that?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I think the people got smart, called relatives, and took off. I think the marked car wasn’t supposed to be there tonight. That’s what I think.”

  “That’s a lot of thinking.”

  He shrugged. “All I know is they saw you, and I don’t like that.”

  What about the realtor? I wondered. The other house’s owner?

  They’d se
en me, too, seen Raize. But I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

  All this happening, the personal shit because it was obvious there was personal shit going on, I heard myself asking, “How do you know Estrada? How do you know his sister?”

  He went still, looking back on the road.

  My chest was bursting, needing to know, but Raize didn’t respond.

  He just kept driving.

  I didn’t know if I liked that or not, if I should push or not?

  Then I didn’t. He went back to the house.

  Raize took the dog, not a word spoken between us, and we went inside.

  Jake took one look. “We got a dog?!”

  23

  Ash

  I liked the new place. It was an older home, and it was set back on a big piece of land. I didn’t want to think about how Raize had come to find this, but it had furniture. That was a bonus. I mean, the furniture was old. There were doilies on the wall as decoration pieces, and there were spiderwebs in almost every corner and under the beds. The place needed a full cleaning, which Cavers and I took care of the next day.

  Now that things weren’t so dusty, I really loved having a bed. My spot was situated in the back corner of the second floor. Raize waited until Jake and Cavers were off on an errand and then he’d showed me a hidden door that led to a secret room and to a back exit.

  The new dog’s name was Gus.

  I’d wanted to name him Snake or Biter, but the guys outvoted me and Raize just left the room when asked for his vote.

  So Gus it was.

  After the attack, I got a better look at Gus and I still had no clue what breed he was. Cavers weighed him so we knew he was fifty seven pounds. He had short hair. Ears that stuck up. Smart eyes. His coat was a mix of all colors. He liked to smile and he’d nudged my arm more than once. I always took that as his apology for biting me.

  I’d worried he’d miss that other family, but he hadn’t. So far.

  When he woke from being drugged, he’d been funny. Walking around with his back legs half dragging. His head down. Eyes barely open. He kept walking into things, as if he were blind. Once he really woke up, the tail started going and he hadn’t done a search for his family. He was probably the most adjusted of all of us. That was saying something.

  Raize had had one of his other men watch the house, to see if anyone came for the dog. After three days, no one showed, and Gus was officially ours. Jake confessed later that he’d always liked Gus the mouse from Cinderella, and that had sealed the deal for me. Consider me swayed.