The Relic Runner Origin Story Box Set

by Ernest Dempsey

  Bo Taylor needed to be the center of Dak's focus. He could sit here in the eye of the storm and enjoy the temporary peace, but the storm was far from over.

  An hour out from Brown's Ferry, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He looked down at the screen, but didn't recognize the number. With a confused scowl, he pressed the answer button.

  "Who is this?"

  Audible, steady breaths came through the speaker.

  "I said, who is this," Dak stated authoritatively, ready to hang up. "No one has this number."

  "I do now," the voice said, the serpentine sound slithering through Dak's ear.

  He didn't have to ask. Dak would recognize that voice anywhere.

  "Before you ask how I got this number, Dak," Bo said, elongating the name, "is it too much for you to say thank you?"

  "Thank you?" Dak asked, deciding to play along.

  "For killing Trask. You would have never gotten to him. You know that, right? He had that mountain rigged to blow sky high if any of us tried to get to him."

  Dak didn't give him the satisfaction of asking how he did it. He'd heard enough about Trask's killing, along with the murder of the sheriff in Cuchara, to figure it was either Taylor or Collier pulling the trigger. In his head, the arrow always pointed toward Bo, even though showing up in the States could have been a huge mistake.

  "Playing coy?" Bo asked. "Fine. Well, now that all the others are gone, I suppose it's just down to you and me, eh, Dak?"

  "The others?"

  "Coy again? You took out three elite soldiers, Dak. Guys you trained with, and in some cases, actually trained. You should be proud."

  "What do you want, Bo? Calling to apologize? Because you're doing a poor job of that."

  Bo laughed. "Me? Apologize? No. Deep down, though, I always knew I couldn't let the others live. I'd be on the run forever, never knowing when the target was on my back, always looking over my shoulder. That's no way to live, Dak. I'm sure you can relate."

  "How did you get this number?" Dak growled the question through gritted teeth.

  "Oh, that? Easy. You only have so many underground connections. I knew of two."

  A sickening thought entered Dak's mind. "If you hurt Will—"

  "Relax, brother. I didn't hurt Will. He's too well-connected with all the wrong people. But his apartment's security is lacking. I found what I needed and got out of there. Quite the view he has."

  Dak could hear the familiar sounds of the Portuguese coast through the speaker. Bo was on the move, no way he'd be in that town or country longer than another hour.

  "Before you think of trying to warn him, don't. I'll be long gone before you have a chance to put up any roadblocks."

  Dak sighed through his nose. "Then what do you want, Bo?"

  "I want this to end. Once and for all."

  Dak inhaled slowly again. "It looks like we finally agree on something."

  Thank You

  Thank you for reading this story, along with the others. If you’re trying to find Brown’s Ferry, Kentucky on a map, you probably won’t. As far as I know, the place doesn’t exist, but I did base it on an area near the Daniel Boone National Forest. There are many gorgeous places to visit there, where the rolling hills seem to go on forever. I highly recommend it if you get the chance. Just be careful. You never know if there’s another Nate out there….

  Other Books By Ernest Dempsey

  Dak Harper Origin Stories:

  Out of the Fire

  You Only Die Once

  Tequila Sunset

  Purgatory

  Scorched Earth

  The Heart of Vengeance

  Sean Wyatt Adventures:

  The Secret of the Stones

  The Cleric's Vault

  The Last Chamber

  The Grecian Manifesto

  The Norse Directive

  Game of Shadows

  The Jerusalem Creed

  The Samurai Cipher

  The Cairo Vendetta

  The Uluru Code

  The Excalibur Key

  The Denali Deception

  The Sahara Legacy

  The Fourth Prophecy

  The Templar Curse

  The Forbidden Temple

  The Omega Project

  The Napoleon Affair

  The Second Sign

  Adriana Villa Adventures:

  War of Thieves Box Set

  When Shadows Call

  Shadows Rising

  Shadow Hour

  The Adventure Guild:

  The Caesar Secret: Books 1-3

  The Carolina Caper

  Beta Force:

  Operation Zulu

  London Calling

  Paranormal Archaeology Division:

  Hell’s Gate

  Acknowledgments

  Big thanks to my editor Anne Storer and all the readers who helped out while the book was being written and posted each day on my website. I can’t thank you enough. There were so many of you kind enough to send your comments. I appreciate you.

  Copyright © 2020 by Ernest Dempsey

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  The Heart of Vengeance

  A Dak Harper THRILLER

  Ernest Dempsey

  One

  Kentucky

  "How do you want to do this, Bo?" Dak asked as he pulled the SUV onto the side of the road.

  He lowered the device and turned it on speaker, then found Will's number. He started to send a text message, but was cut off.

  "I'll tell you how it's going to go down, Dak. And before you try sending your friend a text, don't."

  Dak's fingers froze, hovering over the letters on the screen. He didn't say anything, unwilling to give away his intention. He hated that about Bo. The guy always thought he was a step ahead of everyone else. What really got under Dak's skin—he was usually right.

  "You probably thought you could put me on speaker and send Will a quick message to let him know he'd been compromised or might be in trouble."

  "That's actually a good idea, Bo. Can you give me a second while I set that up?"

  "Funny. At any rate, it won't do you or Will any good."

  Dak didn't like the sound of that. "I thought you said you didn't hurt him."

  A short, forced laugh came through the speaker. "I didn't. Not yet, anyway. What happens to Will depends entirely on you, old buddy."

  "What's that supposed to mean?" Dak didn't want to ask, and he was certain he didn't want the answer.

  "Your friend is… tied up at the moment. With a timed explosive device attached to him. No tricks here, Dak. You'll find him in his apartment in Nazare. Just be sure you get there in the next twenty-four hours or its boom boom for our old friend."

  Dak knew better than to question the sincerity of the threat. "That doesn't give me much time to find a plane ticket."

  "You're a resourceful guy, Dak. I have faith you'll figure it out."

  "Why are you doing this, Bo?" Dak probed. "Leave Will out of it. This is between you and me."

  "Oh, no," Bo countered. "He has everything to do with this. You think I don't know what happened to the others? Luis? Carson? Now, Nate? Of course, I eliminated Billy. I didn't trust you'd be clever enough to get past that sniper. Especially on his mountain stronghold. What was your plan with him? Scope out the property, figure out a way in? You know he had sensors and cameras all over that place. You wouldn't have made it fifty yards onto Purgatory before he spotted you and took you out."

  "You looking for me to say thank you? Because that's not going to happen."

  "I know it won't, Dak. You were always ungrateful. If you'd just played along and helped yourself to some of that gold—"

  "You'd still be trying to kill me and take it all for yourself."

 
Bo snorted audibly through the speaker. "Is that what you think this is about? Me taking everyone else's share?"

  "Sounds like you."

  Another laugh echoed from the device. "I suppose you're right. Thanks to you, I wasn't able to recover much of it, except Billy's of course, and a little of what Luis had set aside. Thankfully, he wasn't terribly clever with how he hid his money."

  "And Nate?"

  "Oooo, well, there you go, Dak. Now you're starting to get it."

  "Not even close."

  "Eh, well. Some dogs can't learn new tricks. I'll get around to Nate's holdings, eventually. After you're dead, obviously. I do appreciate you taking those guys out for me, though. You certainly made things much easier."

  Something about Bo's tone sent a shiver through Dak's spine. The back of his skull tingled and pebbled the skin on his arms. He exhaled, pondering the way Bo made the statement.

  "What are you getting at, Bo?"

  An old blue pickup truck growled by, the muffler sputtering smelly exhaust in its wake.

  "Oh, come on, Dak. You don't see it? Seriously?"

  Dak didn't answer. He wasn't going to give Bo the pleasure.

  "Fine," Bo relented. "Do you think it was through sheer skill or even a little luck that Will was able to track down the others? They covered their tracks, man. You honestly think Will would have been able to find them if he didn't have a little help?"

  What was he saying? Was Will helping Bo all along? Dak shoved the thought aside. He got his answer a second later.

  "I fed him the information, Dak. I had to make it look legitimate, though. I couldn't just push everyone's locations and new names to him all at once. You would have figured it out. At least, I hope you would have."

  "Why would you do that? So I could do your dirty work for you, take out the others?"

  Distant mock clapping filled the SUV.

  "Very good! Jane, show him what he's won!" Bo paused to snicker at his own humor. "Yes, Dak. You have been a marvelous puppet during all of this. Honestly, when I found out you managed to escape the cave, I was disappointed. Surprised? Moderately. But I'd taken precautions."

  Dak knew exactly what he meant by that. Bo told the colonel it was Dak who'd betrayed the team, and the rest of the guys corroborated that story. Bo had covered the bases extremely well, and Dak never realized who was pulling the strings, or that he and the others were all being played.

  "So, now you're luring me into a trap. I go to save Will, if I can even get to Portugal in time, and then we both blow up when I get there."

  "Now, Dak. You sound defeatist. That's not the plan. I hope you save Will. But I need you to jump through a few hoops for me before I let you have a shot at me."

  "You don't have the guts to face me man-to-man."

  "There he is! There's the Dak I know. So brazen. A touch misguided, but brave. If you manage to slip through my tests, of course I'll face you. I've always been the better of us, Dak. You know that. How many times did I beat you when we sparred?"

  Dak knew the exact number. He knew that Bo did, too. The maniac held it over him like a bucket of hot oil, always ready to dump it all over Dak. In training, Bo had been the better of the two hand-to-hand combat fighters. The margin was thin, but it was certainly there. Dak had managed to best his ex-teammate occasionally, but the number of positive outcomes for Dak had been only one in three.

  "I'm sorry I can't chat more with you, Dak. This has been a wonderful little reunion. I do hope that we can have the chance to square off in the near future. I'd love to finally be able to take you down without having to hold back like I did in the sparring ring."

  "I look forward to it."

  The call ended before Dak could say anything else. "Bo? Hello?" Dak slammed his fist down on the passenger seat. He felt his heated blood pumping through every vein in his body.

  He forced himself to breathe, calming his fury. Those wasted emotions wouldn't save Will. And right now, that was all that mattered.

  He merged back onto the road, heading toward Lexington. He'd need to get a flight to Portugal no matter the cost. Will's life hung in the balance.

  Something else tugged at Dak's thoughts as he sped down the country road leading to the highway. Bo had said there were a few hoops to jump through before he would face him.

  What else could there be?

  Two

  Nazaré, Portugal

  Dak stepped out of the cab with his rucksack slung over one shoulder. He quickly paid the driver a fistful of euros and hurried toward the apartment building entrance.

  The driver must have thought him a crazy person, hunched over and rushing forward with knees bent to stay low. If the cabbie thought anything of it, the man didn't stick around long enough to ask. He sped away, probably anxious to get to his next fare, though with the money Dak tipped him, the guy could take the rest of the day off and still end up way ahead.

  Dak gave no thought to the exorbitant amount of money he'd spent just to get to Will's doorstep. The first class flight probably cost more than the cab driver would make in a month, but it was the only seat left on the only flight that could get Dak to Lisbon in time.

  He stopped at the door and crouched low, digging his old key out from the front pouch of his bag. He hoped it would still work, but if it didn't, he'd still find a way in—whatever it took.

  The building, with all its upgrades and amenities, still utilized an old-style key system instead of a digital keypad like most modern apartments and condominiums, though he'd seen the same in several places across Europe.

  Dak inserted the key into the lock and then paused as he considered the possibility that Bo could have rigged the door to blow when someone opened it.

  He grunted in frustration. Will probably had a device inside the apartment that could detect an electronically detonated booby trap. The irony twisted Dak's gut into knots.

  It took a second for Dak to get a grip on the situation. He was being incredibly paranoid. Bo couldn't have rigged this door to blow. It was a central entrance. By the time he left the previous day, hundreds of people would have come and gone through this doorway. Dak shook his head for the idiotic oversight, though he wanted to give himself a break due to the exhaustion of travel and the lack of sleep.

  He twisted the key in the lock and opened the door. A tendril of relief trickled over him, even though he'd already talked himself off the irrational ledge. He lowered his shoulder and barged through the door into the foyer. Forgoing the elevator, Dak charged up the stairs, giving no thought to the heavy sound of footfalls echoing throughout the stairwell.

  He must have checked his watch a hundred times between the airport and the apartment, and a hundred more on the flight to Lisbon. Every glance renewed the tightness in his chest, throwing jet fuel on the anxiety that racked him with every passing second.

  Luck, it seemed for now, was on Dak's side. He'd arrived at the apartment with more than an hour to spare, but he knew that would evaporate in a blink if he didn't move fast.

  Dak rounded the first landing, taking the steps two at a time as he bounded upward. He ignored the warming in his leg muscles as he whipped around the second landing, then the third. His pace slowed slightly just before he reached the top and burst through the door into the corridor.

  No need to check the clock now, he thought.

  He sprinted to the end of the hall and scuffled to a stop at Will's door. If Bo had set a trap, it would be here. Bo didn't care about collateral damage. If he destroyed the whole top floor, it wouldn't bother him.

  There'd been a couple of missions in Iraq when Bo called in airstrikes while civilians were still in the area. Fortunately, his orders were overridden and no one was hurt, but those occasions told Dak everything he needed to know about Bo and the way he viewed human life.

  Dak needed to know if this door was rigged to blow or if Bo had given him half a chance to get in and save his friend.

  Raising his hand, fearful that there could be an audio sensor
attached to the door that would set off the explosives, Dak rapped on the door four times. He hit the surface hard enough that even if Will had been in the bathroom, he would have heard it.

  Dak cupped his hands to his mouth and pressed them against the door as he yelled. "Will? You okay?"

  "Dak?" Will's muted response was barely audible through the door.

  "Yeah, it's me. Did he set any traps around the entrance?"

  "Get out of here, Dak. No reason for you to die here."

  "Answer my question or I'm coming in."

  Silence answered. Then a reluctant "No, it's not booby trapped."

  That was good enough for Dak. He inserted the key into the keyhole and twisted it. He winced as he turned the key, then again when he heard the click. No ball of fire consumed him. Not that he would have known if it did. But he still stood there in the hall, alive—for the moment.

  "I'm coming in, Will." Dak made the announcement as he turned the knob and gently nudged the door inward. He immediately checked the doorframe for anything that could be used to trigger a detonation. Relieved that the trim was clean, Dak pushed the door open until he could slip through the gap, happy to swing it only as far as needed.

  Dak flashed a look across the room and found his friend strapped to his desk chair with what looked like forty feet of duct tape.

  Will stared back at his friend with eyes full of exhaustion and apathy. He bore the look of a man who'd given up all hope and resigned to the fact he was going to die in this room.

  "You stubborn moron," Will spat. "I told you to leave me alone."

  "Actually, you told me to get out of here."