by H. P. Bayne
“We’ll call with news,” Dez promised them before sliding in behind the wheel of his SUV.
“Hope it’s good,” Sully muttered from the passenger seat before cracking a yawn.
A chill hung in the air, not at all unusual for October in this part of the country. Dez cranked the heat up full before turning the fan up a notch and putting the vehicle into drive. He gave the Wynnes one last wave.
Then they were off, away from the house, over the little bridge and down the lane.
From there, it was almost three hours to their crossing for the Forks, depending on the traffic situation in Kimotan Rapids and how busy the drive-thrus were. Dez had already decided to stop at the first fast-food joint he saw to pick up some breakfast sandwiches for them. No way he was going to the Forks on an empty stomach. He’d turned down Neil’s offer to make them breakfast, wanting to hit the road sooner rather than later. He wanted to ensure they got to Ravenwood Hall in plenty of time.
Words he never thought he’d hear himself thinking.
Sully had fallen back asleep almost as soon as they’d left Willow Valley, leaving Dez to strain to hear the music he’d put on quietly in the background. It wasn’t much, but he was happy for any distraction as he continued back in the direction of KR. Once they reached their ultimate destination, it was anyone’s guess as to how things would go.
He’d never been a fan of guesswork.
His mood improved as he pulled up shortly before ten at the spot on the riverbank. Eva was already here with Pax, as was Lachlan.
Lachlan.
“I didn’t tell him about the exchange,” Dez said. He peered over at Sully, who’d woken in time for their drive-thru breakfast. “Did you?”
Sully shook his head. “Nope. How pissed do you think he’s going to be?”
“Look at him.” As Dez watched, Lachlan’s eyes narrowed as they fixed on the approaching SUV. “Pretty pissed.”
Sure enough, as soon as Dez parked and emerged from the driver’s seat, Lachlan started up.
“What the hell were you thinking, inviting the whole bloody world except me? You’re a giant fool, you know that, Braddock? I ought to kick your ass into the middle of next week.”
Eva smiled up at Dez. “Hi, hon. How was your night?”
He smiled back and pecked her on the lips. “Better than my day so far, which isn’t saying much.”
“You’d better have my gun with you,” Lachlan said, to which Dez produced the weapon from his coat pocket, held it for his boss to see, then tucked it into the back waistband of his jeans.
“Want to hand it over?” Lachlan said.
“Nope. Far as I’m concerned, you’ll be keeping watch. Sully and I have talked about this. I’m going to handle the exchange alone, but the rest of you will be concealed nearby, somewhere you can put yourselves in play if things go sideways. If I—”
He stopped as another car pulled up. Forbes parked and got out, then made his way over to stand beside Sully, who had finally finished wrestling with Pax. Despite the fact they shared the same horrible biological father, they looked nothing alike, Sully tall, lean and good-looking, Forbes shorter, stockier and not so good-looking. Thankfully, they each seemed to have inherited most of their features from their birth mothers, who had been far better people.
Forbes raised an eyebrow at Dez. “What’s the plan?”
“It’s not much of one,” Dez started, and was promptly interrupted by Forbes.
“I’m not surprised.”
Lachlan snorted, which Dez supposed should be counted as a win. There was no love lost between Lachlan and Forbes; if they could bond over mocking Dez, so be it.
Dez rolled his eyes. “As I was saying, I’m doing the handoff of the cash. The rest of you will stand by and keep watch. Anything goes south, you move in. Did you bring a gun?”
It was Forbes’s turn to snort. “Are you kidding me? You think I’d even consider going into the Forks without one?” He tugged up the side of his coat to reveal a Glock resting in a hip holster. Forbes turned to Eva. “Don’t worry. It’s not my service weapon. It’s my personal one.”
Eva shrugged. “Who’s worried? Today’s probably the first time I’m regretting the fact Dez and I don’t keep personal guns.”
“I’m still not sure what I’m supposed to do if I need to move in to help,” Lachlan said. “Bang a pot and pan together?”
Dez smirked. “That, I’d pay to see.”
“Don’t worry. If I have to do it, I’ll make sure you pay for it.”
Dez ignored him, then started through the tall grass down the bank. “Sully and I have a rowboat stashed around here. Hopefully, it’ll hold us all.”
Lachlan laughed. “Rowboat. Please. I got us something better.”
Dez raised his brows and grinned as he got far enough down to see the motorboat Lachlan appeared to have commandeered. Dez recalled Lachlan had a friend with a boat, one he’d borrowed in the past for a trip across to the Forks.
“Good thinking,” Dez told him as the group started climbing on. He peered at Sully, noticing he appeared crestfallen. “Maybe Terrence didn’t get the message. I’m sure he would have come otherwise.”
Sully nodded. “I know. It’s okay. We can do this.”
It took them far less time to cross than it would have otherwise, and this time, Dez wasn’t tired from rowing.
As Dez and Sully tugged the nose onto the shore, Lachlan stood next to it, appearing torn. “The last time, I had to watch it to make sure no one made off with it. I don’t want us stranded here.”
It was a good point, no way to conceal the motorboat like they had the rowboat. Dez pulled out the revolver and Lachlan’s extra ammo and handed it over. “Take this and keep watch here. It’s probably not a bad idea to have eyes down here anyway, in case they try to pull an asshole move like flanking us inside the house. If you see anything that gets your hackles up, and you don’t have time to call, just fire a shot and we’ll come. Work for you?”
“If I have the gun, what will you have?”
“They’ll have me,” came a voice from nearby.
Dez whipped around and broke into a wide grin as he recognized Terrence Waters. One of Terrence’s dark brows raised behind a pair of aviators, and he uttered a deep rumble of a laugh.
“Hey, boys. Long time, no see.”
Sully immediately closed the distance and grabbed him in a hug. A moment later, Dez stepped in for the same. Terrence gripped him back with his right arm. He’d lost the left years ago during his time as a soldier, and a prosthesis now took its place. Terrence used to manage an army surplus store in the Riverview neighbourhood, and Dez could only imagine how many people had underestimated him. Terrence was a fighter, and a good one. But for the arm, he would no doubt have been moved into a special forces section. As it stood, the Army’s loss was a gain to everyone gathered on this riverbank.
“I hope you came armed,” Forbes said.
Terrence turned on him, and Dez could sense the glare even though the sunglasses concealed his eyes. Then he raised his prosthesis. “That supposed to be a joke?”
Forbes spluttered for a moment, until Terrence broke into a laugh and patted him on the shoulder hard enough to nearly knock him over. “Just funnin’ you, man. Chill. And ’course I came armed. Who the hell you think you’re talking to?”
With a grin, Terrence stepped back a few paces and toed a duffel bag partially concealed in the grass and weeds. “I lived in the Forks for a while, remember? No way in hell I’m stepping foot anywhere on this island without an arsenal at my fingertips.”
Dez was happy to hand over the reins to a professional. His history in policing had prepared him for some things, but an Armed Forces veteran would have better tactical training.
“How were you thinking we play this?” Dez asked.
Terrence regarded the area. “First things first. I got here early, did a little recon to make sure no one had moved in before we showed up. Good thing is, most gangs
out here are too dense to know how to run an op, so not likely they’d set up early anyway. They might try to fence us in, so I’d want people front and back, and down by the river.”
Lachlan hefted his revolver. “I’ve got the river cased.”
“Nice little piece, Pops,” Terrence said. “Want something bigger?”
Lachlan raised his brows, his amused expression suggesting he’d thankfully let the “Pops” remark go. “What you got?”
Terrence dug into his bag and removed a black handgun and two mags. “SIG Sauer P226 MK25, ready-loaded with ten in the mag, one up. This oughta hold you if things get hot.”
Lachlan accepted it and handed his revolver back to Dez, barely taking his eyes from the borrowed handgun. A kid on Christmas morning. “This oughta hold me, all right.”
Terrence looked to the rest of them. “Once I convinced your in-house poltergeist to leave me the hell alone, I scoped the place out. Presuming I’m the only one with sniper training here, so I’m gonna set up on the second floor, keep watch on the front and drop anything dumb enough to try to fire on us. I’ve got a second rifle I can hand off to someone who can watch the back.”
Forbes raised a hand as Terrence drew a rifle from the bag. Dez resisted the urge to tell him they weren’t at school. “That’ll be me. M24, right? I’ve fired one on the outdoor range.”
“Yep. Got this baby loaded with ten.”
He kept a second handgun for himself, then provided handguns to Eva and Dez before turning to Sully.
“You need a gun or are you planning on going poltergeist if things go bad? Frankly, having seen you in action, option two would probably be far more devastating.”
“I’m hoping to avoid that. But if I have to, it’s probably better I’m not armed.”
“Fair enough.” Terrence turned back to Lachlan. “Find yourself a blind and keep watch that way. You need to drop someone, better his buddies have trouble seeing you. The rest of us, it’s going to be a bitch getting us to the house without being seen. I doubt anyone’s made their way there yet, but just in case, we should play it safe, keep low.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” Sully said. “There’s a tunnel from here into the basement. We can go that way.”
Terrence grinned. “You’re a bundle of happy surprises, aren’t you, kid? Okay, yeah, take everyone else through. I’ll still come at the place from outside, give me a chance to check the area. Meet you inside.”
He heaved his bag over a shoulder and set off, his footfalls, though quick, smothered by the grass. Dez watched him go before turning to Lachlan. “You going to be okay down here alone?”
Lachlan glared up at him. “I’m not a kindergartener on my first day of school, you moron.”
Dez grinned. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He turned to the others. “We good to go?”
Having received a round of nods, Dez led the way to the hidden door to the passageway.
Moving quickly, they made it to the house in a few minutes. Dez and Sully crept out to listen, then returned for the others.
“No sound of anyone inside,” Dez said. “Let’s go.”
Leaving the door ajar to allow for a quicker exit if needed, they made for the stairs leading to the main floor. By the time they reached the top, Ned was in full swing, banging and clattering all over the place.
Sully pushed in front of Dez and through the door. “Ned, it’s me. It’s okay. Save it for now. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to turn it on later, all right?”
The house fell silent.
Dez thumped Sully on the shoulder. “My brother, the ghost whisperer.”
Terrence came around the corner from the back, rubbing his neck. “Wish you’d gotten here a few minutes earlier.”
Sully grimaced. “Got you, huh?”
“Wine decanter, best I could tell. Bitch hurt.”
“Sorry about that. Ned’s protective of this place. On a positive note, he makes for good backup.”
Terrence glanced at the air above his head. “Right, well, no hard feelings then, big guy.” He returned his gaze to Sully and shook his head. “Man, I can see why no one squats in this place, guard dog like that.”
Sully grinned.
Terrence tipped his chin. “Okay, well, let’s get ourselves set up. Forbes, you and I will head up, find ourselves some windows with a good view. You guys position yourselves down here where you’ve got a good view and can move in quickly if Dez needs backup.”
“On it,” Eva said.
Terrence last glanced at Pax. “What about him? Not canine training, I presume?”
“Policing-wise, no,” Dez said. “But he’s proved himself pretty damn helpful in a pinch.”
Terrence nodded. “Looks like he’d have jaws of steel, all right. ’Kay, let’s do this.” He made for the stairs, Forbes at his heels, but paused before climbing. “Hey, Sully. Thanks for the invite to this party, man. I haven’t felt this alive in years.”
He started up, giving Forbes a minute to meet Dez’s gaze and roll his eyesbefore following.
“We didn’t sort out a signal,” Eva said. “All the tall grass and trees out there, it’s going to be hard for us to see them coming from the ground floor.”
Sully smiled. “Don’t worry. I think I’ve got that cased.” He turned from Eva more fully toward the house’s interior. “Hey, Ned? When you sense someone approaching from outside, let me know, okay?”
Dez grinned. “Better than having a guard dog. Anyway, we’d better set ourselves up. Why don’t you two take the front room to the right of the door?”
“There’s a better view out the one on the left,” Sully said.
Dez sensed his reluctance. The window on the left was where the body probably lay.
“We’re probably fine without seeing a whole lot right now,” Dez suggested.
Sully shook his head. “It’s okay. I’m going to have to deal with it. The view’s better there. If we need to go on the offensive to help you, I want to be in the best spot to do that.”
Pax on his heels, he headed into the sitting room.
Eva turned to Dez. “What’s the problem?”
Dez leaned down and whispered. “There’s a body outside the window Sully helped put there. It wasn’t his fault. He was being attacked and defended himself. But he still feels bad about it.”
“Oh. Crap.”
“Yeah. Mind staying with him?”
Eva patted Dez on the chest and smiled before following Sully.
Now alone, Dez stood at the partially open front door, peering out into the overgrown yard. It occurred to him for possibly the first time how beautiful this place must have once been with this huge, classic mansion and its manicured gardens running to the road and down to the river. Now it was nothing but a death trap, overtaken by ghosts, weeds and rot. He hoped it wasn’t about to play host to a small war.
Stealing quick glances in between repeated scans of the front yard, he checked his watch compulsively. Still the better part of an hour to go before noon.
Then a metal tray hit the wall.
“Dez!” Sully called from the other room, just as Terrence’s voice thundered down from overhead.
“Heads up! They’re coming!”
18
The Oldwater Crew hadn’t kept their word.
No surprise there.
Sully peered through the window, the corpse lying below suddenly forgotten as he focused on the group advancing toward the house.
Dez had demanded Fly come alone. Of course, he had also threatened a war, and it seemed a war was exactly what the OC had come here to have. As the gang slowly made their way through the tall grass, the noonday sun barely poking through the cloud to shine on their heads, Sully counted eleven.
It was possible there were more. He worried about Lachlan, alone on the riverbank. But they had their own fight coming.
He pictured Terrence in the upstairs window, imagined him holding firm behind a musty curtain, one eye squeezed shut, the other s
taring down the scope of his rifle, finger resting lightly on the trigger. The thought gave Sully comfort.
Pax wasn’t sold, and he uttered a low growl, despite the fact he couldn’t possibly see the men from his angle. Of course, Pax had his own way of sensing trouble—a talent that had come in handy far more than once.
“Everyone, hold tight in there,” Dez called from the door. “We didn’t really expect the bastard to come alone, did we?”
“You got cover?” Eva called back.
“If need be, I’ll take a dive. You got eyes on them?”
“You bet I do, Snowman.”
Sully felt Ned hovering nearby, thrumming with what was best described as anticipation. He almost felt sorry for the poltergeist, wanting so badly to be in on the action, any action. Ned couldn’t have much to do around here most days.
As the gang drew nearer, Sully prepared himself, putting up his walls both outside and in. He’d refused until today to take in another spirit, refused because it was too great a threat to the people he cared about. Now, the people he cared about were under threat anyway. If it came to it, if things started to turn against them, he realized he’d have no choice. He’d take in Ned’s energy and hope to hell he could control it alone—without opening the door to the dark places in his soul.
They were close now.
Seventeen. He counted seventeen.
Dez voiced Sully’s thoughts for him. “Bloody hell.” Then loudly, to the gang, “That’s close enough!”
To a one, the gangsters stopped. They stood there, silently, facing the house, like some sort of demented scene from a Wild West movie. High Noon at the Haunted Mansion.
Sully waited, readying himself.
“Which one of you’s Fly?” Dez shouted. His voice was powerful when he wanted it to be, like a cannon. Sully could only imagine what he looked like now, all six and a half feet of him framed by the doorway. Seventeen guys out there, and Dez dwarfed every single one.
Sully wasn’t surprised when no one stepped forward to claim the name.
“I thought I told you to come alone,” Dez said. “If this is how you assholes play things, maybe we don’t deal after all.”
