Blue 42 (Hail Mary Duet Book 1)

by C. A. Rene

  “Ho, ho, ho!” I yell through the house and a chorus of ‘Uncle Seb’ sounds around me. “Get out to that vehicle and bring in all your gifts.” I tell them and they run outside screaming.

  “Thanks, man.” Delano comes out of the kitchen and I haul him in for a hug. “We need to talk.”

  His voice lets me know that it’s about business and he leads me into his office. It’s small and cramped but this is where a lot of our decisions go down.

  “What’s up?”

  “A few suspicious things have happened over the last few weeks.” He begins and tosses me a baggy to cut out, “two of our grow ops were raided. We caught one of the guys and forced some info out of him.” Tortured, he means and I can’t help the envy I feel. I wish I were there for that.

  “And?”

  “Looks like that little Baltimore gang is starting a war.”

  “No way.” I look up at him, “how?”

  “We killed his son.”

  “So?” I shrug, “that’s life.”

  “Truth,” he nods and leans forward, “but he’s out for blood and he’s out for you.”

  “Me?” I raise a brow, “how do you know that? And how does he know me?”

  “He also ran into a few of our women and left a few messages carved into their dead bodies,” he takes a breath and shakes his head, “it said ‘Bring me Avando and this will stop’.”

  “Really.” I sniff a line and look up at Delano, “he recognized my voice in the video.”

  “I guess so,” he shrugs, “there’s really no other way.”

  “How are we contacting him?” I ask him.

  “He said to come to the Marina where we found Little North.”

  “He’ll have to wait until after Christmas,” I snort, “it’s the holidays after all.”

  We laugh and finish the lines, taking me back to when we were younger. Times were hard and we had death creeping around us constantly, but we never let it control our lives. We always grew up with the mentality that we’re on borrowed time and death was something we never feared.

  Chapter thirty-three

  Sebastian

  Looks like Paola had someone come by and decorate our house in those fancy dangly Christmas lights. I bet Carla freaked out when she saw them on, she’s done that every year. I walk in the house and yell out to my family, excited to finally hold them close.

  “Papi,” Paola chastises as she comes into the foyer, “must you yell?” she leans up and kisses me softly on the lips. “Welcome home.”

  “Thank you,” I smile down at her, “where’s Carla?”

  “She’s at Mami’s for a few days, they wanted to spend some alone time with her, and probably give us alone time too.” Paola’s parents believe we are married in the traditional sense and I would never reveal otherwise to them. I want to see my daughter but it can wait a day. “I ordered food and there’s wine.” She tries to entice me, knowing I miss my little girl.

  Paola’s parents do know that Carla is not mine and they are even more grateful that I stepped up and claimed her as my own. Paola has never spoken about who the real father is but I can say the guy must have bright green eyes.

  I follow Paola to the kitchen and she pulls apart the food bags, taking out the portions. Then she’s pouring some wine into glasses and I swallow mine in two gulps.

  “I need a shower before I eat,” I kiss her again. “I’ll be down in a bit.”

  She nods and begins to hum a Christmas carol as I leave the kitchen, smiling to myself. This time of year makes me feel warm and thankful for everything I have, including the people around me. I think of this year and everything I’ve gained, Dixon being the main thing. I know we started off on the wrong foot and things got real messy really damn fast, but I’m liking where we’re headed. I like what we have and I’m not ready to figure out what it all means, but I am happy to have him.

  I get to my bedroom and strip down heading for the shower; I have my own room in the house. Carla asked us once why Mami and Papi don’t share a room and I told her it was because her mother snored. It was funny at the time but it made us realize as she grows older, she’ll have more questions, and she’ll demand proper answers. I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

  I step under the hot spray and let it soak into my muscles, groaning when I finally feel the tension leave me. This whole thing with Dixon’s knee and now the Baltimore gang is adding to the stress, I just want to let it all wash down the drain so I can enjoy my family without thinking of what might happen later. I hear a muffled bang and roll my eyes, Paola probably popped open another bottle. She’ll be passed out in an hour tops.

  I get out and dry myself off, dressing in a tracksuit. My gun is laying on my bed with my wallet and keys, so I open my bedside table to put them away. That’s when I hear a low mumbling and I freeze on the spot, someone else is downstairs with Paola. Usually, I would stay out of the way, knowing it was one of her guys, and giving them some privacy. But something tells me it’s not. She didn’t tell me she was expecting anyone.

  I grab my piece and stick it into my waistband, creeping out into the hallway.

  “Where is he? I see his Hummer outside.” A voice I don’t recognize asks.

  “Fuck you.” Paola retorts and I hear a hand connecting with skin. She cries out and I slowly make my way down the stairs, remembering where to avoid the creaks.

  “Check upstairs,” he tells someone and I hear a set of boots coming closer. I slip into the closet and watch as a guy in a ski mask walks by, heading for the stairs. Everything is covered on his body but I did see light eyes and the white skin around them. Rage consumes me as I step out and grab the back of his shirt, slamming my gun into his temple. I gently lower him to the floor and creep towards the kitchen.

  There are two entrances to the kitchen and I go to the other one, that way this guy won’t see me coming.

  “You have a piece of shit husband, you know that?” the guy sneers, “he fucking kills kids.”

  Paola doesn’t say anything and I wait to hear if he has other men with him. When I hear nothing, I shake my head, surprised that this fuck came with one guy, and thinks they’ll leave here with their lives. Not a damn chance. Thank god my daughter isn’t here because I would be in a rage so uncontrollable.

  I step into the kitchen and find Paola on her knees with a gun to her head. My girl doesn’t even flinch though, she’s been through worse, and I am so proud of her strength. I raise my gun and cock it, the noise loud in the silence of the large kitchen.

  “Step away from my wife,” I growl and the guy looks at me over his shoulder. He also has a mask on but I can see his eyes are a dark brown and the skin around them also white. Nothing about them seems familiar and I don’t know what I’m dealing with.

  “Where’s my partner?” he asks and I laugh.

  “Dead.” I want him to believe that he’s alone. I’ll kill this one but the other one will be used for information. The guy’s eyes flash with anger and his body shakes. “Aw, was that your boyfriend?”

  He presses the gun harder into Paola’s head and she hisses with the action, making me flatten my lips. “I’ll kill her.”

  “I’ll kill you,” I shrug.

  “You’ll go to jail,” he retorts and I laugh.

  “Nah, I wouldn’t.”

  “Yeah, you would. We’re undercover cops.” He retorts and my stomach bottoms out.

  “Why the fuck are you in my house?”

  “Investigating Baltimore drug distribution and it led us to a few murders,” he tsks, “you see, those kids you killed a few weeks ago? I was their boss and they were gathering information for me.”

  “No cop would be in my home with a gun to my wife’s head.” I snap.

  “No, probably not.” He shrugs and cocks the gun, “I have a drug distribution I need to stay covered and your meddling is bringing some heat.”

  An undercover cop who’s a double agent, working for the fucking gang he was sup
posed to be infiltrating. I can’t even fault that since I own a few cops of my own. But these guys never play fair, they can use both sides and right now, I don’t have many options.

  “So, what do you want?” I keep my gun trained on him.

  “First it was to warn you to fuck off, but now that you killed my partner,” it’s like time slows and I watch helplessly as his finger squeezes the trigger, sending a bullet into Paola’s head. Blood sprays all over the fridge and I scream as I spray my own bullets, hitting the piece of shit in the neck. Blood spurts from his wound and he falls to the floor as I run for Paola.

  I pick her up and look down into her open lifeless eyes, a sob breaking free from my chest. “No, no, no.” I chant as I rock her back and forth. I hear the front door open and my head snaps toward the noise, fuck. I forgot about the fucker I knocked out.

  I jump to my feet and slip on the blood pooling on the floor, running for the front door. It’s wide open and too dark to see anything. I look behind me and find the floor empty, meaning the piece of shit got away.

  I slam the door and scream, what the fuck do I do?

  epilogue

  Dixon

  “Dixon!” His voice reverberates out of my phone's speaker, “everything I did was to protect you!”

  “Seb, where are you?” my voice shakes as worry clutches at my chest. “What is that noise?”

  I can faintly hear sirens like an ambulance or cop cars.

  “I can’t go to jail.” He whispers, his voice drowning out.

  “Seb!” I yell, “do I hear cops?”

  “I just needed to make sure you were kept out of shit, that you were safe.” His voice cracks and I roll off my couch, grabbing at my crutch. It’s Christmas eve and I was sinking into depression before I heard his voice.

  “Seb,” I hobble down the hall and into my TV room, skidding along my Persian rug. “I need you to tell me what’s happening.”

  I almost trip over an Italian leather ottoman as I grab the remote from my glass end table. Sebastian’s panting over the speaker phone along with his random cursing has my stress ramped to an extreme high. I turn on the TV and flick to a local Buffalo news station and curse when I hear the breaking news, there’s a high-speed chase on the I-90.

  “Fuck Seb!” I scream, “why are you running from the cops?”

  “They know, Dixon!” He screams back, “they know what I did!”

  “Pull over before you kill yourself!” My breathing is coming out in short gasps and I can feel my skin coating in sweat. This is fear.

  “I can’t go to jail.” He sounds eerily calm and I know this is his game only voice. No feeling, just a complete tactical brain.

  “No,” I stutter, “no, Sebastian, please pull over.” I reach up and dig my fingers into my hair.

  “Take care of yourself, North.”

  The line goes dead and I drop my phone, hearing as it clatters against the marble tile. The news is saying a Buffalo footballer is on the run from police and they will update everyone when they learn more. I feel moisture stealing its way down my cheek and I know it’s just a matter of time until they get Sebastian’s name.

  How the hell did we get here and where do we go now?

  acknowledgements

  To my readers who decide to open the pages of my imagination and go on each and every dark, crazy ride with me, I love you. Thank you for taking this leap with me.

  To Sammi, this book wouldn’t even exist without you, damn, I wouldn’t be where I am without you. I love you dearly.

  To my Alpha/Sensitivity reader Crystal Partin, thank you for all of your help and making this book feel so damn authentic. You are amazing!

  To my Betas! Jocelyn, Gemma, Kristen and Amber! Look how long we’ve been doing this together now! Thank you for all your help, I love you guys so much!

  To my ARC readers, thank you for recommending my books and supporting me. It really means so much! I love you guys!

  Pre-order the Conclusion, Red Zone, in the Hail Mary Duet today!

  About the author

  C.A. Rene

  The computer screen is my canvas and the keyboard is my brush. Thank you for viewing my masterpieces. My addictions include coffee, books, and WINE, in that order.

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  Also by C.A. Rene

  Whitsborough Chronicles

  Whitsborough Progenies

  Desecrated Duet

  Hail Mary Duet

  Sacrificial Lambs

  Reaped

  Taboo Anthology