After Dark: The Complete Series

by Kahlen Aymes

He took the exit to O’Hare and followed the signs to the departing flights and for American Airlines. American was at the west end of that terminal three, and Kyle was leaning up against one of the metal pillars waiting with a blue duffel bag at his feet. He was wearing an old army camouflage jacket, jeans, and black boots.

  Alex hadn’t seen or talked to him since the night at Angel’s apartment after the benefit. He still looked similar. His hair had grown out, no longer shaved, but controlled with gel. Kyle wouldn’t know what car to look for, so Alex pulled up to the curb and rolled down the window.

  “Hey, Kyle,” he called out.

  Kyle’s head snapped in Alex’s direction, and he pushed away from the pole and bent to pick up the bag. Alex popped the trunk and the lid lifted. Kyle deposited his bag in the trunk alongside Alex’s things. He took note of the rifle case but just closed the trunk lid before sliding in next to Alex.

  Alex pulled out the paper with the list of addresses he’d gotten from Marvin Standish and punched the first address into his GPS.

  Kyle buckled his seatbelt. He pulled out a pack of gum and shoved a piece into his mouth before holding the pack out for Alex to take some.

  “Wanna tell me what the hell this is about?”

  The GPS started its guidance as the car left O’Hare. The GPS girl’s voice was loud and annoying.

  Alex gave Kyle the rundown of Angel’s case and the problems with Swanson, ending with the ransom demands and Bancroft’s body being found at the radio station a few hours earlier. He may have left out some of the finer details out of respect for time, but in general, Kyle understood.

  He leaned back in the passenger seat. “Holy shit! Fuck, I wish she’d never gone to grad school. This wouldn’t be happening.”

  Alex’s lips pressed together. He couldn’t help feeling jealous. “Forgive me if I’m happy about her choice, though I agree, I wish she’d use her degree in a less dangerous way.”

  Kyle studied Alex as he drove. Though it was early morning and the sun wasn’t up yet, the lights along the interstate and in the suburban neighborhood that was their destination were well lit.

  Kyle shook his head. “Knowing her, she’ll tell us both to fuck off.”

  “Pretty much, though she has acquiesced to some of my requests during all of this. My brother took Angel, Becca, and Jillian out of town until we find this abhorrent asshole. She wasn’t happy about it. Jillian’s birthday party was tonight. Or should have been.”

  “Yeah. She loves that kid. Becca had her a few months before Angel and I split. So what are we doing?”

  “I have to find this prick. The police are worthless, and I want it over.”

  “Judging by your text, you think it might get messy.”

  “It’s pretty much a given at this point.”

  “Awesome,” Kyle said flatly. Maybe he should have asked more questions before signing up for shit like this. He was so close to getting a record deal with a major label, and while dying to help a friend was noble, it wasn’t his idea of wise. It would’ve been different if it were something necessary to take care of Angel, but this wasn’t a rescue mission, it was a wild goose chase as far as he was concerned. “Why me? Don’t you have any friends?” He shot Alex a disgusted glance. His gut still burned because this rich dickhead was fucking his ex-girlfriend.

  “I asked you to help because I know you care about Angel. Your vested interest made you the most likely to agree. Swanson has proved he will not stop, and I’m at the end of my rope. He’s forcing my hand.”

  “You’re richer than God. Why don’t you just pay someone to bash the fucker’s head in?”

  “You’re the second person in twenty-four hours to ask me that.” Alex shook his head, incredulous that the solution seemed as easy to Kyle as it had been to Marvin Standish. He huffed. “It’s not that easy. He won’t be waiting for us like a sitting duck. He won’t go down without a fight.”

  GPS girl was talking. In point two miles, take the next left onto Addison Street.

  “The address is up here.” Alex turned off the GPS and headlights off as he navigated slowly down the street. “I’m going to drive past, then we’ll go a couple blocks over and park.”

  “I thought he wasn’t a sitting duck? If that’s true, how do you have an address?”

  “You don’t want or need to know.”

  “I think if I’m going to risk my life, I need to know.”

  Alex shot him a dirty look. “Whatever. Swanson is connected to the mob. I met with them and asked them to tell me where I could find him. Happy now?” Alex asked caustically. He leaned down to look out Kyle’s window at the house as they drove past slowly.

  The house was all dark, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t anyone inside. The hour would dictate that at least some of the occupants would be sleeping. The hair on the back of Alex’s neck stood up.

  “Shit.” Kyle would have made some mocking remark under other circumstances, but this was serious.

  “As you said, I’m richer than God.”

  “Yeah, you’re an idiot for getting involved with them. This is heavy shit.”

  Alex drove around the corner and over two streets, pulling up and parking in front of another house. He shut the engine off and turned to Kyle.

  “A few months ago, I may have agreed, but with Angel involved, my perspective has changed.” He met Kyle’s eyes unflinchingly. “If you’re going to pussy-out on me, do it now.”

  Kyle didn’t hesitate. “I must be crazy for agreeing. Let’s go.”

  Alex nodded and popped the trunk. “Do you have any weapons?”

  “I have a knife and a gun.”

  “Good.”

  It was if they were part of a SWAT team, both of them stood at the back of Alex’s car, shoving guns in their waistbands and pulling their shirts down to hide them. Kyle reached into his duffel and pulled out two black stocking caps, the kind that covered the face. He handed one to Alex.

  “You’re sort of scaring me, Kyle.” Alex joked. He wasn’t quite whispering, but his tone was noticeably lowered.

  “You said it was serious shit, didn’t you? I figured you for an amateur.” Kyle chuckled softly to himself.

  “Why? Because you’re on parole?” Alex shot back, smiling. A big part of him wanted to dislike Kyle, but the truth was, he was a good guy. They both shoved the caps in their back pockets and began the three-block walk back to the house in question.

  “Do you expect any other members of the organization to be here?”

  “No. Just Swanson and maybe one or two others.”

  Kyle nodded.

  When they got about half a block from the house, they both put on the stocking caps, and Alex pulled up the hood of the sweatshirt he was now wearing over both shirts. The layers kept out the cold, though his adrenaline should have been sufficient except for the unusual deadly calm that he’d felt since this decision was made.

  All of the windows were dark and difficult to see in, despite putting nose to glass and his hands around his eyes. It was still pitch black outside, but the streetlight at the front of the house would make it too easy for neighbors to see what they were doing.

  Alex motioned for Kyle to check out the south side while he would do the north.

  “Meet in the back,” Kyle whispered.

  Alex nodded. “Be careful not to shoot me,” he whispered back.

  Kyle shook his head, flashed his knife, and headed off.

  Alex crept across the front lawn and around the house. There were three windows. One was small and obviously a bathroom. Still, Alex checked them all. They were all locked, and blinds prevented seeing inside. He wasn’t surprised to find the gate on the six-foot privacy fence locked. He reached up and curled his fingers around the top of the fence, using the strength in his biceps to pull him up and over in one smooth motion. He landed on the ground, in a crouch, thinking too late there might have been a guard dog on premises.

  Looking around him, Alex saw Kyle propel over the fence i
nto the yard on the other side. The backyard was large, and there was a pool, now drained for the season. No dog in sight. He was sure he could shoot the criminals but was thankful he didn’t have to shoot an animal.

  Kyle hunched down and rushed up to the side of the house toward the walk out on the lower level. Alex pointed up the stairs connecting two levels of the deck and went up to check the doors and windows on the upper floor of the house. All locked, with no sign of anyone, and every window was covered by blinds.

  Alex was disappointed they came up empty. When he went back down to the yard, Kyle was waiting, crouched low by the fence on the side closest to the stairs.

  Kyle shook his head, an indication that he, too, had found nothing.

  It took the men literally half a minute to get over the fence and back to the street. A minute more to jog to Alex’s car, and soon, they were inside. Both had already removed the ski masks on the run back, and Alex now unloaded the gun from his belt and flipped open the glove compartment to stash it inside.

  “That was fun. Thanks for the invite,” Kyle joked, resting his gun next to Alex’s before shutting it.

  “Fuck!” Alex ran his hands through his hair. He was frustrated.

  “What now?”

  Alex started the engine and drove to a position across from the house but almost a block away. He pulled up and parked. It was close enough to see if anyone came or went without being so close that anyone could see inside the car.

  “We wait to see if anyone comes out when the sun comes up.”

  “If they don’t?”

  “If not, then it’s not likely we’ll find Swanson here. I have a one other address to check out, but I need to get some sleep first. I’ve been traveling, and it’s been almost two days since I’ve slept.”

  “Sleep now.”

  Alex ran a hand over his face and scratched at his jaw. He was so tired, he almost couldn’t feel his hands, and he’d be no good at all if he didn’t sleep soon, but the last thing he wanted was to miss something. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, man. No sense both of us staying awake.”

  “Will you stay awake?” Kyle had to be getting tired, as well.

  “No problem. I don’t want this asshole to hurt Angel, either. As long as I can catch a few hours before the performance, I’m good.”

  Alex studied the other man. “Listen, Kyle, I really appreciate your help with this, and I owe you an apology. I have no excuse for how I acted the last time I saw you, other than I was jealous as hell.” He held out his hand.

  Kyle took his hand and shook it. “Angel has that effect on men.”

  “It was new for me, and I didn’t handle it well, but it’s still no excuse. I’m sorry.”

  Kyle met Alex’s gaze. “Yeah. I remember how that feels.”

  While Alex couldn’t feel sorry that Angel had left Kyle and they were now together, he could empathize with the other man’s pain. He’d fucking kill something if she left him. What could he say that didn’t sound boastful or arrogant? He decided it was best not to say anything at all. Instead, he nodded then reclined his seat by pushing the lever on the side. He pulled the stocking hat back out of his pocket and plopped it over his eyes.

  “Thanks for keeping watch. Wake me up if you see anything move.”

  14

  Stolen

  It was dark and the gentle hum of the wheels speeding across the pavement was soothing. Angel hadn’t slept much during the day, so the feeling of relaxation was a welcome change to the tension that had been coiled inside her for the past week. When Becca and Cole returned with burgers and Jillian’s gifts, she’d spent two hours playing with the little girl after dinner. Angel logged on to iTunes and loaded up the Shuffle with kid songs and some of the favorites they liked to dance to.

  Jillian loved the babydoll, too, and she was holding it, while fast asleep in the car seat, next to Angel in the back seat of the SUV. Jillian’s head lolled to one side, and Angel adjusted the doll to help prop her head up. She had a pillow, but it wasn’t enough.

  Cole and Becca were chatting away in the front seat, their soft voices carried, and Angel could hear her friend telling Cole about the asshole she’d met just after college who knocked her up and left her high and dry. She had her seatbelt on but turned slightly toward Jillian so she could rest her own head on the back of the seat and closed her eyes.

  She’d heard so many asshole stories. Hers and Becca’s experiences had certainly structured her stringent opinion on the opposite sex, and the calls from weepy, weak women on the radio show week after week hadn’t helped. She sighed and pulled out her phone. Their phone, she mused. After what happened to her in college then Kyle’s betrayal with Crystal, Angel didn’t think she’d ever trust a man again, other than her father. Now, she trusted a few of them. She trusted Cole and Kenneth, Sid and Wayne, and Alex above all of them. They’d all proven themselves many times over the past months. Alex was unwavering—solid as a rock.

  It had been seven hours since she’d spoken to him. They’d been driving for two and a half hours, and she wished her mind would shut off so she could get some sleep. She sighed. She wished Alex would call, or at least text. What was he doing?

  Cole told her Jason Bancroft had been found with his throat slashed. After that, she’d been unable to eat anything. They expected Mark Swanson to kill Bancroft… but to find out he was alive until today, that there was no doubt now he had been murdered because Alex had refused the ransom, made her sick enough to throw up in the bathroom of the hotel suite.

  Angel’s elbow was resting on the ledge under the window, and she propped up her head with her hand. Mark fucking Swanson. He was the epitome of evil; the worst, most ruthless criminal she’d ever had to deal with. Never had she hated someone as much. She seethed with it. If only she could have put him away on the tests alone, then none of this would have happened, and two little boys wouldn’t be fatherless. A woman wouldn’t be a widow. Her stomach tightened painfully, and she swallowed. Angel wasn’t one to cry easily, but this frustration filled her up so much she wanted to scream with it, and tears burned at her eyes. If only... If only… Her mind kept screaming as the miles fell away. But “what ifs” didn’t do shit to solve the current situation, and that’s all any of them could concentrate on now.

  Cole was taking some back road that wound around left then right. She guessed they were in the Ozark Mountains, judging by the trees, hills, and sporadic small towns. She’d spent a lot of time here camping and boating with her father, Will, and Ben during her adolescence.

  There were small gas stations here or there, out in the middle of nowhere, almost tiny in comparison to those in Chicago; many were only distinguished by the lighted signs out front that touted “live bait.” It was late fall, so most of the tourist resorts would be closed. It was very dark, and the roads were only two-lane and not lined with lights, most of the businesses closed because of the season and not just the lateness of the hour. The trees, mountains, and scattered clouds blocked much of the moonlight, making everything outside dark and covered in midnight blue shadows just dusted with slivers of silvery light. The trees covering the mountains looked like an inky black abyss only distinguishable by the jagged shapes of their tops.

  The soft green glow from the console in front of Cole and Becca was the only light inside, and the only light outside were the headlights of a car behind them that would disappear and reappear as the road curved around the mountains.

  “You all right back there?” Cole called softly, glancing over his shoulder for a second then back at the road. “Are you sleeping, Angel?”

  “No, but if I were, I wouldn’t be now,” Angel retorted. “I’m just thinking about everything.”

  Becca turned sideways in the front passenger seat so she could look back at her friend. “Are you doing okay?”

  “Not great. I’m sad about Jason. It makes me sick inside.”

  Becca nodded. Her face was all in shadow, but Angel could see her head move.
She didn’t know him that well, but she had met him and spoken to him briefly the few times he was trailing Angel when she was with her. Her heart felt for the obvious sorrow and guilt she knew Angel was feeling. “I’m sorry, Angel.”

  “No, I’m the one who’s sorry.” Her stomach twisted again. She could belabor the fact that if it wasn’t for meeting her, Alex wouldn’t have spent millions, Jason Bancroft would be alive, Jillian’s birthday would have gone off without a hitch. Now everything was fucked up. The worst was thinking about how terrified Jason must have been and now the loss felt by his family, made worse by the fact she didn’t really know him that well. After Cole had come clean about the security detail, she’d spent a decent amount of time with Jason and should have taken a more personal interest in him. Now, he was dead because of her. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose Alex, and they weren’t even married. In comparison, they had just begun. “This whole fucked up mess is my fault.”

  Cole was listening. “Alex would disagree. He thinks it’s his fault.”

  “Because he didn’t pay that bastard off.” It was a statement rather than a question. Angel knew Alex would shoulder all of the responsibility. It’s what he did best.

  “Yeah.”

  “He’s wrong.”

  “You didn’t make him do what he did, Angel. He knows that.”

  Angel was irritated. Why wouldn’t he just let her take the fucking blame? Maybe it would make her feel better, at least. “Cole, please stop. If he’d never met me, he wouldn’t have been involved. Those are the facts. Sunshine and my ass are not a good combination. Don’t you know that by now?”

  A short laugh burst from Cole, and though Angel wasn’t trying to be funny, his amusement did cause a much-needed smile to curve her mouth.

  Becca reached out and grabbed Angel’s hand. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, girl. Life happens… shit happens, and who knows if it could have been different? This guy is off his rocker, and you had the case before you met Alex. Working with Darian, you would have met him at some point. Don’t wish away something that has been so good for you.”