by K. J. Dahlen
Jonah was younger than Matthias but looked washed out with his blonde hair and blue eyes. He stood just under six feet and his slender build told everyone he pushed a pencil rather than get his hands dirty with real labor.
Matthias brought with him a large stack of police files. Handing them over to Deke, he took a moment to catch up on the time line they had set up. When he finished, he looked over at Deke and the others. Raising his eyebrow, he shook his head. “How did you get police files?” When no one answered, he held up his hand and said, “I don’t want to know.” He walked over to where McKenna was standing and asked, “How are you doing kiddo?”
McKenna shrugged. “I’m still alive. For the moment anyway.”
Matthias took a deep breath and whispered, “How the hell did you get mixed up with this group?”
McKenna looked around and chuckled. “Would you believe me if I said it was a bar hookup?”
Matthias rolled his eyes. ‘That I could believe.” Glancing at the number of tall, young bikers in the room, he asked. “Which one hit on you?”
McKenna snorted. “I hit on him.” She nodded at Stone.
Matthias’s eyes widened. “The old man?”
“He’s older but not dead.” She told him with a wink.
Matthias gazed at her for a moment. “So how does he fit in?”
McKenna motioned at the timeline and the rest of the evidence. “Our killer’s name is Jon Ronin. At one point he was in Stone’s unit.”
“His unit?” Matthias stood up, looking surprised.
“Stone was a Colonel in the Marines. Jon was a Marine before he went off the grid.”
“Damn.” Matthias swore quietly. “No wonder, we can’t find him. The man has been trained not to be found.”
“It gets worse.” She shook her head. “The man went AWOL almost ten years ago. The military couldn’t find him either.”
Matthias took a moment to digest the new information. “What makes these guys think they can find him, if all that is true?”
McKenna nodded at Calico. “While never serving in the military that guy was trained to find runners. He claims he can find this guy before he finds me again.”
Matthias stiffened. “Again?”
McKenna nodded and stared at him. “He found me last night. He left me another feather. Stone says he’s closing in for the last time and he brought me here to keep me safe.”
Matthias swore again. He stared at her for a moment and that’s when he noticed something different about her. He saw the fear in her eyes but she wasn’t that afraid anymore. Yes, she had a killer after her but there was a confidence in her too. “You trust these guys, don’t you?”
McKenna nodded. “For the first time in four years since this nightmare began, I can take a deep breath again.” She looked around the room and saw the look in their eyes. “If anyone can stop him, they can. I can feel it.”
Matthias gazed around the room. Some of these men would scare the timid and even the not so timid. Most were well over 6 foot 6, and some were wide. All looked as though they would put hurt on somebody if you crossed them. “I hope they can find him before he finds you.”
“Stone and his men know this guy,” McKenna reminded him.
“That’s what they said.” Matthias nodded. “But let’s keep in mind, people change over the course of their lives. What this guy did ten years ago in the service to his country might not be what’s he’s doing now.”
“They know that.” McKenna shook her head. “But they aren’t too worried. They seem to think they can find him anyway.”
“Let’s hope they can.”
As the day got longer, everyone was busy setting up the files. The information they had wasn’t intense enough to show the real man Jon Ronin had become. While Calico was busy reading the files, he asked questions. Stone and his men answered the inquiries but had no idea what was behind the questions. Stone remembered to tell him about Hades not being in the place they thought he was. He didn’t know why he mentioned that particular trait but he did.
Stone walked over to Reaper and asked, “What is your brother up too?”
Reaper shrugged. “He’s learning all he can about Hades.”
“Why?” Stone demanded. “What difference does it all make?”
Reaper shook his head. “I haven’t seen my brother in a number of years but I can tell you one thing about him. He’s a bulldog when it comes to stuff like this. If Hades has a weakness, Clancy will find it.”
Running his hands through his hair, Stone said, “I fuckin hope so. We have to end this nightmare.”
Reaper stared at his old commander. “This is more than just stopping him isn’t it?”
“We should have stopped him ten years ago. Nine women lost their lives because we didn’t do our job back then. And those are the ones we know about. That number could be significantly higher.”
“I know all that but this is more than just the numbers.” Reaper nodded at McKenna. “This is about her, isn’t it?”
Stone stared at her for a moment then looked over at Reaper. “It could be. Don’t get me wrong. There is something between us. I just want the time to figure out what it might be.”
Reaper grinned. “Hallelujah, the great have finally fallen.”
Stone shook his head. “Not fallen yet, maybe just stumbled along the path.”
“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.” Reaper snorted. “She’s a pretty young thing.”
Stone rubbed his chin. “Yeah and that’s a legitimate concern for me.”
Reaper slapped Stone on the back. “Don’t let that stand in your way boss man. Git after her if she makes you happy.”
“The real question is can I keep up with her?” Stone said quietly.
“Never known you to worry about the small stuff Colonel,” Reaper stated.
Stone sighed. “Let’s concentrate on finding Hades before we get sidetracked with other stuff.”
“Yeah, other stuff.” Reaper nodded though his grin remained.
Matthias and Jonah stayed for a while but eventually had to leave to go back to Boston. They asked Stone to be kept in the loop and Stone assured them he would let them know what the outcome would be. Matthias told them he would check back in a few days’ time and if anything came up in the meantime, he would let them know.
Chapter Five
Later in the afternoon, Calico sat over the files. He paused for a moment and stared into the eyes of a killer. A killer who hadn’t yet committed any crime or so he was told. He was staring at the military photo of Jon Ronin.
They say a photo is worth more than a thousand words but this image spoke to Calico.
Stone came over and watched him for a moment then had to ask, “What does that picture tell you that it doesn’t tell the rest of us?”
Calico threw the photo back down on the table and snorted. “It tells me that your man Hades wasn’t as innocent back then as you thought.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Stone demanded.
Calico turned and looked him in the eye. “Your man was a killer before he joined the service.”
“How the fuck do you know that from a photo?”
Calico picked up the photo again and handed it over to Stone. “I know that by the look in his eyes. They say the eyes are the window to the soul but if you look closely, you’ll find the man doesn’t have one. His eyes are dead.”
Stone looked again at the photo and finally saw what Calico had seen. Jon Ronin’s eyes were emotionless. With nothing but a black hole behind his eyes. He tossed the photo down on the table and realized the other man was right. He’d seen that look so many times in Jon’s eyes and never really thought about it before. Maybe he hadn’t known what to look for. “How the hell did the man pass the psych exam to get into the Marines then?”
“He was able to hide his sickness well, I imagine,” Calico explained. “Most men like him are cunning, enough to pull it off.”
“Can you track this fucker
down?”
Calico turned to stare at the other man. “Yes, I can.”
“How?”
“I’m beginning to know him. If I can get deeper into his mind, I can figure out his method of murder. When I do that, I can figure out how to find him.”
“And you’re certain he began murdering before he signed up?”
Calico nodded. “Yeah, he’s killed before. Maybe not a lot but there’s a certain look in his eyes that say he’s no longer a novice.” He paused then asked, “You said he always left behind a red Hawk’s feather to mark his kills. Did he ever say why?”
Stone nodded. “He told us the red Hawk was majestic because it was a bird of prey, tougher than the eagle. He said its talons could rip apart anything it caught and he said the red color reminded him of the color of blood. To listen to him talk about it, he seemed obsessed.”
“He’s probably watched the bird in action. They live all over the nation.”
“Ronin grew up in the Midwest part of the States, somewhere in Iowa, I think.” Stone informed him. “He told us stories about watching the hawks near the farm he grew up on. Told us he had nothing better to do. His dad was working the fields and his mother had a job outside the home. He was left alone a lot when he was a kid. He didn’t have any close friends, although there was a girl he was close too. Said her name was Amy Reed.”
“I think I’d look at her as his first victim.”
Stone thought back to when Ronin had told them about her. “You could be right about her. He did talk about her in the past. At the time, I thought he was talking about her being part of his past but now, he could’ve been talking about her as if she was already dead.”
“I’d even hazard to guess she simply disappeared and her body was never found.”
Stone startled. “What makes you think that?”
“He was alone and very young when he killed her. He might have thought he was in love with her, even as young as he was. Then she told him something that upset his balance and he just killed her. He might not have even been aware of what he was doing, not the first time. He just couldn’t take the rejection.”
“I’ll have Deke’s man, Zipper run her name and see what he can find out about her.”
“Have Zipper run the parent’s names as well.” Calico stared at the photo. “He might have done something to them. Maybe they caught him doing something sick and they disowned him. Something happened to set him off.”
“I’ll do that. What else have you found?”
“I think there are more bodies out there waiting to be found.”
“Why do you think that?” Stone wanted to know.
“A killer like Ronin wouldn’t go several years without feeling the bloodlust that would demand that he take a life. The five years he was missing after he left the service would have been too long between killings.”
“What about the other murders?” Stone motioned to the files Matthias brought with him.
Calico shook his head. “Even with those they set a pattern. The earliest one is still four years after he escaped the MP’s.”
“What else do you know?”
“A man like Ronin always has a plan in the back of his mind in case he needs to disappear quickly.”
“How so?” Stone tipped his head to one side and stared at the other man.
“I think he takes the time to find his victim, then he follows her for a while.”
“And just how the hell do you know that?”
“I’ve read his military file,” Calico said. “Everyone who’s ever known him says he’s particular about the details. He likes to know every way a mission can go wrong and adjust his course to the way things go down. He likes to watch and listen then work things out the best way for him. He always has his own escape route planned in case he needs it. You said it yourself, he likes to be in the last place you expect him to be. It is his safety trigger. What he needs to survive, to be somewhere where no one can find him and stop him.” He shrugged. “I’d bet he did that before every mission. You guys might not have noticed it with everything else that was going on over there but I guarantee you, that’s what Hades was doing.”
Stone thought back to his time in Iraq. He nodded. “You could be right about that. No matter where we went he always had things planned out, even if it was in his own mind.”
“He may only have a high school education but he’s got the intelligence to do great things.”
Stone studied the other man for a moment then suggested, “You almost sound like you admire him. Now why would that be?”
Calico nodded as if in agreement. “I do admire him. I hate what he does but he’s a brilliant man.”
“Not sure that helps here.” Stone shook his head. “Think you’ll be able to find him?”
“Oh yeah, men like him will always make a mistake and when he does, I’ll find him. What matters now is his mistake. It will end up being something so simple, he overlooked it.”
“Like what?”
Calico shrugged. “Something so simple he wouldn’t even consider it a mistake, but it will be his final mistake and we just have to find what it is.”
Reaper, Doc, Viper along with Deke, Sam, Mountain and Gator joined them.
Calico gazed at the four members of Stone’s team that knew Jon Ronin. “Was there one thing he used to do that stood out about the man? Something he did or something he ate or drank that made him different or that caused him to stand out?”
Everyone thought before a moment then Reaper said, “What was it he used to drink all the time? It was a mixture of alcohol you wouldn’t think would ever go together well but I tried it one time and it was pretty good.”
“I think it was a shot of bourbon, a shot of vodka and a shot of tequila, chased by some kind of lemony soda,” Viper recalled.
“That sounds like a Gangbanger,” Mountain told them. “That drink will fuck you up in a hurry. Oh and just for the record, it’s mixed with lemon lime soda.”
Doc snorted. “Yeah, anybody but Hades would get fucked up on that drink. But not him, he could drink those things like they were water and very often he did, all night long. Funny thing too, he never seemed to wake up with a hangover the next morning.”
Calico nodded. “The human body can become so used to a substance that it no longer works. Painkillers and aspirin often work like that. But then so do some antibiotics.”
“Maybe we can gets the boys to ask around and see if anyone in the bars have been ordering this drink,” Deke suggested.
“It would be a place to start,” Calico agreed. “If we can get a line on him we might be able to find him without involving civilians.” He looked over at Stone. “Does the man have any tattoos or scars?”
Stone nodded. “As a matter of fact, he does. He has a red hawk in flight tattooed on his left arm. Around the hawk is a line of stars with initials in each star. When we knew him, there were four stars around the top of the hawk. As well as four arrows in the claws.” He shrugged. “Lord only knows what the initials and arrows mean.”
“I think the initials and arrows are his own particular way of acknowledging his kills,” Calico suggested. “Some killers like to remember each and every one of his murders.”
“That’s just sick,” Deke commented.
“Everything this guy does is sick.” Sam scoffed. “Have you read the police reports? Nine women that we know of have died by his hands and if we don’t stop him, more are going to catch his eye.”
“I’ll get the word out to the boys and see if we can find his watering hole,” Deke announced. “If they can find where he drinks, they may be able to find where he lives.”
“You might want to start at Drugen’s Bar,” McKenna finally spoke up.
Stone turned to her and frowned. “Why there?”
“Because that’s the only bar I’ve been in since I’ve been here. It’s the only place he could have found me in where I didn’t see him coming. Either that or he saw me on the street and just
followed me inside.” She shrugged. “I go to work and come home. My blinds are always drawn and once I’m home, I never go out. I have been out a couple of times but only as far as Drugen’s.”
Calico nodded toward Deke. “Start there. Have the boys ask the bartenders but don’t bring attention to their answers. We need to find him before he knows we’re out there.”
“I can get Amos and Frankie on it right away,” Deke acknowledged. “But I also want the rest of them to check out the other bars.”
Stone looked at the clock on the wall and noted it was almost midnight. He felt tired. “I suggest we all get some rest and look at this with fresh eyes in the morning. Our boy isn’t going anywhere tonight and he doesn’t know where his target is.”
“She’s safe here.” Sam told him. “There will be people walking the perimeter all night. We got eyes on everything.”
Stone nodded and looked at his men. “Get some rest. I’m gonna need you in the next few days.”
Reaper, Doc and Viper nodded and went to the rooms Deke had given them earlier. Stone was going to do the same.
A few minutes later, he entered his room and without turning on the light he went over to the bed. His body ached in places he hadn’t thought about in a long time. His shoulders slumped and he dropped his head to his hands. Then he felt it. A small hand reached out for him. For a moment, he tensed then relaxed as he recognized her scent. McKenna was waiting for him. “I didn’t know if you would be here or not.”
“With you, I know I’m safe.”
Stone chuckled. “You’re in the middle of an MC clubhouse. I don’t hardly think Hades will break in here. He ain’t that stupid, darlin’.”
Her arms crept around his waist as she knelt behind him. Laying her head on his shoulder, she whispered, “I’m safe with you, that’s all I know or care about.”
Stone felt his body come alive just below his waist. “You might not be as safe as you think you are. I want more of what I got last night.”
