by WL Knightly
He needed to collect on a few of his loans, and he pulled out his phone to see who owed him what. There were a few friends listed, some owing no more than a hundred here or there, and one name that stuck out more than the rest. “Justin Finch.” He dialed the number, and while it rang, he thought of how the man had contacted him about his friend’s situation. The girl had been engaged to Corey, about to start a new life together when he’d passed away. So, when Justin called him needing him to sign a fake marriage certificate and say that he’d been the one to marry the couple in New Orleans, Carter felt it was his duty to help them out, for a fee of course.
Justin was supposed to pay him twenty-grand, and so far, he hadn’t transferred the money. Carter hung up the phone which had rung over fifteen times and quickly went online and checked his bank account just to be sure. Still no money. Dammit.
No wonder the man was screening his calls. Asshole.
He shut the banking app and went back to his list. There were a few others he needed to light a fire under and give a gentle reminder, but he wasn’t going to give up on Finch, even if he had to drive up to Michigan to find him.
He hoped it didn’t come to that. Justin could be a mean son of a gun, and he should have thought of that before he did him any favors.
He scrolled to the bottom of the list and shook his head as another name popped out at him. “Ken Sin.”
Chapter 6
Darek
The morning had turned crazy with Darek going to check on Lizzy. As they lay in bed at her house, Darek looked around the room, wondering why they hadn’t spent more time there. He’d only been to the apartment once or twice, and before then, hadn’t made it that far inside. He’d stood at the door, walked into the bathroom once, but never stayed. The place was really plain and seemed more like a bachelor’s pad than his own. Lizzy liked things pretty basic, from what he could tell, and he was surprised to see that even though she’d lived in that apartment for some time that he knew of, there were still boxes upon boxes piled up in what should be her dining area.
The cat, which she’d affectionately called Bob, jumped up on the bed and crawled up between Darek’s feet to sit and lick himself.
“Do you have to do that here, buddy?” He put the cat on the floor and rolled over to face Lizzy. “I should get back to work.”
She was staring at the wall over his shoulder, lost in deep thought until his words seemed to bring her around. “Yeah, rub it in why don’t you?” She reached forward and stroked his cheek.
“I’m sorry,” he said, bringing her hand to his lips. “But you know it’s for the best. Better not poke the bear that is Sam Reed.”
“Whatever.” She got to her feet and gave him a kiss. “While you go, I think I’ll take a shower. Don’t let the cat out.”
“Fine, kick me out just like that. You’ll miss me.” He gave a wink as she went into the bathroom, and then he got to his feet, put on his pants, and prepared to head back to the office. He had calls to make, and now that lunch was over, he hoped that Carter would be available to chat.
“What does a pastor do on Mondays?” he asked the cat as it followed him to the door. He didn’t want to pick it up but knew if he didn’t want the cat to dart out of the door, he needed to. He made sure he had his keys and then picked up Bob, who furiously tried to scratch him with no luck. As he walked out the door, he looked down at the poor beast’s paws and noticed he lacked the tools to draw blood. “Nice, try, fucker.” He tossed the cat back into the room and shut the door. “Not today, buddy. You get to take care of your master.”
He walked out to his car and took out his phone, dialing Carter’s number. It was time to get back to work, and he might as well jump in with both feet.
Carter answered with the sound of busy traffic in the distance. “Hello? Can you hear me?”
“Yeah, I hear you,” said Darek, getting into his own car. “It’s Darek. Can you hear me?”
“Darek Blake? I didn’t expect to hear from you. The signal was a little fuzzy for a moment, but I’m driving back to the Church from my lunch date.”
Darek wondered who the man had for lunch and if his wife was still away as she had been. “I’m doing the same. I’ve meant to call you. I have a couple of things you need to know, and I wanted to ask a favor.”
Carter chuckled. “Bad news and a favor, huh? My two least favorite things.”
“Yeah, well, the bad news isn’t my fault.” He tried to think of a better way to tell him than just blurting it out, but there wasn’t one. “Justin Finch is dead.” He took a breath and let that sink in a second. “I talked Brandy, and she told me that he was the victim of a random home invasion.”
“Dammit. It figures.” Carter sounded as if Justin’s death was a huge inconvenience.
Darek was shocked by the reaction. “Is something wrong?” He slowed his car to make a turn onto the main road.
Carter’s voice fell. “Yes, Justin owed me money. Guess I won’t be seeing it now.”
Darek thought that was a little strange. “You loaned him money? He was loaded, wasn’t he?”
“It wasn’t like that. I performed a service. Church business.”
“I see,” said Darek, knowing he shouldn’t pry. But it did seem curious. He’d have to feel him out if he could get him there in person. “I do have another bit of bad news, by the way, before we get to the favor. It seems the shooting in New Orleans was a hit. One of the men arrested has run his mouth to the other cellmates, including an informant. He said that it was a hit.”
“Someone fucking paid them to shoot at you?”
“Yeah, any idea who? I’m assuming that their intended target was there, but what if you and Ethan were supposed to be among us? You could have very easily been killed.”
“I’ve thanked God every day since that wasn’t the case.” Carter’s voice sounded sincere enough, but Darek wasn’t too sure.
“Do you have anyone in your life that might want you dead?” It was worth asking, seeing how he could have easily been with them that night.
“No, people adore me,” said Carter in an unconvincing tone.
Darek switched lanes on the freeway, checking his mirrors while thinking of his next words. “I think that someone could have organized the hit to take the heat off themselves. It wouldn’t be the first time the killer had someone else do their dirty work.”
“So, what’s the favor?” asked Carter as the sound of a shutting car door came through the phone. The noise of the traffic had stopped.
“As I mentioned before, we’ve got Ken Sin locked up here. My superior wants me to investigate him further, dig into his religious affiliations, and talk to anyone who has counseled him in the past.”
“I told you, Darek, I didn’t really know him that well. I’d rather not be dragged down to New York with this kind of nonsense. I mean, I’d like to help, but I’m not sure it would. Whatever crazy scheme he cooked up, he’s done it on his own.”
“My boss doesn’t care about that; he just needs me to make a show that we’re doing all we can.” He knew it was time to feed Carter’s ego. That was the only way you could get the man to do anything. “He wants a man of your stature and fame to step in and be an advisor of sorts. Anything you could bring to the table would be welcome.”
“Well, I usually receive compensation for my assistance.”
“The PD and FBI don’t work that way.”
“The FBI?” Darek could tell that he had Carter’s attention. “You know, it might look good if I were providing a service to my country and its people if I worked with the FBI to bring justice to this case. But I’d need your word that nothing from our past comes out while I’m there. I can’t have this coming back to bite me in the ass when word of what happened in Virginia comes out.”
“That’s never going to happen. Bay and I are already in over our heads, and maybe it’s time some of you other men step up to the plate and help us figure this shit out. That’s why we had the meeting in the
first place. So we could band together and make sure we all survive this mess.”
“And yet, two more of us have died since the meeting, which hasn’t even been but a couple of weeks ago.”
“I’m aware. But there isn’t any proof that the killer has anything to do with their deaths.” Darek hoped to prove it, but that wasn’t a given. It could very well have been a random crime that took out both men.
Carter let out a sigh. “Normally, I’d jump at the chance to get away from this place, but as it turns out, I find myself in a bit of a pickle.”
Darek knew the asshole was going to have some sort of excuse, but he was ready to play his trump card. “I don’t care about your pickle. I need you here. That should be enough reason to come. I’ve never asked you for anything.”
“It’s important to you, isn’t it? Let me guess, you have to impress someone, and I’m what you impress them with?”
Darek rolled his eyes at the gall of the asshole whose ego was going to get the best of him one day. “Yeah, that’s it. I need your help. Are you going to come or not? I can call someone else; I just thought you might be better since you actually know the man and can stir some kind of emotion in him.” And if Darek was lucky, Sin might slam Carter face-first into a table.
“I wasn’t just making excuses about my situation. I’ve already missed quite a bit of work with trips lately, and there’s trouble at the office. Financial in nature. It would be a bad time to leave, but I’ll see what I can do. Don’t go calling anyone else just yet.”
Darek had hoped he wouldn’t have to wait for an answer. “Fine, but I need to know something as soon as possible.”
Carter sighed. “Okay, I’ll let you know.” He went quiet for a moment. “I can’t believe it about Justin.”
Darek tried to gauge the sincerity in his voice. “Yeah, you know him and Brandy were going to try and make it work between them. I guess death brings some people closer. She said she’s pregnant with Corey’s child.”
“The lord does work in mysterious ways. I’m sure there is a reason for all of this, though I admit it sure as hell doesn’t seem like it. It’s just a damned shame.”
“I agree.” Darek hated to think of Brandy and the stress she’d endured so early on in her pregnancy. It was a wonder she didn’t miscarry.
“I wondered if you had her number,” Carter said. “I’d sure like to talk to her and maybe offer some counsel. I’ve handled many situations like hers through the years, and I think I could be of some comfort. Perhaps offer her some assistance of some kind.”
Darek hesitated a little. He had her number from when they were in New Orleans and he’d wanted to check on Corey. While he usually didn’t give out people’s numbers to just anyone, he didn’t see the harm in letting Carter call and offer his condolences. “Sure. I’ll text it to you. I don’t think she’d mind, and she might like to know that we care. She and Corey were head over heels, and I can’t imagine how it must feel to lose Justin so soon after.” He thought it was rather odd, but stranger things had happened, and he had no reason to doubt her word, especially since it was something so easily confirmed.
“Thanks so much. I really loved both of those men. You know I used to think that Justin was born in the wrong century. He would have been more at home the eighteen-hundreds than today.”
Darek smiled. “Yeah, they were both good guys.” He thought of how Corey had wanted it all to end with him. But now, they were both gone. “Do you ever think that we’re next?”
Carter was quiet for a moment. “I know when my time comes, I’ll be ready for the good lord to take me home.”
There was something in those words that didn’t sound the least bit true, and he had the strange feeling that despite them, Carter was just as afraid to die as anyone else. Perhaps he knew he had a much worse fate awaiting? Darek hoped to find out. If only Carter would come. The only other way to get him there was to subpoena him, and he really hoped it didn’t come to that. He’d save that threat for another time when it was absolutely necessary.
“I just think it’s crazy. How we’re all leaving this world. I don’t want to be next. I have too much I want to do, you know?”
“Unfortunately, Darek, it doesn’t work that way. The good Lord will call us home when it’s our time, regardless of the circumstance.”
Darek shook his head. He just couldn’t believe it. “I don’t think the good lord has anything to do with us dropping like flies. No, that’s the work of evil. The work of a trained killer.”
“Or the devil,” said Carter. “Either way, God’s allowed it to happen. It’s his will.”
“Then forgive me, Pastor Hamilton, but if that’s true, then God sucks.” He just couldn’t see that all of those years ago, the twelve of them met only to be picked off in order of their astrological signs. Only a calculated madman could make that happen.
Chapter 7
Carter
Carter hung up the phone and got out of his car. He and Darek had finally finished their long conversation, and while it let him know about a lot of things happening, the one thing he was focused on was Justin’s death.
Not that he had been killed, but that he had been killed before he had a chance to pay Carter what he owed. He waited a few minutes as he walked to his office, and sure enough, Darek made good on his promise to give him Brandy’s phone number.
He knew that the papers he signed and mailed were designed to make Brandy look like Corey’s widow, and with the man being responsible for one of the hottest gaming apps out there, he knew she had come into some money on that alone.
He needed her to know that he was still there with his hand out, and he had every intention of asking for more than the tiny twenty-thousand Justin had offered. He had only gone along with his scheme because he liked Justin and knew better than to fuck with him, but with him out of the picture and no one there to protect Brandy, he could go in for the kill and make her pay millions.
It was simple. She could pay up or lose it all.
He walked into his office, ignoring Peggy who told him Eddie had wanted him to call. He didn’t have time for more church melodrama when he had a chance at tapping into that kind of cash. Cash that could more than secure his place at the head of the church, or even better, money that he could build a new life on if everything crumbled.
He pulled out his phone and dialed the number but got no answer. He did, however, get a chance to leave a message. “This is Carter Hamilton, a close friend of Justin’s whom you’re going to need to contact right away. It’s regarding your recent nuptials which I performed in New Orleans.” He hung up the phone and hoped she realized how important it was to get in touch with him.
It would be easy to blow it off, but one call and her little game was over.
Before he could situate at his desk, he heard footsteps down the hall. The familiar sound of high heels and short steps told him there was a woman approaching. He straightened his tie and slicked back his hair, and when he looked up, he saw Keely poke her head around the door and smile.
“Hi, Carter. I hope I’m not interrupting your busy day.” She stepped in and shut the door behind her, turning the lock.
“I’ve only just gotten back to work from lunch, so you have caught me just in time. I’m about to have to make a few phone calls.” He didn’t want the woman lingering around his office too much, especially dressed the way she was. He let his gaze linger down her body, taking in every curve beneath her tight blouse and skirt, all the way down to her fuck-me pumps.
“I’m so sorry. I guess I should get right to the point. You see, my rent is due tomorrow, and I don’t get paid until next week. I was hoping my ex would take care of it since it’s still leased in his name and he’s supposed to be handling it, but he didn’t. He said it was time I start taking care of myself, which would be fine normally, but he didn’t give me any warning. I’m so afraid that I’m going to lose my house, and I hoped the church could help me. I just need a loan until payday.”
Carter had heard it all before, and while he knew she was going through a tough time, a member had to be a member for longer than the few months she’d been going to the church to qualify for assistance. And not only that, there was a process in place for such things. “I’m sorry, Keely. I know it’s tough. We have some steps we take in offering assistance. You’ll have to go and see Peggy, my secretary. She can help you file the papers with the financial office, and since you’re not quite a six-month member, I’ll be sure to put in a special request for you.”
“Wait,” she said, her expression changing to annoyed confusion. “I don’t need financial aid; I came to you hoping you’d help me out. I mean, I know it’s probably not the way things are done, but I could offer you a service, and you could pay me. Say three hundred cash?”
Carter tried to control his expression and didn’t want the woman to think he was laughing at her, but there was a snowball's chance in hell that he’d just hand over money to anyone, much less pay three hundred dollars for a blow job, no matter how good it was. “I’m sorry, Keely. I just don’t have that on me personally.”
She rose from her seat and walked around to the other side of the desk. “Then how about we take a little ride to the bank? I could reach over and help you work your stick.” She gave him a sexy smile, and he had a feeling she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. How he handled the situation was going to define a lot of things, but one thing was for sure. He no longer had the upper hand. She had come asking, knowing there was no way he could refuse her. Not because she was so irresistible but because she was another woman who he had fucked in his congregation and she could make waves. Especially now that the deacons and elders were all up his ass and in his business.
“I can’t leave, but I’ll let you provide that service now, and I’ll give you the two hundred I have in my pocket. You can earn the rest tomorrow if you’re a good girl.” He ran his hand up her skirt and cupped her ass cheek, giving it a pinch. He let his hand slip down, rubbing her through her lace panties which grew wet beneath his fingers.
