Rain Shadow 5

by Tess Oliver

  I sat in silence and tried to analyze Dreygon’s reaction, but it was impossible to read what he was thinking.

  “Are you all right, Candy?” I asked. “I apologize for these two assholes.”

  J.D. tensed in the seat next to me, but Dreygon shot him a quelling glance in the mirror.

  The bruise on Candy’s face had darkened, but her mouth had stopped bleeding. She looked back at me with the same contrite expression. “I’m fine, Angel.”

  “When we get to the hell hole, I’ll fix you up.”

  “No you won’t,” Dreygon said tersely. “I can’t take a chance having you wander around unattended. You’re like that fucking hamster you used to have that would escape from its cage every night. Then we’d have to spend the next day looking for the damn thing. I kept hoping that Gracie’s cat had finally eaten it, but the fucking thing was immortal. Damn if it didn’t show up alive and happy every time.”

  Hearing him talk about memories of my childhood, fond, meaningful memories, like the ones where we’d tiptoed around the cabin looking for Charlie, my escape artist hamster, made my stomach clench as if an icy hand gripped it. All those memories had been tainted now, tainted with the new memories of the purely evil man sitting behind the steering wheel.

  “So, you plan to cage me up?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “Are the dogs still there?” I was almost afraid to hear his response.

  “You spoiled them so much, they were useless as guard dogs. When your boyfriend broke the gate, they took off. Ended up at that old widow’s house down the road.”

  “Smart dogs.” I stared out the window. The landscape was looking depressingly familiar.

  Dreygon pulled his phone out of his pocket. “What’s up?” He listened. “The courthouse? Interesting. Cash must be having his day in front of the judge. You know what to do if you see them.”

  I pulled in a deep breath and looked over at J.D.. A grin streaked across his fat, ruddy face.

  I sat forward and clutched the top edge of the seat. The usual scent of weed drifted off of Dreygon’s clothing. “You don’t actually think you’ll be able to intimidate the man who can shoot the nose off a rabbit and the man who can snap a neck like a toothpick, do you?” I spoke confidently, but my pulse was pounding in my ears.

  “That’s why I hired a couple of professionals. No more club members to waste.”

  I flopped back against the seat and pushed my arm against my stomach to keep it from churning. One minute I’m in Lake Tahoe spending two dreamy days with the man I love, and the next minute I’m headed back into hell.

  Chapter 15

  Luke

  Jericho had called twice while we were in the courtroom, but he hadn’t left a message. Things were going well for Cash. They’d provided him with a sharp, confident public defender, a young woman who couldn’t have been more than thirty but who really held her own against the state prosecutor, a sour-faced old guy who looked as if he drank kerosene for breakfast, and the judge, a woman who looked as if she’d send a kid to jail for stealing a piece of candy. Ms. Anderson, the public defender, had made it clear that her client was supposed to be under witness protection and that he had been gravely wronged by the system. Even though Cash had left the protection program voluntarily, in the end, he’d risked his life to bring two murderers to justice. When the judge asked why he hadn’t gone to the hospital after this last attack, Ms. Anderson quickly told the judge that it was, again, the state’s fault. Mr. Tremaine had no income because he’d been hiding from people who wanted him dead, and he had no health insurance. A doctor’s visit would have been too costly.

  With everything going well in the courtroom, I decided to step into the hallway and call Jericho back. I wasn’t too worried because he called a lot. Boredom gave him nothing better to do, and for some reason, he liked to bug me. He answered in one ring. “Shit, I’ve been calling you.”

  “Judges don’t take too kindly to people having cell phone conversations in their courtroom. What’s up?”

  “Why the hell didn’t you tell me Angel was going with you guys this morning?”

  My hand tightened around the phone, and instantly, my heart thumped against my ribs. “What the hell are you talking about? If this is a fucking joke, Richo, then I swear when I get home—”

  “She’s not here. I’ve looked all over for her. And the front door was unlocked.”

  The wind had been knocked out of me, and it took me a second to gather my thoughts. “Who can you call to find out what’s going on? I’ll try Angel’s phone.”

  “Don’t bother. It’s sitting here on the coffee table.”

  “Does it look like there was any kind of a struggle?”

  He was quiet for a second. “Everything looks the same except there are a few drops of blood on the front porch.”

  “Fuck. Who can you still reach in the compound?”

  “Let me make some calls, and I’ll get right back to you. Wait, someone is calling me right now.” He left me and went to answer the second call. The doors to the courtroom opened and Cash walked out with his attorney. The looks on their faces assured me things had gone well, but Cash seemed to sense right away that the same was not true on my end. He had a short conversation with Ms. Anderson and then joined me.

  “Let’s go,” I said. “I’m waiting for Jericho to call me back. Angel is gone.”

  “What? Goddammit.” We hurried out the glass doors and down the long marbled steps of the courthouse. On the way to the car, I spotted a black Challenger with heavily tinted windows. That same black Challenger had followed us some distance on the freeway earlier but had eventually disappeared behind a big rig. I hadn’t give it another thought. The windows were dark, but it was easy enough to see the silhouette of two heads in the front seats.

  “See that Challenger over there,” I said as we ran to my car. “I think some friends followed us to the courthouse.”

  “I think you might be right.”

  My phone rang. “What’s going on, Richo?”

  “Candy called. Dreygon used her the same way he used me, as a way to grab Angel. He’s got Angel tied up in the dungeon at the compound, and Candy says he’s crazier than ever. If that’s possible. You’re going to come get me, right?”

  “We don’t have time. Besides, we’ve got some friends tagging along behind us in a black car.”

  “Tell Cash I’m borrowing his bike then. I’ll meet you at the compound.”

  “Meet us at Mickey’s, and we’ll make a plan. But first, call Candy back and find out who’s there right now, so we know what we’re up against. See you soon.” I tossed Cash my keys. “You drive. Oh, and Jericho is borrowing your bike. We’re meeting him at Mickey’s.”

  We got in the car. I reached into the glove box and pulled out my gun.

  “You still as good a shot with your hand in that brace?” Cash asked as he pulled out of the spot.

  “Yep. All I need is my right hand and my aim, and I can take those two thugs out with two bullets. Maybe even one if I get them at just the right angle.”

  Cash grinned as he glanced over to the side view mirror.

  “Are they following?” I asked.

  “Yes, they are— in their hardly noticeable, shiny black muscle car with drug dealer tinted windows and shiny chrome wheels.” He pulled out of the parking lot and headed to the highway. “Nothing like leaving a courthouse after a murder hearing only to go out and get into another shitty situation where someone will most likely end up dead. And the one person who really needs to take a bullet to the head is Dreygon. But he’ll skip out of this smelling like a fucking rose.”

  “I wouldn’t count on it. He’s already stretched my last nerve as tight as it will go. And that nerve is attached to my trigger finger. I don’t know if I’ll be able to contro
l myself this time. If he has so much as put one finger on Angel, I’m going to finish him off for good. No matter what the consequence.” I pulled down the visor and slid open the tiny mirror. Our shiny, black tail had fallen back behind traffic. “We’ll see what they do once we reach the deserted part of the highway.”

  Cash peered up in the mirror. “They are trying their hardest to disappear in the crowd back there.”

  “Do you recognize the guys or the car?”

  “No. But the windows are really dark. Can’t hardly see their faces. And as for the car, I’ve never seen it before, but then I haven’t exactly been hanging around club socials lately.”

  “True.” I knew Cash had been feeling down since the last attack, but I had no advice to offer. We needed to put Dreygon behind bars. That would crumble some of the rotten fibers of the club, which would hopefully result in them laying off of Cash. “What do you think you’ll do now that it looks like you’ll get off on self-defense?”

  “Not sure yet but I can’t stick around here much longer.” He looked over at me. “I’m sure that doesn’t come as a shock to you.”

  “No, it doesn’t. I think Jericho is about ready to climb the walls too.”

  “He’s even worse off than me. He was still thinking about heading up to Montana to apply for that logging job. But I don’t know. Richo has never worked hard like that. He was used to being involved with whatever the club was up to.”

  “Then some sweat and blood might be good for him. And, trust me, those logging jobs come with a hearty helping of both. He got along well with Gage. Angel figured that Jericho had attached himself to Gage quickly because my brother reminded him of you.”

  “Yeah, Richo used to follow me around a lot. I always acted annoyed, but I really didn’t mind. I’d never had a younger brother…or anyone for that matter. Dreygon and the people at the compound were my family.”

  “I know. They were Angel’s too.”

  “But it’s over,” he said with a sigh of resignation. “And that’s probably a good thing. Hey, our buddies are right behind us.”

  “Thought maybe they’d gotten bored.” I pressed the button on the console that controlled the moon roof.

  Cash glanced up as it slid open. “Do you have a periscope, or are you planning on sticking your face up through that hole?”

  “No periscope. Just me and my eyeballs. I’m hoping they aren’t great shots. But just in case, do a little zigzagging across the lanes.”

  I readied my gun. “All right, Ziggy, but go easy. Otherwise, I won’t be able to take aim either.”

  The tires thudded over the buttons dividing the lanes as Cash maneuvered the car in a wavy pattern down the quiet highway. I held onto the edge of the opening to gain my balance and pushed through it. The passenger stuck his arm out the window and fired at us. The side view mirror of my car flew off.

  I ducked back inside. “Shit, those mirrors are expensive to replace.” I looked over at Cash. “I’m going again.” I knelt up on the seat. The wind battered the back of my head as I shot straight at their windshield. The Challenger swerved wildly from side to side as the dark windshield dissolved into thousands of dark green glass pebbles. “I don’t like shooting someone if I can’t see their face.”

  Cash peered up in the rearview, and a rare laugh spurted from his mouth. “Those two fucking clowns. I hope they get moths stuck in their teeth. Unless Dreygon has some new recruits, who he trusted with this assignment, I’d say those guys are hired guns.”

  “Great, then it’ll be easier to beat some damming information out of them. They won’t have any loyalty to Dreygon.”

  “Don’t be too sure. Some people are afraid of the club even if they don’t belong to it.” He pointed to the nasty cut over his eye. “Because they’re real good at this kind of shit.”

  I turned back. “I don’t see them anymore.”

  “I think the windshield explosion threw them off their game,” Cash said. “They’ve fallen way behind. We’re almost at the turn off for the compound.”

  “Good. I’ve got an idea. Let’s ditch the car on the opposite side of the road, out of view. They’ll be looking this direction for the turn off.”

  Cash followed my plan, and when we reached the dirt road to the compound, he drove off on the opposite side.

  I pointed ahead. “Over there, past that lump of shrubs, and hurry so the dust dies down fast.”

  He pulled the Camaro around behind some spindly foliage. It wasn’t completely camouflaged, but I doubted it could be seen from the road. We climbed out of the car and shot across the highway to the other side. We ran a good distance along the path. I could hear a car nearing.

  “Back here.” We ducked behind a dense patch of sage brush. “We need to get rid of these idiots before we get to the compound. We’ve got to keep the odds in our favor.”

  A cloud of dust shot up like a small tornado as the car pulled off the highway. We could hear them talking through the newly opened windshield. “Sharpe said the guy was an expert shot,” one of them said.

  “We’ll corner them at the compound,” the other one answered.

  “I don’t think so,” I muttered. I stepped out onto the crude road and walked straight toward the car as it lumbered along at twenty-plus miles per hour. I stopped in the middle of the path. Their eyes and mouths opened wide, but they didn’t have time to draw their weapons before I took out both front tires. The car limped along a few more feet and then got stuck in the first deep rut in the road.

  I pulled my wallet out of my pocket, a tough task with a brace on my hand. I held up my badge just as the man in the passenger seat raised his gun. I rolled across the rough ground as he fired. I got back up, and I wasn’t imagining the flicker of fear in the driver’s eyes as I strode toward them. But instead of raising my gun, I held up my badge. The sun glinted off the shiny metal, and the man who’d fired his gun looked as if his eyes might pop out. His mouth hung open.

  “The dude’s a cop,” the driver said.

  I reached the front of the car. I heard Cash come up behind me.

  “Actually—” I pointed to the badge. “—if you look closely through your very transparent windshield, it says Special Agent. Do you mean to tell me that Sharpe left out that detail?” I shook my head. “That man, you just can’t trust him.” I pointed my gun at the guy in the passenger’s seat. “Drop that weapon, and any other toys you two have, out the window and then be on your way.” They seemed even more surprised about me offering them their freedom than about the fact that I had a badge. “Hurry, because we’ve got stuff to do, and you two numskulls are holding us up.”

  Each man dropped a gun from the window. The driver started the car. Cash and I lifted the front end and freed the wheels from the ditch. It wobbled away like a wounded animal and turned back onto the highway.

  “Well, that was easy,” Cash said. “I’m surprised that you let them go.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t really.” I pulled out my phone. “Hello, this is Special Agent Luke Barringer of the Reno DEA, and I just had two armed men chase me down Highway 50. They are heading east in a black Challenger with no front tires and no front windshield. They ditched their weapons on the turn off at mile fifteen. I’ll be heading to Dreygon Sharpe’s compound next, and there might be some trouble, so send some cars out there too.” I read the emergency operator my badge number and hung up. “Hopefully they’ll be willing to trade the details of who hired them for a plea bargain. It might be what we need.”

  We walked back across the highway to the car and drove to Mickey’s Saloon. Cash’s bike was parked out front. Jericho came out to meet us as Cash stopped the car. He got into the backseat.

  “Talked to Candy. Aside from J.D., Hoover and Blade, most everyone else has cleared out of the compound. Max is still there, but he’s harmless.

&n
bsp; “Hoover and Blade, aren’t those the guys that messed you up?” I asked.

  “Yeah, and I’m pretty damn stoked about getting to meet them face to face again,” Cash said.

  “From what Candy said, they are also the ones who took out Gunner. They’ve always been the kind of guys who got off on hurting people, and they’ll do anything to be in good standing with Dreygon. By the way, I brought that gun you had stashed on the top of the refrigerator.” Jericho lifted the weapon.

  “The one Angel was supposed to use to protect herself?” Of course, I’d known she would never touch the thing.

  “Candy said they messed her up, and Angel came out of the house to help her.”

  I twisted around and looked at Jericho. “I’ve got an idea. After I left the compound, I spent a lot of hours trying to figure out how I could get back inside for Angel. Assuming the gate has been fixed—” They both looked at me. “I wrecked it with a tire iron the day they shot Jericho and snatched Angel. Anyway, I think if I get in the right position, I can take out the electrical panel. The power would short out, and we could get through.”

  Jericho grinned. “So, we’re just going to storm the place. I like it. I’ve been wanting a crack at that pig, J.D. too.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Cash drove the car out of Mickey’s parking lot and onto the highway. We drove back to the turn off. The patrol cars hadn’t been out to retrieve the weapons yet. With the exception of a few birds fluttering in the shrubs, the entire area was deserted.

  “Been awhile since I’ve driven along this path,” Jericho said almost sadly. “Still can’t believe all the shit that’s gone down since—”

  I looked back at him. “Since Angel walked me through the compound gates?”

  He stopped to think about it. “Well, yeah, since then. Boy, you sure do like to stir things up, Reno. I should have known it that first day when Angel pleaded with me to go into the dungeon and make sure Gunner didn’t kill you.”

  “I remember you standing there watching.” I looked over at Cash. “And you. You never laid a hand on me when I was chained up, but Gunner was sure enjoying himself. I still have that fucking scar on my leg from the branding iron, a little souvenir from my stay at the Bedlam Hilton.”